It was early July and we were trailing cattle from the Little Horn Parks up to the high country. Each morning we threw a couple hundred pair into the timber at the mouth of the trial and let them mosey up to Sardine Lake during the heat of the day. In early evening, we circled in behind the stragglers and pushed them up the mile long, 1600 foot climbing trail. We would break out on top just at dark and then dog trot back down to our spike camp in the bottom of the Little Horn Canyon.

The second evening, a violent thunderstorm blew in, but the dense timber of the deep canyon limited our view of this growing monstrosity. Within minutes, we were swallowed by darkness, and we scurried to get the herd to the top and retreat back into the canyon before the brunt of the storm clobbered us. We were not successful. In the broken rims at timberline, we became the scampering target of a spectacular electrical storm.

The lightning was striking the rims all around us and violently shattering the blackness with blinding flashes of light. The booming thunder was muffled by my mother’s instantaneous shrieks following every lightning strike. (Apparently, Mom had forgotten the inherent risks clause about being a rancher’s wife and envisioned dying peacefully in her sleep back home rather than being fried like a hotdog from a lightning bolt—silly Mom.) Had the storm been forecasted, we could have skipped the evening circle and easily cleaned the trail the following morning. This brings me to my point.

An equally dangerous, but predictable storm is brewing today. One-third of Americans see it coming and are bracing for impact, while one-third welcome the storm as the perfect path to fundamentally transform our republic into a Marxist utopia. (The remaining third are sitting on the sofa watching Oprah. Once the storm passes they will step out on the porch and wonder what happened to their country.) Ponder the three points of the extended forecast.

Point one: Progressives have choked industry with regulatory red-tape. A record 100 million Americans no longer work, with 46.2 million on food stamps, so annually this imbalance adds another trillion to our 16 trillion dollar debt. In less than a century, American initiative, ingenuity, and self-reliance has been transformed into perfect dependency on government.

Point two: America’s cow herd is at record low numbers (97.8 million) and we are facing a drought larger than the 1930’s Dust Bowl. Subsidized ethanol production shifts corn from food to fuel production worsening the impact of the drought. Failure of our grain crop in the Midwest affects our limited beef supply, as well as the production of pork and poultry. By decree, agencies such as the USDA and EPA are regulating land, air, water and thereby its production, so the government now has greater control over all forages than ever. This forage is available for livestock consumption in drought stricken areas…with government permission. (The phrase “government permission” is alarming.)

Point three: In the 1935 Dust Bowl there were 127 million Americans, today there are over 300 million.

Considering the above, guess what is forecast for dinner? Yep, empty plates. It is maddening we stood still while the progressives regulated our great land of plenty into a land of lack. My three terms in Montana’s House has taught me the progressives will spin this predicament actually demonstrates the need for expanding assistance programs; cuts are simply out of the question. Never forget, progressives feel charitable ladling watered down soup into the bowls of an endless line of starving Americans…especially when some other schmuck paid for the soup.