Brian, I am with you on most of your thoughts, but not the ARS matter. PTSC is in good and plentiful company re: public companies (most much larger than Patriot, with dedicated Treasury functions) that got caught holding ARS they could no longer sell. These were highly liquid securities commonly used to earn a bit more than money markets or CD's, until the "black swan" event came along and the market evaporated. The BOD and the CFO are not to blame, IMHO, unless additional investments were made after the problems first surfaced.

Rather, blame should be assigned to the broker who put PTSC into these vehicles, and his/her employer (likely a Merrill or UBS) who initially created the ARS markets and then abandoned them, leaving customers holding the bag (fiduciary duty to clients, hahahaha!). They should make investors whole if the market does not come back.

Just MHO; appreciate your posts.