Don't get us wrong: We despise the arrogant and overpaid financiers responsible for this economic mess. They, not taxpayers, should pay for their incompetence. But banker hatred is starting to get worrisomely extreme.

Some examples:

Bill Maher: Execute them!

The HBO talk-show host said he would like to see two bankers executed: Former Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld, for earning $500 million in compensation before the company folded, and Bernie Madoff, for scamming rich people like Fuld. China does this sort of thing, you see, and it would serve as a warning to others. Maher's "Death to Moochy" segment might habe been half in jest, but Maher left no doubt he was at least partly serious.