I agree with your assesment, and again, welcome to the forum.
I guess we could call it "paid for tooting of their own horn" but also a common practice in the world of public companies. Just watch CNBC when a CEO is a featured guest...capiche? I'm sure you have....
The fact of the matter is, they don't have cash to pay for it, thus the stock deal.
Nobody here is naive to the current state of the company, but we stay on the postive yet realistic side regarding our posts. Like your Montello comments about a "basher" as you called him, we don't have those types here either...for long anyway...lol.
I look forward to future contributions from you.
Thanks for the reply.