I recently heard a similar story about the Sierra Club. Which makes me wonder if this is a reverse smear campaign in which causing the target organizations to lose members is the goal, or if all those conspiracy theorists you hear from really are right, and there's a right-wing conspiracy to take over any organization that is at odds with their agenda. Until I hear this change in direction from either organization's leadership, I'll have to remain a skeptic. If it is true that both organizations are being taken over by interests that run counter to their stated goals, the answer is easy --- vote the current leadership out of office, and replace them with people who will return the club to it's stated purpose. Just leaving isn't the answer. Both organizations are far more democratic than the US government is.............................take advantage of that fact & make a difference instead of picking up your toys and going home. One side note, though: Being the president of a paddling club myself, and having in recent years twice fought off legislative attempts to force registration and licensing on paddlers, I have a problem with this crusade against PWC's. When it first started, I was a board member of another club, and I warned the board that supporting such a cause would eventually come back to land on us. Once PWC's were registered, and their operators licensed here in CT, paddlers then became the bad guys, just as I had predicted several years before. You can't try to restrict others' freedoms, and not expect the same to be done to you someday as well. PWC's have a lot of design issues that can be addressed with the right pressure (Ambulance chasers, not paddlers), but taking freedoms away from their owners isn't the way, IMO. My attitude has become "Be a responsible boater & let Darwin sort the rest out". Off my soapbox now. Wayne Smith Wayne Smith wsmith16_at_charter.net Check out my website! http://webpages.charter.net/wsmith16/home.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Mar 25 2004 - 09:02:47 PST
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