Hey, DENNIS, your guilty conscience is showing .

Actually I feel just as strongly as you on most of your points concerning the National Club, but I usually am a paying member.
It's just that I really love going to the BANQUET and TRADING SESSION afterward. Of course since the SS collectors had their own Tuesday night trading session downtown last year, there were ZIP SS collectors in attendance after the banquet. That really made being a member FEEL rather useless (I said FEEL).
Dennis, did you get one of those free HARD ROCK NCV's they gave free a couple years ago to attending members? That chip alone was worth the year's membership fee, the Banquet cost, and the $10 pre-registration fee.
Every year they give some kind of free doodad that is always appreciated. While not like the HARDROCK one, if you pay long enough you just might hit the jackpot. I guess we all like to gamble, don't we?...and in this case in the long run, being a member may as well be free.

BTW, what you said really wasn't that bad of a thing to say because it was your personal preference. It's just that it came off as being rather critical of the National organization...and you got jumped on.
As for me I've always had amicable dealings with you.