In article
,
wrote:

On Dec 7, 1:34*pm, F. George McDuffee gmcduf...@mcduffee-
associates.us wrote:
On Sun, 07 Dec 2008 11:21:27 -0500, Joseph Gwinn

wrote:
As for the rating agencies, there is a very interesting article on the
front page of todays (lead article, 7 Dec 08) New York Times: "Debt
Watchdogs: Tamed or Caught Napping?".

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/business/07rating.html?partner=rss&...

============
Thanks for another good article.

best line was
-------------
snip
When Moody¹s began lowering the ratings of a wave of debt in July
2007, many investors were incredulous.

==³If you can¹t figure out the loss ahead of the fact, what¹s
the use of using your ratings?²== asked an executive with Fortis
Investments, a money management firm, in a July 2007 e-mail
message to Moody¹s. ³You have legitimized these things, leading
people into dangerous risk.²
snip
-------------

Unka' George [George McDuffee]
-------------------------------------------
He that will not apply new remedies,
must expect new evils:
for Time is the greatest innovator: and
if Time, of course, alter things to the worse,
and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better,
what shall be the end?

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman.
Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).

Methinks that a quaint custom employed by ol' Napoleon to excellent
effect may bear re-introduction. This worthy executed one admiral per
year to "encourage the others".

Executed? I don't know that this really happened, although Napoleon did
exile one admiral, maybe more. Napolepon was famous in military history
for the discretion he gave to the front line commanders, which was not
the norm then.

http://books.google.com/books?id=U_L...=PA323&dq=napo
leon+execute+admiral+year&source=web&ots=DpFgCzphe u&sig=ugKk2n9Puld6BgUgy
xlN8CRFTJA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=r esult#PPA324,M1

Page 233-234.


Egad, if we did this with one preselected politico, one snivel
servant, one financial mismanager, each year, think what this would do
for the TV ratings! think what this would do to your investment
portfolio! Think what this would do to honesty in government! The
mind boggles at the possibilities.

Hmm. There were pickpockets working the crowd witnessing the hanging of
pickpockets.

Joe Gwinn