Wait a minute — what's naked shorting?

I would've thought it was one of those "Co-ed Naked ..." sports you see on T-shirts in college towns.

But I'd have been wrong.

Yesterday I learned the term, if not its meaning, when I opened my Washington Post to a full-page ad from a group called NCANS headlined "An Open Letter on the Abuse of Naked Shorting."

Well.

After reading the very dense text of the letter (available on the NCANS website) addressed to President Bush, William Donaldson of the SEC, Senator Chuck Hagel, and Representative Richard Baker, I wasn't a whole lot closer to understanding why it was important that the practice be stopped.

NCANS, by the way, stands for the National Coalition Against Naked Shorting.

It was constituted just last month.

You can read more about it here.

Me, I think it's time to move on.