"It's nice to know in a changing world that people can still be bought,"

Oh ya. Take a read of this Forbes article. It comments on the proposed merger of the NYSE (home of the specialist middleman) and Archipelago (an open architecture trading platform/exchange). So, if you're using an antiquated system (in the eyes of some) and they are going at you with both guns--and winning--what is your best option? Inflate the value of your firm and then buy the upstart. Beautiful.