President's Corner                                        October 17,
2008
 
 
 
            I don't know if I'm not getting through to you or not about
this election stuff, if not I apologize for not doing my job. I would
like to hear that someone  actually took the time and talked to the
candidates in their district and got an opinion on the way that they
feel about helping pass this bill being  introduced when the State
Senate convenes in February. All it takes is a little phone call and ask
them if they would support the bill when it comes up before their
respective house, Senate or Assembly. I know that some of you are
intimidated by the fact of talking to a government official but although
these people are special they are no different than you and me. These
officials are out there working for you and are very interested in your
opinion and your ideas. If they don't know how you feel about matters in
your community or your state don't expect them to make any change in
your favor. Maybe I failed to impress upon you how very important this
little task is to our cause. If in November we still don't know how the
candidates stand on the issue of motorcycle rights, how are we going to
know who to vote for? 
 
            The politicians of this state have a serious problem when it
comes to upsetting the incumbent in the elections. In Nevada the guy
with the most money usually wins the race unless one or the other has an
overwhelming portion of the vote. That's where you come in. Talking to
your friends and relatives about the candidates and their views on
issues that are important to us as a group, is the best way to change an
election. 
 
I really don't care what party that they are with because in the General
Election each voter is able to cross party lines and vote the way that
they want. You could vote for a Democrat for County Commissioner in your
area and a Republican Assemblyperson or any way that you decided.
Although I don't agree with Senator Beers on some issues, he supports
our cause, and the issues that we don't agree on are not as important to
me personally as the repeal or the amendment of helmet law. As for
Senator Titus, she also has opposing views on some issues that I feel
are important, but to me she is a person of strong conviction and has
been around long enough to be politically savvy in a good ole' boys
network. Senator Titus, in the last minutes of the Committee for
Alternative Highway Funding, reconsidered our suggestion on increased
revenues for the state and saved our bill from the likes of Senator
Nolan and Assemblyman Oceguera. They were the only two who voted against
us when the issue was brought back up by Senator Titus. I believe that
if she lands the congressional Senate position from Jon Porter that she
will be a true ally should we need her to step in again,  then again Mr.
Porter has not made his views public on the cause that we are fighting. 
 
These are the things that I'm talking about and that you need to find
out for yourselves and make not only a decision but an informed
decision. When you find out who you are going to choose, let the rest of
us know why you think that this particular candidate is right for you
and how they plan to help the issues that we face being a MRO
(Motorcycle Rights Group). Even though Senator Nolan isn't up for
re-election until 2010 I am certain that with all the times that he has
stood in the way of our attempt to be able to ride free he won't be
getting any support from the biker community. He has tried time and
again to tax roadways that have been built with your tax dollars
already. He has also refused millions of dollars to aid the states
economy at no additional cost or increase to government due to his own
personal convictions. We know how he feels about the helmet issue and we
can make an informed decision as to whether we want to support him in
the next election by his past actions.
 
I AM NOT TELLING YOU HOW TO VOTE! I am how ever telling that you need to
vote. I believe that you will make the decisions that you make on
election day by checking out the information and sorting out what you
believe and what you don't.
 
I started this letter out by asking you to help me contact the
candidates to find out how they feel about the issues that we have, and
I'm going to end it the same way. I can't do this alone, and although I
have an excellent staff we are limited as to how far we can go and how
much we can do. Whether it be volunteer work for the candidate for a few
hours or just sitting down and talking with them to get an opinion on
their views. Just a few hours a week to help us to defeat an un-fair
piece of legislation.
 
I went today to something called meet the candidates and met some of the
people that are running for office throughout Nevada's districts. One
person that I wanted to run into was the woman that is running against
Senator Bob Beers. I don't have her name at the moment but she wasn't
there so I spoke with her liaison about her position on motorcycle
rights. I'll bet you'll never guess what position she is taking on the
helmet law. "We (she must have had a mouse in her pocket because she was
the only one there) believe that the motorcycle helmet is necessary to
protect all riders and their melons" is what she told me, and when I
pointed out that 90% of fatalities in auto accidents were due to head
injuries, I asked her if she would be willing to let the government tell
her that she had to wear a helmet in her car she instantly said "no
way". I have to admire her double set of standards as far as government
intervention is concerned. These are the people that have got to be
stopped. I say to you again IF YOU LIVE IN SENATOR BOB BEERS DISTRICT,
HE NEEDS YOUR VOTE AND YOUR SUPPORT. I also confronted her on the rumor
that Harry Reid was donating one million dollars to the campaign to
defeat Senator Beers to maintain the majority in the Senate. Her face
said all that needed to be said and her response was that she denied an
infusion of cash from Reid. I don't know if it is true about the million
dollars but my sources are pretty good and she looked like a deer in the
headlights. 
 
I also had the opportunity to speak with a very interesting guy name
Wernicke who is running for State Senator in District 3. A libertarian,
he stands for less government and although he only rides a moped back
and forth to work, wants to keep government out of our lives. I invited
him to speak to you at the next meeting and give you an idea of what he'
s all about. Now let's see if he shows up. 
 
I didn't have a lot of time so I did the best I could and questioned the
few that I talked to on the issues that are facing us. Doug Smith who is
running for District Court Judge Department 8 seemed to be somewhat
sympathetic to our fight but I didn't have the time to talk to anyone
else. Anyone that gets the opportunity to question any candidates about
their opinion on motorcycle rights groups, please do, and report to the
membership.
 
I have to close for now as I'll be out of town due to a family emergency
until Tuesday so keep an eye on those politicians for me and don't let
them try to pull any fast ones. Until next time... 
 
Thanks for listening.
 
 
 
Ride it like you rented it
 
            Bones