[lug] Re: [OT] Urgent request - probably off-topic but please read...

[Nate Duehr]

> Folks, I am not a spammer by trade or by choice in normal  
> circumstances, but I BEG of you to please read this.
> 
> If you are even a SMALL enthusiast of Aviation, Aerospace or anything  
> related to breaking the surly bonds of earth and reaching skyward,  
> PLEASE take a moment, I beg of you.
> 
> To my friends and members of:
> 
> Boulder, CO Linux Users Group
> Colorado Linux Users and Enthusiasts
> Rocky Mountain VHF+ Amateur Radio Group
> Colorado D-STAR Association
> Grand Mesa Contesters of Colorado
> Amateur Radio Satellite Corporation and Mailing List
> Repeater-Builder Mailing List
> MIT PIC Microcontroller Mailing List
> Yaesu FT-857 Mailing List
> VHF Contesting Remailer Mailing List
> The Internet Radio Radio Linking Project
> The D-STAR Digital List
> 
> And other friends and acquaintances who will receive this message  
> privately... and anyone you care to forward it to...
> 
> Tonight on my way home I fired up my iPod to listen to a podcast by  
> well-known and very well-spoken Steven "Force" Tupper, an aviation  
> enthusiast from Michigan. What I heard chilled my heart to the bone.
> 
> The TSA under the auspices of "Homeland Security" has floated a  
> proposal to restrict and in my opinion, DESTROY numerous legendary  
> aircraft, by limiting their use so heavily that you will never see  
> them in the skies over America again.  While this may sound  
> "alarmist", please trust me, it's not.
> 
> You all know me, and know that I can write well, expressing my  
> concerns with politics, living, and even the banal things of life in  
> words, fairly well -- but I can not possibly top the writing of Mr.  
> Tupper.
> 
> Even more eloquent is his VOICE in his podcast, where he perfectly  
> expresses the frustration, and sheer TERROR that the TSA itself has  
> brought down on the United State's Aviation community with the  
> proposal they've recently released, inappropriately entitled, the  
> "Large Aircraft Security Program", or LASP.
> 
> For the best and most intelligent commentary I've heard on the topic  
> to date -- PLEASE ... LISTEN to his podcast at:
> 
> <http://media.libsyn.com/media/airspeed/AirspeedLASP.mp3>
> 
> You really must just hear... his voice.  I do hope his server can  
> handle an onslaught -- if it can't, wait, and listen later.
> 
> (I fully intend to help him with the costs associated with  
> distributing his podcast if he needs it this month, it's just that  
> important.  Steve, please let me know if you need assistance.  I have  
> worked in data centers and web-based businesses, and I understand that  
> publishing these things online to large numbers of people, is NOT free.)
> 
> It's just over 30 minutes in length, and he NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT -- even  
> if you are NOT a pilot.  He gives instructions in the podcast.
> 
> If you honestly do NOT have time to listen, at least READ and RESPOND  
> to his letter in response to the TSA's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.   
> He needs your input by TOMORROW.  The entire text of his podcast is  
> also available at the link below, if you read faster than you listen  
> -- so to speak.
> 
> <http://airspeedonline.blogspot.com/2009/02/large-aircraft-security-program-capt.html 
>  >
> 
> If this non-legislative rule change comes to pass, you and your family  
> may never SEE many historical aircraft or have an opportunity to  
> purchase a RIDE in any classic "warbird" aircraft in the skies over  
> America ever again.  The rule is BROAD and affects modern aircraft  
> also, but the aircraft we will miss the most, are the ones of our  
> history that tell our story as a country.
> 
> To NOT take action and RESPOND means that you've let a small group of  
> tireless aviation historians, restoration specialists, mechanics,  
> pilots, and everyone who's ever watched an airshow with aircraft from  
> the classic Warbird fleet down.  WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT.
> 
> PLEASE read or listen.  Mr. Tupper explains it far better than I  
> possibly can.  The TSA's proposal adds NO security to our nation  
> whatsoever. It's simply government run amok.
> 
> Here's a list from Mr. Tupper's website, of aircraft that I personally  
> believe you will RARELY see in the skies of America again, if the  
> TSA's "LASP" passes into being without even so much as a single  
> legislator overseeing it, and little to no due-process available to  
> anyone who violates it.
> 
> Aircraft and Max Takeoff Weight (Varies within Type)
> Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress - 65,500
> Chance Vought F4U Corsair - 14,449
> Consolidated B-24 Liberator - 65,000
> Curtiss C-46 Commando - 48,000
> Curtiss SB2C Helldiver - 16,800
> Douglas A-26 Invader - 35,000
> Douglas DC-3/C-47 Skytrain/Dakota - 31,000
> Douglas B-23 Dragon - 32,400
> Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar - 64,000
> Fairchild C-82 Packet - 54,000
> Ford Tri-Motor - 13,500
> Grumman AF-2S Guardian - 25,500
> Grumman Avenger - 17,893
> Grumman F6F Hellcat - 15,415
> Grumman F8F Bearcat - 12,947
> Grumman HU-16 Albatross - 33,000
> Grumman G-73 Mallard - 12,750
> Junkers Ju 52 - 24,200
> Lockheed C-60 Hudson - 18,500
> Lockheed L-18 Lodestar - 17,500
> Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon - 31,077
> Lockheed T-33 - 15,100
> North American B-25 Mitchell - 41,800
> North American P-82 Twin Mustang - 25,591
> PBY-6A Catalina - 64,450
> Republic P-47 Thunderbolt - 17,500
> 
> You may not be a pilot, you may not even care about ANY aircraft --  
> but if you care about the pilots who fly them, the mechanics who  
> wrench on them, the crowds at hundreds of airshows across the country  
> who see them, and the thousands of thousands who lived their lives  
> building an American legacy in Aviation -- one of our best legacies  
> ever -- please follow Mr. Tupper's request, and add your name to the  
> list of people who AGREE with him in his response to the NPRM sent out  
> by the TSA.
> 
> I, like you, am a busy person -- I had other things to do tonight.  I  
> would much have preferred an enjoyable evening pursuing other things.   
> Hell, I would rather have just forwarded you all a few jokes or stayed  
> "on-topic" on our favorite mailing lists, but I can not sit by idle  
> and watch this come to pass.
> 
> Mr. Tupper needs your support no later than mid-day tomorrow, please  
> listen, read and RESPOND.
> 
> Thank you for your time, and I apologize if this is FAR off-topic for  
> some of the mailing lists you all know me from.  Some lists, it's more  
> on-topic than others.  This is so aggregious, so saddening, so  
> frustrating, that I just HAD to share.  Like Mr. Tupper -- I'm trying  
> hard to keep this message "PG Rated".  VERY hard.
> 
> I just can't think of any more caring, thoughtful people in all of the  
> other hobbies and passions of my life to share this critical  
> information with, and to BEG for your support of Mr. Tupper's letter  
> in response to the TSA.  Mr. Tupper also points out that the rule  
> isn't far from encompassing other iconic aircraft, and says that if  
> the TSA enacts this rule and LOWERS the weight limitations low enough  
> to encompass such iconic aircraft as the North American P-51  
> "Mustang", then... as he so eloquently puts it:
> 
> "Be very careful. You might get away with decimating other grand dames  
> of the skies, but every redneck, suit, line worker, banker,  
> lumberjack, lawyer, cop, fireman, landscaper, fast-food cashier, and  
> child able to stand recognizes the mighty P-51 Mustang. Not that  
> aviation would fail to miss the other aircraft that the TSA would so  
> cavalierly tear from the sky, but at least we have the P-51 Mustang  
> still guarding the 12,100-pound boundary."
> 
> Thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart if you take the time to  
> listen or read, and especially if you will send your full name as a  
> U.S. Citizen to Mr. Tupper with your comments.
> 
> Aviation is one of my deepest passions, and I can't imagine that even  
> the most disinterested person in Aviation would let these great ships  
> of our past be virtually banned from our skies in a single powerful  
> and misguided attempt at "security" over liberty, in this great country.
> 
> Enjoy the rest of your evening in peace, please help, and thank you  
> again.
> 
> --
> Nathan Duehr, nate at natetech.com
> 
> Private Pilot, Single-Engine Land (since 1991)
> Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Association Member (since 1992)
> Amateur Radio Extra-Class Operator (WY0X - since 1991)
> Current President, Colorado Repeater Association
> Former Secretary, Colorado Council of Amateur Radio Clubs
> Former Member, USAF Auxiliary - Civil Air Patrol
> Linux, Electronics, and RF enthusiast ...
> ... Or however else you know me.
--
  Nate Duehr
  nate at natetech.com