The Cost of the Protected Class

Hat tip to Mish.

Michael Moore's Capitalism

Michael Moore, from the movie Capitalism (3/5 stars):

In the land of the brave, nothing works better than good old-fashioned fear.

When it comes to acerbic wit, Mr. Moore is quite good.

Funny?: Getting Kicked in the Gonads

If someone takes the time to post an insightful comment, I usually check out his or her profile. If I'm lucky, the profile will lead me to the commenter's blog. Here's an interesting blog post from "Matt," who appears to be Indiana-based. I'm going to share one of his funny Q&As with you:

What does being kicked in the balls really feel like?

Like being kicked in the balls. To those who know, no explanation is necessary. To those who do not know, no explanation is sufficient. I won't claim women are incapable of experiencing comparable pain (you'd NEVER get me to go through childbirth!) but there's really no adequate frame of reference to _explain_ the feeling more specifically than "it hurts. A lot. Way more than you'd think it would. Be glad YOUR gonads aren't hanging around outside your body, OK? Evolution wants us to protect them even slightly more than it wants us to _survive_, so when we fail to do so, it punishes us."

Original Q&As here (Warning: no pictures, but probably NSFW).

Movie Recommendation

If you're looking for a movie to watch this weekend, consider 2009's The Art of the Steal. It's about what happens when a man's principles confront financial issues, politicians, and the law. My hero Julian Bond participates in the film.

"One man's conspiracy is another man's political consensus." -- from The Art of the Steal

Funny: Chain Emails

The British seem preternaturally blessed with wit, and the following two email chains prove it:

http://www.27bslash6.com/p2p2.html

http://www.27bslash6.com/missy.html

Hilarious stuff, isn't it? I liked the first one more than the second one--the second one seemed more mean-spirited to me, even though I know it's all fake.

Update on Brocade

On July 23, 2010, I wrote: "I own Brocade (BRCD) shares. As of July 23, 2010, Brocade is my largest individual stock holding." The original post is HERE. 

On July 23, 2010, BRCD was trading around 5.03. BRCD declined further over the next few weeks, dropping to around 4.70. I continued to buy on the way down, even as I doubled my workout routine to deal with the stress. 

On September 2, 2010, BRCD went up to 5.64. I sold most of my shares around 5.57. 

Although it seems counter-intuitive, I get very anxious when a stock pops over 20% in less than a month. With my "two in the hand is better than one in the bush" mentality, I sold almost all of my BRCD stock. BRCD is no longer my largest holding, and I no longer have an opinion about the direction of its stock price. However, I continue to think a "horizontal acquisition" (when a competitor buys out its competition or supplier) would be ideal for EMC and BRCD, especially because the risk of a DOJ anti-trust objection appears negligible. (Strangely enough, rumors are floating now about EMC being a takeover target, even though very few companies could afford to buy EMC.) 

It's puzzling to me that almost no one has suggested EMC as a potential acquirer of BRCD. Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), IBM, and Oracle (ORCL) are usually mentioned in every story about Brocade--even though Larry Ellison once said he wasn't interested in Brocade, and HPQ might not be too keen on making another acquisition so soon after its 3PAR (PAR) deal. 

Regardless of the potential synergies, a Brocade buy-out isn't a sure thing. For example, a company interested in Brocade may decide to look at QLogic Corp. (QLGC) instead. Also, Brocade's Board of Directors may demand a buyout price beyond what an interested acquirer would consider fair or reasonable. And of course, Brocade may simply decide to move forward on its own. 

I do know one thing, though--with so much cash on their books, tech companies are sick of getting close to 0% for it. Most tech companies--mindful of the boom/bust cycles common in the technology arena--usually hoard cash and pay either no dividend or a paltry one. As long as interest rates remain low, many tech companies will be looking to grow through acquisitions. Good luck to them, and good luck to Brocade and its CEO Michael Klayko. 

Prior to Brocade, Mr. Klayko held positions at EMC and IBM. 

Disclosures: I continue to own some Brocade (BRCD) shares, but my holdings may change in the future.

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They're Outraged, and We're Laughing

Like the hilarious Dave Chappelle skit where each racial group has to draft celebrities for their team, the right has selected Outrage, while the intellectual liberals have selected....Humor. Think about it. What's the best liberal program in print or paper today? The funny Daily Show. What do right-wingers watch? Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly yelling and screaming in anger at the America they believe they're losing. What's wrong with this picture?

Anger, even simple-minded anger, usually spurs action. If you're angry, you write to someone, march the streets, or join a political organization (like the Tea Party). But if you're laughing, you're feeling either superior to someone or temporarily happy. The laughter eliminates your anger and in doing so, your drive to cause change. This may be one reason conservative right-wingers have managed to create a viable political movement, while the Green Party has floundered or been counter-productive (i.e., impacting Al Gore's presidential aspirations).

If this trend continues, Sarah Palin's right-wing movement may have the last laugh.