From: Dave Heil on Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:11:06 GMT

wrote:

The FCC has released its latest operating budget listing over
its web page. Anyone who cares to can go check it out.
The ARRL never reveals its budget plans to the public,
despite all its Believers' claims that it is handled in a
"democratic fashion"...

Where is it mandated that the ARRL reveal its budget plan?

Oh, oh, little red-hatted monkey's ox has been gored!

Stand by while the Schutzstaffel marches on (with hob-
nailed boots) to DEMAND explanations for such egregious
negative commentary! [Zey tink dey haf vays of making
me cringe and beg for mercy? :-) ]

If the ARRL is as open and above-board as they imply,
they should make everything known to their membership.
Of course, if they did that then they would have to
(by law) reveal the annual salaries of their highest-
paid staff...some of whom have tried to "debate" things
in here AS IF they were jes' good ol' boys. :-)

The League is governed by an elected board of directors who live all
over the United States. Those directors are elected by League members
from their geographical area.

Wah, wah, wah...AS IF the League "represented ALL amateur
licensees" in a "democratic manner" AS LAWFUL as any
federal government body. BS. They are a PRIVATE
membership entity and the membership represents ONLY
a quarter of the total US amateur radio licensees.

...AS IF it were an arm of the guvmint.

I don't know of anyone saying that except for you.

Then you don't know much, are a BELIEVER in everything
the League says they are/do, and have an extremely
POOR memory of what has been claimed by other Believers
in here in past years.

Of course YOU have FAILED to secure a Directorship,
haven't you? :-)

Are you making brown-nose statements in here to gain a
better image for another election? :-)


The best one can hope for is someone else getting copies
of its IRS Returns and publicizes those. Otherwise we
"common folk" would never know its a multi-million dollar
"non-profit" organization.

The League must submit all kinds of paperwork to government.

Name ALL of them besides the annual IRS Tax Returns.

Remember your organ grinder's ****y pedantry on EXACT
figures and details. Do as he says and he might give
you some of the pennies out of his tin cup you carry.

If
government finds a problem, do you think it will sweep it under the rug,
or will it address the problem?

Let's just say it will NOT be national news carried in
journalistic circles as Page 1 material. :-)

The ARRL is still very "small potatoes" as membership
organizations go.

How are you involved?

Tsk, tsk. Your only "comment" here seems to be on a simple
comment I made about the FCC. The FCC has definitely
posted their proposed annual budget. I just pointed out
that the ARRL never does that sort of thing...and that got
your ox gored somehow.

I'm "not involved" with the FCC. I don't work there, nor
for them. But, I am a citizen of the United States, was
one long before you came into existance. I CAN speak to
MY government without "being involved" IN the government.

You aren't an ARRL member. You have no standing in the ARRL.
You have no vote in ARRL matters.

Wah, wah, wah...there you go again with the "not involved"
routine. :-)

The ARRL loves to Talk Big and say it "represents all US
radio amateurs." They can't possibly represent all, not
even close to a majority status. They are a MINORITY
membership group.

But, their survival as a profit-making publisher DEPENDS
on their PR image. THAT income keeps them going, pays
their bills, pays their staff, the whole thing...with the
possible exception of QST staff which depends on ad sales
to break even. Simple economics. Praise themselves, build
the image, draw in customers, get them to pay for things.
Along the way they can build a core membership that becomes
a devoted following of Believers. Like yourself.

Politically, the ARRL is a SPECIAL-INTEREST group. Not only
does the ARRL have a professional lobbyist firm on retainer
in DC but their "rep" allows government types to notice the
pretty logotype on their papers and "important" titles of
their officers. They have "no" influence, are altruistic
in some kind of extreme? BS.

In the past three-decades-plus, the ARRL has, most definitely
toadied to the brass-pounders, over-emphasized that singular
skill over and above all other skills. Their skewed
demographics (relative to the total amateur licensees in US)
of their core membership (olde-tymers, life members, etc)
shows that. Their "casual" mention of "CW" over all other
modes in publications shows that...their core membership
loves that sort of thing.

But, the ARRL's core membership is following normal human
life attrition. That means their membership is dwindling.
If the membership is dwindling, then the demographics of
member numbers presented to advertisers twice a year shows
a declining market space. Dues for membership are a very
SMALL part of the ARRL's income. They've already shown
their need for funding with repeated requests for donations
of all kinds over and above their membership dues.

The ARRL's PR tune is being rewritten now. The small
coterie of movers and shakers in/around Newington aren't
stupid. FCC 06-178 marks one of the significant, if not
most significant event in US amateur radio history of
the past half century. Old-fashioned morse code mode
is NO LONGER the featured epitome of amateur radio
operating skills...if we are to read between the lines
of their latest "midnight exams" news posting. But, at
the same time, those that want to become one with the
olde-tymers can take a code test before 23 Feb 07. That
is a clear sign the ARRL is trying to please BOTH sides
of the morse code testing issue. They need to be careful
in straddling the opinion fence lest they do physical
damage to themselves. Either way, it does not matter
to me except for the PR they use to masquerade as a
"representative of all [US] amateurs." Pfaughh.

I'm a Life Member of a professional association. Pros
aren't amateurs...yet some pros like to also be amateurs
when not involved in professional work. You revile that
for some twisted personal reason. You don't understand
that a professional radio operator license takes as much
effort and knowledge (perhaps more) as any amateur radio
operator license. Why? To reinforce your own PR image
of an 'amateur expert' through morse code skill? To ACT
the "superior" by reviling all who do not respect your
mighty amateur 'accomplishments?' Do you have an ACTOR's
guild membership? Why do you wish to suppress all
opinions against the only national amateur radio member
organization in the United States? What are you hiding?