The Annual "Hang 'em High" Award

This is a photo of Franklin D. Raines, one of America's outstanding modern businessmen, one partially responsible for the mess we are in:


"Outstanding" in the sense of what an exceptionally talented thief he is.

In 2006, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight accused former Fannie Mae Chief Executive Franklin D. Raines and two other executives of manipulating earnings from 1998 to 2004 so they would receive bonuses totaling $115 million.

Civil charges were filed against Raines, who is also a former budget director for President Bill Clinton; J. Timothy Howard, former chief financial officer; and Leanne G. Spencer, former Fannie Mae controller. Raines is paying a $24.7 million settlement, an additional $2 million fine and he was forced to forfeit $15.6 million in stock options. Howard agreed to pay $6.4 million, and Spencer agreed to pay $275,000. Fannie Mae has agreed to pay a $400 million civil settlement to the OFHEO and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Manipulated earnings" so they could get 115 million in bonuses. That is just out-and-out thievery and crookedness, pre-meditated to boot..

These men paid back a total of 46,975,000 dollars. That leaves 68,025,000 dollars unaccounted for. And just where is that money this very minute?

Worse, Fannie May is paying a 400 million dollar civil settlement. Who to? Who gets all that unearned booty?

Talk about stupidity... Fannie Mae loses 115 million to its crooked managers, so the civil authorities step in and loot an additional 400 million dollars... a "settlement" they call it.

But but but, they recovered almost 47 million dollars! Yeah right. That leaves Fannie Mae with a total loss of 468 million dollars, 68 million dollars still unaccounted for, and 400 million going to the "civil" authorities.

The crooks are not only on Wall Street.

Final tally of Fannie Mae loses caused by Raines and his fellow crooks: $468,025 000, almost a half billion dollars.

You are familiar with the annual "Darwin Awards"? Where really dumb people have removed themselves from the human gene pool by killing themselves off with really, really stupid stunts? So stupid that they can get nominated for the award?

Well, I think we need an annual "Hang 'em High" award, nominees to be chosen from the vast pool of white-collar thieving bastards in business and government. I would immediately nominate Raines.

Then, at the awards ceremony - after awarding the 1st place medal - we hang the winner... and recover the medal for next year.