I'm Veralynne, and I feel privileged to be on the team of contributors to the Blogmanac. In his introduction last week, Pip indicated I had wide and varied interests. Indeed! Oh, all right . . . it's true. I'd always attributed it to the Gemini factor, but "dilettante" is beginning to make more sense. LOL! Actually, I'm interested in change--changes in society and culture from music and art to politics and law, from environment and health issues to relationships and work, from media and education to the mind and inspiration.

To me, the Almanac is a welcomed opportunity to escape the flashing lights and neon of the information superhighway (when was the last time you heard THAT?) and the concerns of our reality and take a side road into another world -- a fantasy world existing in many dimensions. At the Almanac we celebrate days but, as The Moody Blues sang, they're like "Days of Future Past." We're provided with information from the past to enlighten our present and prepare us to "Seize the Day!" -- today, the next day and the next. Enjoy the journey.

Love, peace and clarity,
Veralynne

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Iowa Touts Illegal Drug Stamp Tax
By Miranda Leitsinger, Associated Press Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Caught with drugs? Better have a drug stamp.
Iowa law taxes all illegal drugs -- from marijuana to cocaine. The state issues stamps, which vary in cost and color according to the drug, to be affixed to the drug to show the tax has been paid.

"It was such a horse of a different color when it first came out," said Renee Mulvey, spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance. "It was just so unusual to be selling stamps to tax illegal drugs, that we expected a lot of misunderstanding."

The stamps cost $5 a gram for marijuana, $750 per marijuana plant, $250 a gram for other drugs and $400 per 10 doses of drugs that come in tablet form, such as ecstasy. The minimum charge is $215.

Some may get a good chuckle out of the idea of drug users trotting down to the revenue department to buy a tax stamp -- only seven batches of stamps have been sold (none were sold last year) -- but the state is making a small fortune off of those who get caught without them. -- Get a chuckle through your tears at the rest of the story.

Check out the interesting "breaking news" update and followup to the above story. Top it all off with a 'toon.