This Carbon Based Life

By David Glenn Cox

It was a big, beautiful disaster. When the Trump Murder tax cut bill was defeated in committee. It was a case of both ends against the middle. Arch Conservatives realized the numbers were a sham to justify a tax cut by only paying for a fraction of it. On the other side, Democrats explained this bill would leave almost 14 million Americans without health care of any kind. The sick and infirm would clog the Emergency rooms of struggling hospitals.

Whatever the reason, they couldn’t pull the trigger. They saw the backlash coming and feared it. This is important because this was the signature legislation for an authoritarian Dictatorship. The pawns weren’t supposed to move backwards like that. Forward always onwards until death or defeat. The rubber stamp wasn’t supposed to stamp denied. It means the Dictator is losing his grip over them. Little Timmy Johnson was certain he had the votes and that reflects poorly on little Timmy. The Dictator doesn’t brook failure.

Just barely over the 100-day threshold and already the Dictator’s influence is waning . You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. In recent polling, the Dictator is losing the penny stinkers who elected him. The Treasury Secretary doesn’t see any signs of a recession despite John and Jane Q. Public seeing them all around. The Dictator says maybe a few less dolls at Christmas for the kiddies. That’s a big NO SALE! Unlike the Dictator, most people actually love their children and would do most anything for them.

It might have been better said, “You might have to do without but not your children.” The very idea of a Herbert Hoover Christmas is repugnant to most Americans. A quick look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics offers fodder for the recession the Treasury Secretary doesn’t see. Sales are down and inflation was defeated by fear. Machinery sales are down because the people in business fear making any unnecessary purchases even if they need them and they are necessary. Airline sales are down and outpatient medical  procedures are down. Which means, “If no one is dying I ain’t flying and If I ain’t dying I ain’t buying!”

Wages are flat and productivity is down almost a full 1%. Employment is up but isn’t keeping up with pace of the new entries. Those unemployed are having a harder time finding new jobs. It shows all the signs of an economy slowing down. Hammered between tariffs and rising food prices, Americans are slowing their purchases. Go figure.

The Dictator is rebuked by the Supreme Court over Birthright citizenship. The Dictator’s henchmen argued the President isn’t subject to the Constitution. That’s a tough sell even among the bought and paid for. But it’s another loss to throw on the pile.

Our Ambassador to Ukraine quit last month, saying she could no longer carry water for an Administration committed to putting pressure on the victims of aggression. Claiming the Administration isn’t dealing in good faith. 86 proof Pete Hegseth denies ordering a pause in Cyber activities against Russia. Gee, who is one to believe?

The free 747 is just the skid mark in the Dictator’s shorts but is emblematic of pandemonium in the palace. So far, the Dictator has nothing to show in the victory column. Except for his immigration policies which are largely imaginary. Kudos to Fox Not News.

But Walmart has announced higher prices on groceries due to tariffs and the coming labor shortage when the crops are ready. The fuse is lit, and the damage is done. The economy is slipping away and there’s nothing can be done about it. The more the Dictator rails the more the economy fails. A 25% tariff on automobiles and auto parts? Means higher insurance rates on consumers. You had a $40,000 car but thanks to the Dictator’s tariffs the replacement costs will be 25% higher. Do you think insurance companies will just eat that? I mention insurance companies because only people involved in accidents will be shopping for new cars. It’s obvious, few will buy in the worst automotive buying environment in automotive history. There has literally never been a worse time to buy.

The plan was to bum’s rush their agenda on to the public before we knew what hit us. But now, in just a short time, it’s all gone wrong. Turmoil and fear combined to encourage the consumer NOT to buy anything. Once that sentiment seeps in it is awfully hard to get it back out again. It probably won’t happen during this Administration. Even if the Dictator spins on a dime and reverses everything. It’s too late, baby.

All that is left now is the propaganda arm and even that is weakening. Fox Snooze claimed James Comey’s tweet was an assassination threat. Comey posted 86 47 and the Justice Department and the FBI are investigating. Even though Republicans sold tee shirts with 86 46 on them. If you don’t have any good news, make something up!

Already the administration is trying to silence the loose cannons. The Vice President is notably silent in the talk circle. A sign the Dictator is losing faith in his henchmen. He can’t fire them for that is an admission of a mistake and Dictators don’t make mistakes. Instead, the Dictator will promote them into obscurity by wishing them away into the cornfield.

To a Mouse

By Robert Burns

Little, sleek, cowering, timorous beast,
Oh, what a panic is in your breast!
You need not start away so hasty
With bickering prattle!
I would be loath to run and chase you,
With murdering paddle!

I’m truly sorry man’s dominion
Has broken Nature’s social union,
And justifies that ill opinion
Which makes you startle
At me, your poor, earth-born companion
And fellow mortal!

I doubt not, sometimes, that you may thieve;
What then? Poor beast, you must live!
An odd ear in twenty-four sheaves
Is a small request;
I will get a blessing with what is left,
And never miss it.

Your small house, too, in ruin!
Its feeble walls the winds are scattering!
And nothing now, to build a new one,
Of coarse green foliage!
And bleak December’s winds ensuing,
Both bitter and piercing!

You saw the fields laid bare and empty,
And weary winter coming fast,
And cozy here, beneath the blast,
You thought to dwell,
Till crash! The cruel coulter passed
Out through your cell.

That small heap of leaves and stubble,
Has cost you many a weary nibble!
Now you are turned out, for all your trouble,
Without house or holding,
To endure the winter’s sleety dribble,
And hoar-frost cold!

But Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes of mice and men
Go oft awry,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!

Still you are blessed, compared with me!
The present only touches you:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects dreary!
And forward, though I cannot see,
I guess and fear!