Michael Robert Dyet's Blog, page 3

Hudon’s Bay Company: The Curtain Falls

Hmmm, perhaps we should observe a moment of silence as HBC winds down its operations.

If you are not schooled in Canadian history, you may not realize the full significance of the demise of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) which is the oldest corporation in North America. When the company filed for creditor protection in March of this year, it was truly the death throes of a Canadian legend. A short history lesson is in order.

HBC has its origins in the fur trade in the 1600’s. Incorporated by English royal charter in 1670, it was granted a sole right of trade and commerce over what was then known as Rupert’s Land which comprised much of the Hudson Bay drainage basin. This gave the company a commercial monopoly over the area.

HBC functioned as the de facto government of Rupert’s Land for nearly 200 years. HBC relinquished control of the land to Canada in 1869 as part of the Deed of Surrender authorized by the Rupert’s Land Act 1868.

HBC evolved from trading posts at the start of the 19th century as they saw demand for general merchandise growing rapidly. It expanded into the interior and set-up posts along river settlements that later developed into the modern cities of Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton. The first sales shop was established in Fort Langley.

HBC sale shops sold a variety of products from furs to homeware. The first of the “original six” department stores was built in Calgary in 1913 followed by stores in Edmonton, Victoria, Vancouver, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. This was the first step towards the department store chain the company owns today and has continuously operated for 144 years including international expansions and acquisitions.

At its peak, HBC owned and managed approximately 40 million square feet of gross leasable real estate through its HBC properties and investment business unit. In addition to its 80 locations of The Bay, HBC owns Zellers, Lord & Taylor and Saks Inc (operator of Saks Fifth Avenue and Sakes OFF 5th online).

The demise of the HBC was partially brought on the economic impact of the COVID pandemic. But it was also a victim of the arrival of the giant, discount retail store era. HBC merchandise was always premium priced and it simply could no longer compete in the new marketplace.

The legendary status of the HBC is illustrated by its highly sought after intellectual property rights including its famed Stripes brand. Reported suitors for these rights include Toronto investment manager Urbana Corp and Canadian Tire.

HBC may be shutting off the lights and locking the doors. But even as curtain falls, the 350 year legacy of the company will live on forever. HBC is as much as part of the Canadian identity as hockey and maple syrup.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Random Act of Metaphor: Spring Peeper Chorus

Hmmm, they may be tiny in size but they are mighty in their abilities.

Nothing signals the arrival of spring quite like the loud, high-pitched chirps or peeps of Spring Peeper frogs. If you are anywhere in the vicinity of a pond at this time of year, you will hear their enthusiastic chorus ringing in the air.

Spring Peepers fall into the category of seldom seen but always heard. The resonance of their call is impressive given their size: 1-1/2” at most and less than an ounce. They definitely punch above their weight in terms of the volume of their call.

These amazing little creatures are very tolerant of cold conditions. They can withstand freezing during winter hibernation due to a natural “antifreeze” in their blood. Up to 70% of their bodies can freeze to the point that the heart stops pumping and the frog appears to be (but is not) dead.

No surprise that their peep is a mating call. Females choose their mates based on the frequency and volume associated with the male’s call. What amazes me is how a female Spring Peeper can distinguish one particular male’s call from all the others in the chorus. It defies human logic.

The Spring Peeper chorus is both exhilarating and haunting to experience – a random act of metaphor for the wonderful intricacy of nature and the way it can soothe our soul.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Election Fatigue Smart Button

Hmmm, can A.I. technology offer a solution to election fatigue?

I will be so very relieved when Monday arrives and the federal election is over. I was already suffering from election fatigue after the Ontario provincial election a couple of months back and the pre-election ads by the federal political parties in anticipation of the federal election.

I have now officially hit the wall with all the federal election television advertising and the unrelenting reporting on the TV news of the latest polls and the latest promises by the party leaders. I voted in the advance polls. My decision was made. I really want all the election noise and clamour to stop.

FYI: There is an actual concept known as voter fatigue which arises when citizens are asked to vote frequently. Voter fatigue is attributed to a psychological phenomenon known as decision fatigue. Our brain becomes mentally fatigued after making numerous decisions and attempts to make shortcuts to decrease the workload.

Voter fatigue can result in low voter turnout which is an increasing problem in this day and age. It was evident in the Ontario provincial election. The threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump may counteract that trend to some degree in the federal election. But it is a problem that will not go away.

I would like to suggest a mechanism to combat election / voter fatigue. It may seem farfetched when you hear what I am suggesting. But with all the advances in A.I. technology, it really should be feasible.

My suggestion is the creation of an Election / Voter Fatigue button that all citizens can access on any of their smart devices including Smart TVs. When all the election noise becomes too much to take, you simply tap the Election / Voter Fatigue button. The button would automatically set in motion an A.I. program that would block all:

Election-related telephone calls or polls.Election-rated news in social media news feeds or internet browser feature stories.Election-rated news reports on radio and televisions news or radio talk shows.

The empty air space left by the blocking of all the election content would be filled by the individual’s choice of: a) cute cat or dog videos b) peaceful nature scenes of peopleless woodlands or meadows or beaches c) green noise – a variant of white noise that is perceived as similar to ocean waves or a stream.

It really should not be all that difficult to make this concept a reality. With all the applications of A.I. technology already in place, this should be relatively simple to accomplish.

So all you tech experts out there: Stop working on Version 5.3.8 of that software program or app and turn your talents to this much needed A.I. application. I do not mean next month or next week. Start working today! The need is urgent!

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

The Electorate: A Ship Tossed by a Storm

Hmmm, which party will stay afloat in the stormy seas of the federal election?

We are on the stretch drive to the Canadian federal election. It will be our second election in two months after the late winter provincial election. Hopefully voter turnout will be better this time than the dismal figures recorded for the Ontario election.

The federal election polls have shown a remarkable turnaround since earlier in the year when the Conservatives were far ahead. The resignation of Justin Trudeau, and the party’s choice of Mark Carney to replace him, have brought the Liberals back from the dead. They rebounded to a 6% lead in the polls although the race has tightened again in recent days.

What does this dramatic swing in the polls tell us?

Insight # 1: Canadians were pissed off at Justin Trudeau more so than at the Liberal Party itself. The Liberals clearly made the right choice in Carney. He does not have Trudeau’s innate charisma. But he presents an air of calm authority which seems to resonate with the electorate in the current environment.

Insight #2: The electorate was never particularly taken with Pierre Poilievre. He was the default choice when the options were Trudeau or Poilievre. But now that Carney is the alternative, Poilievre is losing traction.

What does Poilievre’s tumbling support tell us?

Insight #1: Poilievre’s crusty, full attack mode campaign style has backfired. He has a likability issue which his campaign manager is desperately trying to remedy. Poilievre’s wife and children are now on the campaign circuit with him. They appear at his side in all photo opps. The Conservatives are clearly hoping that presenting him as a family man will boost his image.

Insight #2: There is no loyalty in politics even within party lines. Doug Ford’s former campaign manager Kory Teneyoke has accused the federal Conservatives of campaign malpractice in blowing the large lead they had. Ford stuck his own dagger in by agreeing with Teneyoke and commenting that Sometimes the truth hurts.

The federal election is now primarily a two-party race. The NDP are headed for a dismal showing and are at risk of losing party status. What can we conclude from this?

Insight #1: In tumultuous times, the electorate wants a clear A or B choice. Secondary parties do not factor into the equation in a significant way.

Insight #2: Jagmeet Singh’s tenure as NDP leader is most probably coming to a close. There will be intense pressure on him to resign if the election goes the way it seems to be headed.

When it comes to elections, the electorate is very much a ship tossed by a storm. It is volatile and fickle capable of changing direction very quickly as new squalls appear. Party leaders have a very short expiry date on their tenure – a moment in the sun before the next storm washes them away into political obscurity.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Ageless Wisdom from Charles Dickens

Hmmm, can we find perspective in these troubling times by looking back 166 years?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…

These opening lines from Charles Dickens famous novel A Tale of Two Cities arose in my mind this week. They feel every bit as timely now as they did in 1859 when the novel was published.

The dichotomy of the times in which we are living has, of course, much to do with Donald Trump and his inflammatory actions as President of the United States. This dark turn in U.S. history may well be the impetus for that country to reign in the sweeping powers of the President.

For me personally, it is the best of times in the sense that I am retired and living comfortably although not luxuriously. However, it is also the worst of times for my RRSPs which no doubt are nosediving in value as the stock markets crash in response to Trump’s antics. I can only hope there will be enough time for them to rebound before I have to convert them.

It is the age of wisdom for me as I have 67 years of life experience to draw upon in making decisions and to evaluate what is happening. It is the age of foolishness in terms of how Donald Trump thinks, his delusions of grandeur and his conviction that he can Make America Great Again at the expense of the rest of the world without repercussions.

It is the age of belief for me as the truths I have discovered, and the values I have developed, have solidified over the years and now guide my actions. It is the age of incredulity as I shake my head daily at Trump’s new proclamations, reversals and baseless claims and at the sycophants who willingly does his bidding.

It is the season of light for me as I see the great potential that lies before us if we can put aside our differences, unite and work together. It is the season of darkness as I witness the damage Trump is inflicting and the division he is creating within the U.S. and between the U.S. and the rest of the world.

It is the spring of hope: literally in terms of the time of year and figuratively in terms of the dawn of a new season of brotherhood born out of our collective reaction to Trump’s actions. It is the winter of despair: literally as this stubborn winter refuses to relent and figuratively in terms of the dark days of Trump’s presidency.

We are living in what I would characterize as a broken mirror phase. The image of the world we see staring back at us is fractured and troubling. But we must fortify ourselves with the knowledge that Trump’s presidency is but a moment in time in the bigger picture.

As Dickens advises us, we are forever living on the dividing line between the best of times and the worst of times – leaning in one direction or the other. A tomorrow will come when the image we see in the mirror is healed, whole and encouraging once again.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Trump: The Halo Effect

Hmmm, how much longer can Trump rampage on before the rats abandon the ship?

Yes, I am posting about Trump again. If you are a supporter of his and offended by my views, all I can say is: Deal with it! A common thread in my posts has been, and continues to be, that the Trump administration cannot sustain itself. He is making too many enemies too fast as he bends or ignores laws and creates global economic chaos.

One need look no further than the 100+ lawsuits filed against his administration since his inauguration. He has been sued the equivalent of three times a day for every business day he has occupied the Oval Office.

Approximately 30 of the lawsuits relate to Trump’s immigration policies and more than 20 directly challenge Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. More than 20 cases oppose his unilateral changes to federal funding, government hiring and the structure of agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Rulings have been issued in 50+ of these lawsuits which at least temporarily pause some of his administration’s initiatives. The Trump administration has had the audacity to fail to comply with multiple court orders including orders to stop unilaterally freezing funding to states and holding back more than $1.9 billion in foreign aid.

In typical angry child in the sandbox fashion, Trump has lashed out at the rulings against him. He even called for the impeachment of a federal judge, who ruled against his administration on deportation flights, earning him a public rebuke from Chief Justice John G. Roberts.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour handed Trump one of his first legal defeats by blocking his executive order on birthright citizenship. He offered one of the fiercest criticisms to date of Trump’s early presidency actions.

“It has become ever more apparent that to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals. There are moments in the world’s history when people look back and ask, ‘Where were the lawyers, where were the judges? In these moments, the rule of law becomes especially vulnerable. I refuse to let that beacon go dark today.”

Trump views himself as being beyond the reach of the law and above reproach. In the early days of his administration, he has benefited from the halo effect – the tendency to assume that someone who is good at one thing is good at everything leading to unqualified authority.

But in reality, the only thing Trump is actually good at is making enemies. His barrage of tariffs recently announced are one more step in that path of self-destruction. Apologies for the mixed metaphors to come. They are necessary to depict what will happen to him.

Trump has risen like a shooting star. But like these small pieces of space debris that burn up as they enter Earth’s atmosphere, Trump will crash and burn as his halo disintegrates, the rats abandon the ship and he is left isolated and scorned by all.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Trump: A Modern Day Icarus

Hmmm, how long will it be before the hot air balloon springs a leak and crashes?

It seems appropriate that we had a freak, early April winter storm on the day that Trump announced his global tariffs. Two hours of wild snow flurries, a brief interval of freezing rain and than torrential rain showers – a schizophrenic combination that mirrors the bizarre workings of Trump’s brain.

Today comes the news that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese noted that a group of barren, uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica, covered in glaciers and home to penguins, are included in Trump’s trade war with a 10% tariff on goods.

Heard Island and McDonald islands, external territories of Australia, are among the most remote places on Earth. They are accessible only via a lengthy boat trip from Australia’s west coast. The islands are completely uninhabited. No one has lived on them for a decade.

Well, damn! There goes my escape plan. I was planning to move to Heard Island to put distance between myself and Trump. Perhaps we could trick Trump into moving there instead. He does look a bit like an oversized, orange penguin so he would probably be quite at home there.

Why does Trump act so irrationally and with such grandiose ambitions? I do have a theory. It has to do with the anatomy of his brain.

I envision two neuroscientists viewing a scan of his brain and noting abnormalities in the frontal lobe of the Cerebrum – which controls reasoning, higher-level cognition and expressive language – and the Anterior Cingulate Cortex which is the seat of the ego, consciousness and sense of self.

I imagine the conversation between the two going something like this:

“Wow, look at the frontal lobe of the Cerebrum! Have you ever seen one so miniscule. There should be about 6.5 billion brain cells in it, right? I can only count…. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… No, wait. That last one is just a fly on the screen. He only has 5 brain cells in that lobe. And they’re all a sickly orange colour. How is this guy even standing upright!”

“Yeah, that’s bizarre. But look at the Anterior Cingulate Cortex. It’s likely twenty times the size it should be! No wonder he has an ego on steroids.”

“We need to write a scientific paper on this!.”

“Are you kidding me? Who would believe us?”

A useful metaphor for the human ego is a hot air balloon – large and impressive, but easily deflated. Trump’s hot air balloon is sailing high right now.

But like Icarus of Greek mythology, who flew too close to the sun on wax and wing feathers and plummeted to his death, Trump’s hot air balloon is spiralling upward out of control. Eventually a hole will get poked in it and he will crash in spectacular fashion the same way Icarus did.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Security Guards & Empty Shelves: A Barometer of Change

Hmmm, how concerned should we be about the current, societal barometer readings?

I stopped in at my local health food store earlier this week and was surprised to see a security guard in full gear posted at the front of the store. He stood there stoically in a rather intimidating posture. I found his presence both perplexing and a bit unnerving.

On my way home, I stopped at Staples to buy printer cartridges. It looked there had been a big run on cartridges as the inventory was very low. I found the cyan and magenta cartridges I needed but not the yellow one.

A staff person accessed storage cabinets high above the shelves and retrieved a yellow cartridge for me. Sorry about that, she said. We’ve had such a problem with theft that we can only leave a few cartridges on display. A probable explanation occurred to me then for the security guard posted at the front of the health food store.

It seems that burgeoning retail theft has become a sign of the times. I did a quick Google search and came up with the following statistics.

Canadian retailers lost $9.1 billion to theft in 2024 – an 82% increase since 2018. In 2023, police-reported shoplifting increased by 18% from the previous year. Some stores report a 300% increase in thefts since 2020.

75% of Canadian retailers report incidents of shoplifting. High traffic stores like supermarkets and big-box retailers are the most frequent targets.

So what is behind this disturbing trend? A few of the factors:

Rising inflation and the cost of living make it increasingly more difficult for some individuals to afford basic necessities.

The proliferation of online marketplaces makes it easier for thieves to sell stolen goods which has incentivized larger-scale theft operations.

Organized crime groups are increasingly involved in retail theft and often employ groups to steal large quantities of merchandise for resale. (This may account for the recent rash of brazen, smash and grab robberies of jewelry stores in our area.)

Reduced store staffing has created more opportunities for theft. In addition, self-checkout counters – while lowering labour costs – has created increased opportunities for shoplifting.

I regard this disturbing trend as a barometer of change in our society in a couple of ways.

The dire straits of the increasing number of people living at or below the poverty line has made theft an unfortunate necessity for their survival. On another front, operating outside the law has been enabled by technology and the way retail stores operate. This had made crime – organized or otherwise – a more attractive and lucrative way of life.

I wish I had answers to the underlying problems involved in these developments. Unfortunately, I do not. But the barometer reading is troublesome. I have to wonder what is says about where we are headed as a society and whether there are ways and means, not to mention the collective will, to stem the rising tide.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week

Glitchy Tech: A Digital Swiss Army Knife

Hmmm, why does technology keep leaving me twisting in the wind?

Yes, this is another bitch and gripe post about temperamental technology. The last few months have been frustrating to say the least. Feel free to tune out, if you must, while I vent.

Microphone, oh microphone, where for art thou?

Tech Glitch #1: The internal microphone in my laptop was mysteriously disabled. I could hear other participants in online meetings but not speak. Geek Squad tech support spent several hours working on the problem to no avail.

I had to take the laptop into the Best Buy to be sent back to HP (fortunately still under warranty) to get to the heart of the problem – something to do with a conflict with Microsoft Office. Apparently software problems sometimes have relationship issues just as we humans do.

Software, oh software, why will you not install properly?

Tech Glitz #2: When I got the laptop back, I had to reinstall all the after market software programs. Norton Driver Updater did not install properly. I had to uninstall and then reinstall it. This required a restart of my laptop. Simple, right? Not so much. My laptop froze up in the process. I had to force a shutdown and restart again.

Dishwasher, oh dishwasher, why are all your blinking lights out?

Tech Glitz #3: Our dishwasher, which is only a year old, stopped working. No blinking lights which meant it had no power. We had to wait a week for a Bosch technician to come and repair it. Back to hand washing dishes in the interim.

Camera, oh camera, why will you not focus?

Tech Glitz #4: The autofocus on my DSLR camera, which is also only a year old, stopped working. Canon tech support talked me through a reset which did not help. The camera has now been sent back to Canon for a warranty repair. Another relationship issue?

E-mail, oh e-mail, why will you receive but not send messages?

Tech Glitz #5: A day after sending my camera by courier to Canon, all outgoing e-mails started bouncing back from my service provider. I submitted a tech support ticket. Then it was the waiting game as I cooled my heels for a full 24 hours before they got around to fixing the issue.

Tech Glitz #6: The scan feature on my wireless printer stopped working. The screen display says the scan software needs to be downloaded. The scan software was there and now it is gone? How does that happen?

I have said it before: technology and I just do not get along. It does not like me and I do not like it. It is exasperatingly temperamental. So much complex circuity and programming jammed into it with seemingly endless ways that something can go awry.

A part of me yearns for the good old days before all this technology existed. Yes, we had to do a lot more things manually. Yes, we could not do some of the things that tech has enabled. But at times like these I think we have just replaced manual processes with hours and hours spent waiting for technicians to dig around in the guts of the beast trying to unearth what went wrong.

I have heard it said that using software is like having a digital Swiss Army Knife. But a real Swiss Army Knife is very simple to use and has never left me twisting in the wind. Technology and I will continue to have a love-hate relationship – the more so as it gets ever more complex and as I get older and crankier with age.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Trump: A Hunger Games Prequel?

Hmmm, is there something hauntingly familiar about the early days of the Trump administration?

It has occurred to me that there is a parallel to be drawn between the Trump administration and The Hunger Games movies. Before you roll your eyes and tune out, bear with me while I make my case. In case you have not seen The Hunger Games movies, here is a quick overview.

The Hunger Games trilogy takes place in the dystopian, post-apocalyptic nation of Panem located in North America. Panem consists of twelve districts ruled by the Capitol. The Capitol embodies oppression at its peak and thrives in decadence, lavishly rich and technologically advanced. The districts toil in deprivation and various states of poverty. President Snow is the dictator of the state of Panem.

As punishment for a past rebellion against the Capitol, one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts are selected by lottery to compete in an annual pageant called the Hunger Games. The Games are a televised event – a fight to the death in a dangerous public arena.

The purpose of the Hunger Games are to provide entertainment for the Capitol and to remind the districts of the Capitol’s power and its lack of remorse or forgiveness for the failed rebellion of the current competitors’ ancestors.

The parallel I am drawing is in effect a prequel to The Hunger Games scenario. Trump is in the process of attempting to establish the U.S. as the Capitol of his kingdom where all the power and wealth will be consolidated. Not unlike President Snow, he asserts the right to exercise absolute power and authority.

Canada in some respects equates to District 12 – a land rich in natural resources. Trump’s desire to annex Canada is a power grab to access these resources. I would argue that Canada would not be a state in this scenario. It would end up being at best a pour cousin and a subsidiary to Trump’s Capitol.

Greenland and the Panama Canal, which Trump also has his sights set on, are in the same category. They are strategic pieces of the puzzle Trump wants to acquire by whatever means necessary to consolidate wealth and power in his kingdom.

In the parallel I am drawing, Elon Musk and his DOGE pit bulls are not far removed from President Snow’s Peacekeepers. Their real mission is to enforce compliance and consolidate Trump’s control in his home country.

There is no current parallel to The Hunger Games themselves in my comparison as Trump is in the prequel period of gathering and consolidating power. Let me be clear. I am not suggesting we will ever get that far down the dystopian road. God forbid.

But we do need to mount a resistance now to prevent Trump from achieving his fantasy of being a real-life equivalent of President Snow.

If you think I am way over the top with my concerns, consider that on Saturday Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to detain and deport all Venezuelan migrants suspected of being members of the Tren de Aragua prison gang – in effect, treating them like wartime enemies of the U.S. government.

When Trump reaches back to a 227 year old piece of legislation, we all need to start worrying.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.