I posted before I read Steve's and Tim's recent contributions. Hear, hear.
Santayana's words had occurred to me, too.
And to me as well, as noted previously not a contest pilot but merely an
interested observer.

At least in soaring, I can't charge it off to most of our crowd being too
young to have lived through the mistakes of the past.
Given the acrimony directly expressed and inferrable from this thread-to-date,
it's good to know senses of humor can still find expression.

And writing as one NOT too young to have lived through the mistakes of the
past, it's also good to (apparently) learn - from the posts of Steve K., Tim
T. and Chip B. (none of whom I know, but two of whom I could pick from a
lineup) - that something previously only guessed at seems to be the actual
case at present, i.e. (re-)introducing personal preferences into U.S. Team
pilot selection. Neo-geezers like me well remember the brouhaha from the
mid-/late-70s in "Soaring" mag accompanying the leaving off of George Moffat
from the U.S. Team when he was at the time (if memory accurately serves) the
existing (two-time) U.S. World Champion. So far as I could then tell, the only
positive aspect I could see flowing from that whole unfortunate - apparently
(from an organizational perspective) self-created - situation, was Mr.
Moffat's grace under the circumstances (Moffat being another individual I
could pick from a lineup). Kids can you spell, f - o - o - t - s - h - o - t?

Assuming that I am accurately assessing the general aspects of the US Team
selection process that have led to the present situation, I find myself in
slack-jawed disbelief that the present situation - ill-grace being "merely" an
incidental accompaniment - was not entirely predictable - and therefore
avoidable - at the time the decision to "revisit the past" in a selection
sense was taken...reGARDless of how that decision was undertaken/implemented.
Understand I intend here to express no opinion on the *quality* of that
decision - noting again, I have no dog in the fight - but rather/"merely" upon
its *nature"...and its predictable results. Sheesh...

Respectfully,
Bob W.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com