Of Grasshoppers and Governments

The other day I ran across this article in Live Science: West Poised for Worst Grasshopper Outbreak in 30 Years. Yes, it appears that in parts of the American West, grasshoppers are breeding in enormous numbers, raising the threat of huge swarms of the wee beasties (head nod to Fiona) rolling across the landscape.

Grasshoppers. They were one of the plagues God visited on the Egyptians (okay, He sent locusts, same thing), and they're still around, periodically swarming in vast numbers to eat everything that grows in their path. And they make a convenient analogy as well...who can forget the grasshopper-ish words in the Declaration of Independence, in which King George III was castigated because, among other things, "He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance."

Come to think of it, isn't this what our conservative brethren are always raging about when they thunder about the evils of big government...right before they rage about all the things big government isn't doing for them?

Grasshoppers and governments. Not two things one usually thinks of in the same context, but not a bad combination at the moment.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo