If you blinked, you missed it.

If you were a West Wing fan, then you should have watched Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I watched a new episode last night and was blown away. Unfortunately, while looking for information for this posting, I visited the NBC website and the description for last night's episode included the devastating, "Series Finale".
Studio 60 was produced and written by Emmy award winners Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme - both of "The West Wing" fame - and has the same brilliant script and dialogue that I enjoyed so much in their political drama.
While I don't agree with many of the political or social views that seem prominent on the show, they are presented in such a way that make it difficult to argue against. What I really like about both shows is that the characters don't simply complain about the way things are (a trend I see in many Democrats). They take action to change the things they feel need to be changed.
In "The West Wing", Sorkin didn't seem to be saying that the government was running itself incorrectly, what Sorkin showed was his idea of how the government should be run correctly. In Studio 60, Sorkin's characters saw things that needed to be changed. Instead of standing in front of a camera and saying, "Things need to be changed" they went out and took action. Characters quit their jobs to prove a point (and move mountains in changing the minds of network execs). Instead of making the easy or popular choices, they produced sketches that would cause controversy in order to make people think.
I knew a pastor who said - and I'm paraphrasing - "You may not agree with me, but I'm going to make you think about what you do believe, and why you believe it."

I'm rambling, and I'm off the subject (which is why I don't make a living writing), but I strongly encourage you to watch any episodes of Studio 60 or The West Wing if you see either one in syndication. They are worth watching.

Do great things.

Anne Coulter's smart mouth.

So... does Anne Coulter have anything intelligent to say? Forbes doesn't seem to think so. If she's made any intelligent remarks, they weren't referenced in this article.

Kiplinger's Challenge

Fred W. Frailey, editor of Kiplinger's personal finance magazine, has extended a challenge put forth by Bill Miller - Legg Mason fund manager.
Miller has invested in a company (through his Opportunity fund) that has a $2-billion maket cap. This company has no debt and is buying back 10% of its stock. He claims that the stock is down 30% to 40% from its peak, and 45% of the stock is sold short.
Frailey comments that massive short selling can be a profit opportunity for the patient investor. "When and if [the company] turns its business around, the stampede caused by short sellers covering their positions will give the stock price a mighty boost."
Frailey discloses that the company is not IndyMac and it's not Corporate Executive Board, "whose shares fell from $111 to $73 - and then to $60 in late April, when first-quarter profits failed to live up to analsts' expectations."
Do you think you know what the stock is? Frailey comments that we'll know the name when the Opportunity fund issues its June shareholder report. If you know (or think you know) comment here.