Stress Kills: Ken Lay Dead at 64

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by SCUDSBROTHER

Your ego is bigger than LIL KIM'S A$$.

As opposed to your's? Mine would be a grain of sand in the desert in comparison! It's funny, when anybody speaks up and calls people on their ignorance they are labeled arrogant...well, if that's the measure then I guess arrogance is better than narrow-mindedness. Actually, there is nothing wrong with arrogance unless it's paired with stupidity....and having an ego at least means you don't go through life depending solely on the id!

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Originally Posted by somerfrost

As opposed to your's? Mine would be a grain of sand in the desert in comparison! It's funny, when anybody speaks up and calls people on their ignorance they are labeled arrogant...well, if that's the measure then I guess arrogance is better than narrow-mindedness. Actually, there is nothing wrong with arrogance unless it's paired with stupidity....and having an ego at least means you don't go through life depending solely on the id!

Originally Posted by somerfrost

1)"..I'm pretty smart,

2) my degrees say I'm fairly well educated,

3)my life's experiences tell folks I've been around

4) I had the hours to take my undergrad degree in Philosophy and have read continually since but still I go back to Plato


I am not even commenting on your fight with somebody else about the use of Castro's words ,or whoever's words.I am just saying your ego is pretty damn large.You have to admit that.Wouldn't you admit that? Why is it in dispute?

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by SCUDSBROTHER

Originally Posted by somerfrost

1)"..I'm pretty smart,

2) my degrees say I'm fairly well educated,

3)my life's experiences tell folks I've been around

4) I had the hours to take my undergrad degree in Philosophy and have read continually since but still I go back to Plato


I am not even commenting on your fight with somebody else about the use of Castro's words ,or whoever's words.I am just saying your ego is pretty damn large.You have to admit that.Wouldn't you admit that? Why is it in dispute?

It's not in dispute, I'm just saying that your's isn't exactly tiny itself! I'm smarter than most folks...I'm also old, recently unemployed and things are looking mighty bleak...if things continue as recently, well...at least I won't be the first smart, well-educated old fool living in a cardboard box over some heating grate...that says absolutely nothing but somehow makes me feel better so...live with it or point out more of my perceived shortcomings...up to you!

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Originally Posted by somerfrost

It's not in dispute, I'm just saying that your's isn't exactly tiny itself! I'm smarter than most folks...I'm also old, recently unemployed and things are looking mighty bleak...if things continue as recently, well...at least I won't be the first smart, well-educated old fool living in a cardboard box over some heating grate...that says absolutely nothing but somehow makes me feel better so...live with it or point out more of my perceived shortcomings...up to you!

Guess ya could go do some intellectual sparring with your senator Santorum(what a piece of work.)How is he doing in his effort to somehow get people to re-elect him?

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by SCUDSBROTHER

Guess ya could go do some intellectual sparring with your senator Santorum(what a piece of work.)How is he doing in his effort to somehow get people to re-elect him?

In this state, he just might succeed! Gotta control those gay folks ya know! The first decent politician to come out of this state since the elder Casey is our current governor...and he's in an impossible situation with the fruitcake legislature...folks are still campaigning on repealing slots for god sake!

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by somerfrost

In this state, he just might succeed! Gotta control those gay folks ya know! The first decent politician to come out of this state since the elder Casey is our current governor...and he's in an impossible situation with the fruitcake legislature...folks are still campaigning on repealing slots for god sake!

Yeah... Santorum makes me embarrassed for my home state. How about the billing his constituents for his kids' tuition-- even though his kids were going to school in Virginia? What a piece of work he is.

Dan Savage, of the "Savage Love" column, coined a definition for "santorum." It's pretty funny.

[GenuineRisk]

... And more happy Kenny Boy news:

His death will make it extremely hard for the government to go after his remaining assets, and for the people who lost money to sue.

And, he now is technically no longer guilty, as, due to the peculiarities of the law, you are not officially guilty until you are sentenced. How's that for justice?

Point taken about the whole diversifying thing, but you need to have the $$ to do it. A lot of companies, at least until recently, would match with company stock only, and you weren't permitted to sell it for years. Sort of forcing people to not diversify.

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

... And more happy Kenny Boy news:

His death will make it extremely hard for the government to go after his remaining assets, and for the people who lost money to sue.

And, he now is technically no longer guilty, as, due to the peculiarities of the law, you are not officially guilty until you are sentenced. How's that for justice?

Point taken about the whole diversifying thing, but you need to have the $$ to do it. A lot of companies, at least until recently, would match with company stock only, and you weren't permitted to sell it for years. Sort of forcing people to not diversify.

This has been one of the more hilarious threads, some of it intentional. Loved Bold B's comment about the good potato chips. And STS's reluctance to criticize because he might need to single the re-incarnated Lay in a Pick 3.

Rupert comes in with a lively conspiracy theory, which is indirectly supported by the post above. My wife's first thought was, "maybe Lay committed suicide with the help of a doc.". Maybe he'd seen too many prison movies.

Not to mention Castro, Che Guevara, and Plato. Together at last.

--Dunbar

On a serious note, sorry to hear about your recent difficulties, somer.

[packerbacker7964]

What the hell hell ever frosty the snowman. This man knew all along what he was doing with other people's money. Some people lost everything but their name and he gets to go to Club Med. I hope his family has to give all of the life insurance money and the ashes get sold on E-Bay to pay these people back he robbed. His crime is no worse than someone knocking off the local 7-11 store if you ask me. I won't wish death on someone but when it happens to certain people I'll jump up and dance. He screwed hard earning people out of thier retirement and lively hood with being like a sneaky rat. Go to Hell Ken Lay, My God show no mercy on your dirty rotten soul.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Originally Posted by packerbacker7964

What the hell hell ever frosty the snowman. This man knew all along what he was doing with other people's money. Some people lost everything but their name and he gets to go to Club Med. I hope his family has to give all of the life insurance money and the ashes get sold on E-Bay to pay these people back he robbed. His crime is no worse than someone knocking off the local 7-11 store if you ask me. I won't wish death on someone but when it happens to certain people I'll jump up and dance. He screwed hard earning people out of thier retirement and lively hood with being like a sneaky rat. Go to Hell Ken Lay, My God show no mercy on your dirty rotten soul.

He was a lot worse than a rapist,or a guy who knocks an old lady down (and takes her purse.)That is atleast a crime against just 1 person.This guy destroyed the future of a lot of people who counted on the money he stole from them.What he did was the equivalent of a serial rapist's work over a period of 30 years(non-stop.)

Originally Posted by SCUDSBROTHER

He was a lot worse than a rapist,or a guy who knocks an old lady down (and takes her purse.)That is atleast a crime against just 1 person.This guy destroyed the future of a lot of people who counted on the money he stole from them.What he did was the equivalent of a serial rapist's work over a period of 30 years(non-stop.)

Ken Lay was a crook ... but please allow me to repeat the facts of this "pension" stuff ...

No Enron employees lost any of their own money. What they "lost" was the paper value of the Enron stocks which had been pledged to their pension plan. The value of these stocks was never "theirs" to begin with ... it was only something they were told they would get in the future.

It's like someone saying they'll give you a Rolex watch on your next birthday ... then not doing it.

Castigate Mr. Lay for being a crook ... but please stop wailing about the "little people" who had their "life savings" stolen from them ... because there weren't any.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite

Ken Lay was a crook ... but please allow me to repeat the facts of this "pension" stuff ...

No Enron employees lost any of their own money. What they "lost" was the paper value of the Enron stocks which had been pledged to their pension plan. The value of these stocks was never "theirs" to begin with ... it was only something they were told they would get in the future.

It's like someone saying they'll give you a Rolex watch on your next birthday ... then not doing it.

Castigate Mr. Lay for being a crook ... but please stop wailing about the "little people" who had their "life savings" stolen from them ... because there weren't any.

BB, that's ridiculous. Yes, stock market savings are only as valuable as the people buying and selling think they are, but when a company chooses to give company stock for pensions, there is an understanding by the employee that the stock is worth about what the company says it is. Kenny Boy and Co. were lying about and covering up the true state of the company's finances, and continuing to push purchasing the stock on their employees. If the employees knew the true state of the company's finances, do you think they would have held onto their stock? Come on. This is not like being promised a Rolex and then not given it as a gift; pensions are part and parcel of the employment package (if a package includes them). They aren't a Christmas bonus. What this is like is using all of your savings for a Renoir that you were told over and over was genuine and that you could resell at a profit in the future and then finding out the guy who sold it to you knew it was a fake that he bought at Wal-Mart. And then the guy dies before you can sue him.

Under your theory, people should be putting their assets only in cash in their mattresses, because otherwise it's just theoretical-- any interest-bearing investment you do requires putting the money in something theoretical-- like a company's future. Pulling out of the stock market would crush big business in this nation. Odd line of thinking for a rightwinger, don't you agree?

Well, at least they have Social Security. It'll keep them off the streets, anyway, if not much else. Forty percent of your average yearly income is not a lot, but it's a safety net, anyway. Yay for FDR! Still saving the average American from the evils of the modern-day robber barons.

[GenuineRisk]

Oh my God; I can't believe BB finally goaded me into really getting into it with him. Darnit! You suckered me! Sigh...

But I do apologize for using "ridiculous." I would prefer to keep away from name-calling and things like that in these things. You may have very good backup for your argument. To quote Rhett Butler, "I shall watch with interest."

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

BB, that's ridiculous. Yes, stock market savings are only as valuable as the people buying and selling think they are, but when a company chooses to give company stock for pensions, there is an understanding by the employee that the stock is worth about what the company says it is. Kenny Boy and Co. were lying about and covering up the true state of the company's finances, and continuing to push purchasing the stock on their employees. If the employees knew the true state of the company's finances, do you think they would have held onto their stock? Come on. This is not like being promised a Rolex and then not given it as a gift; pensions are part and parcel of the employment package (if a package includes them). They aren't a Christmas bonus. What this is like is using all of your savings for a Renoir that you were told over and over was genuine and that you could resell at a profit in the future and then finding out the guy who sold it to you knew it was a fake that he bought at Wal-Mart. And then the guy dies before you can sue him.

Under your theory, people should be putting their assets only in cash in their mattresses, because otherwise it's just theoretical-- any interest-bearing investment you do requires putting the money in something theoretical-- like a company's future. Pulling out of the stock market would crush big business in this nation. Odd line of thinking for a rightwinger, don't you agree?

Well, at least they have Social Security. It'll keep them off the streets, anyway, if not much else. Forty percent of your average yearly income is not a lot, but it's a safety net, anyway. Yay for FDR! Still saving the average American from the evils of the modern-day robber barons.

My point is that the assets weren't some poor schnook's "life savings" ... as if Lay destroyed a bank where people had been squirreling their money.

Any reputable financial advisor will say that it's unwise to keep all your assets ... savings, pension, whatever ... in one stock. Diversify ... diversify ... diversify is what they all preach. Those who kept all of their pension assets in Enron stock were as unwise as Ken Lay was crooked.

In any case ... it wasn't their "life savings" which were lost.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite

My point is that the assets weren't some poor schnook's "life savings" ... as if Lay destroyed a bank where people had been squirreling their money.

Any reputable financial advisor will say that it's unwise to keep all your assets ... savings, pension, whatever ... in one stock. Diversify ... diversify ... diversify is what they all preach. Those who kept all of their pension assets in Enron stock were as unwise as Ken Lay was crooked.

In any case ... it wasn't their "life savings" which were lost.

It's what they'd planned to retire on. If that's not your life savings, what is?

Yes, duh about diversification, but you'd be amazed at how many people don't know to do that. They don't teach you it in school. Or to put money aside BESIDES Social Security, because 40 percent of your average income ain't much to retire on... as those poor Enron folks suckered by Lay are going to find out.

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite

Ken Lay was a crook ... but please allow me to repeat the facts of this "pension" stuff ...

No Enron employees lost any of their own money. What they "lost" was the paper value of the Enron stocks which had been pledged to their pension plan. The value of these stocks was never "theirs" to begin with ... it was only something they were told they would get in the future.

It's like someone saying they'll give you a Rolex watch on your next birthday ... then not doing it.

Castigate Mr. Lay for being a crook ... but please stop wailing about the "little people" who had their "life savings" stolen from them ... because there weren't any.

More sophmoric idiocrisy from you.

Much of the stock was held in the form of options through an ESOP. The shares had a vesting schedule.

And, as any of mnd person will tell you, these shares as well as the ongoing contributions of Enron to these plans repereseted a huge potion of total compensation.

To say that these people "Had it coming" is the stupidest comment you have made yet (congratulations).

Dey Wuz Robbed.