Island Dweller has our guest post of the day. Enjoy! You know, you can write guest posts here, too. Just send ‘em in to any one of us and let us know you want it as a standalone piece or if you want us to reply to it.

A short time ago I referred to the incident at the two Wal-Mart stores in Louisiana subjected to looting due to a favorable glitch in folks’ SNAP benefits cards (at least, I think it was their SNAP cards—it may have been an equivalent. A computerized system was definitely involved, at any rate).

Yesterday I saw that, as if he had read this blog all along, Mr. Neil Cavuto of FoxNews actually mused a few days ago about what is going to happen in this country when government control/funding of the Federal SNAP food stamp program is cut. He was referring to a significant cut in the federal SNAP program that took effect on November 1, when funding increases begun by Dear Leader in his 2009 stimulus program ran out. The House is in no mood to grant an automatic renewal of the funding. It is proposing a significant $40 billion cut, and is in fact discussing ways and means to track an estimated $220 million in fraud in the program—including such schemes as selling SNAP cards on E-Bay, or households that seem to “lose” an inordinately large number of SNAP cards that are undoubtedly given out to non-deserving folks to increase the household’s “take” under the program. The recent program on Fox by Mr. Stossel highlighting the guitar-strumming, wave-riding, lobster-eating waste of humanity in California sponging off this program and eating better than many working folks comes to mind. One can argue about the timing of the fraud crackdown, however necessary, but you can’t argue about the end effect of the funding shortfall.

Most of the folks who will be subjected to the cut probably don’t know it yet, because for them the effects won’t be seen until about three weeks into the month, when their food money usually starts getting low and SNAP card usage rises. The loss will average out to about $36 per household. Food banks around the country have also been warned by their management about possible problems in dealing with numbers of frustrated clients who won’t take lightly to being rationed, if the banks are not to run out of food. They are bracing for violence.

What’s my point? At some time the government stipend, in this or any other entitlement program, is going to end due to lack of funds or a hiccup in the system. “Bread and circuses” will become as useless a policy for keeping the masses happy now as it was in the time of Nero or Caligula. How are those affected going to handle this situation, when some in major metro areas have promised a resort to use of force to obtain food for themselves and others?

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.