Ryan, Normally, I would just go ahead an post this and wait for the mods to pull it. However, I think that it is something you need to look at and post it under your name to give it some gravitas. http://semasan.com/page.asp?content...il&utm_content=50756237&utm_campaign=LegAlert
There was a thread started on this on 2/9/16 around middle of day. Within a short time it disappeared without a trace or comment, and I assume it was deleted by either Ryan or a moderator. I was considering sending Ryan a PM on this , but since you have already brought it out in the open here, I might as well say it here that after well over 60 years of hot rodding or otherwise tinkering with vehicles of every description, I feel this EPA proposal is the greatest threat to our hobby I have ever seen. I think in this case, keeping this off the forum is like the ostrich hiding his head in the sand.
Bob Wyman, one of the founders of W&H DuCoil and a charter member of SEMA warned us about the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and we ignored it in the 1960's much to the industry's detriment. A holier than thou attitude about political comments on the HAMB is sometimes wrong. It certainly is on this subject
the largest issue I see with posts that have anything to do with politics is peoples responses... Instead of doing a post and get some stupid responses from people that are awesome behind their keyboard. I would personally recommend Ryan, or a moderator, to make a post, flag it on top of the board with a list of senators/governors/ etc from each state for people to contact and for them to express their concern directly, and than to make that post with no ability to post on it. Just my 2 cents...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^ your suggestion has a great deal of merit, IMO. But in the thread that was deleted, or at least it isn't to be found so I assume deletion, was info on SEMA SAN and signing their petition. I thoroughly agree about what could be called "cheerleader" posts which rant on about stuff and does on good whatsoever here as we all agree so it's sorta like "preaching to the choir".
An excellent breakdown of how the EPA rules will affect the hot rod industry. Hopefully, Ryan will heed summershow's suggestion that this could be posted as a sticky so HAMB'ers can sign the petition. https://www.sema.org/sema-enews/201...t-conversion-of-vehicles-into-racecars?utm_so
Hey fellas, I decided long ago not to bog down the HAMB with political commentary of any kind. I have over 20 years of experience telling me that even pro-auto politics leads the forum down a very dark path. As such, this place is free of that stuff. So, what about SEMA and this EPA regulation? I'm aware of it. Very aware. In fact, I've even talked to my congressman about it - Something I believe is far more effective than performing any kind of internet hoopla and something I think that anyone concerned about this should do for themselves. The SEMA petition at this point has no effect on the outcome of regulation. In fact, no petition will really effect how the regulation is read. The proposal comes down in July, but if it does come down to that, SEMA will then prove its merit by challenging it in a court of law. Which even the EPA knows will not end in their favor. The point of the EPA's effort here is to push as far left as possible hoping that only some of their ideology is pushed back - leaving them with a small win. In the opinion of my congressman, the chance of the bulk of this regulation holding any merit in law is very, very slim. Now, all that said... If this thing does start to show momentum and there is an appropriate time for me to raise hell and introduce politics to the HAMB, you can bet your ass I'll do it. However, I believe the chances of that happening are very, very small... We've been down this road so many damned times in the past man... Every year, it's some new bill and every year, it disappears...
Ryan, I appreciate your response. However, I think that it makes sense that this information should be posted so that HAMBer's can respond in the appropriate manner. I agree that opening it up to posts is opening it up to a dark hole. I suspect that there a lot of HAMB members that are unaware of this situation.
Like I said - In my opinion, the situation isn't dire enough yet for me to stoop the HAMB into the political world right now.
Ryan, thx for responding to this issue, which in all of my 78 years is without a doubt the broadest overreach of any bureaucratic bull shit I know of. And maybe I'm wrong, but I think we can help SEMA fight this now more effectively that later. Please consider denis4x4's suggestion of a sticky on the main board, with the information on how to contact SEMA and sign their petition. We have a helluva lot of members here that hopefully would respond by signing the petition they have. Make it so that no response on the sticky is possible, such as you have done in classifieds, and this will save bandwidth and eliminate the "cheerleader posts" that contribute nothing to the cause. As you might expect, I am often on the phone to my elected representatives from municipal level on up, and emails to congressman and senators are a frequent event also. But a lot of people who won't bother with that will, if given a link, sign a petition on a matter so important. Please give this some consideration.
Again, I'll get this forum involved when I feel it's necessary. Posting a link to the petition on the HAMB will have no effect on the regulation. Why? 1. This isn't being passed by law makers. The EPA isn't governed by publicly elected officials. Put shortly, they don't give a fuck what you or I think and as such, they don't care about any petitions. Plus, no real processes of the federal government are subject to these White House website petitions; they are a public relations device for the present administration which permits citizens to express themselves. And: 2. Even if you disagree with #1, it doesn't matter. The white house petition required 100,000 signatures... It's already got 135,000. It's moving on... *** If you guys are serious about making noise with this regulation and want to make a difference, do something that actually matters. Take the time to contact your congressman and actually have a conversation about it. Be active, not dismissive...
Ryan, I never suggested putting a link to the petition. I suggested explaining the bill, and giving a list of congressman for people to call. If you would like I could write it up for you. No biases only the bill with contact info. I also would not leave the post open for conversation. Let me know if you would like for me to do anything.
Sorry, summershow, now that I go back and reread my post, I can see that it may seem that I was saying that you advocated posting a link to SEMA& petition. My intent wasn't clearly written by me as I was saying, or trying to say that many who wouldn't go to the trouble of contacting Senators and Congressmen would sign a petition. And I think we were both saying no replies posted. Hopefully Ryan is right in that there will be a successful move to remove this stuff from the regulations being proposed.
Here's a followup link on the media coverage that this issue has garnered as it went viral: http://theshopmag.com/features/how-sema-s-epa-petition-went-viral
The Jalopy Journal
