The taxpayers would have preferred drawn and quartered then placed in one of those old fashioned stocks, standing with his head and hands exposed outside the HQ building so we could throw rotten fruit at him. At least we’d feel better. Why such seeming post-partisan enmity in the new change era? 

Let’s begin on page 43 of your hymnal where the Merrill Lynch buyout by Citigroup cost us the taxpayers about $20 billion in bailout fund guarantees.

What did Mr. Thain do with that money? Well, he paid out about $3 billion dollars EARLY as in before the bailout occured in employee bonuses. Now bonuses for junior staff may be a part of their compensation but when you have employees receiving 8-figure performance bonuses and your company is failing, there might be an objection to that.

But in the classic case of middle finger raised tone deafness earning a much deserved Keith Olbermann “Worst Person in the World” designation last night was his office redesign in the midst of the crisis costing ustaxpayers another $1.2 million dollars. In the grand scheme of thing not that galling until you realise we’re talking the place he goes to work every day.

The re-design Included:

$836,000 for the services of a celebrity designer (the same one Mrs. Obama is using to do The White House - oopsie, so we know he’s good),
$1,400 for a garbage bin, 
$7,300 for Roman shades, 
$11,000 for fabric to cover said Roman shades, 
$28,000 for four pairs of curtains, 
$35,000 for a commode on legs, 
$19,000 on 1-light fixture, 
$86,000 for two guest chairs,
$18,000 antique chair,
$68,000 for antique credenza,
$25,000 mahogany pedestal table and
$87,000 for an area rug.

Your tax dollars at work. Speechless.