40Rod, of course I also disagree. Mainly I disagree with one clause in your argument, where you say "......come to.......". I'll be happy to 'come to' wherever you say, if you'll pay my expenses. Being an NRA Life Member has always entitled me to vote in their elections, now it's extended to 5-yr members; why can't the ASSRA follow suit? I'm sure your response will be "Because no one has proposed it at EG, and that's what is required by the bylaws. Someone will have to change the bylaws, and that requires that they come to EG." Well, why don't any of you guys at EG take care of this? It's obviously an important issue, and I bet the membership at large would be very interested in seeing the voting results. (As Foghorn Leghorn would say, "That's an....I say, that's an understatement, Son!")

In the past I've tried working within the ASSRA, and was promptly censored every single time I raised any sore point. Open discussion, in the ASSRA of the past, was null & void, and every effort was made to censor, sidetrack, defame, insult and otherwise upset me. No brag, just fact. This was only a few yrs ago, ~ the time of John Campbell's editorship.

One of the main reasons I like this site so much is that Jim will permit fairly open & informative discussions as long as we remain civil to one another. This is The First Amendment In Action, and is 100% American values. Hiding the contentious facts in the interest of 'harmony in the group' is not something anyone can be proud of IMO, and the present BoD has committed to open discussions. Wonderful, and I really mean that! I'm peripherally acquainted with some of the present BoD, and these folks have my utmost respect and admiration.

Rules. I'm gonna raise another sore point here. I will be among the first to agree that many important shooting matches have generated enough interest and participation over the years to warrant preserving them (and their rules and record results) as originally formulated. No argument there at all, our heritage is preserved in this and other ways.

But in all seriousness I must say that you sounded kinda like the North Koreans at the 1952 peace talks, arguing about the details before anything else started. What shade of red? What shape table? (VBG)

The first question to answer is "Do you want to merge and grow, even if it means change?" Next question is "How much change?"

I invite anyone's and everyone's responses to these two important questions. But please don't spend a lot of time on what shade of red, OK?
Thanks, Joe