Killing the Neighbor's Cow

The current environment in Washington reminds me of the story of the two Russian farmers who were each farming their small one-acre plots of potatoes. Over time they'd grown to hate each other. They hated each other for so long they no longer even remembered why. One year, one of the farmers saved up enough money to buy a cow to provide milk for his family. The other farmer was envious and angry. He was walking on his land, kicking everything in sight out of anger—a rock, the dirt—eventually he kicked an old lamp and out came a genie.

"I'll grant you one wish—anything you want, riches for you and your family, an end to poverty, world peace," the genie told the fortunate farmer. "What do you want most in the world?"

The farmer, without thinking, blurted out, "I want my neighbor's cow to die."

Democrats and Republicans are more interested in seeing the other party fail than they are in seeing our country succeed. They'll do anyting to accomplish that goal, including putting our country at risk.

—Greg Orman, A Declaration of Independents