The LA Time article  Ron Paul’s ideas no longer fringe mentioned in the previous post is a gold-mine of misinformation.

Paul traces his economic views to his frugal upbringing in Pittsburgh at the tail end of the Depression. He saved pennies from delivering newspapers and helping out his father’s small dairy business.

And his first economics class at Gettysburg College was an eye-opener, Paul said. When a professor explained how banks keep only a tiny part of their deposits on hand and earn money by lending out the rest, Paul discovered one of the “tricks” of the financial system.

In this case, a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.  What his professor explained is called fractional reserve banking.  It is not a trick, but an essential part of a smoothly running capitalist economy.

If banks were required to keep all deposits on reserve, they would have no ability to lend money and earn interest. They would have to charge you a fee for safeguarding your money. Corporations can take advantage of the stock market to raise capital if they are large enough.  For the ordinary citizen to finance a home mortgage would require some new institutions.

So one important arm for providing credit to the economy would be cut off if you did away with fractional reserve banking.

There is a good reason to want this type of credit in an economy.  It allows the available credit to be adjusted to keep the economy moving.  If credit is too tight for the needs of the economy, the reserve requirements can be loosened by the Fed.  If credit is too loose, then the reserve requirement can be tightened by the Fed.

Just because the Fed, under a particular set of circumstances and leadership, did not do as good a job as it should have doesn’t mean that the idea of the Fed is totally wrong.

It does mean that a person like Ron Paul can learn a snippet of information and then turn off his hearing aid and not learn the rest of the information he needed to learn.  He then runs off half-cocked to develop absurd theories of how to solve problems.  Half-cocked seems to be the appropriate term.  He was half-cocked with knowledge.  Had he continued his economics education and become fully-cocked, he might have been able to do some good.

Follow this link to the nonsense article in the LA Times.

If this is the level of journalism that we can expect from the LA Times, then this country is in real trouble.

Fortunately for the world economy, most of the other countries will not follow our lead down this path of idiocy, if that is where we are going. Unfortunately for us, our competitive position in the world will be destroyed.

Of course in the LA Times’ alternate reality poverty will be declared to be wealth and we will still be the richest nation in the world.

Just to go after one false notion of Ron Paul, I will comment on the following quote from the article.

Paul contends that Austrian economics explains the most recent financial meltdown: “It says if you inflate too much, if you have no restraint on monetary authorities, you’re going to bring on a crisis.” Now, Paul says, administration policies are leading the country toward disaster.

Ron Paul’s first sentence has some merit.  The timing of his second comment is absolutely absurd. If he manages to get the right boom time policy implemented during the recession recovery, it will be a disaster.

Or as Keynes might have put it, it was absolutely against all Keynesian theory to run huge fiscal deficits during an economic boom such as what Bush was doing.  To have Alan Greenspan at the Fed pumping the economy when he should have been trying to rein it in is another part of the foolishness of the Bush era.

When the inevitable crash occurred, the Bush administration had already wasted the two tools that were needed.  We had to go to an even greater extreme to get them to work.

When we get through this and wiser heads, now in power, can carry out the other side of Keynes’ theory, the Congress will step in and mess it up if Paul has his way.

The other side of Keynes Theory is what Bush should have been applying during the boom times and which will be applied in the next boom if we can keep the reins of government out of Republican hands.  During boom times the government should be running a surplus and paying down debt. This was the Clinton policy.  The Fed can apply the appropriate restraint, but it won’t have to go to excess because fiscal policy will be running in the same direction as monetary policy.  During Reagan/Bush/Bush years fiscal policy was always fighting against monetary policy.

Economic theories that are developed to apply under certain circumstances can be a disaster when applied in the wrong circumstances.  We are not now in hyper-inflated pre-WWII Germany, so let us not apply the remedy for that situation now.  If we don’t do something stupid, we will never get to that German situation.

Ron Paul seems to have the knack to pick the exactly wrong policy for any given circumstance.  Maybe it just like the fact that even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Follow this link to the article in The New York Times.

There were a few items in the list that I thought might be worth a follow-up.

The one that I have tried is:

READABILITY The single best tech idea of 2009, though, the real life-changer, has got to be Readability. It’s a free button for your Web browser’s toolbar (get it at lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability). When you click it, Readability eliminates everything from the Web page you’re reading except the text and photos. No ads, blinking, links, banners, promos or anything else. Times Square just goes away.

It works as advertised on a few web pages that I have tested it on.  It might take a day or so for me to figure out if it is really worth it.  It is very easy to add to your browser.  Once you do, you can apply it on this blog.

I have posted a number of emails from politicians recently.  Those emails happened to contain requests for contributions.

Do not interpret my posting of such an item as a suggestion that you contribute.  My posting the item doesn’t even mean that I contributed.  To satisfy myself that I am making fair use of their material, I leave the link to the request for donation in the posting.

All the posting means is that I found something worth contemplating in the email.  I leave it to you to take away what you will from the reading of the post.

As with any other post that I make, there will be something in the item that I find worthwhile to read.  If I don’t forget, I will make some comment about what part interested me.  If I make no comment about other parts of the item, there is no guarantee that I agree or disagree with those other parts.

For things that other authors post on this blog, I set no general rules.  They may adopt my policy as stated above or they may not.

Follow this link to the story on the WBZ-TV web site.

Harold Brown and our daughter Shelah went to school together in Bolton from kindergarten through high school.

When Sharon and Shelah were in a car accident near our house, Harold’s mother was one of the first Bolton police officers on the scene.

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about. I received this email from James Carville.

Dear Steven,

While all eyes are on President Obama and congressional Democrats as we head into 2010 and the critical midterm elections, the Republican Party is trying to pull a fast one on us and slip a Trojan horse right on through the gate.

The GOP and the Republican Governors Association have made it their mission to do whatever it takes to win as many of these gubernatorial races as possible — because that’s how they can push “reset” before the 2012 elections.

In 2011, every single state will redraw congressional lines to theoretically make our government more representative. But we all know what happens when a Republican sits in the statehouse — those lines are anything but fair and representative. More like a snake in a shoebox.

Back in 2003, Tom DeLay and his good buddy Gov. Rick Perry successfully led an unprecedented Bush-era effort to cook up six GOP-friendly congressional districts, which set the stage for a Republican takeover of Texas.

Same bull, different year!

Republican governors … plus manipulated districts … equals 25 to 30 more congressional seats in GOP hands in 2012! It’s no secret either — they’ve been running all across the country, saying this is their goal!

I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to sit by and let them run roughshod over all our hard-earned progress.

That’s why I’m supporting the one organization that can stop the RGA’s scheming and scamming, distractions and distortions — and I hope you will too. The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) has set an immediate December 31 fundraising goal of $22,865 in time for their annual reporting deadline — but the clock is ticking!

Your gift will make a huge difference in the DGA’s ability to run effective advertising, conduct extensive opposition research, and direct critical funds to tight races. And if you give by midnight tonight, it’ll be matched by a leading DGA supporter — doubling the impact of your support.

Republicans are hell-bent on taking back Democratic statehouses in 2010. In fact, Newt Gingrich’s buddy, Gov. Haley Barbour — who happens to be the chair of the RGA — recently bragged that “next year’s going to be a good year for Republican governors.”   

There’s no time to waste — the DGA must reach their goal to stop the Republicans in their tracks. We do NOT want to enter 2010 playing catch-up.

So please make a donation today to join the DGA and ensure that your support is doubled. Their end-of-year deadline ends at midnight tonight, and time is running out.

If the GOP gains control of the redistricting process and cheats Americans out of fair representation in Congress — we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

Here’s to 2010 … and to shutting down that right-wing Trojan horse for good.

Happy New Year,

James Carville

P.S.  Midnight TONIGHT! That’s when your gift needs to reach the DGA to have it doubled. Let’s ring in the New Year on solid footing and never look back.

Paid for by the Democratic Governors Association. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. Contributions are not tax deductible.

We cannot afford to lose a single Democratic Senator.

Dear Steven, Democrats have been busy this year. We’ve accomplished much, and have fought the Republican’s obstructionist tactics every step of the way. They’ve made defeating President Obama’s agenda their top legislative priority, and they’ve made defeating me their top political priority. In a few short hours, I will close the fundraising books for the year. Will you stand with me today and help beat back the Republican’s attacks? We have done so much this year to put our country back on the right track: With our economy teetering on the brink of collapse, Democrats passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is putting Nevadans to work as we speak. The Lilly Ledbetter Act made fair pay for women and minorities the law of the land. We expanded SCHIP so 37,000 kids in Nevada can see a doctor and be treated when they get sick. We passed sweeping changes to our nation’s hate crimes laws, ensuring violent denials of civil rights will not go unpunished. We protected more than 2 million acres of wilderness, and thousands miles of scenic rivers and trails. And we stopped progress on the nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain in its tracks. We made the largest investment ever in clean energy, creating thousands of jobs in Nevada and putting our country on a path to energy independence. We stood up to the credit card companies, forcing them to treat their customers fairly. And of course, we are well on our way to truly historic reform of our nation’s health care delivery system. Last month, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee sent a fundraising letter to the extreme wing of his party, claiming I’m pushing a “radical liberal agenda” on our country. I guess he considers tax cuts for working families and putting more cops on the street “radical” and “liberal.” Will you consider making a donation of $50, $30 or $15 today? With the right-wing fringe running the Republican Party these days, you know they will pull out the Karl Rove playbook next year. Years from now, pundits will look back on 2009 and proclaim it the most productive legislative year since the first year of FDR’s administration – despite the economic turmoil and the non-stop obstruction of the GOP. There is still so much to do. With your help, we can continue to bring about the change America deserves. Happy New Year, Harry PS – As we move forward into the next legislative session, I’m eager to know what issue is most important to you in 2010. Send me a text message at 42779 (HARRY). Text E to 42779 for Climate Change. Text F to 42779 for Jobs Package. Text G to 42779 for Financial Regulation Reform. Text H to 42779 for Immigration Reform. Thank you!

Having seen what troubles 39 Republicans can cause in the Senate, we cannot afford to lose any Democrats. Especially Connecticut needs someone to compensate for Joe Lieberman.

Dear Steven, The Republicans are desperate to pick up seats in the Senate so they can grind the legislative process to a complete halt. They don’t care about the consequences other than their own political gain. To that end, they have declared my seat as one of their top targets and they intend to spend whatever it takes to win. We need your help to fight back. Tomorrow is a critical fundraising deadline. This is an important moment and we must demonstrate to my opponents and the special interests and right-wing activists who fund their campaigns that we’ll be ready to fight back against every baseless attack, every distortion and every assault on our values. I intend to give this effort every ounce of energy I have – but to win I’ll need you to stand with me. Contribute before tomorrow’s deadline. Thanks,   Chris   If you feel you have received this message in error, we apologize. You can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy Paid for by Friends of Chris Dodd Contributions to Friends of Chris Dodd are not deductible for federal income tax purposes. Corporate contributions are prohibited by law. All content © 2009 Friends of Chris Dodd P.O. Box 270701, West Hartford, CT 06127

Roger Goun posted this item on his facebook page.

To make it available to a wider audience, I will put the major links here.

Erik Swenson found this response to the original video.

Sure there is a logical, non-racist explanation for the problem the software is having. In other words, I doubt that the software engineers set out to make the software not work on black faces.

However, I would be willing to bet that this deficiency in the software was never discovered during testing. I’d be further willing to bet that had there been more diversity in the HP work force in the engineering department, the problem would have been discovered and more effort would have been put into finding a fix to the problem.

Having first hand knowledge of diversity in the typical American engineering work force, I do wonder why this problem did not show up with some dark skinned Indian engineer.  Maybe this is proof that having  engineers with an ethnic background from India is no substitute for having some representation of people with an African background in the work force.

I think this embarrassment for HP is the best proof that one can have that diversity in a corporation’s workforce can be important in ways that the corporation might never have imagined.

Since writing this original post, Roger has posted a link on his facebook page to the article HP Uses Social Media To Defuse ‘Racist’ Webcam Issue.

It would be interesting to find out what is the judgment in the African-American community on how well HP has handled this. Not being of that community, I will not offer an opinion.

Roger credits his nephew for bringing the story to Roger’s attention.

Follow this link to read Paul Krugman’s column describing the decade about to end on the 31st (this Friday or next year).

I knew that when the politicians kept calling for tax cuts to stimulate an economy that was already way over heated, we were in serious trouble.  It is surprising that it took this long for the consequences of such idiotic policies to become so readily apparent.

It is ironic that these calls for stimulating a run-away economy came from the party that claims that they knew more about how capitalism should be managed than the party who wanted to be prudent and balance the budget during good times.

You have to know from past history that when the economy booms again and it is time to pay down some of the debt accumulated during the recession the old Republican mantra will come into vogue again. It’s your money being collected in taxes and you know how to spend it better than the government. At that point, if the public had any intelligence, they would remember that we borrowed the money to stave off depression and the time has come to pay it back, not borrow more.  It is your money, but you committed it to the government to pay back what it borrowed to save your sorry a** during the near depression.  If you don’t realize that, then you truly do not know how to spend your money better than the government.