I agree with that too, Paul, and I strongly applaud your efforts. I write
these kind of letters myself (and posted one or two to this group), and I
encourage others to do the same. I look at it like voting; I know my vote
will never change the outcome of any election, but I do it anyway, because
it's something I can do.
However, in addition to just casting a vote, other things become possible
with money. Like like hiring political strategists, funding PACs, buying
campaign advertising, hiring lobbyists, building key business and
organizational alliances, etc.. We don't have that kind of money, but
without it we're basically a fan club rather than a credible political
force, so why not try to get that money? It wouldn't be easy, but neither
is it unthinkable. So many philanthropists are pro-science, or
foreign-born, or have other inclinations that might lead them to favor our
cause. And what a visible and lasting legacy it would provide. Right now,
nobody's making the case to them. Why don't we?
Such a grant proposal would need to contain a detailed, itemized, and
credible plan of action for advancing our cause legislatively and otherwise.
It can't just be a request for a large donation to USMA. The proposal would
be a major undertaking in itself, and we would probably want to involve
people experienced in political strategy and fund raising to help us build a
defensible case that the money could have a reasonable chance of having a
meaningful impact.
I'd like to see us put our heads together and see if this effort might be
something we can pull off.
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Paul Trusten, R.Ph." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: 08/04/2008 12:37 PM
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Cc: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Subject: [USMA:41540] Never, ever, EVER give up!
Maybe so, Harry and Victor, but it is incumbent upon supporters of U.S.
metrication to do something rather than nothing to advance this national
goal.
I shall continue to do so if I am the only person left in the U.S. who
does.
Otherwise, the silence and the darkness are total, and nothing grows at
all.
WE can continue to be, not the goats, the GOADS, for government and
industry to
go metric. Like the man with his multiple trials of filaments in a vacuum,
or
like the two dogged bicycle makers from Ohio, we must keep our eyes on the
prize.
Quoting Harry Wyeth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
Victor is right. I have been saying for years that nothing we--the
USMA--can do will move the USA toward true metrication. We can post
emails and write letters from now until 2100 and it won't change
anything. What will change things--and about the only thing-- will be
for either the federal government or a large corporation to "go metric"
in a substantial way. If Exxon-Mobil started measuring oil by the cubic
meter, or Microsoft began posting everything in SI, or if the AP changed
its stupid writing rules, or the feds began demanding that all PX
suppliers sell milk in 2 L containers, or the Weather Service posted
temps only in degrees C--these would get things started. Until then, we
will just muddle around, and around.....
My 4-year Olympic prediction for NBC, which I make every 4 years and is
always accurate, is that we will be treated to more commentary about the
10,000 m run being "six miles", field events results in feet and inches,
and so forth. Just watch--if you can see through the smog.
HARRY WYETH
--
Paul Trusten, R.Ph.
Public Relations Director
U.S. Metric Association (USMA), Inc.
www.metric.org
3609 Caldera Boulevard, Apartment 122
Midland TX 79707-2872 USA
+1(432)528-7724
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
