They're Mushrooms

 THEY'RE MUSHROOMS

On a drive-about that included Altoona, Bondurant, and Ankeny I saw dozens if not a hundred new,  massive structures, empty - - waiting for stuff to arrive by trucks to then leave again by trucks, possibly to another of the massive buildings a few miles away.  It is like a form of fungal reproduction.

Now I know that mushrooms reproduce through spores that apparently are airborne as the mushroom breaks the service of the ground, but there must be some sort of pollination going on here that I am not aware of.  I can think of nothing more analogous to these giant structures than huge, cavernous fungi.  They seem to pop up overnight.  And then there is stuff moving from one part of the building to another, from one building to another, having at one time moved from the point of manufacture and will end finally at the place where it will be consumed.

We now call this process the supply chain.  This is a new term that  entered our vocabulary when we experienced deprivation with COVID.  Suddenly, there were items not found.  This was viewed with horror.  For instance, toilet paper became a very valuable item.  The stores couldn't keep what little they had in stock for the pursuit of toilet paper by the public was ravenous.  What would we do without toilet paper?

Of the 350,000,000 people that live in this county, if the "supply chain" suddenly disappeared, 349,000,000 would have no food.  That is a thought that should get one's attention.  The fact that someone is gay or transgender or some other variety of human, would seem to be irrelevant.  No one would have anything to eat.  I suppose that is when the guns come out.  Of course, if everyone has a gun, that's when the real shooting begins.

If you and your children are starving, you do what you have to do to eat.  Simple really.  I often wonder about the things that we complain about, or argue about, or get upset with.  So our legislature doesn't like that our teachers actually acknowledge there are gay and transgender people in their schools.  The horror!  Is this what they are elected to think about?  What possible benefit does it do to anyone to pick on people other than to show you are a bully.

Unfortunately, it would appear that our legislators and our governor are bullies.  They showed it during the protest of Black Lives Matter, they are showing it in their actions against teachers and librarians, they are preparing laws to enact that are nothing but  to bully people they don't like for whatever reason they don't like them. 

We have a government of bullies, smug ones, believing that that is why they were elected - - to bully people.  I can only hope that the people who voted for them are not themselves bullies.  I find most people, when approached, are friendly and not bullies, and in fact, don't much care for one person bullying another. But they have elected a legislature full of bullies.  Seems incongruous.  I wish it weren't so.  Maybe you could suggest to your legislator that he or she begin thinking about the things that matter - - not who can go to which bathroom.

If you wonder how I made the transition from cavernous warehouses to bullies so quickly; it's called a mind that wanders uncontrollably.

Richard E H Phelps

Mingo

Hair Concerns

 HAIR CONCERNS

When traveling one should explore as much as possible, right?  Why else travel but to see and experience things one cannot see or do at home?  My visit to Central Market in Austin, Texas is illustrative.  In the aisle, of what I will call, personal products was an assortment of hair products, specifically shampoo.

To be clear, I'm not receiving any remuneration for writing about this particular product, presenting its remarkable features to a public that may be unaware of its existence.  The product is John Masters shampoo, conditioner, and hair spray sitting prominently on the shelf at eye level, leading me to believe that Central Market probably gets a kickback on sales, but not the point.

I counted four different shampoos with John Masters' logo:  1. a Volumizing Shampoo with Rosemary & Peppermint; 2. a Daily Nourishing Shampoo with Lavender & Rosemary; 3 a Scalp Stimulating Shampoo with Spearmint & Meadowsweet; 4. a Scalp Conditioning Shampoo with Zinc & Sage.  Also available  were a John Masters' Hair Spray with Acaciagum & Aloés, USDA organic, and a Daily Nourishing Conditioner with Citris & Neroli.  Upon reviewing this selection (of just one company's products), I could only ask myself - - What has happened to us?  But then I recanted.  I, among my contemporaries, are ultimate consumers - - this is what we do - - consume.  One needs to be able to discuss intelligently the pros and cons of lavender and rosemary vs spearmint and meadowsweet.

Unfortunately, I often feel I am lacking in the ability to be a modern American in this regard.  But travel, as is clear from my experience in the Central Market, is helpful.  I am certainly open to being informed - - why travel in the first place if not open to new things and experiences.  For me, Central Market was a new thing; and indeed, not only did they have shampoo but fresh octupi.  The Market was indeed a new experience and one I shall not forget for some time.  Not quite as spectacular as the Grand Canyon, but for us ultimate consumers, quite an adventure.  

I will have to admit, I purchased neither octupi nor shampoo.  The Walgreen's shampoo I normally purchase without essence of plants seem to work ok and it would be a considerable time without food before I could bring myself to eat octopus; both prejudices, I assume, resulting from the fact that living in rural Iowa, having been born in rural Iowa, and practicing law in rural Iowa where octupi are rarely seen and John Masters' hair products are not available, my sudden exposure to this massive and diverse quantity of purchasable products was difficult for me to comprehend and mentally digest - - being a rather rural person.  

Once again, the power of travel.  And even if I am still unsure about the relative benefits of rosemary and peppermint vs zinc and sage, I now know there are some and further investigation is necessary for me to continue to be a proper, modern-day, American consumer.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo

I'm Grieving

 I'M GRIEVING

Representative Dunwell is grieving; and rightly so.  Consequently, Senate File 496, the recently enacted legislation requiring the banning of books in Iowa's public schools, was necessary.  The authority for this act, according to Representative Dunwell, is a short speech given by John Fletcher Moulton, Lord Moulton, a Cambridge mathematician and subsequently a London barrister.  The reference made to Lord Moulton was a short speech given at the Authors Club in London published as "Law and Manners" in 1924.

Accordingly, SF 496 addresses the vast area between the domain of "The Law" and the domain of "Free Choice".  Lord Moulton divided human behavior into three categories: (1) Those prescribed or prohibited "The Law", (2) Those allowed as "Free Choice", and (3) that huge area in between.  Lord Moulton called this  third area "Manners"; Representative Dunwell apparently calls it "Sin" which needs to be moved into category (1) "The Law".  The subject matter of Senate File 496 accordingly takes certain things out of the category of "In Between" and moves them to category 1: "The Law".  The area of "Free Choice" was apparently not considered, but that vast area in between "Law" and "Free Choice" now needs to be reviewed.  Hence, our legislature has moved the teaching of certain materials that currently (according to them) land in between the "The Law" and "Free Choice" into the land of "The Law".  I realize this is all somewhat confusing, but don't blame me.

Apparently, Lord Moulton thought that the manners of the public needed some correction and he thought possibly some Biblical references might do the trick.  As we can all see, it didn't.  Now Representative Dunwell has somehow come across this short speech of Lord Moulton now entitled "Obedience to the Unenforceable".  If one Googles it, it comes up numerous times and apparently is often quoted by current divines and others.  This appears to be the authority for SF 496.

I do find it interesting that Lord Moulton had a correspondence with Charles Darwin - - obviously the two were acquainted.  Lord Moulton didn't think much of Herbert Spenser's adoption of Mr. Darwin's biological theories to human society, such as the concept of "natural selection".  But it would seem that Lord Moulton actually accepted Darwin's work as an advancement in human knowledge. Oh woe is me to think that Representative Dunwell is referencing a man who considered Darwin's work as valid.  I think we need to rethink this entirely.  Lord Dunwell needs to retreat and reconsider his sources.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo