A federal judge has blessed the Hostess liquidation, after labor and management failed to reach agreement on an equitable solution. This isn’t surprising at all; management was basically set up to liquidate the company and strip the assets. Twinkies and Ding Dongs will survive; the company has solicited several offers for the brands. It’s just the 18,500 employees who will be out of luck; even if some of them get retained after the fire sale, getting absorbed into a new company almost certainly means that they will not all get their jobs back.

Meanwhile the executives will get a BONUS for all this.

A US bankruptcy judge has prevented the liquidation of Hostess Brands for the moment, suggesting a mediation process between the company and its Bakers Union. Both sides have agreed to the mediation.

Hostess went to Judge Robert Drain to, get this, receive permission to pay out executive bonuses to top officials in the company, even while they seek the pull the company into a liquidation that would eliminate the jobs of at least 18,500 workers.

The closing of Hostess is a moment of some importance in our cultural history. Some in the news try to tell us that General Petraeus’ sex life is more important. Humbug. A person of power having illicit sex is a dog bites man story. Hostess going down is proof that in this universe things fall apart and the creamy center does not hold.

The company, which has more than $860 million in debt to Bain-like private equity firms, is letting the vulture capitalists cake-walk and blaming the bakers union.

This is an object lesson in how management looks at labor relations these days. Workers are expected to take their lumps, and if they protest, management will just blow up the company. And the owners will still make a profit. This is Romneyism and Bainism writ large.