I must tip my hat to letter writer Peggy Purvis (“USA workers,” Feb. 19). Not since Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal have I enjoyed such a finely crafted piece of satire.

Although I take pleasure in both works, one must acknowledge the authors’ vastly diverse styles. To wit, Swift used up more than 3,000 words in his infamous baby-eating proposition.

On the contrary, Purvis dashes wildly from topic to topic, snarling and gnashing like the cartoon Tasmanian Devil. In only 214 words she links the recent Chinese festival to Walmart to Fountain Park to tackiness and gaudiness to the minimum wage to an unnamed presidential candidate to the downfall of American workers to eavesdropping by Mayor Linda Kavanagh to a quote from the movie Jerry Maguire.

This frantic, frenetic and – let’s not mince words – guano-crazy prose had me captivated. I’ve read it a dozen times and it keeps getting better!

Thank you, Ms. Purvis!

I offer honorable mention in the satire department to Rep. John Kavanagh for his essay last week, “HB2554 improves public notices.”

While not as over-the-top as other satire, one must appreciate the delicious irony of an elected official arguing against the publication of public notices in the newspaper with – wait for it – an opinion piece IN THE NEWSPAPER!

Brilliant!

What’s next? A 90-minute, fist-pounding-the-podium diatribe on the elegant power of silence?

John, I like you, but not every thought that crosses your mind needs to be written up as proposed legislation. Let a few of those pitches go by.