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Dear  Jeremy,

Sorry, but this matter of my having taken issue with Mr. Severance's
$100-challenge has clearly gotten out of hand. I was offended, you're
offended, and now Mr. Severance (to whom I meant no ill will) is offended,
and so are some others, I gather, as well.

So, with this note, I shall drop the issue for the moment. Although I believe
it inappropriate to make the donating of funds to PAN conditional on the
correct answering of riddles (= Mr. Severance's offer at the time), I do
credit Mr. Severance with trying something lighthearted and fun and apparently
well-meaning; I also believe that Mr. Severance deserves praise as well
for his now having offered, as I've read, to donate those funds to PAN
outright.

I also hope that you recognize, offended as you may feel by my earlier
critique, that nobody here (neither you nor I nor anyone else) has a
personal lock on affliction, and that we should all, in my opinion, be free
to offer fair-minded critique of whatever methodology re: support for
PD-research is discussed in the PD Digest.

I apologize if my critique offended you or anyone else; I certainly had
no intention of causing personal offense, but rather had the goal of
raising an issue which I do maintain merits critical attention.

And I am surprised -- amazed, really, and chagrined -- that with all that so
many of us in this field (PD) have presumably observed, been troubled by, and
gained insight from -- regarding what might be termed the *political games*
played by various *special interests* and *power elites* and *politicos*
in Washington DC vis-a-vis getting *basic* attention paid to funding for
PD-research -- that my raising questions about the propriety of a
methodology for generating even a modest $100-donation for PD-research has
*incensed* some of the very people to whom my observations were intended
to be of service.

But such is life

-- SJS