We have this crazy, old-fashioned idea that shareholders actually own public corporations – not management teams and certainly not the government. We believe the owners of a business have the right to decide whether or not to go forward with important changes to the capital structure – like mergers and acquisitions. It is, after all, their property. So when Bank of America’s management team decided to buy Merrill Lynch despite Merrill’s enormous $15 billion fourth-quarter loss and its decision to accelerate billions worth of employee bonuses, we think Bank of America’s rightful owners should have been appraised of these significant developments before shareholder vote.

You probably heard what happened instead: The government leaned on Ken Lewis to keep quiet about Merrill’s losses. And he caved. Then in a move of utter cowardice, Ken Lewis tried to blame the affair on Merrill’s former CEO. We hope shareholders sue the government for tortuous interference with the contract. They’ll win. We hope Ken Lewis goes to jail for securities law violations – for which he is clearly guilty. We hope Bank of America’s rightful owners will one day have their property returned to them. So I guess you could say we’re on the side of property owners and against the endless number of leeches who try to con, steal, and muscle in on them.