Large Scale Central

Little Red Hen / Modernized

Once upon a time, on a farm in the country , there was a little red hen
who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered quite a few
grains of wheat. She called all of her neighbors together and said,
“If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help
me plant it?”

“Not I,” said the cow.

“Not I,” said the duck.

“Not I,” said the pig.

“Not I,” said the goose.

“Then I will do it by myself,” said the little red hen And so she did;
The wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden grain. “Who will help
me reap my wheat?” asked the little red hen.

“Not I,” sa id the duck.

“Out of my classification,” said the pig.

“I’d lose my seniority,” said the cow.

“I’d lose my unemployment compensation,” said the goose.

“Then I will do it by myself,” said the little red hen, and so she
did.
At last it came time to bake the bread.

“Who will help me bake the bread! ?” asked the little red hen.

“That would be overtime for me,” said the cow.

“I’d lose my welfare benefits,” said the duck.

“I’m a dropout and never learned how,” said the pig.

“If I’m to be the only helper, that’s discrimination,” said the goose.

“Then I will do it by myself,” said the little red hen. She baked
five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see. They
wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen
said, “No, I shall eat all five loaves.”

“Excess profits!” cried the cow. (Pelosi)

“Capitalist leech!” screamed the duck. (Boxer)

“I demand equal rights!” yelled the goose. (J. Jackson)

The pig just grunted in disdain. (Hoffa)

And they all painted “Unfair!” picket signs and marched around and
around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

Then a government agent came, he said to the little red hen, “You must
not be so greedy.”

“But I earned the bread,” said the little red hen.

“Exactly,” said the agent. “That is what makes our free enterprise
system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he
wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive
workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy
and idle,”

And they all lived happily ever after, including the little red hen,
who smiled and clucked, “I am grateful, for now I truly understand,”

But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her. She never again
baked bread because she joined the “party” and got her bread free.

And all the Democrats smiled. ‘Fairness’ had been established.
Individual initiative had died, but nobody noticed; perhaps no one
cared…as long as there was free bread that “the rich” were paying
for.

Ummm, just one thing left out of the story. Who is baking the bread now?

Or is that the “Dirty Little Secret” that “They” don’t want you to know about?

Steve Featherkile said:
Ummm, just one thing left out of the story. Who is baking the bread now?

Or is that the “Dirty Little Secret” that “They” don’t want you to know about?


It’s “Soylent Green” all over again…just this time it ain’t a movie.

another variation…

The ant and the grasshopper

OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer
long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and
plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!


MODERN VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building
his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and
demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed
while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the
shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable
home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody
cries when they sing, “It’s Not Easy Being Green.”

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant’s house
where the news stations film the group singing, “We shall overcome.”
Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper’s sake.

Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King
that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both
call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper
Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for
failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having
nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government.

Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of
federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent
welfare recipients.
The ant loses the case.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits
of the ant’s food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant’s old house, crumbles around him because he doesn’t maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over
by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote.

Lazarus Long’s input…

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded – here and there, now and then – are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as “bad luck.”

You people are so full of hatred and anger at your fellow humans. It’s frightening.

Kevin, don’t read too much into a lot of what’s said here. Yes, we do have some opposing political views, but I don’t think there is near the hatred that you seem to see. I can’t speak for the rest, as I’ve never met them, but I do know Steve Featherkile and I can assure you that he is not a hate filled man. He does like to get into controversial conversations but he’s not motivated by hate…he’s a retired Navy Chief who’s spent the better part of his life slinging BS…:smiley:

Kevin Morris said:
You people are so full of hatred and anger at your fellow humans. It's frightening.
Kevin, with respect, can you please explain your statement? Where do you find the hatred and anger?
Steve Featherkile said:
Kevin Morris said:
You people are so full of hatred and anger at your fellow humans. It's frightening.
Kevin, with respect, can you please explain your statement? Where do you find the hatred and anger?
No anger or hatred here, just a growing mistrust of big goverment.

Years ago when my kids were in Cub Scouts , our troop took a tour of our nations capitol. The tour included the Capitol Building where the tour guide explained the various goings on and history of the place. The one statement he made that I’ll never forget was" The worst thing they ever did to this place was install heating and air-conditioning. So instead af meeting twice a year in the spring and fall, they now meet year round".

:wink:

Kevin Morris said:
You people are so full of hatred and anger at your fellow humans. It's frightening.
MOST EXCELLENT AND TRUE OBSERVATION.......
The Lone Railroader said:
Kevin Morris said:
You people are so full of hatred and anger at your fellow humans. It's frightening.
MOST EXCELLENT AND TRUE OBSERVATION.......
Sounds like a confession to me....:/
The Lone Railroader said:
Kevin Morris said:
You people are so full of hatred and anger at your fellow humans. It's frightening.
MOST EXCELLENT AND TRUE OBSERVATION.......
You're one of the ones I was referring to. Your "Little Red Hen" story hints of an underlying assumption: if you're not rich then it is solely because you are lazy.
Steve Featherkile said:
Kevin Morris said:
You people are so full of hatred and anger at your fellow humans. It's frightening.
Kevin, with respect, can you please explain your statement? Where do you find the hatred and anger?
It's in the implication of the quote you selected: ************* Lazarus Long's input...

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded – here and there, now and then – are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as “bad luck.”


Without even getting into the historical and philosophical problems with the main body of the quote, the last line; the referrence to “bad luck”, is incredibly judgemental and accusative. It suggests that you view humanity as a vast majority of people sitting around lazily and filled with resentment at those who have “worked hard and got ahead”.

I’m not dismissing the “luck” bias entirely. I personally have been told I’m “lucky” for having a good job with a good salary. Apparently the 8 years I spent at university had no bearing on my subsequent good luck. But such attitudes are rare, in my experience.

I find in the long run it’s pointless to argue with people about their political views, but from my weeks of lurking here before joining, your opinion generally came across as reasoned and intelligent. It therefore surprised me to hear/read such statements.

Kevin,

It has been my experience that the internal political discussions concerning the USA are best left to the citizens of the USA. Even if those discussions are dressed up as “Little Red Hen” stories, there’s no winning.

Of course when it comes to external politics, welllllllll that’s another story. :wink: :slight_smile: But seldom does one fare better on that score! :wink:

PS Soon enough you’ll find which categories the posts of certain people most readily fit into - not always but as a general rule - and they can be “filed” accordingly. :wink: :smiley: :wink:

Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Kevin,

It has been my experience that the internal political discussions concerning the USA are best left to the citizens of the USA. Even if those discussions are dressed up as “Little Red Hen” stories, there’s no winning.

Of course when it comes to external politics, welllllllll that’s another story. :wink: :slight_smile: But seldom does one fare better on that score! :wink:

PS Soon enough you’ll find which categories the posts of certain people most readily fit into - not always but as a general rule - and they can be “filed” accordingly. :wink: :smiley: :wink:


Your wisdom is undeniable. Either a natural talent or the result of living in wine country. There’s something about the presence of vineyards that tends to give one a more mellow outlook.

Cheers

Kevin Morris said:

Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Kevin, It has been my experience that the internal political discussions concerning the USA are best left to the citizens of the USA. Even if those discussions are dressed up as “Little Red Hen” stories, there’s no winning. Of course when it comes to external politics, welllllllll that’s another story. :wink: :slight_smile: But seldom does one fare better on that score! :wink: PS Soon enough you’ll find which categories the posts of certain people most readily fit into - not always but as a general rule - and they can be “filed” accordingly. :wink: :smiley: :wink:

Your wisdom is undeniable. Either a natural talent or the result of living in wine country. There’s something about the presence of vineyards that tends to give one a more mellow outlook. Cheers

Kevin, :smiley: :smiley: Actually the North Okanagan is more apple country than wine country, but it has a mellowing effect. :wink: :slight_smile: OTOH there’s the fact that the originator of this thread was (according to his own statement)

The Lone Railroader said:
… Sorry, but I’m too busy beating plow shears into swords to translate it properly. …

when asked to translate something from German (a language he is supposedly fairly fluent in) into English. It’s that “let’s see some results” effect, which is a bit of a bummer at times. But looking at the surroundings and counting my blessings on a daily basis makes up for it. :wink: :slight_smile: For those who haven’t seen the landscape around here

Looking South on Kalamalka Lake

Jade and Juniper beaches on Kal lake

The ledge just above the lakeshore is the RoW of the local shortlines. Watching trains out the home office window is not to be scoffed at. :wink: PS those pictures were taken just a bit outside our back gardengate.

That is BEAUTIFUL HJ , you are a lucky man indeed .

The Northwest, including the lower part of Canada, is some of the most beautiful country in the world. While my back yard isn’t quite as scenic, I don’t have to go far to enjoy the views and benefits of the Northwest.

Kevin Morris said:
Your "Little Red Hen" story hints of an underlying assumption: if you're not rich then it is solely because you are lazy.
Unfortunately this is an underlying assumption of the Republican party in general, and this administration in particular. This is what emboldens them to attack the Democrat's social programs..making the assumption that all that need help are lazy. I can't deny that there are those that are lazy and play the system, but we have two Republican leaders that have squandered and wasted more of our tax dollars and driven this country deeper into debt than all the welfare abusers have ever thought of doing...combined.
Dennis Paulson said:
That is BEAUTIFUL HJ , you are a lucky man indeed .
Dennis,

That’s why I’m counting my blessings everyday, :wink: even when the 'puter crashes. Might as well enjoy while there’s time!

And now back to our regularly scheduled program - fitting rail clamps in the garden.