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The Iowa Legislature’s “To Do” list should be a little longer after last week.

And people need to contact their senators and representatives in the Legislature to make sure they understand their duty is to protect the health and safety of Iowans.

The reason? The Iowa Supreme Court handed down a decision Friday that will pretty much keep the public in the dark when a physician is charged by state regulators with professional misconduct.

The requirements for becoming a teacher were always straightforward: Earn a college degree in education, take enough classes in your area of specialty, practice your teaching skills for a semester as a student teacher.

Politicians have added a new skill this year in some states: Be a mind-reader.

That’s what teachers in a Texas school district concluded recently after receiving guidance for how to comply with a law passed this summer by the Texas Legislature and signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Richard Deming, the son of a grain elevator worker and grocery store clerk from small-town South Dakota, is a modest, soft-spoken man. He has spent the majority of his adult life with people when they are most vulnerable — when they or loved ones are fighting cancer.

Ron Fournier came out of a different background. The son of a Detroit, Mich., cop has spent much of his working life as a big-time political reporter, covering our nation’s political leaders, including several presidents.

While you might think the two are as different as Madison, S.D., and the Motor City, they are quite similar in one important way: Each has become an eloquent, soul-searching advocate for keeping life in the proper perspective. We all would be wise to heed them, especially during these times when so many lives are filled with so much stress.

From Carl Sandburg’s book/poem, The People, Yes (1936):

“Get off this estate.”

“What for?”

“Because it’s mine.”

“Where did you get it?”

“From my father.”

“Where did he get it?”

“From his father.”

“And where did he get it?”

“He fought for it.”

“Well, I’ll fight you for it.”

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The ag communication shops are the answer to all my prayers when it comes to inspiration.

I read something a month or so ago from one of them and I knew I had to write about it, but it took a while for an idea to tassel out.

The piece profiles an Iowa farmer who apparently is on a mission from God to grow corn and soybeans.

Most human beings, including the one writing these words here, try to derive some meaning from their existence and so I don’t fault that if that is the angle.

I did, however, find this quote revealing: “If you can raise more corn and beans on this acre of ground the good lord gave you, you darn well better be doing that.”

As far as God giving “us” the land, there’s a few descendants of a continental-scale genocide that would like a word regarding this farmer’s god.

But ignoring that for the moment, yes, it’s true enough that you can raise a lot of corn and beans on Iowa land, and a lot of other stuff that we don’t grow anymore: oats, apples, vegetables, oak trees, and so on.

And, rest assured if corporate CEOs wanted Iowa farmers to grow that other stuff instead of corn and soy, that is what they would be growing, and God could just go pound sand. You gotta know who's the boss, after all.

Do the folks in politics think we are asleep? Do they really believe no one is paying attention to what politicians are up to?

It’s not surprising if you have acid indigestion these days. A few examples illustrate why I might need a tanker truck of Maalox.

SENATE RACE — The comments by our political leaders last week to the news Charles Grassley is seeking another U.S. Senate term was disappointing, but predictable.

Grassley, now 88, said he wants six more years in the Senate because he has work to finish – work, presumably, that he has not been able to complete since he first became a member of the Congress in 1975. In case you don’t have a calculator handy, that was 46 years ago.

Let’s set aside our views on abortion. Instead, let’s consider one aspect of the new Texas abortion law that took effect last week.

All of us should be able to agree on this, whether we find abortions abominable or support a woman’s right to end her pregnancy:

The enforcement mechanism created by Texas lawmakers is un-American. It farms out enforcement of a state’s laws to vigilantes and bounty hunters.

Ag media is like the sound of thunder at 3 a.m. when I’m suffering from an inspiration drought. I can always count on them, especially the communication shops at the advocacy organizations, to provide a timely soaker just when I’m most parched.

The most recent gully-washer was a You Tube video posted by our favorite insurance company.

Four middle-aged and snappily-dressed Randys, looking as though they saw no need to change clothes after just filming a Cialis commercial, pose as Iowa farmers chugging coffee in a small town café.

Also making an easy transition from the Cialis set is the bragging about their performance, but in this skit the boasting relates to their success in reducing nutrient pollution.

The news out of Afghanistan last week about the terrorist bombing at the airport in Kabul brought fresh heartache — and old memories — to Iowa.

A native of Red Oak, Marine Cpl. Daegan Page, 23, was among 13 members of the U.S. military who died in the blast.

Page and the others were screening U.S. citizens and Afghanistan civilians heading to evacuation flights — among 120,000 people the United States and its allies have airlifted out of Afghanistan after its government collapsed following more than 20 years of civil war.

Not surprisingly, there have been many questions since President Joe Biden announced in April American forces would be gone by the end of August. Questions are nothing new about the U.S. presence in Afghanistan — or about our handling of other wars and conflicts.

Iowa’s three state universities made a U-turn this summer, and they now are headed down the road toward secrecy with some hiring decisions.

The about-face should trouble taxpayers of this state. It also should bother members of the Legislature, who have expressed concern in recent years that the universities are out of touch with the people of Iowa.

“ ‘Shut up,’ he explained.” — Ring Lardner

I get asked with some regularity about pushback on these essays — do I get any?

The answer is less than what most people would expect.

I did get some about four months ago from what many would consider a person of influence. This was reported in the media about 10 days ago. The episode illustrates that we really don’t have free speech in the U.S.; what we have is no prior restraint on speech, therefore, say what you want but be prepared to absorb the consequences, no matter how just or unjust they may be.

As Howard Zinn pointed out (1), our right (or lack thereof) to expression flows not from the constitution, but from whomever has the power in the situation where we wish to interject our thoughts and comments. In my world, that is Iowa agriculture. You have a right to speech, but you have no right to your job. I still have mine, thankfully.

I’ve written these essays from day one with my eyes wide open. I knew/know what the consequences could be. This is one reason why I try to write them in a colloquial style that will hopefully be funny and entertaining. I want people who won’t agree with me to find some intrinsic value in my expression.

That is not how we write scientific papers. I know how to do that, and sometimes I can do an adequate job of writing them. But something occurred to me one day. While those papers serve as valuable currency in science and academia, agriculture sees most of them as chump change. You can’t use them to buy clean water at Iowamart.