Couldn't agree with you more. There is a good reason why the Fed is independent of the government as a whole and why it is under orders to stay independent. Lawmakers and the office of the President can bitch and moan about this mistake or that mistake of the Fed, but the bottom line is that it does a good job precisely because it is chartered to ignore all those politicized decisions that others in the government want. As for the military, sometimes I think it gets ahead of itself in trying to promote itself. After all, if there is peace and nothing is wrong, no honors go to the military. However, we all have to be thankful that when their number has been called, the military has been of a caliber and class that is expected and demanded.