I was watching some of the lawyers on the committee making threats that they are going expose the AIG people who took bonuses in an effort to tar them (defamation of character) or to go back and legislate a rescinding of those bonuses (breach of contract) or legislating a 90% tax on only the bonuses of those people (arbitrary and capriscious abuse of the tax law which would never hold up with the Supreme Court).

And then to watch Captain Clueless go on the campaign trail (what is he running for now?) and do what he does every day – point fingers away from him – you wonder what were the voters thinking?

Nancy Pelosi really is running this country now.

When I was watching Liddy get grilled in a Congressional magic act where they cleanse themselves of all responsibiliy and heap it onto a convenient scapegoat, I observed some stark hypocrisy. Liddy and AIG were accused of sneaking the bonuses through in the dark of night, (a Saturday night it seems), the implication being that they knew they were doing something WRONG. The bastards! Of course, Liddy rather credibly explained that the Fed. has known about the bonuses for some time, because they have been sitting in on board meetings ever since AIG accepted bailout money. Nobody blew whistles until the half informed, perpetually starved for propaganda, public got wind of it after the fact. Only then did the politicians climb all over each other in a game of “King of the Outrage Hill”. The huge hypocrisy that struck me was that the very same members of congress that are outraged over AIG supposedly sneaking 165 million in Fed. loan money to employees in the dark of night, are the same Congressmen who just recently snuck through an unread 780 billion bill (4,727 times larger than the retention bonuses) essentially in the dark of night. And the taxpayers (We the People) are expected to bend over and say “Thankyou sir, may we have another?”.

http://homebuying.about.com/od/buyingahome/a/21808_taxcredit.htm

Question, how do we pay for all this stuff if only the richest are paying taxes????

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have a bonus program,too. The Wall Street Journal reports retention bonuses that will run to 2010 and including:

“All Senior Vice Presidents and Executive Vice Presidents who are employees of Freddie Mac on or after September 1, 2008 are eligible to participate in the program.”

See article here:

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/03/18/hey-guess-who-else-has-an-executive-retention-bonus-plan/

with a followup at the Wall Street Journal.

You can’t make this stuff up. And Obama thinks we’re all going to hug that 3.55 trillion dollar budget?? Dream on!

What you are saying is that Liddy, at $1.00/year and no equity stake, is intentionally deceiving all of us for some unexplained financial gain.

Actually, I never said that. In fact, I was impressed by Mr. Liddy’s decorum during the recent congressional hearings, including his respectful attitude towards protesters. I also commend him for what appears to be a genuine concern for the wellbeing of the AIG employees (or former employees) who have been subjected to the most vile and malicious threats that I’ve heard since the Democratic primaries.

While Mr. Liddy is, indeed, now receiving only $1 per year, his 2007 pay package alone totaled $20.26 million (from Allstate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg). Just a point of info

What you are saying is that Liddy, at $1.00/year and no equity stake, is intentionally deceiving all of us for some unexplained financial gain.

i really wish unintelligent demagogues like Barney Frank, Gary Ackerman, and the rest of those Keystone Cops faking moral outrage would start with facts and try to first learn the nature of these contracts before placing the country at legal risk in court by breaching contracts, abusing the tax law, and defaming people.

Obama’s gonna be on Leno. Drink your koolaide and relax.

Why don’t you read what Liddy said these bonuses were for as a starting point.

Democratic leaders are trying to use this as a diversionary tactic because they do not know what these bonuses are for or are lying about them.

If certain executives received bonuses under false pretense then they should be made to pay them back. But I will take the word of an acomplished and successful CEO who was brought in for $1.00/year to salvage AIG over the word of any of those Democratic morons who never bothered to read the $700 million stimulus bill in the first place.

The direction this is taking will cost American taxpayers far more money in the end than the $164 million in bonuses.