Okay, now
this is just the sort of thing I simply hate with my morning coffee. From the Washington
Times comes this little front page bon mot:
Lehman Brothers doled out more than $20 million in bonuses to top executives just four days before the investment giant declared bankruptcy and accelerated the credit market collapse that resulted in a $700 billion bailout approved last week, documents revealed Monday at a House hearing showed.
. . .
Rep. Henry A.] Waxman [chairman of the Oversight and
Government Reform Committee] produced documents that detailed Lehman Brothers'
chiefs bucking recommendations that they forgo bonuses this year. A company
e-mail obtained by the committee showed the bank's money management subsidiary,
Neuberger Berman, suggesting no bonuses because it would significantly cut
expenses and send a strong message that "management is not shirking
accountability for recent performance." Lehman Brothers executive George
H. Walker, who is President Bush's cousin, wrote the management team and
apologized for the recommendation. "Sorry team," he said. "I'm
not sure what's in the water."
Mr. Fuld shrugged off the recommendation, telling executives
in an e-mail, "Don't worry - they are only people who think about their
own pockets."
Well, some people made a killing in this whole thing, but at least we can see that irony sure as heck isn’t dead. Yet.
<Forehead slap>
I think I’ll go take the dog for a walk and confess to God my desire to see all involved parties strung up and flayed alive.
