Sounds to me like we need a registered lobbying group, Jim. ;-)
--Ezra
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: James Frysinger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> Well, Ezra, you're part of USMA. So, what **are** you doing along those
> lines?
>
> I think a few points need to be made to put things in perspective:
> 1. Metrication in Australia was led by the government, at least to the
> extent of declaring it a priority and setting some broad date parameters.
> 2. USMA is mostly a volunteer organization and not a registered lobbying
> group. USMA's leadership does indeed do some strategic whispering in
> ears, but the brunt of the work is done and should be done by its members.
> 3. If the federal government pours money into improving infrastructure,
> it will be into and via existing programs for the most part. What you
> are asking for is for revision of those programs, metrication of state
> highway departments as a case in point. Now, that certainly could be a
> "string" attached to those proffered funds and perhaps that's a good way
> to go. But currently the thinking in government is about our dilapidated
> infrastructure and how to solve those problems, not about our doofus
> units and how to replace them by metrication. You're going to have to
> make the pitch that doing these projects in metric units will save money
> and thus allow more to be done. If you present it as a way to solve our
> metrication problem, it most likely will get ignored. The cold reality
> is that most people in government do not see our lack of metrication as
> a problem, at least not one rising to the "must fix" stage when compared
> to the other problems we have.
>
> I look forward to hearing about your correspondence with officials,
> representatives in government, and the media along these lines.
>
> Jim
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> > After hearing part of Obama's Saturday radio address where talked about the
> massive infrastructure rebuilding he will put in place, I'm wondering what
> USMA
> is doing to push for launching a metrication program for the USA along the
> lines
> followed in Australia (and likely with consultation from Australian experts
> like
> Pat Naughtin) so that the infrastructure work can be done in metric and
> integrated into that metrication work.
> >
> > Ezra
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> --
> James R. Frysinger
> 632 Stony Point Mountain Road
> Doyle, TN 38559-3030
>
> (H) 931.657.3107
> (C) 931.212.0267
>
