The Reagan Republican mantra "Get the government off our backs" has been joyously followed by every conceivable con-artist.

The end result was headlined in the September 15 Seattle Times under TURMOIL ON WALL STREET.

Lehman Brothers was founded 158 years ago in Alabama by three Lehman brothers had survived the Civil War, two world wars, the Depression, currency crises and the 9/11 attacks that destroyed their former New York City headquarters.  

Associated Press writer Michael Lebtke in a September 15 account of the collapse of Lehman Brothers explained how this financial pillar crumbled under recklessness: