FEW -
From what I wrote, you drew the conclusion I am a
LAND RAPING SNOWMOBILE RIDING DRUNK MORON ROTFLMFAO!! How is that? Have you stereotyped snowmobilers into a single catagory? You have serious issues with distorting the written word. You must drive your husband crazy.
FYI - Snowmobiles are ridden on SNOW, hence the word "SNOW" in the description of the machine. Snow falls and lies on top of land. You ride the snowmobile not on land, but on top of the snow which is on top of the land. Therefore, snowmobiles and their respective riders cannot rape anything with dirt on it.
Within the group of 20 or people I ride with, there is probably less beer consumed per weekend than you and your friends consume at one of your tupperware parties. I don't drink at all, on or off the snow. If you knew anything about snowmobiles, you would know that a can in the storage compartment would burst with 100 feet of the trailer. There are folks that do ride and drink, drink and ride. We condemn this practice. Not in my group, or any others that I know for that matter. Riding season is short enough as it is. Most of the country we ride in would be un-navigable if you were intoxicated. Beer adds weight to the sled, dropping weight from sleds is something snowmobilers spend big $$ on. Packing huge quantities of alcohol is couterproductive. Any added weight we bring has to do with food, water and winter & avalanche survival gear.
As for Ithaca, he is bashing. You said it yourself. When someone points out only one side of an issue, (the flaws) they are bashing the other side. Ithaca's so-called uselessness position is based on opinions of people with an agenda. They are paid to sway public opinion, not deliver the news. Ithaca has committed to stereotyping as well. Only is this case, as well as yours, the stereotyping has been done based on narrowminded rhetoric. You do not listen to anyone that disagrees with you, and you hold in highest regard those you do agree with. 99% of those that ride snowmobiles, ATVs, OHVs, etc. are responsible yet you both have allowed the 1% to form your stereotypes. That's like saying someone poached an elk, therefore all hunters are bad. Someone shot someone else, so all gun owners must be murderers. And spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat.
As for the BRC, I challenge anyone to find evidence where they advocate irresponsibility on public lands. Yes, they are flawed, in that they have to fight for public access essentially by themselves. They have an annual budget of around $600,000. The top salary at the Sierra Club was $200,000 in 1999 while the head of their fundraising efforts made $100K. Their Exec. Director Carl Pope made $138,000. Their contributions that year were near $36 million. That's just one group. All this information was taken from the story "Environment, Inc." by the Sacramento Bee.
