Thank you so very, very much for your comment. You can’t imagine how much I appreciate it! Now I can prove what I’ve always said…that “Sedona really does have communists.”

That Treasury Market Chart I used in my article is NOT a price chart [notice in the name caption it says “Price Index”], it’s an INDEX chart. Here are the definitions setting out the differences between the two. You keep confusing stock exchange operations and securities analysis with economics. I suggest you quit trying to be more than you are.

[Securities] Price Chart-as used by Gordon:

A horizontal histogram plotted on the [SINGULAR, or SPECIFIC] chart of a security, which corresponds to the volume of shares traded at a specific price level. Price by volume histograms are found on the Y-axis and are used by technical traders to predict areas of support and resistance.

Price INDEX-as used by Normand:

An INDEX of the changes in the PRICES of GOODS, SERVICES, and FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS [not a single security], based on the prices of the same goods and services at a period arbitrarily selected as a base, usually expressed as 100.

My remarks to you were not ad hominem, they were industry specific. As to the “liar loans,” you know quite well that they were all bundled up into Mortgage-backed securities and sold to offshore banks who are now litigating against your industry, and the brokers who sold them, for non-disclosure and false representation. You know very well that the MBS investment packages were designed to make it almost impossible to track individual borrower files. Read Dan Amerman and find out how it was done. Just Google his name. As to your service as a floor specialist and governor of the AMEX, all that tells me is that you were part of the MBS and derivatives problem that is taking down our banking system. And, that fact, in no way means you understand economics. As to your statement that the Treasury Dept doesn’t release price charts, that is correct, the Bureau of Labor Statistics does that. The chart in my article is not a price chart. What are you talking about?

Furthermore, we did not have a dialogue, conference or discuss a literary work, thus no colloquy. Neither did I attack your integrity, rather, I questioned your knowledge. You do need to understand the difference! As to your statement “What have you done to improve your community, Mr. Normand?” this is an ad hominem attack which makes you look somewhat hypocritical, doesn’t it? BTW, the answer is, “far, far more than you and for a much long period of time!” I hope you’re not implying that your hard money loans are a community service (such as mentioned in the SF yelp reviews of your parent company).

My commentary was not meant to suggest that interest rates are NOT going up – we certainly hope they WILL go up as they have been laid low by a soft economy and Fed stimulus which one hopes will no longer be necessary. I merely suggested that the “sky is falling” mentality displayed here and elsewhere is not necessarily rational. I also would love to see data that support the statement that “most American’s retirement accounts are invested in Treasury notes and bonds and muni-bonds”. I do not think this is true, but I could be wrong. I think the real concern is that the median net worth of an American 65 year-old is $170,000.

I am very disappointed that my integrity would be questioned because I didn’t agree with somebody. I have spent my adult life on Wall Street where I served on the Board of Directors of the American Stock Exchange and served on its adjudiciary council as well as chairing market performance and disciplinary committees.

My avocation has been tournament bridge, where I serve on the ACBL Laws Commission, the National Appeals Committee, and the Goodwill Committee.

What have you done to improve your community, Mr. Normand?

1: Look up the term “ad hominem” – I think it describes your personal attacks on me, a person you don’t know – perfectly.
2, I will give you $10,000 if you can locate one so-called “Liar Loan” that was originated by me.
3. It is true that somebody in San Francisco had a grudge against the parent company of the company I work for. Please tell me what that has to do with me.
4. The Treasury Department doesn’t release price charts.
I do apologize for trying to have an intelligent, rational colloquy with you. Very bad judgment on my part. Be assured I will not darken the door of this site again.