I know that many of us were deeply disappointed when the U.S. House of Representatives today failed to pass Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s emergency stabilization plan. We believe that the defeat of this plan is not only bad for the markets and for our firm - but a dangerous course for the country with negative consequences for people far from Wall Street.

Indeed, following the vote today, the financial markets sent Congress a loud and clear message about the consequences of Congress’s failure to respond to the financial crisis at hand - sending the Dow down more than 700 points. In the aftermath of the vote and the market’s reaction, the leaders of both parties have vowed to regroup and consider how they can bring the financial market rescue package back to the floor of the House for successful reconsideration.

We believe it is critical that members of Congress hear about the importance of passing a plan this week.

If you share this view, I encourage you to call your Congressman and Senator at (202) 224-3121 and let them know how important this plan is for the American economy.

Translation: “We fucked up and now you need to bail us out or it’ll hurt you too. We promise.”

The individual who released this received 13.33 times his salary as his bonus in 2006 and after all other forms of compensation are calculated in: over 20 times. Much of that was stock. My guess is a bailout by the taxpayers would significantly impact his bank account. I think it’s safe to say that likely has a significant impact on his opinion. I’m not seeing any hesitation, no condemnation of the CRA, no concern for artificially low interest rates, moral hazards or the Federal Reserve System.

If the company he works for can’t keep itself afloat without interference by the government it deserves to fail.