Criminal acts

The blatant con game being practiced by Goldman Sachs, AIG, Citigroup and JP Morgan with the Obama administration and Republican acquiescence is criminal.

Peter Schweizer describes in his book "Architects of Ruin," the Democrats have been bailing out investment houses from their bad bets since the Clinton administration. The bankers got all the profits when their risky bonds were paying and then gave massive donations to their Democratic benefactors. Then once the bets went bad, it was the taxpayers' problem.

"On one hand, Goldman Sachs put together toxic securities packages for their clients, but on the other hand, Goldman knew the mortgage securities sold on the market were crap, so they also took out lots of insurance with AIG on crappy products being traded on the market."

Guess who paid? Taxpayers!

After all this crappy investment, banking and insurance fraud was being perpetrated and these firms swimming in loses and taxpayer funded bailouts were disbursed, these criminal firms started spreading "bonuses" around to their co-conspirators (employees).

By any definition these co-conspirators were paid that money as "hush money." Losing money and almost going bankrupt are not performances that "bonuses" are awarded.

Bonus: "A bonus is an extra amount in money, bonds or goods over what is normally due. The term is applied especially to payments to employees either for production in excess of the normal (wage incentive) or as a share of surplus profits.

"Many firms have used an annual bonus plan for distributing abnormal profits to employees.

"A bonus is a gift to reward performance."

These "bonuses" were awarded for covering up the swindles being perpetrated with taxpayers' money and keeping their mouths shut.

Anyone who took huge gambles with taxpayer money then lost and got bailed out by the Obama administration should be tortured, then shot, miraculously brought back to life, tortured some more, then shot a few more times. Then, ala Mussolini, hung up by his heels to rot on the Great Wall of the White House!

This is part of what the "Tea Partiers" are protesting - the complete corruption of Congress. This is what all in Congress must be prosecuted for. We won't change a thing by changing parties. The Republicans are as corrupt and as responsible for what has happened in government since Carter.

The Democrats learned early that letting immigrants in and giving handouts to the poor and indigent along with salting the census and letting ACORN protect voting rights brings them votes.

Don W. Plezia

Spring Hill