The Options Box

[Poet]

BoP,

I don't know if you've been on IHub today, but I want you to know that I posted a reply this morning that I didn't feel proud of and have removed it.

Now I'll reply in a more measured way. First, I do apologize for referring to the certificate of deposit as a stock certificate for the second time. That was an oversight on my part. I think that I didn't recognize it as anything other than a stock certificate because I decided early on to not trade penny, or OTC:BB stocks, so I've never experienced the kind of difficulty Gary was speaking of. The major reason I no longer trade penny stocks is that I feel they're much more vulnerable to manipulation, both from inside and outside the company, than are stocks on the NYSE and Nasdaq.

I became involved in this "no shorting" conversation for two reasons, first, I felt that the mechanics of shorting stocks on the NYSE and Nasdaq was not being adequately represented. Since the petition appears to call for the cessation of all shorting, I wanted to clarify how it works for most retail traders. I spent a number of hours doing this and had the impression that my posts were not read for this content, merely mined for insults.

The second reason I entered the conversation is that I had, and still have, the impression that the stance taken by those who wrote the petition was that it is unpatriotic to short. I take issue with this. I don't think it's productive at this time in history to point fingers at people about their lack of patriotism. We are all grieving the loss of 6500 people, as well as a lifestyle and sense of security we cherished. Peoples' reactions to the stress and sadness of the attacks are varied and worthy of respect.

That said, I feel I was too harsh on you and Gary in implying you are wasting your time. If this is what you wish to do with your time and considerable influence, you have every right to do so.

I have registered my disagreement with your project and consider my part in the discussion over with.

I wish you well.