From: jkearman@arrl.org (Jim Kearman)
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc
Subject: Re: Common Enemy of Amateur Radio
Date: 19 Aug 92 18:31:56 EDT
Organization: American Radio Relay League

Regarding my comment that ARRL needs an "enemy" like the
anti-gun lobby confronting the NRA, Erik Sorgatz writes:
; 
; How very right you are! I would propose that the real "enemy"`
;is and always has been the commercial interests. Look at the 
;220MHz Circus..I don't HATE the ARRL, I'd like to see it really
;achieve it's intended goals. (Somehow though I doubt like hell
;that spending 23 pages in each issue of QST recounting the top
;glories of the contest trail is gonna do it! Take that stuff
;and build a seperate monthly. Besides, contesting is very small
;part of the whole and most Amateurs couldn't care less.)
; 
; As an aside Jim would you estimate for us how much of our money 
;is actually spent on the lobby effort vs. the production of QST
;and the Grand Paper Chase?
; 
;'73!
; 
;-Avatar-> (aka: Erik K. Sorgatz) KB6LUY           +-------------------------+
;Citicorp(+)TTI                          *----------> panic trap; type = N+1 *
;3100 Ocean Park Blvd. Santa Monica, CA  90405     +-------------------------+
;{rutgers}!ttidca!sorgatz <- until 8/15/92 after-> (sorgatz@soldev.TTI.COM)
;
WHERE'S THE MONEY GO?
I couldn't even speculate on the dollars spent on either QST
or Washington efforts. QST mailing costs are also significant.
My experience has been that management is interested in 
controlling production costs of QST and books. 

QST CONTENT REDUX
Rather than comment on contesting and the page space it gets
in QST, let me repeat myself again. Be you contester, digital
mode experimenter, ATVer, QRPer, satellite user or 75-meter
AM rag chewer, you are first a ham. The shooting sports 
people figured this out years ago. I have absolutely no 
interest in shotgun shooting (ruins your trigger pull), but
I would never advocate diminishing that sports' access to
whatever. 'First they came for the shotgunners, and I said
nothing because I am a pistol shooter....' Rather than 
criticizing contesters etc., we need affirmative action. QST
articles don't magically appear in our computers, and photos
in upfront don't magically appear on film in someone's camera.
Internet is rich with good ideas, articulately stated. 'Nuff
said?

KNOW WHEN TO HOLD 'EM; KNOW WHEN TO FOLD 'EM
Personally, I don't think our Washington problems could have
been solved by spending more money. You reach a point in 
negotiations where further effort or expenditure is pointless.
Just because you're right, it doesn't automatically follow 
that you're going to win. Just ask the former residents of
Sarajevo.

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JIM KEARMAN, KR1S                    Voice: 203-666-1541 ext 279
ARRL Assistant Technical Editor	     FAX:   203-665-7531
Author of `The DXCC Companion'	     ARRL Headquarters
Editor of `Now You're Talking!,'     225 Main Street
ARRL License Manuals,		     Newington, CT 06111
ARRL Instructor Guides		     e-mail: jkearman@arrl.org
Author of `Wally and Mike' stories

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