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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Since when did I suggest I didn't want you to talk about the cards you are consigning? I asked you a very simple, straightforward question: "Do you have any cards consigned in Barry's auction?" I made it a simple question so that you would not later claim you did not understand it or were somehow fooled. Alas, your answer has changed in just a few hours. How providing a partial, untrue answer would prevent you from being criticized is beyond me.

Hal, no one wants you to not talk about cards. We all appreciate the knowledge you have and when you share it with the rest of us. That is undisputed. However, I understand that it is easier to play the victim when you feel you are being attacked - in that way you can deflect the attack without having to address the reason FOR the purported attack. I think the problem Ryan has with you - and many others over time - is that you tend to be duplicitous. You go on and on, in a manner some might deem to be ad nauseum, about an auction and tend to ignore others. Many people then note that the auctions you rave about ad nauseum are the ones in which you have a financial interest. I don't think anyone has a problem with it if you just bothered to be upfront and honest about your interests. It's like on CNBC, when a guest analyst discusses a stock he or she is required to disclose any financial interest he or she may have in that stock. I'm guessing you understand this concept. I remember when Julie had some cards up in the REA auction, she repeatedly, and good-naturedly, beat the drums for HER cards. It was upfront, transparent and honest - and still some people took it the wrong way. As for your happy days away from the board, I'm sure you had much happier things to deal with while away. I'd hate for anyone here to cause you any undue pain.