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It’s now illegal in the state of Illinois to buy Drano or Liquid Plumr without being treated like a criminal. If you insist on buying drain openers, you must have a government-issued photo ID and every purchase will be reported to the state.

No, I’m not kidding.

The genius behind this insanity is a state legislator named Jack D. Franks, who justifies the intrusion for the customer and the expense for the store by citing a couple of attacks on Chicago-area women, who were burned by drain opener.

So let me see if I have the logic of this right. Most households are going to have some form of drain opener in them at one time or another. Does this mean that when there’s some very, very rare instance of an attack with the stuff — everybody who’s bought drain opener is now a suspect? Are they going to search for contraband drain opener at state lines?

In the event of another attack, does Franks expect police to go door to door questioning everyone who’s ever bought drain opener? Is he really this stupid?

I’m going to point out that people sometimes get stabbed with kitchen knives at home, but that doesn’t justify regulating the sale of kitchen knives. Unfortunately, the kind of mental midgets who make the laws might use this reminder as an excuse to require that all kitchen knives be made blunt and non-sharp. It would make just as much sense as Franks’ Drano law.

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If you’re already sick of the 2012 presidential campaign, you might want to seek professional help immediately.

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Silence is one of the most underrated things in the world. I already knew that in my head, but I experienced it in my heart Thursday. Silence can be powerful.

Theere’s a Catholic monastery not far from where I live, and I used to stop by to visit the chapel there. I’m not Catholic and I’m not one who believes you need to be in a church to pray, but I like the stillness and silence of that chapel. I’d forgotten just how much I like it until I stopped there Thursday afternoon.

Many of us who’ve experienced God in some way spend a good portion of our lives eager to capture — again and again — the essence of an experience with God that’s been meaningful to us. At different points in our lives, we’ve felt the presence of God in a way that is completely unbelievable to someone who hasn’t felt it. But we don’t feel that every day. At least I don’t — and other Christians I talk to don’t feel that “high” feeling all the time, either.

The odd thing is that God is always there. We’re just too busy drowning Him out with everything around us — and especially everything inside us. For me, the biggest distraction I have in experiencing God is shutting up my own incessant inner voice — so that I can hear God in the silence.

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