On Fri, 1 Aug 2003, N2EY wrote:
....
There is no requirement that any radio amateur actually use Morse code. Radio
amateurs use it by choice.
Justification for it NOT to be a requirement.

Perhaps. Yet NCVEC did not pursue that line of reasoning, which could
be a very powerful argument. Instead, they wrote as if they want code
USE by hams to go away.

But the petition claims that hams ONLY use it because of the test
requirement. That's just not true.

Their involvement is with testing, not operating....

Then why talk about how much a mode is used and why?

So they can at least APPEAR to justify their position.

...
So, if I don't think any question is relevant, I can dispose of the entire
test? :-)

That's the ad absurdum that the NECVEC argument leads to.

But they didn't say that, nor does it necessarily lead all readers to that
conclusion....

It's incomplete. It looks like the NCVEC had blinders on.

I disagree. They aren't looking to refarm the service; just take "one bite
from the apple." (It may be the first bite, but not the last.)

Then it's sloppy. Or dishonest.

I disagree - neither sloppy nor dishonest. It's all that their function could
justify - and perhaps all that they really care about. Changing the bandplans
or anything else to have to do with morse code they simply leave for others,
because it's outside their little world.