Some readers may be familiar with the book by that name, written by Leonard Wibberly in 1955, or at least the later movie.

Well, today’s commentary isn’t about the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, or even the satirical comic send-up of the FedGov during the Cold War. Rather, it is about this tiny little creature.

Meet the New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse! He (or she) can jump a full 2 feet above the ground when startled or scared!

Note in particular its size. This picture doesn’t really let you see the tail or its “kangaroo” legs. So here is another one, courtesy of a government-shill website:

Yep, nice long tail, and fancy legs and feet. But don’t think you can go find one and trap it and take it home as a pet. Or put a collar on it. That, my friends, is only allowed for official government scientists and university scientists with a juicy government contract. They can put radio collars on the poor things and apparently dissect them to examine their innards and run their DNA.

Why? To determine that this little feller is a distinct species (or subspecies, or face) from other meadow jumping mice. Like Preebles:

Notice how different the two are: their ears are different, their noses are different, their tails are different, and even their whiskers are different. (Don’t worry if you can not see all those enormous differences: neither can the biologist on the TPOL staff. Sorry, Deb.)

But does this mouse roar as well as jump?

Well, thanks to your grateful, unsolicited, voluntary donations to Uncle Sugar – and that of the next five generations unless we can pull the plug – the government (the FedGov with the enthusiastic (and well-paid) support of the State governments) can roar for it.

Because it is an “endangered species” and therefore protected by those benevolent and compassionate jack-booted thugs of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, and numerous other alphabet agencies of the FedGov. Why? Because these agencies spent millions of taxpayer (past, present, and future) dollars to state that it once roamed over a very large part of the American Southwest but now only roams over just a few million acres in the American Southwest: specifically New Mexico and (despite its name) Arizona and Colorado. Apparently, the mice avoid Utah – which seems to be a clear example of ethnic and religious discrimination.

Why does the FedGov do this? Power. Power over people – even those foolish enough to think that they own their own land (whether purchased or inherited). And companies. And local and tribal governments. The various FedGov agencies have been magically granted power and dominion over all these by a loving, wise, benevolent, and of course thrifty! Congress.

Build (or maintain) roads through mouse habitat? No siree! Dam up a stream or river? Of course not. Dig for gold (or even for sand and gravel)? DC forbid! This is our enlightened, benevolent, caring, peaceful government caring for the least of God’s creatures. (Except for the ones they put collars on and dissect, of course.)

Ain’t government grand? Our Senators and Congresscritters know that the New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse can’t roar for itself. So they do it for the cute little beastie!

Maybe we can talk about the grand Duchy of Grand Fenwick in a future commentary. Assuming that little beastie hasn’t been annexed into NATO or overrun by peaceful Ukrainans defending their wonderful democracy from those nasty evil minions of Vlad the Putin!