A message from Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF)
As reported by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation in a previous release, the US Congress has passed the much anticipated highway funding legislation.
The bill soared through both chambers this afternoon. Both chambers did have some nay votes, all coming from Republicans because of a few riders that were attached concerning student loan rates and the national flood insurance program. President Obama is expected to grant the measure swift passage into law.
The Highway Bill has been in the past, a vehicle for pro and anti-motorcycle issues. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation has worked closely with the primary authors of the legislation to ensure that this bill was all pro-motorcycle and had no anti-motorcycling issues.
The bill continues the grant program that was designed and implemented into law in 2005 by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), along with many State Motorcycle Rights Organizations (SMROs). Since 2005, the program has infused over $46 million dollars directly into the motorcycle safety community. By law, the cash can only be used on rider education and motorist awareness campaigns. The new program continues this tradition.
Historically, the bill has been used to implement nationwide mandatory helmet laws. Due to the hard work of the citizen lobbyist motorcyclists of this country, that’s not the case this time. Such good work in fact that there was never any official talk of attaching a helmet law on this bill. The last time Congress passed a highway bill, Sen. Lautenberg (D-NJ) offered an amendment on the floor of the Senate, just prior to passage. That amendment was defeated 68-29.
The MRF would like to thank everyone who has helped work on this legislation by coming to DC, making calls, and visiting with their Members of Congress. The reauthorization of the Highway Bill goes through 2014 and is expected to cost roughly $120 billion dollars.
Congratulations for keeping our rights intact!
Better yet is to reduce the Federal Government so that it doesn’t attempt to control the behavior in individual States. It is ridiculous to send money to Washington DC and then hope they give it back as Highway Funding. Then we celebrate because they haven’t attacked our motorcycling rights. There is too much power in the Federal Government.
Keep the money and the funding within the States, where it belongs. We should be working to eliminate Federal Highway Funding, not celebrating by how much we milked it. Dependency is not pretty.
I have to agree with Poppa that getting some of this money back and them not attacking motorcyclist is a step in the right direction.
Too much of our money goes to Washington and if we are good little boys and girls, follow their rulings and ask nicely they will give some of it back to us after skimming off the top.
Now God Forbid we do not do what they want – They Threaten To Withhold Highway Funds.
Just a little history lesson: NHTSA did that back in the 70s and myself and others went to Washing Dc on July 21, 1975 for the hearing on HB 3869. We were successful in overturning the Blackmail Threat.
Every once in a while we hear about it again. The only way to stop this is CUT FUNDING TO THE NHTSA.
poppa, we have the same problem up here in Canada. too much money goes to ottawa and then we have to hope they will give some back.
This just in from WI.
Wisconsin Needs To Put Its Money Where Its Mouth Is
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation and its Motorcycle Safety Program continue to cite the same old statistics put out by the NHTSA regarding motorcycle fatalities yet they continue to spend thousands on programs that don’t work.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Jul 03, 2012 –
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation and its Motorcycle Safety Program continue to blindly cite the same old statistics put out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding motorcycle fatalities. They continue to push motorcycle helmets along with bright clothing and the like as some type of “silver bullet” to solve the motorcycle fatality problem even though they are unable to produce any hard evidence that those practices create any measurable difference. If the Wisconsin DOT and its Motorcycle Safety Program were really serious about saving lives, wouldn’t you think that they would take a page from programs that are actually working and stop wasting valuable time and money pushing an agenda that has questionable results?
What has actually worked in reducing motorcycle fatalities then? Let’s use Florida as a shining example. The state of Florida has made a concerted effort to lower the motorcycle fatalities in its state by launching a massive billboard campaign, state-wide distribution of public service announcements on radio and television as well as creating a massive “Share The Road” program to educate young automobile drivers. Florida’s Motorcycle Safety Coalition also ramps up their activity during the busier months of the year. So what have been the results? Florida has dropped their fatalities by over 200 per year using this approach and continues to improve! Now those are real numbers you can get excited about! This is exactly what ABATE of Wisconsin has been doing for years and all with donated dollars.
So, how does the state of Wisconsin stack up? As far as a billboard campaign, the state of Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Program has created no motorcycle awareness billboards while ABATE of Wisconsin has put up over 150 to date. In the public service announcement arena, the state of Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Program has created none while ABATE of Wisconsin has PSA’s playing in all major markets in the state on radio and television. ABATE of Wisconsin is very proud of its “Share The Road” program where it has educated over 45,000 drivers education students about motorcycle awareness while the state of Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Program has done nothing. And while motorcycle fatalities are rising in the state, the Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Advisory Council has suspended their meetings instead of increasing their efforts.
The state of Wisconsin and its Motorcycle Safety Program spends thousands of tax dollars every year yet they continue to sound the alarm that fatalities are out of control. Well then, maybe it’s time for them to admit that the things they’re doing aren’t working. If the state of Wisconsin was really serious about motorcycle fatalities, then they should reallocate funds to programs that actually work or give it to motorcycle organizations that know how to get the job done.
Dean “D-Day” Bartosh
Director of Public Relations
ABATE of Wisconsin
Has anyone noticed that the State Of Florida and Not Abate of Florida was said to be responsible for the motorcycle awareness program?
Abate of Florida has received Numerous Large Sums of Money From The State. To see how they have sent that money view the State of Florida Document at ABATE FL audit? Starting with page 16.
http://leg.state.fl.us/data/committees/joint/jcla/meetingpackets/100311.pdf
Keep scrolling down to look at some of the things that were bought with taxpayer money
Abate of Wisconsin appears to be just the opposite with ABATE doing the job of the state.
The report from the MRF sounds good and that something was accomplished.
After receiving the notice I had some questions and sent the following.
jeff@mrf.org
Jeff
Can you supply me with information on How Much The State of Florida and or Any Organizations in Florida has received from this bill since it was passed in 2005?
Do you have any information on how the received funds were spent?
Who spent them, who received them and what did they do to receive payment.
Thank You
Rogue
I am awaiting a reply
I’m with Rogue on this one. It seems the money given to Fla ABATE has gone into some deep dark hole. Ridden all over the state and only saw one billboard,that being near Pensacola and that was a few years ago. They’re not even a presence,except for their campground during Bike Week and Biktoberfest. Rogue,let us know if you get a reply.
I just read their audit. That’s a lot of money spent on junk from Independent Resources, Inc. Some of their pricing seems a little high, too. Just wondering…
Down the rabbit hole again. Oh my Toto, where not in Kansas anymore. Build a house in a flood zone you get wet. Change the course of a river, someone else gets wet. While insuring that student loan rates stay low can someone do the same w/ my home mortgage????
FlaNativ was correct. It has been proven. Other than a couple of billboards, radio spots and a half hearted “conspicuity program” the Florida Safety money has disappeared into a black hole (which exist in a few pockets). The state of Florida itself in it’s required report to the FED’s stated that their statistics can not be relied as accurate based on the flawed VMT model. Wendy Moon, before her death Illustrated that and the ineffectiveness of (Motorcycle Industry Front group as per source watch) Motorcycle Safety Foundation Curriculum beyond the shadow of a doubt. However she never gained the prominence of “other” players since so many other players are vested in MSF. Including many ABATE’s (by whatever the acronym currently stands for).
“The bill continues the grant program that was designed and implemented into law in 2005 by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), along with many State Motorcycle Rights Organizations (SMROs). Since 2005, the program has infused over $46 million dollars directly into the motorcycle safety community. By law, the cash can only be used on rider education and motorist awareness campaigns. The new program continues this tradition.”
Which includes unconstitutional motorcycle checkpoints. A most popular way to spend “Safety money now days”.
MRF aligned itself w/ ABATE of Florida and NCOM when it invited Reichenbach to meet in Washington
w/ Rosenker where Rosenker told them how it was going to be. Which of course was a butt slapping success.
How often do you see the what is fast becoming the the motorcyclists biggest enemy, distracted driving, e.g. cell phone use, being addressed? Therein lies the key to prevention of innumerable deaths yet the president/lobbyist of ABATE of FLorida said in Naples state meeting he just had to use his????????????
It won’t be addressed either. To many like their cell phones. So we turn our lives and culture over to “advocates” that are no better than our “enemies” to the extent you can not tell the difference anymore.
How about a few old timers tell us how many people ran up their butt back in the day before we had so many caring advocates? rc
Smitty
There are a lot of people interested in what the connection between Abate of Florida and Independent Resources, Inc is.
Hopefully the State of Florida will look into that and get some kind of proof that the items were actually made, if made how many were, who they were given to and how that person passed them on.
What Kind Of Proof is there that items were ever made? Bills of origin for materials etc.
aka rc, Your mention of distracted driving and the threat it poses to all road users is important. If you have noticed since the end of May motorcycles had been a topic in some unusual places. The Washington post did a big story about aftermarket, a liberal news service distributed an article on helmets, the CDC shows up with a distorted statistical report. The theme in all 3 stories was how motorcycle riders through motorcyclist lobbying efforts have avoided much of the regulation and attention that has fallen on auto operators and other industries regarding safety and equipment modification. I predict that this fall the Congress will look at a motorcycle safety push using all this summer’s media coverage to wrangle a national helmet law and stricter laws on modifying your ride. And when the final story comes to be known, the telecommunications industry will be pouring dollars into the campaign to protect motorcyclists from themselves in order to move attention away from cell phone and other devices use in autos.
Don’t sell your sole in the first place. If any organization takes money from the Government, you can bet that there will be someone lining their pocket sooner or later. Greed runs this country and greed will be our demise. If the Government wants to give away money to support motorcycle awareness, that is great and that is what they should do in the first place. Motorcycle rights organizations should have our backs and not be put into a compromising position by excepting any Government money. I keep reading reports on motorcycle fatalities and this information is misleading. There are more motorcycles on the streets now than ever before. I never see that statistic posted with any report. More riders, more accidents. Our Government officials should be doing all that they can to promote motorcycling. As for cell phones, the accidents caused by these devices is a form of population control. More vehicles, more cell phone options such as texting and roaming internet service is killing our society off at a rate that should have our congress working around the clock to pass laws that prevent people from using their cell phones while driving period. I don’t care how much money the telecommunications industry has, This is WRONG! It’s all about profit. M.R.O’s need to attack these issues every time a report comes out about motorcycle fatalities. Why are people crashing in the first place. The people still run this country but money controls it. Fight the good fight! We need to educate ,but we also need to communicate. What is a LIFE worth?
I hope everyone enjoyed Independence Day. It does mean different things to different people just like many subjects discussed here.
On December 29, 1954 I entered the United States Air Force and on that day I took an oath to defend this country against enemies Foreign and Domestic. I did serve out of country and though being Honorably Discharged like to think I still serve in country.
I am proud to be a citizen of what I think is the greatest country in the world, but we are not perfect. There are those in society that desire to take rights away, are involved in corruption and other unlawful activities and even in some cases enslave others.
By posting and discussing issues we share information in hope it will help people make the best decision for them. I do not expect everyone to agree with me and do not want that as we are all different in our situation and needs.
What I hope will happen is people will get involved in issues. Contact your legislators about issues, support groups that endorse the things you believe in, expose those that do not.
All we have to do is read the newspaper or watch television to see the corruption and greed that exists in this country and I Am Sorry To Say In The World Of Motorcycling.
Government takes money from all of us in many forms and in most cases does not use it wisely or what they say it is intended for. There is a large amount of money that comes from motorcyclist and in some cases we know it is not used for what it was collected for. In other cases it is just spent unwisely and or to political friends.
Hopefully as these things are discussed more and more people will get involved and put a stop to use being taken advantage of.
I hope You Will Be One of Those People
“The Highway Bill has been in the past, a vehicle for pro and anti-motorcycle issues. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation has worked closely with the primary authors of the legislation to ensure that this bill was all pro-motorcycle and had no anti-motorcycling issues.
The bill continues the grant program that was designed and implemented into law in 2005 by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), along with many State Motorcycle Rights Organizations (SMROs). Since 2005, the program has infused over $46 million dollars directly into the motorcycle safety community. By law, the cash can only be used on rider education and motorist awareness campaigns. The new program continues this tradition.”
I am confused by this. Why is it a good thing for motorcyclists to be singled out for welfare/grants?
If the issue is massive stops, why isn’t a massive class action lawsuit filed in Federal Court?
If, motorcyclists are in need of safety, why do we have so many motorcyclists that have to conform to the same rules of the road as trucks and automobiles when the roadways have not been designed to accomodate motorcycles?
Why are there more regulations that affect motorcycles and motorcycling than laws?
Why do smart people act/become stupid on a motorcycle?
Non Motorcycle comments about the Highway Bill can be found at
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/07/highway_bill.html
http://hotair.com/archives/2012/06/30/so-congress-did-something-the-highway-bill-passes/
Don’t you Dudes have anything else to do with your lives? 2 things ONLY to stop Deaths, Guaranteed; 1 is Alcohol. 2. Stop selling Motorcycles of Stupid Power to Newbees !
Nice job staying on this. now lets stay dilligent on getting rid of the profiling motorcycle only safety checks!!! and thanks Rogue for all you do to keep stiring the doo-doo pot!!
In an attempt to get an idea of how much money was going to different states I contacted people in numerous areas.
So far I have received the following from Massachusetts
March New RiderCoach Training – $8.585.00
August New RiderCoach Training – $8,275.00
New evaluation for RiderCoaches – $8,820.00 (Haven’t done)
2 Honda Smart Trainers – $ 16,000 (Haven’t purchased)
“Check Twice”media campaign – $96,184.63
And then some indirect costs which come out to about $135.37.
This comes to $138,000
Now each time answers are received they lead to other questions
More Questions
How many Rider Coaches have been trained so far? 12 How many per class? 12 normally
Are the rider coaches paid to teach classes after they are trained? Yes
Who supplies motorcycle training? The State or Private Business? Private Business
Is there a fee for those wishing to take a safety course? Yes. The BRC is about $300 and the ERC is about $150.
Do people who take a rider course still have to be Tested by The State or are they given a piece of paper saying the school tested them. The school issues the license. The Road Test is waived.
If I were king of the world I would probably like to see the BRC as the path for a motorcycle permit and the ERC as the licensing tool.
CT has mandatory training and it seems to be working very well.
Thanks.
Gene
Just for the record I am in favor of Motorcycle Rider Courses For Those Who Wish To Take Them.
I am against them being Mandatory and also Riders Not Being Tested by the state after they go to school. Of course the states like this because they still charge the same amount of money for a license But cut their costs of doing the testing. Again the motorcyclist paying More for Less.
Now the way I read this is money is being spent to teach instructors who are being paid to teach and in some cases students being forced to take classes.
ALL Motorcycle Rider Programs should be Free of Charge for those wishing to take them. The people could still be paid from all the monies that are collected from other motorcyclist and after the get a license new riders would pay for others to follow.
If this is Really About Motorcycle Safety and Not Making Money this Can and Should Happen. As a Rider Demand It!
ROGUE
I spent a little time checking this am to see if the world of Motorcycle safety research has been turned on it’s head since I last looked. It hasn’t. Unless you are reading literature from the MSF ans/or NHTSA you will find many studies indicating the not just motorcycle safety training, but some re: Drivers Ed as a whole does little to reduce crash rates. The variables are legion, Which is why (and I will reiterate what I wrote above) The state Florida in their required report to the fed added the wording that the statistics could not be construed as accurate. Meaning, they did what the federal government said they must do re annual VMT reports even though, when it comes to motorcycles, the task is meaningless (my translation).
The research however does not address other inequities, in FLorida at least, such as, at the age of 18 without attending any Basic driver course, you can get a license and then drive a four wheel drive pickem up towing a boat in rush hour traffic. All while talking on you hand held cell phone or viewing pics sent to you while sexting. Helloo, bubba here….
Motorcyclists are forced to go to “private” mostly “For profit” schools for their, for a fee training. Private schools are not in the business to lose money. You fail people, word gets out you lose business, you lose money. Therefor you pass most who take your MSF certified (in Florida) curriculum which has not been proven to do anything other than teach you how to drive a small cycle in a circle in a parking lot, aka “training range” give them a certificate and send them out to die!”
In fact when I asked the FDOT (a few years back) why they were using MSF curriculum when there was little if any proof of it’s efficacy the response was, because the legislature told us to.
Which of course is illustrative of knowledge base of the less than 1% of the Florida MRO/MSO that pays a lobbyist, who is also their president and President of NCOM and MRF buddy to spend legislative sessions every year spend time convincing our legislators they speak for “ALL” Florida motorcyclists and they need more money. Which of course is given them when the Legislative Appropriations committee violates it’s own mandate and accepts the MRO/MSO (It depends on day of the week) own auditor to tell them, oh yeah we spent the money just right. IN fact we even used some of the same contractors certain legislators advised us to use?????????????? I was there I witnessed it I objected, I was ignored lol.
Because you see if they audit one non profit then many legislator pet non profits become targets. Oh noooo, toto. YEPPER.
Yes I know that even though ABATE and NCOM are present throughout the country these problems are only endemic to Florida. Everybody else really has it going on.
And for the most part the rest of the motorcycle population sits on their butts and waits for distracted motorist to kill them. Now i wear a Helmet. Mostly. But I suffer no illusion that it is going to keep me from getting killed trying to stop at a short yellow on a red light camera by a soccer mom in an SUV talking on a cell phone while looking a pictures of grand kids. But hey, it’s a free country. Unless of course it isn’t. rc
When the State of Florida made Motorcycle Rider Education Mandatory to get a Motorcycle License myself and other had Warned You that other states would follow. There were many that said Not Here – WELL HERE Connecticut now has it and it will be coming to your state soon.
Oh you don’t care because you already have a license. What about your kids and other young people?
I do not know all the details other than what is here.
Hello Rogue:
Yes we have mandatory rider training as a condition of licensure regardless of age. The training is offered by private providers as well as state run DOT courses. I don’t know much more about the details but the attached links may help:
http//www.dmv.org/ct-connecticut/motorcycle-license.php (private providers)
http://www.ct.gov/dmv/cwp/view.asp?a=801&Q=244516 (CT DMV site)
Regards,
Richard
I can tell those of you who already have a motorcycle license Do Not Laugh because the Motorcycle Safety Foundation is pushing to pass legislation to make you go back to school. Yea that’s right and you are going to have to pay.
Maybe you should have gotten involved when this all started and you were asked to help. What Ya Wanna Do Now?
In 2009, there were 590,735 registered motorcycles in the state of Florida… this alone with the $2.00 fee that ABATE of Florida played a key role on adding to our registration fees netted $1,181,470 for the state…of course old Doc (ABATE OF Florida) gets a piece of this pie in Grants .. the invoice for the trinkets is posted above…. and trust me.. this is not the only “make money for the State” legislation old Doc has hand a hand in…. motorcycle safety and ABATE of Florida? Huh? Unless you plan on throwing a chapsick or a crayon with ABATE of Florida printed on them at the next driver that tries to nail you… in my opinion ABATE of Florida is useless and nothing I have seen them do remotely resembles motorcycle safety… But Doc keeps raking in the big bucks… I do not have a 2012 number to use so I will use the 2009 figure to clearly point out once again that ABATE of Florida consists of appx. 06% of registered riders here… 100% of us are forced by law to support Doc….. 100% of us are effected by bad laws he backs claiming to speak for us all…
I use Florida as n example of how highway funds are used and abused because I live here and these facts at hand…. there is no doubt somewhere… someplace… they may be honest people that want to help with real life motorcycle safety…. but quite honestly… everywhere I look there are people looking to make a buck off bad policy… the schools that want a left nut in fees…. the fancy shops that charge a bloody fortune for decent safety gear…. and bike makers that do not include the extra safety things that might make a difference… (you can buy the items and have them installed – plan on selling your first born)…. insurance companies in bed with lawyers who are in turn in bed with people like Doc….. oh and lets not leave out insurance agents in bed with nurses… making money teaching courses that they too claim can save a life…. it is amazing with all these folks watching out for us and teaching us so many things including how to dial 911 that we continue to lose so many riders every year…
Oh wait… could it be they are so busy cutting up the pie.. making fees… feathering their own nests… that they fail to see the things that put us most at risk out here? Such as unlicensed drivers… gadget use… drunk drivers (including those headed from ABATE of Florida’s events).. and lets not leave out the damn road hazards created in work zones by the State making so called improvements for our safety… there are so many real things that could be done but as long as we have people supporting themselves off so called Safety Funds… we will continue to die…..
Rouge and Poppa have it right – stop funding NHTSA.
Lets not be just be happy that this time they did not use our own money against us.
Cut Federal spending, let each person decide what to do with the money they earned.
Vince, yes we all know federal spending is wasted. No wait a second, it’s out and out ripped off by those we elect (see: http://newsfeedresearcher.com/data/articles_b27_2/countrywide-loans-report.htm).
However on the homefront, the state and local level it as Banshee noted in her comment:
“there is no doubt somewhere… someplace… they may be honest people that want to help with real life motorcycle safety…. but quite honestly… everywhere I look there are people looking to make a buck off bad policy… the schools that want a left nut in fees…. the fancy shops that charge a bloody fortune for decent safety gear…. and bike makers that do not include the extra safety things that might make a difference… (you can buy the items and have them installed – plan on selling your first born)…. insurance companies in bed with lawyers who are in turn in bed with people like Doc….. oh and lets not leave out insurance agents in bed with nurses… making money teaching courses that they too claim can save a life…. it is amazing with all these folks watching out for us and teaching us so many things including how to dial 911 that we continue to lose so many riders every year…”
It is our own people that are complicit in doing it to us. ABATE at it’s inception had cred. But how many MC organizations can you list where some members don’t have a “connection?” Where they are not “cutting up the pie and fighting over the crumbs?”.
And how about our own culture press/publications? Where are they when it comes to warning their readers of this gigantic scam. I can pretty much guarantee you, this site “Cyril Huze Blog” is the exception and not the rule to even allow some of these posts to be published. Others are scared of losing the almighty ‘Aim/NCOM advertising bucks. As one particular Miami publication was threatened by a particular MRO member.
The responsibility is not NHTSA’a Vince, it is ours. As motorcyclists all over the country pretend to fit the stereotype when offered the option re: politics “screw it lets ride” can’t take an hour or two away from “Sons of Anarchy” to get on a computer and find out what the hell the truth really is.
I can tell you, back in the day most MC’s did not have to worry about a cager running over them. The cagers were to busy trying to get nowhere near us. THey saw us then. How come they can’t see us now?
RC,
Is it possible that the folklore defense of “I didn’t see ’em” is kept in perpetuity by the insurance industry in lock step with motorcyclist lawyers? This lie is a basis for any politico to bash, trash, and cash motorcyclists to death.
Mike
It also creates good business for the fluorescent green shirt business. Because as we all know, conspicuity is the new answer. Which raises the question, since chrome bumpers are history in cage design why is that cages are not now required to have their lights on during the day? Seems I remember a study somewhere indicating certain cage colors, e.g. light blue, light tan are difficult to see under various weather conditions and times of day.
Human Beings not paying attention, #1 cause of “Crashes”. “Accidents” is a misnomer. rc
Mike and rc I agree wholeheartedly! peace
Mike… I think “I didn’t see it” is the first thing out of most peoples mouth when they are at fault… after all we can hope that most humans would not want to dent their shit up on purpose…. it used to be my pipes made enough noise for most drivers to at least hear me even if they had not spotted me in a mirror… but with today’s surround sound.. Bluetooth… DVD players… GPS.. and all manner of gadgets making noise to entertain drivers in cars that pride themselves on being as sound proof as possible… my pipes do not stand a chance… But as an old timer.. I fully understand this and take it into account every time I ride out of my gates…. I ride like a paranoid schizophrenic off their meds… I assume no one sees me and every cage is out to get me… no joke… I never make a left turn off a highway where there is not a proper turn lane… never kick to neutral at a red light…. lots of things that have just become habit over the years… its a shame I see and hear of so many newbees coming out of the safety courses thinking they have mad skills and not living long enough to understand a 4-5 course run as a money making enterprise does not always provide them with the skills to survive…….
People need to Stop being sheep…. stop expecting the government… mro’s… this group and that group… to think for them… stop depending on others to protect them… and step up… we can throw millions and millions of tax dollars away… get regulated until they take the bikes from under us for our own safety… sigh…. wtf am I saying? I can not remember the last time I saw a group of bikers stand up for anything that did not involve booze… wet t-shirts.. or putting money in their pockets…. BACA being the only exception I can even think of…. I am just going to shut up and go rewire my ignition….
Has Harley hijacked their own culture? Has the Harley rider mistaken nationalism for patriotism? Has the dictum from Harley to the HOG members of “no politics” crushed motorcycle rights?
From the Abate of Florida Independence Chapter newsletter 7/6/12
I know some of you were disappointed in the way the Elections came out, But this is the way of the Game in all elections. Please don’t let this be a disappointment for you. Lets keep the Chapter going and do the best job we can by putting our best foot forwards.
Thanks to Cyril’s site and people sharing information many facts about Abate of Florida are coming out that members did not know about.
Many that I talk to admit they do not attend meeting and they just joined because they thought Abate was protecting their rights. Most now admit they do not think that is the case. Some say they will let their membership expire and others go so far as to remove the Abate patch from their vest.
There are still those who think it is a club and in it for that reason while others are in it for the party and bike nights at bars. Abate of Florida is known for the letters meaning many things and a popular one is Always Bring Alcohol To Events.
I cannot think of any Abate of Florida function that I have attended that alcohol was not being consumed. Just look at the toy run Before, during and after. Meetings hell Ya, parties definitely, well you get the idea.
The Independance Chapter is one of the largest in Abate of Florida and they are having a problem filling officer positions. What does this tell you?
From: webmaster
Sent: Fri, Jun 29, 2012 11:50 am
Subject: ABATE Indy News 6/29/12
Hello: Well the election are over and we go on for another year, and yes you have me “Grumpy” for another year and your new VP is Darlene Carter, Secretary is Shirley Copenhaver and your Treasurer is Ron “Fishy” Fashano. But we need a new Sgt at Arms an a Public Relations persons to fill out the Board. We also need a Personal Affairs an Awards person, a couple of Advertising people and a Road Captain. If you interested in one of those positions please call me and will decide who to appoint. Phone me at 321-863-5223 or 321-729-4374. I what to thank all the people that have stepped up and say sorry to the one’s that didn’t make it. I also what to thank Mr Bill Morrison for being the Election Supervisor for this year and his fellow Ballot counters for doing a good job.
For those of you who have sent private e-mails asking if I had heard from the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) in reference to how much money Florida was getting from the Government.
The Answer is NO!
Wow that was some thread!!! It’s this kind of response that’s gives me hope the USA is alive and well…even though I don’t agree with all of it which makes it even better and more relevant. Congratulations and Thankyou, all of you for caring enough! As for me I am sick of hearing the term American greed… Greed is a human condition and it’s safe in the hands of American capitalists who put it to good productive use! We catch the theives, limit the govt and therefor the currupt politicians! At least that’s what we’re supposed to do! That’s in effect what you guys especially Rogue, are doing. Get the government out of our health care and every other personal freedom ASAP or we are doomed and greed will be in the govts hands and out of our control. This year Rogue July 4th was Depenence Day: Independamce Day will be November 7th! Or not…