[makosnax]

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

Reason - Follow the money.... Are the people at NOAA who manage our fisheries "getting rich off us common folk" ? No, they are common folk just like you and me.... Do they eventually report up to people who are bought and paid for by Lobbyists, Special Interest Groups, all trying to buy favor with campaign funds.... You can bet they are. If not your head is in the sand... That's the way our political system functions.

It's not a fairly tale, it's not a conspiracy theory, it's a fact.

The commercial guys have a very strong lobby in all the upline businesses that make billions of dollars off of what is a public resource. Do you think they don't make contributions to people who are infuencial in fighting to protect their cause? I can assure you they do. Even we as Recreation Fisherman do the same. I know for a fact that a some of the money we donate to Recreational Fishing organizations go to Lobbyists and making donations to political campaign funds and oh by the way, on both parties to cover our bets.

Does all this make it right? No!! Why should any of us on either side have to spend the money on Fat Cats that should be spent on better science...

The answer is, that is how the system works.....The Fat Cats get what they need and we get screwed based on who deposited a larger check to the person in power who was eventually elected.

It's all about money and power and to think otherwise is, to quote you, "hilarious".

When are we getting a "Like" button?