A. I. G. (Ässhøles Idiøts Grëëdy) — No Other Label Fits

"To Big to Fail" eh? Ha - how about to arrogant to trust?

Jon Stewart "Daily Show/and quasi-AIG loan officer"

Before I get to the main post, here is a good look at how former Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) explains this latest AIG flap. He is always very good at explaining a difficult subject – one hard to understand, and certainly this from the AIG suit is both hard and strange to understand. His piece is here (about 8 minutes).

The main post follows from here. With the news that AIG executive Hank Greenberg is suing the U.S. government over the massive bailout given to the insurance giant in 2008, Jon Stewart used the first segment of his Daily Show to chronicle the absurdities of such legal action.

The lawsuit alleges the government’s $184.6 billion bailout was an illegal “taking” of sorts, one that exceeded the government’s authority. Greenberg believes that bailout money, which bought 92% of the company, was an unfairly low valuation.

Even though Stewart pointed out that, at the time of the bailout, AIG was only valued at $15.4 billion, the CEO’s lawyer alleged that the government’s actions were tantamount to “extortion.” He then mocked saying: “As a general rule, your better extortionists, your better kidnappers  extract
money from their victim. You never hear this Stewart say: — "Hey, listen, if you ever want to see your precious little doggy again, you’re going to take the $184 billion and once you get the money, we will also give you your dog back!”

Stewart also noted that AIG seems to think Citigroup and Morgan Stanley got better deals out of the bailout, leading him to boil down the company’s argument to: “Wah! It’s not fair. Following the precedent set by the famous Supreme Court case I only got one cookie. My sister got two cookies!” The Daily Show host continued, “putting the screws to people in their lowest moments is what you do.”

Just to hammer home his point, Stewart played the role of a local loan officer, asked to evaluate Hank Greenberg’s desire for more than $184.6 billion in exchange for 90% of a company worth only $15 billion, as if it were a normal person asking for such money.

Stewart's final decision as the "loan officer:"  “Go f**k yourself.”

Stewart it great ... see and hear the segment below - it's a keeper. It is much better live than in print ... but I did enjoy posting it (huge smile included).