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To: ChanceIs who wrote (244274)	4/15/2010 9:36:24 AM
From: alanrs	Respond to of 306849

"Although their warnings were ignored at the time, the American people should be reassured that there are far-sighted public servants at all levels of government who act on principle to protect the people’s interests." Yeah, I'm reassured. Completely ignored, actively castigated, fired. Gives me a warm feeling alright. ARS

To: ChanceIs who wrote (244274)	4/15/2010 9:39:59 AM
From: ajtj99	Respond to of 306849

I was going to make Brooksley Born the warden, but I thought she wouldn't take the job since she's been quietly retired. W is on the list. I didn't put the Clintons on because I thought their subordinates were worse, but I'd have no problem putting them there. I was just trying to get a list of the people who laid the groundwork for the wreckage that followed. The mortgage company CEO's would not have been able to do what they did were it not for the folks I previously listed. I agree, Cox is a scumbag. Did you see that new poll today showing Ron Paul would get 41% of the vote in 2012 vs 44% for Obama? I said back in 2006 Obama would be a 1-term president, and that's still looking pretty good.

To: ChanceIs who wrote (244274)	4/15/2010 9:44:37 AM
From: ChanceIs	Respond to of 306849

RE: Summers, Rubin, et al - The End of a Dynasty: How Inbreeding Doomed the House of Habsburg >>>Isn't it the case that economists and politicians are well know for inbreeding - if not breathing the same air 24/7 for years on end - you know - "contact highs"?? The strangest thoughts keep popping into my head these days. This time from high school European history class.<<< Published by AnneH at 10:05 am under big questions, genetics 101, news The Royal House of Habsburg, one of the most powerful dynasties of Medieval and Renaissance Europe, reigned over much of Europe for centuries. Beginning in the early 12th century they quickly expanded their realm through a series of strategically executed marriages, from the mountains of Switzerland to a territory that included swaths of Austria, Hungary, Italy, France and Spain. The Spanish branch of the Habsburg dynasty helped create an empire that reached its apex in the 16th and 17th centuries, controlling land from the Phillippines to the Americas. Yet the Habsburgs are known not only for controlling huge tracts of Europe, but also for maintaining control by rarely marrying outside the dynasty. By the end of the 17th century, the results of their marital practices had become apparent in the form of a distinctive protruding lip, a high rate of infant mortality and a host of other health problems. Could the same marital practices that helped bring the Habsburg dynasty to power also have led to its demise? In the April 15 issue of PLoS One, scientists from Spain’s University of Santiago de Compostela argue that inbreeding so incapacitated the Habsburgs over the centuries that by the death of King Charles II of Spain in 1700, they were virtually unable to reproduce. From 1516 to 1700, it has been estimated that over 80% of marriages within the Spanish branch of the Habsburg dynasty were consanguineous; that is, they were marriages between close blood relatives. Most often, these unions took the form of marriages between first cousins, double-first cousins, and uncles/nieces. Conceivably as a direct result of these marriages between relatives, infant and child mortality rose to 50% among Spanish Habsburgs, much higher than the average for the period. But the final Habspurg king of Spain, Charles II, was perhaps the most unfortunate result of these unions. Also know as “El Hechizado” (“The Hexed”), Charles was severely deformed. The so-called “Habsburg Lip”, a form of mandibular prognathism often seen among members of the Habsburg Dynasty, was so pronounced in Charles’ case that it was difficult for him to speak. An enlarged tongue, gastrointestinal problems, mental retardation, and possible growth problems meant that Charles was raised almost as an infant until the age of 10. Even as he grew older, he was never able to govern effectively. His rule saw the rapid decline of the Empire, only exacerbated by his death in 1700.