Reply #20: I would not say that the Great Depression

[hfojvt]

was the result of Hoover's policies. He took office in January of 1929 and Black Friday was in November of 1929. It was really the bubble of the 1920s bursting. The problems were exacerbated by the FED which was run by bankers, and they acted like bankers and tightened credit instead of doing what they economy needed. Sound policy for a bank is not the same as sound policy for a central bank. Hoover took the position that all he needed to do was stay upbeat and the economy would recover on its own.
I am a fan of the Populists, and therefore Bryan as their spokesman, although L. Frank Baum characterized him as the Cowardly Lion who retreated to the woods after his defeats. I was spoofing Trent Lott in his infamous "all these problems" quote.
Also I dis-like blanket indictments of the intelligence of ordinary people. The evolution question is a non-issue to me, and it seems like some defenders of Darwin have made it into a religion. Science to them becomes about "truth" rather than about inquiry.