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MRF Reports

Larry — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:51:02 +0000

MRF E-MAIL NEWS Motorcycle Riders Foundation
236 Massachusetts Ave. NE | Suite 510 | Washington, DC 20002-4980
202-546-0983 (voice) | 202-546-0986 (fax) | http://www.mrf.org

10NR17 – MRF News Release – Washington Update

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
24 June 2010

Washington Update

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation has learned that a letter has been sent by 4 US Senators to President Obama criticizing the recent announcement by the EPA to delay the mandate that would force gasoline manufactures to move from 10% ethanol/gasoline blends to 15% ethanol in its blends. The new blend is commonly referred to as e-15. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and Kit Bond (R-Mo.) all signed a letter delivered to Obama yesterday, June 23rd. The senators, all from states that have a large economic interest in ethanol, stated that the gulf oil spill underlines the need for less reliance on fossil fuels and a greater need for more ethanol use.

The EPA decided to push a deadline on issuing a rulemaking that would mandate the use of 15% blends across the country. The new time frame is early fall for release of the ruling. The EPA states that the new blend will be safe in auto engines manufactured after 2001, after testing just 18 vehicles. It is not clear if any of those vehicles was a motorcycle. The agency went on to state that it is also not clear if the new blend would damage vehicles earlier than 2001.

Ethanol causes an engine to run hotter and get less gas mileage, but it does reduce carbon monoxide emissions making it the darling of environmentalist groups. However, air cooled engines are likely to run so hot with the new blend that engine damage is almost going to be unavoidable.

The lawmakers called that first delay “unnecessary and unfortunate” in their letter but said they are more concerned about news late last week that EPA will not make a decision until later this fall.

This second delay should “not be tolerated,” the lawmakers said. The letter asks Obama to “take all action necessary” to expedite the waiver petition and immediately consider an interim blend of 12 percent ethanol.

The same problems arise with a 12% blend as with a 15% blend. No one knows what the compromise blend will do to motorcycles, air cooled engines, or other vehicles pre 2001.

Should you hail from one of the States that the four Senators are from, the MRF encourages you to contact them and ask for proof that the new blend will not harm the engines in question. All others are encouraged to contact the White House on this important matter. “Its crucial that the American people press for more testing on this issue as Obama cabinet members have gone on record saying they ‘are confident’ this new measure will be approved” said Jeff Hennie, Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs for the Motorcycle Riders Foundation.

White House Contact info
On the web: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
On the phone: Comments: 202-456-1111, Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461

Highway Bill

At a recent meeting with Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), the chief architect of the financing portion of the next Highway Authorization Bill, the MRF learned that the support for the robust financing the bill deserves is just not there. With Federal spending already at an all time high, the political will to raise any funds for the bill has slipped away for the time being. It’s unlikely at this point that a final bill will be passed before the current extension is up at the end of this year. The MRF encourages you to attend any town hall style meetings your Senators or Representatives may hold over the 4th of July break and urge them to get a bill passed soon.

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation will keep you updated on these and any other issues affecting motorcyclists.

MRF Best of the West

Larry — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:36:12 +0000

Good evening, riders,

Here is the announcement from the Motorcycle Riders Foundation concerning the upcoming Best of the West conference this June. With the way the American political process is going there is no better time to either get back or become engaged in the process. Any of the conferences put on by the MRF are an excellent source of the jump start necessary to get you on the road to taking charge of the future of motorcycling. And to add to the fun, Boise is one days ride from anywhere in Washington, so it becomes a great excuse for a three day weekend. Go for a ride, talk motorcycle politics with the folks that do it all over the west, and then take another ride. What could be better than that?

That is just the beginning of the story though:

The WRRA has decided to sponsor one new activist to attend the conference, conference fees and hotel. All we ask is that you put your new training and our investment to good use. Are you good with people? Perhaps motorcycle community outreach is right up your alley. Riding around to all sorts of motorcycling events and telling the story of how things really happen in Olympia and Washington DC is a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. Public relations background? Ever thought about assisting with media relations and press interaction? If you love numbers (and who doesn’t?) perhaps you could offer to take over from Lloyd and give him a well deserved break as our treasurer.

These are just some of the possibilities; you can write the story.

There is even the possibility of some sort of reward for the “head hunter” that finds us a likely candidate. When you find us the candidate we can do some talking. Just fire me an E-mail.

“Texas” Larry Walker

Government Relations Specialist

Washington Road Riders Association

BEST of the West

Have you registered yet? The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) hopes you will join us in Boise for the 2010 BEST of the West conference from June 11-13. This year the conference is hosted by the Idaho Coalition for Motorcycle Safety (ICMS).

BEST of the West is one of the MRF’s regional events that allows interested motorcyclists’ rights activists to learn about issues affecting our right to ride. It offers workshops on how to be more involved, be more effective and make our presence known. This year will also feature a demonstration by the Idaho STAR Motorcycle Safety Program.

BEST of the West conference attendance is open to anyone interested in motorcyclists’ rights, and individuals wishing to attend this conference will receive $10 off the regular registration fee if they register before May 12, 2010. After the deadline, the fee will increase to $70 for MRF members and $80 for non-members respectively. The registration fee covers all the seminars for the weekend, as well as a dinner banquet and auction on Saturday night.

The MRF encourages all participants to make their hotel arrangements by Wednesday, May 12 to receive the conference rate of $79. After Wednesday, the hotel will no longer honor the rate for the block of rooms reserved for this event. Reservations can be made at the Best Western Vista Inn by calling 208-336-8100. The hotel is located on 2645 Airport Way, Boise, ID 83735.

To register for the BEST of the West conference, visit the MRF’s website at www.mrf.org or contact the MRF DC office at 202-546-0983. Applications can be printed from the website and mailed to the MRF office at 236 Massachusetts Ave NE, Suite 510, Washington, DC 20002. For more information about BEST of the West or any MRF conference, contact MRF Conference Director Carol Downs at 303-204-6939 or downs@mrf.org.

Results for the profiling bill

Ian — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 06:48:19 +0000

Hello, all,

I note that the profiling bill promoted by the Confederation of Clubs and ABATE of Washington, HB 2511, was *overwhelmingly* embraced by the House of Representatives. Note that there are 98 members in the State House. All but TWO voted in favor of a bill that said it’s not OK to single out citizens for preemptive stops because they *look* like members of a certain group, i.e. bikers.

Before I say anything else: please contact your House representatives and *thank them* for voting for this bill. I was in Olympia on Wednesday (to meet with the Director of DOL and her staff) and made a point of visiting my members’ offices. Call, email, write – but thank them.

I’ve watched this bill try to make its way through the Legislature in years past. It’s seemed that its biggest obstacle was not the language of the bill itself, but the language of those who spoke about the bill. In years past, there was a lot of anger, a lot of angst, a lot of finger-pointing.

Not this year.

This year, there was a lot of considered conversation about the rights of free men and women in a democratic society. All of us – patch holders, alternative club-style riders, and rank-and-file independent bikers – spoke to our legislators in measured and polite tones about civil rights and ‘the America that made America famous’.

We struck a chord, and overwhelmingly won the House. Our lack of victory in the Senate was, in my opinion, no fault of the bill or our approach to it. It was an artifact of a short session with too much to do and the short news cycle we’ve all come to know and [feel something about]. In truth, the bill did not lose in the Senate. It just never got a chance to win.

I’m encouraged not only by the progress made by this bill, but by the progress made by *us*. A lot of motorcyclists across a broad spectrum of our sometimes divided constituency came together and BLEW OUT the House. On Black Thursday, I had the pleasure of meeting with – and standing with – leaders from diverse segments of the motorcycle community, and I believe that our consensus carried the day.

It’s unfortunate that we have enjoyed this partial victory at the end of a biennium, and we do not have another session to fight the fight of HB2511. Nonetheless, I do not think we are done, I do think we can build on the success of this session, and I look forward to working with my brothers and sisters in the motorcycle community to protect the civil rights of those who ride from discrimination and selective enforcement.

We must all hang together – or we shall certainly hang separately. I hope you will join us for our regular meeting on Wednesday, March 31, to discuss this and other stories from the 2010 legislative session. — Ian

Better, Faster, Stronger Newsletters.

lara — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:33:01 +0000

WRRA’s new website and email system are humming along nicely. Now it’s time to introduce some new features for your email reading pleasure.

If you were subscribed to the old email newsletter you should be subscribed to the new version as well.

The new default format is an excerpt of the post and a link to view the full post on the website. It’s light on your inbox and speedy to send. But you have options… You can now select to receive full text of each post in either plain text or spiffy HTML.

You can begin by following this link and registering.

(Or click on the Register button over there in the upper right hand corner of the web page.)

In just a few minutes you’ll get an email from WRRA with a temporary password. Click on the link in the email and log in to roadriders.org.

On the profile page you can give yourself a nickname and provide a little info that will appear when you comment on posts. You can also change your password at the bottom of the profile page if you’d like.

To manage your newsletter subscriptions click on Subscriptions in the left hand column.

Select the format and categories that you'd like to subscribe to.

Choose your preferred format by clicking on one of the buttons. You can add or subtract categories by clicking on the check boxes.

Just FYI the “Sticky” category is added to posts that we want to stay on our front page. But you don’t really care about that.

Click Update Preferences and you’ll soon be getting just the news you want, just the way you want it.

On the other hand if you’re just ducky with the way things are now. We’re good with that too. No need to do anything.

Problems, solutions, comments, and other remarks to webmaster@roadriders.org.

Lara H.

Site and Newsletter Updates

lara — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:44:39 +0000

Welcome the new Washington Road Riders website. Take a look around.

There’s recent news on the front page. Announcements and news summaries in the center column. On the far right you’ll find a calendar and links to important information.

In addition you’ll find the Subscribe by Email box at the top of the right hand column. You can receive updates, meeting notices, and requests for action directly by email. If you’re already getting the newsletter and would like to change something about your subscription, you can do that as well.

You can select which types of notices you’d like to receive as well as the format.

If you have questions or comments about the site or the email newsletter please drop a note to the webmaster.