James, I added a para while you were responding to mine. Our organization is a world leader because it doesn't do it over and over; insanity as you say. The first thing to advance or promote anything is getting the poohbahs' attention by doing things differently. Petitions don't work, politicians don't look at them. What gets attention are ideas and innovation that the clunks haven't thought of---or can't do with their top-down bureaucratic and technological interference.
My suggesting old colonel's notion isn't a fantasy is not the same path. My notion of stopping the nibbling by doing something imaginatively makes the point that we'll lose lead completely if we don't change public perceptions. Canada removed the long gun registry, a response to the Montreal massacre, because publics saw from a reasoned, long campaign that it didn't make sense. It took years.
Stopping and starting stuff takes thinking, getting off our asses. That's how the antis do it---and it's working. Fight talk is great for stoking the troops. What do you do then?
