It makes me chuckle to think of another forum where the emojie selection was bigger and you`d see the dead horse getting beaten often. Speed, I think to those paying attention here have already made up their minds about all of this. You claim that Franklin is merely attempting to "divide the ranks", but I don`t think that's true. He`s stating facts and displaying figures that clearly show a declining trajectory that the AMA refuses to act on. The issue for me is the lack of options being offered. The "one size fits all" fee that is being charged does not work for me.
I know $75.00 isn't a lot of money for a whole year, but the fact is that a lot of it is being squandered and that`s really not ok. I`ll throw out a figure, say $35.00. I don`t want the magazine, I don`t fly competitively, I`m not interested in supporting an indoor flying arena or The Foundation. All I want is a nice site to fly on and coverage in the rare chance it`s needed. Also more support for existing and future flying sites. The "Old Boy Network" seems to hold true the more and more as time goes on.
I too am one of those who feel the AMA has "lost their way". I used to entertain the idea of someday coming up with the money for a lifetime membership, and who knows, I might eventually in spite of all this.
One last quote: "Walk softly and carry a big stick". I think Franklin does that in this argument. He has not resorted to any name calling and has been more than civil. The point is gotten across clearly, concisely and in fact quite eloquently. I`m not kissing up, just calling it as I see it.