Shannon Rodgers » The Fed's HR Department

Freedom or Tyranny. Theft is theft, by individual or municipality.

I talked with a friend Wednesday, who I had not talked to for a couple of years. We talked several times over the next two and he questioned why I had not sent him any rants lately. Truthfully, I have been stressed recently and big-picture-philosophy is bumped down on the priority list when life [...]

Give President Obama a Break - He is only human.

First, President Obama did not cause the oil spill. No one reading this believes he did and those who are spewing such things are blinded by Obama Derangement Syndrome. Second, President Obama takes advice from those around him and I cannot believe that for political purposes, they encouraged him to ignore the law mandating [...]

Duh - Owning a Nuke doesn't give you the right to use it.

About the time I graduated from high school, I met a very likable girl. A friend of mine had a crush on her but I did not know her that well. Most everyone liked her. She was interested in others and they appreciated that. She rarely talked about herself, but could find something to say to most anyone. I admired that and believed that she could be a negotiator and bring people together who would not come together on their own. Later, when I was in Blacksburg, my friend still had a crush on her, and I got to see first hand what she was really like. A couple of friends of hers had a relatively small disagreement and she was on both sides. She would not say anything that she thought would be less than positive, nor would she recuse herself. It seemed that she would rather be liked than helpful. She was not able to bring them together, even thought they did not seem that far apart. In the end, neither of her friends had any respect for her and she lost them both. I lost my respect for her as well, because she had no principle of her own, she simply told people they were right because she like being agreeable. Conversation with her was shallow and unfulfilling. Although this was not a deal breaker for my friend, I quickly lost interest. Until recently, I had not given her a second thought. I am surprised that I remember her at all.

Continue reading Position Wanted, Have Nuke, Not Willing to Travel

Sarah Palin is the most common person in America

Hank Suever, Washington Post Staff Writer, commented on the Sarah Palin special on Fox News called Real American Stories. The gist of his comments is, Duh . . . So . . . what’s your point? You can read it for yourself here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/02/AR2010040204207.html

Mr. Stuever is correct in the assertion [...]

Lead us Mr. President, even if you must run to the cliff ahead of us.

If you like the new insurance arrangement enacted by our elected officials, then you are happy. If not, then not. But there is one thing that is undeniable, the United States of America is at a cross roads predicted 235 years ago, and which will affect the next 235 years of most of the world.

The Great American Experiment followed the sacrifice of, “lives . . . fortunes . . . and sacred honor” in defense of an idea. The idea that individuals, free from the tyranny of central command and control, protected their individual interests better than any unrelated protector, no matter how kind, caring or otherwise motivated. The Great American Experiment was funded, fought, and died for on the promise that freedom led to higher standards of living for everyone, greater innovation in business, agriculture, and every other aspect of life for everyone it touched, successful and failing alike. The government would be as limited as possible, the people as free as possible. Continue reading Lead us Mr. President, even if you must run to the cliff ahead of us.

President Obama is not our first socialist President

so – cial – ism [soh-shuh-liz-uh m] -noun

1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

There is a socialism rumbling in the media about President Obama. There are those who label him a socialist, and those who find this ridiculous. I will simply point to the facts, all of which you can check for yourself. Consider the following, and make up your own mind. Challenge my observations with your own or admit the facts do not matter.

First, what is a socialist? In laymen’s terms, a socialist finds preferable a system where the community as a whole should control the means of production and distribution of goods and services and the use of property and resources, as opposed to systems where individuals decide such things for their individual situation. A socialist thinks that the entity in control (government) decides best how things should be, and individual decisions waste resources. Continue reading President Obama is not our first socialist President

Please pray responsibly (Be careful what you wish for)

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Today I spoke with a friend on the phone while I waited to for a little Chinese restaurant to open and I could get lunch to take back to my desk. We talked about the idea of praying for a business miracle. We agreed that such powerful mojo should not be wasted to defy the laws of reason for such an individual serving end with limited mass market appeal. One has to consider unintended consequences and trickle down economics when pondering the effects, post-miracle. Please pray responsibly.

I just got a chill. I felt the collective eye roll as you read that. “Does this guy really think he is capable of ill effect from a poorly considered prayer”? I’m just saying, be careful what you wish for.

Continue reading Please pray responsibly (Be careful what you wish for)

We are under no moral obligation to be governed (You're not the boss of me)

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At breakfast this morning a friend lamented the state of things and how bad it would be before it would get better. I gave my standard, wore out, response that all democracies have dissolved when the populace voted themselves a larger share of the community grain than those left to harvest grain could provide. On the face, this looks like an economic principle and this is where our discussion wandered to. But it really is about individual rights. Specifically, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

When I was in high school, our history teacher, Rick Zeller, stated that the Civil War was a war for state’s rights, not a war for slavery. I remember him fondly. He was wrong, sort of, but right. Back to that in a minute. I have very strong opinions on the act of succession in terms of rights and the constitution, but generally keep them to myself. People cannot, and perhaps should not, separate the Civil War from the slavery debates of the day. This is especially pungent as that is the only succession in our nation’s history. But Chris Mathews equated succession with racism on his show on Tuesday and I could not keep this quiet any longer. If there were a predominantly Black state, and said state succeeded, would it still be racist? Certainly not. Because the right has nothing to do with the motivations. Speak freely without fear of persecution by those who don’t like your agenda. Continue reading We are under no moral obligation to be governed (You’re not the boss of me)

If only the hens were less partisan.

Posted from email list distribution August 2009 – President Obama told friendly pastors today that they are morally obligated as men of faith to let the government provide health care. If his logic is not flawed, then we are morally obligated to provide the best health care possible to all Americans, and all non-Americans. After all, morality does not end at the border. If his logic is not flawed, the generally agreed to moral standard of Man would be that everyone get “free” health care, everyone, not just those in the country of the moral person.

Continue reading If only the hens were less partisan.

We hold these to be self evident -

While reading an article on a web site I stumbled onto called Ace of Spades HQ, posted by no less than ACE, I was reminded of a similar rant of mine where I complained about the Democrat whining about Republican hindrance. Ace’s article corrects people who think President Obama is the anti-Christ. The article is interesting and I encourage you to read it, but he summed it up by saying, “Satan would not be such a [screw] up.” http://ace.mu.nu/archives/297344.php

My original point was that is must be horrible to be a liberal/progressive/collectivist with things going so badly. Occasionally I comment about how they tend to eat each other when in charge. Part of the reason is that they each think that their own issue is the only important one but the principles they insist further their interests actually hinder the agenda of other liberal/progressive/collectivists. How is related to President Obama not qualifying as the antichrist? They are both explained by the idea behind the phrase, “We hold these truths to be self evident.”

Continue reading We hold these to be self evident – “[We] elected an unprecedented, historic guy made of pure awesome.”

The Fed's HR Department