The SHA ballot came and I voted against the ROPA proposal.
 
Why?
 
Well, Bill Lipe answered eloquently. Nothing will be changed, except that
SHA and SAA will pay money into SOPA.
 
SOPA was solvent.
 
The real problem with SOPA, which would be repeated (albeit at greater
expense) with ROPA, is that the organization leadership over the years has
never made any move whatever to engage its membership. There is no feedback
and control mechanism whereby ideas could be floated and adopted by a broad
body of members. There has been no mechanism for personal contact among the
members.
 
In short, SOPA has had no sense of purpose, and no perceived role within
the broader community.
 
Everything the ROPA proposal could provide can be accomplished without a
change in anything, except the resolve of some of the individuals in
leadership positions.
 
If anything really turned me against the proposal, it was Henry Miller's
cover letter that came with the package. I think my friend stepped way
beyond the bounds of propriety and common decency when he enclosed his own
endorsement with the ballot. Although Henry's flyer did mention some of the
anti-ROPA arguments, it was clearly a solicitation.
 
The net product of the SOPA/ROPA proposal is nothing. It's like rearranging
the deck chairs on the Titanic. We need real change, not in the name of the
outfit, but in the attitudes of the people running things.
 
 
  _______
. |___|__\_==    [log in to unmask]
. | _ |  | --]   Ned Heite,                <DARWIN><
. =(O)-----(O)=  Camden, DE 19934          / \  / \
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Baby" Series IIA 88" 2.25L petrol Land Rover-----------------
Wool Camp in Iceland:  http://www.dmv.com/~iceland------------
Recent research:  http://home.dmv.com/~eheite/index.html -----
http://home.dmv.com/~eheite/landrover/lrhtml/1landrover.html--
--------------------------------------------------------------