Guilty!

[olyclimber]

But what if a CEO reads this thread and becomes upset?

 

You guys are so mean spirited.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

But what if a CEO reads this thread and becomes upset?

 

You guys are so mean spirited.

 

there's no comparing those jackasses to someone who had an accident climbing

[archenemy]

So did you read about Dinsmore in the Seattle Weekly this morning?

[KaskadskyjKozak]

So did you read about Dinsmore in the Seattle Weekly this morning?

 

I did now

[JayB]

KK,

Yeah, I thought the Mark Rich pardon was pretty shitty, but it is very, very small potatoes compared to the idea of BushCo pardoning Lay.

 

I think if Bush did pardon Lay there would literally be riots and calls for Congressional veto of the pardon (I know that is not currently allowed, but that might be changed if Bush tried sucha boneheaded manuever as pardoning Lay).

 

Maybe I misunderestimate [sic] the capacity for anger by the American people regarding corporate/government corruption/malfesance. It certainly seems like Americans don't give a shit about much of anything as long as Wal-mart is still open.

 

Hey Pax:

 

I don't think this is a likely development, for a number of reasons, one of which is the fact that Lay/Enron tried to get some help from the administration back in the days when Enron was imploding and they got none. Hard to imagine them getting any now.

 

Another interesting aspect of the Enron debacle concerns the mechanics of the implosion. I've forgotten most of the details, but the company went tits up as a result of something roughly akin to a margin call. They had tons and tons of loans that were collateralized with their own stock, and these loans contained contracts that stipulated that Enron would have to come up with cash to cover any shortfall in collateralization that resulted from the stock losing value. One of the key triggers that lead to the said loss in value was the investigative work done by a guy who managed a short-fund, who noticed that the off-balance-sheet partnerships et al made the firms accounting/financial reporting financially unsound, and made it a point to share his analysis with everyone in the investment community who would listen. Word eventually got out, this put pressure on the share price, which was already way, way overvalued by any measure, and the ensuing declines lead to the margin-call/collapse.

 

The market gives, and the market takes away....sometimes even more effectively than regulators. Check the share price of all of the companies involved in the emerging options grant fiasco.

 

 

As far as Mark Rich is concerned, I am much less concerned about that guy than the retards in the government who invented the brilliant "old/new" pricing scheme for oil that Rich exploited to make his fortune, which cost the country far, far more than Rich made by exploiting the price controls. I'm not a fan of his, but the fact that he may have played a role in bringing about the demise of this scheme means that he may have inadvertently done the country a favor.

[ZimZam]

Don't worry, Chimpy will probably pardon them.

 

I hope he tries. It would be ANOTHER great reason to impeach his criminal ass.

 

Pardons would occur in 1/09 - too late to impeach.

 

And, of course Marc Rich's pardon doesn't bother you thoroughly-consistent idealogues

 

Rich's pardon did bother me. And yes it was one of Clinton's final acts. My father told me long ago- "the Constitution was written by rich people for rich people." Bush will pardon "potato chip." Rich MF's stick together no matter what their political affiliation.

[olyclimber]

[Skeezix]

Ken Lay had George Bush on speed dial.

[EWolfe]

It's all been Dickless since Nixon

[willstrickland]

E, have you missed the last 6 years of the Cheney Administration?

[EWolfe]

Ah, yes. The Dick behind...