Four boys were fishing. As their boat rounded a point on the lake, they saw a man thrashing in the water.

With no hesitation, they jumped into the water and saved him. It was not until they pulled him to shore that they noticed the man they had saved was Former President George Bush, who had slipped away from the Secret Service for a swim.

When President Bush caught his breath, he thanked the boys and offered them anything they wanted in return for saving his life.

The first boy thought about it for a while and finally answered. “I would like a presidential appointment to West Point so I can serve my country.” The next two thought that was a great idea, but one said he had always wanted to be a pilot so he would rather attend the Air Force Academy. The third boy chose the Naval Academy.

The president turned to the fourth boy, who was still thinking. Finally he answered, “Mr. President, I would like a burial with honors at Arlington National Cemetery.”

The president was shocked and asked the boy why he would make such a request at his young age.

The boy replied “Because when my father finds out I saved you, he is going to kill me!”

Four doctors were at a medical convention and discussing the state of medical science after hours at a local bar.

An Israeli doctor commented, “Medicine in my country is so advanced that we can take a kidney out of one man, put it in another, and have him looking for work in six weeks.”

A German doctor said, “That is nothing. We can take a lung out of one person, put it in another, and have him looking for work in four weeks.”

A Russian doctor boasted, “In my country, medicine is so advanced that we can take half a heart out of one person, put it in another, and have them both looking for work in two weeks.”

The Texas doctor, not to be outdone, proclaimed: “You guys are way behind! We recently took a man with no brains out of Texas, put him in the White House for eight years, and now half the country is looking for work.”

Today, on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read “Vote Obama, I need the money.” I laughed.

Once in the restaurant my server had on a “Obama 08″ tie, again I laughed as he had given away his political preference — just imagine the coincidence.

When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept.

He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need — the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight.

I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I’ve decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful.

At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient deserved the money more.

I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application. Or is it that only the redistribution of someone else’s wealth is a great idea?

Are you bored with the same old two-party political system? Check out these actual political parties that exist or existed.

The Rhinoceros Party — Canada – 1960s-1990s

This Canadian Party existed with a very unusual platform. It included: repealing the law of gravity, paving the province of Manitoba to create the world’s largest parking lot, providing higher education by building taller schools, instituting English, French and illiteracy as Canada’s three official languages, making bubble gum the national currency, putting the national debt on credit, counting the Thousand Islands to make sure none were missing, and banning lousy Canadian winters.

Beer Lovers Party — Russia – 1994 – 1998

This post-Soviet assembly was founded in 1993 in the state of Belarus. Among its major goals was the push for the cleanness and quality of the national brew. Its logo was a cartoon of a drunken hedgehog. The party was liquidated in 1998.

Absolutely Absurd Party — Canada

This is another Canadian joke party which advocates the following: Lowering the voting age to 14 (Because, after all, when was the last time a 14-year-old started a war?), changing the rules in federal elections so that the candidate in last place becomes the elected official, raffling off Senate seats as a fundraising mechanism, and replacing the Department of Defense with a crack elite squad of Rock/Paper/Scissors commandos.

The Union of Conscientiously Work-Shy Elements — Danish – 1979

This party was an unusually successful frivolous political party founded by comedian Jacob Haugaard in Denmark in 1979. Haugaard eventually won a seat in the Danish Parliament by making the following campaign promises: Tail winds on all bicycle paths, better weather, better Christmas presents, more pieces of Renaissance furniture in Ikea, Nutella in Army field rations, more bread for ducks in the park, and free beer and sausages, funded by his state party funding, served to his voters in the public park in Aarhus after each election. (The last three were actually fulfilled during his term in office.)

Hungarian Double-Tailed Dog Party — Hungary – 2006

This is a joke political party that was founded in 2004. All of the candidates are named Istvan Nagy, two very common first and last names in Hungary. While not an officially registered party, it nevertheless made the following promises in the 2006 elections: Eternal life, world peace, one-day work weeks, two sunsets a day, smaller gravitation, free beer and low taxes.

The McGillicuddy Serious Party — New Zealand – 1984-1999

This is a joke party in New Zealand that promotes the following: Replacing the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps with mounted knights, replacing money with chocolate fish as legal tender, using beer as a national defense strategy by leaving many bottles on all beaches so any invading army would abandon its attack and get drunk instead, restricting the vote to only those under 18 (with actual campaign ads run during children’s programming), votes for trees (as New Zealanders have a reputation as environmentalists), air bags for the New Zealand Stock Exchange (in case of a crash), good weather (but only if the voters behave), job creation by carpeting the nations highways, and the sending-out of intelligence agents around the world to wipe New Zealand off published maps so no one could invade the country.

The Donald Duck Party — Sweden – 1991 – 2002

This is a Swedish joke political party that received write-in votes before it even existed. Capitalizing on its popularity, one man, Bosse Person, registered it. He is its only member. In 1991, the party received 1,535 write in votes by promoting a platform which advocated free liquor and wider sidewalks.

The Happening Happy Hippy Party — England – 1997 – 2002

This was a spoof political party that was really more a Web site and “e-zine” that ran in the late ’90’s and early ’00’s. It promoted easing the burden on Britain’s National Health Service by making accidents illegal and improving Britain’s climate by towing the island 200 miles south.

The Marijuana Party — USA

This party actually exists and is a current US political party that runs candidates who – you guessed it – work tirelessly toward the legalization of marijuana!

The Youth International Party — USA – 1968

This party was a highly theatrical and anti-authoritarian political party that existed in the US in the 60’s. Its members were called “Yippies.” Better known for street theatre and politically themed pranks that mocked the status quo (such as running a pig as its candidate in the 1968 Election and throwing money out to the crowd at the New York Stock Exchange), this socialist countercultural organization was amusingly dubbed the “Groucho Marxists.”

…You just can’t make this stuff up.