[Fists] Great Lakes Director's Comments

[ATanner283@aol.com]

Here is Mr. Weavers latest e-mail hand out to folks in the Great Lakes=20
area......

(DIRECT ANY COMMENTS TO: k8je@arrl.org.=A0 Do not simply click on reply.=20
The reflector does not receive or forward E-mail.)

E-MAIL & US MAIL ON MORSE CODE REQUIREMENT

During recent days I've received E-mail messages promoting absolutely no
code from proponents of No Code International.=A0 Before this, I received
code-forever cards from FISTS followers.=A0 Partly because of this, I'm
motivated to come out with a bit of plain talk.=A0 I do not wish to offend
anyone.=A0 I respect anyone's opinion (regardless of my opinion of it) and
continue to invite people, ARRL members especially, to let me know their
thinking.=A0 However, here is what I think about the Morse code licensing
issue and how I intend to proceed at the ARRL Board meeting next week=A0=20
. . . and a few thoughts on other topics.=A0 Please take these words at
face value.

THE OPINIONS OF MEMBERS

Members' opinions are very important to me.=A0 Your answers to my July CW
questionnaire caused me to modify my initial position on code
requirements.=A0 Any member of this Division was eligible and requested to
give me his/her thoughts.=A0 For members who somehow did not receive the
poll, I regret you were missed.=A0 For you who chose to ignore the
questionnaire, I am sorry you shut yourselves out of helping shape my
opinion.=A0 You snooze; you lose!

NO CODE INTERNATIONAL (NCI)

NCI has done a good job of encouraging its members and followers to let
me know what they think.=A0 No problem.=A0 Unfortunately, most of the NCI
people who contacted me and identified themselves as such do not belong
to ARRL.=A0 They lost their opportunity to help me formulate my position
on code requirements by not being an ARRL member and, therefore, not
replying to my questionnaire.=A0 My position was developed by mid-Fall
after studying the hundreds of responses by members to my questionnaire
and after studying other information I found.

NON-MEMBERS

To be very frank, unless a non-member comes to me with a clearly good
idea or points out a clear problem, their opinion holds significantly
less weight with me than those of members.=A0 With exception, nonmembers
do not actively support the fight ARRL is making to defeat the forces
(BPL) attempting to QRM our frequencies on a wholesale basis.=A0 They also
generally do not support our effort to pass legislation that prohibits
FCC from skimming off our frequencies at will . . . or our fight to
secure the right for each amateur to install an antenna/tower (provided
doing this is physically reasonable and safe).=A0 In short, nonmembers who
ask my support for a position usually have not in my opinion shown they
care enough about Amateur Radio by joining the fight to protect it and
enhance it.

If anyone wants my unqualified representation, all they need to do is to
join ARRL and become part of the only organization in the world that is
fighting to preserve and enhance Amateur Radio in the US.=A0 Shouldn't it
be more important that all of us get together under one strong
organization to defeat the BPLs, frequency skimmers and
anti-antenna/tower rules than to have a head-butting contest over either
of the no code or know code extremes?

As an example of the reason I feel this way, it would matter not that I
have a 20-wpm license or a no-code license, if we lose essential battles
and find ourselves but have only insufficient, and highly QRMd
frequencies on which to exercise these licenses.

MY POSITION

I agree with and will pursue offering the opportunity in a meaningful
way to no code licensees to use HF.=A0 I have just become a Bad Guy in the
eyes of the strict know-coders.

I also agree with and will pursue requiring Morse code requirements for
a specified class of license.=A0 I have now also become a Bad Guy in the
eyes of the strict no-coders.
Let's face it, no matter what I and the rest of the Board do in this
matter, we will be labeled stooges, a bunch of out-of-touch old men and
saddled with the claim we have prostituted ourselves to the financial
dictates of someone or other, somewhere.=A0 This easily-concocted view of
the Directors and Officers is an easy, if not fully inaccurate, target
for anyone who does not get exactly what they feel they deserve.

So much for the goings on in the world of friendly politics!







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