Another War

 ANOTHER WAR

We need to encourage our legislators to create another war on something.  The war on drugs is totally passé and as we can all see, a total failure.  The only accomplishment being making life really miserable for those whose lives are already miserable.  The latest war has been the war on sex.  This war has, or will soon, reach its crescendo. It is accomplishing its goal of making a whole other category of people miserable by subjecting them to prison, social workers, sex offender registry, and therapists of various shades of credibility .

So, what we need is a new war.  Our Iowa legislature has as its goal to oversee a population of totally miserable and despondent people, except of course, those who contribute campaign funds.  They are exempt from misery having the resources to buy their way into Nirvana.  So, let's get with it!

Our legislators need to be looking for something they can use to make life more miserable for a whole new group of people.  Driving has always been part of the effort.  We spend a huge amount of time and money putting people in jail and extorting money from them for driving without a license.  These people, who don't have driver's licenses don't have driver's licenses for a reason:  They don't have any money.  And our legislature makes absolutely certain that these people without any money will be even more miserable than they already are.  Not only do you go to jail, but you also have to pay the State of Iowa various taxes.  These taxes are called fines, court costs, reinstatement fees, license fees, and I'm sure I'm missing some; and they are payable by people who don't have any money in the first place.

I'm open for suggestions.  Surely we have not utilized all the ways available to make people miserable.  There has to be more ways to do it.  Book banning doesn't do it because most people don't read books anyway.  Restricting who can play highschool sports doesn't do it except for the feeling of being picked on which may or may not increase misery.  We could always reduce unemployment benefits again or further restrict health care but these are the tried and true methods that have been used traditionally.  We need something new and exciting and horrible to think about.  

How about home canning? You might poison yourself.  And not only can home canning be dangerous, it is anti-capitalist.  One is not buying stuff they don't need if one is canning food at home.  It is un-American and needs to be completely banned.   A person who preserves food, and it could be just about anything, is not, and I repeat not, helping the GDP.  Home canning is not part of the statistical input of gross domestic product and should be discouraged and possibly made illegal with the rationale that it could be dangerous if done improperly (just like driving).  Just an idea folks, but we do need something new to have a war on.  If you have any good suggestions, contact your local representative.

Richard E H Phelps II

MIngo