Pardon me while I let some prejudices show. Yes, I do have them. After 26 years with the Securities and Exchange Commission, exactly the area in which the good doctor specializes, it has been my experience that most of the old time CPAs cannot write worth a good God Damn. I do not know what is required for a Bachelor's degree in Accounting today, the younger CPAs that the SEC has been getting seem to be much more broadly educated, but the older CPA degree seemed to be more of a trade school degree than anything else. They did not seem to involve themselves in any other matters while obtaining their educations. As a result, they were woefully ignorant of virtually every aspect of writing the English language, including spelling. They had no concept of history or of geopgraphy beyond the minimal knowledge of where they had travelled, and worse, no curiosity. When I once asked one of them about this, he said that he had to study so hard and had so much professional reading to keep up that he had no time for anything else. My reaction was "Bullsh*t!"
Well, I think that this same condition is what we are seeing in Dr. Dunlop, a too narrow focus in a very, very narrow field. If you have trouble sleeping and need something to put you to sleep, try reading a book on financial derivatives. The can be fiendishly complex and have the capacity to make or to lose vast sums of money, but they are so far from real securites that they seem unreal. BTW, using the title is not at all uncommon in an academic environment, but I do find it stretching it a bit to use it in an email to a non-academic person.
PS: Since I do work for the SEC, any reports that you give me about stock swindles, real or suspected, I am bound by law to report to our Division of Enforcement. So, please be certain that this is the resut that you wish before you talk with me.
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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
[This message has been edited by FullerH (edited 05-30-2001).]
