Agreed!
If opener has ♠, he'll let you know.
I think preempts (which 2♠ certainly qualifies as) are supposed to mess with the opponents' auctions, not your own.
Also, the first example above, "Grand Slam, by Mark Horton," contains an especially clumsy example of plagiarism.
"The Stanislavsky method is notable because it is designed to minimize the conflicts between married couples during the game, and as such there are a quite a few humorous scenes in which bitter ...
I saw this hand when it was played and thought it worth 3♠. Am I nuts? At the very least this must be close, yes?
Richard's "slow 2♠" at least acknowledges that it is better than complete garbage. Maybe my internal hand evaluator needs recalibration?