Cue Freddie Dalton Thompson from The Hunt for Red OctoberThe New York Times on banker compensation in these tough times:

Bank executives are grappling with a question that exasperates, even infuriates, many recession-weary Americans: Just how big should their paydays be? Despite calls for restraint from Washington and a chafed public, resurgent banks are preparing to pay out bonuses that rival those of the boom years. The haul, in cash and stock, will run into many billions of dollars.

Industry executives acknowledge that the numbers being tossed around — six-, seven- and even eight-figure sums for some chief executives and top producers — will probably stun the many Americans still hurting from the financial collapse and ensuing Great Recession.

It’s going to get out of control, as in some tea-bagging nut with a gun out of control, and I know that I won’t be sitting on the jury, because I could not bring myself to vote to convict.