http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_attainder

A bill of attainder (also known as an act or writ of attainder) is
an act of the legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some
crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial.

During the Competition Committee meeting there was an agenda item
regarding the "USHPA Competitor Code of Conduct." The committee had just sent
the proposed Competition Rulebook which contains the "USHPA Competitor Code of
Conduct" to a new Competition Committee sub-committee on Race to Goal format
competitions, so it was unclear why this was an agenda item, as I assumed it had
just been dealt with.

There was a break in the meeting to allow the agenda item to be prepared for
display on the screen. As I milled about the room walking back to speak with
Jamie Shelden, the author of the agenda item, John Kangas, started screaming at
me. You might know John from my earlier report on his
wonderful weather site.

I didn't react to John other than to move quickly away from his vicinity. People
seemed to very puzzled about what was going on. I did not know who John was at
the time and had never spoken with him previously (or since).

When the meeting was reconvened, John had the floor, and he began the discussion
of his item with a personal attack on me referring to my article
here stating that I
had accused the USHPA BOD of fornicating with animals (to much laughter in the
room). Check out the wikipedia article re this
euphemism. I figured if it is good enough for Gus Grissum and Tom Wolfe, it
is good enough for me. The Right Stuff, after all.

The astronauts represent the United States in space after all and are seen as
heros, and if they can use that phraseology, it seems that I have poetic license
to use it also.

None the less John appeared to be extremely angry with this headline as he
continually referred to it when making his presentation, always with the
accusation that I was accusing the USHPA BOD of fornicating with animals (now
accompanied by puzzled looks on the faces of committee members).

What he wanted to do was make it so that anyone (but he was making it clear that
this was aimed specifically at me) who did not behave in a fashion that was
acceptable to the USHPA EC or BOD could be removed from the US National team.
This was clearly an effort to eliminate my free speech rights by attacking me at
a potentially vulnerable point.

Now, did Mike Haley know what was up with John Kangas? It seems pretty clear
that he in fact did. I pointed out, without knowing what was up, and in advance
of John starting, that he was out of order as his issue had just been moved to a
sub committee. But Mike overruled my point of order and let John present his
proposal.

Here is the portion of the existing (but not the new) "10. 6. National Team
Member Code of Conduct" not the new proposed "USHPA Competitor Code of Conduct"
that he wanted amended:

10. 6. National Team Member Code of Conduct

Members of the USHPA National Team agree, as a condition of their participation
on the team, to be bound by the following code of conduct:

That they will abide by the laws of the United States of America and of the host
country. That they will conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner, and in a
manner consistent with the best interests of the team, according to the
direction of the Team Leader.

The Team Leader has the authority to remove from the Team a member who in the
opinion of the Team Leader violates this code of conduct.

"As a condition of participation on the USHPA _____(insert meet title)_____
Team, I agree to abide by the laws of the United States of America and of the
host country, and will conduct myself in a sportsmanlike manner, and in a manner
consistent with the best interests of the team, according to the direction of
the Team Leader."

Here is the proposal:

Amendment to 10.6 National Team Member Code of Conduct

Section 10.6 National Team Member Code of Conduct of the Competition Rulebook be
immediately amended to add the following 2 paragraphs in regards to the National
Team Members.

1. That they will act in a way that will bring respect and honor to themselves,
their teammates, the USHPA, and the United States.

2. That they will remember that at all times they are an ambassador for the
sport, the country, and the organization.

Existing Paragraph 3 be amended to read...

The team leader and/or the EC has the authority to remove from the team a member
who in the opinion of the team leader, Board, or the EC violates this code of
conduct.

And in addition…

A signature page that is require to be signed by the team member be added to the
code of conduct similar to the US Olympic form.

John appeared to be under the delusion that I was the US National
team leader. Therefore I certainly wouldn't be in a position to eliminate myself
from the team.

There were many questions raised about whether this was in fact similar to the
US Olympic code of conduct, and it appears not to be. There were also questions
about how this would be implemented, what the appeal process would be, etc.
There were also questions with regard to how analogous the US National hang
glider team is with respect to Olympic sports teams.

A number of BOD members were nervous about sanctioning (removing) a National
team member based on something that he wrote. This seems like censorship.

The committee decided to table the motion and take it up later, just when is
unclear.

As an aside, it is my impression that as far as the US National Hang Gliding
Team goes, they don't see themselves as representing the USHPA, but rather as
representing their country. They feel little to no connection with the USHPA,
especially since they correctly see that their support is coming from the
Foundation for Free Flight (from member contributions), Wills Wing, Glen Volk,
and many other significant contributors and sponsors. See
here.

Unlike Olympic sports, there is no financial support for the US National hang
gliding team from their association. There is a much different relationship
between our National team and the USHPA than you will find in Olympic sports, so
it isn't at all clear that the Olympic model is one we should implement.