URLs du Jour

2009-03-25

  • You don't have to be an AIG bailout fan—I'm not—to be appalled at extortionary tactics used to get bonus money returned:
    An email from the head of a controversial unit at AIG suggests employees who gave up their bonuses did not do so voluntarily, but feared their names would be released if they did not.
    The thug behind this is New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

  • In related news, a number of people (e.g., the Libertarian Leaner; Betsy Newmark) are pointing out this resignation letter from Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of AIG's financial products unit, to AIG's CEO, Edward Liddy.
    After 12 months of hard work dismantling the company -- during which A.I.G. reassured us many times we would be rewarded in March 2009 -- we in the financial products unit have been betrayed by A.I.G. and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials. In response to this, I will now leave the company and donate my entire post-tax retention payment to those suffering from the global economic downturn. My intent is to keep none of the money myself.
    If DeSantis's claims are true (and he seems very credible), he and people in his position have been scapegoated and exploited in a particularly nasty manner.

  • Professor Althouse has Barney Frank pegged as either a liar or incompetent fool. Or, most likely, an incompetent foolish liar.

  • From Cato@Liberty:
    The Hill is reporting that Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) "has slashed Obama's proposed increases in domestic discretionary spending from 12 percent to 6, according to lawmakers who met with Conrad."
    Moral: Beware of people who talk about "slashed" budgets, when all they really mean is they changed a budget increase from "indefensibly ginormous" to "outrageously huge".

  • I got 16/18 on the BBSpot Science Quiz. See how you do, then tremble before my Geek Fu.