OT/AJ, you missed the point entirely. It doesn't matter if AMGN cares. It matters that Brian does and to dismiss that is pretty callous of you, imo. And I say that as one who doesn't like the drug companies for some of the same reasons you state.
See, I share something with Brian. I won't go long MO. Why? My dad was a life-long smoker, and he died of lung cancer a few years back. Never got to see Freeplet. Dad was a pretty savvy investor, but ironically his single worst investment ever was shorting MO during its long, slow run. He said to me "the stock can't keep going up like that. Their earnings are bound to decline." He eventually stopped out, cuz the stock did continue going up as earnings continued to rise as Dad and so many other dads and moms and sons and daughters continued to smoke.
I don't blame MO for my dad dying, but I still won't go long the stock. I don't need to, as there are just a few thousand other stocks out in the universe. Is this a rational decision on my part? Does it matter? See, the decision helps remind me of someone I love, of the power of addiction, and the helplessness of watching someone die. And as a result of this concious decision, every time I see the MO symbol go by, I think of my dad -- and thinking of him always makes me happy. So, does MO care what I do? It doesn't matter. I care.
Now go ahead and dismiss that.
the freep, who woulda given all his money to a lowly biotech if it coulda saved his dad's life, but would NOT have stayed invested in a lowly biotech stock out of some sense of loyalty. |
