Update...

This came in from SEMA last night:

CASH FOR CLUNKERS IS GONE!

Obviously, this is great news (passed on by, who else - Frank Barron). And I am very pleased. However, it does not ease the disappointment I feel in the local lack of action. We are fortunate that enough car buffs in other states pushed hard enough to get that bill dumped.

They covered for us, this time. I hope that in the future, as other issues arise, that we Mainiacs do not sit back and entrust our futures to others. We got lucky this time, that there were devoted folks fighting the good fight.

But it will not always be a national issue. Like last year, when we attempted to get better laws in Maine to protect us from communities that wanted to shut us down, and fine us if we had spare parts kicking around. A lot of effort went into trying to get a petition out. We appealed to hundreds of you to pick up a copy and get it signed. In spite of that effort, we only got 6 1/2 pages back. 130 names! Needless to say, that will not impress anyone in Augusta, so don't expect any changes in the law.

And that is the problem, folks. We really love you guys. But it is just awfully disheartening to put in so much effort into getting something done, and you, the folks, don't seem to want to get involved. Not even when it affects you. But once a bad law gets passed, and it harms you, the complaints fly. But by then the damage is done.

The time to protect your interests is BEFORE others take away your rights, not after. And we cannot always expect "others" to do it for us.

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