ABATE of Michigan President ~ Gary Kopta

Hello everyone,

 Well, I screwed up again. I write the article for the Michigan Rider about 3 weeks before they go out. Which means I wrote Mays article in April, and I didn't realize the fact that I needed to say HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY ABATE OF MICHIGAN!!!!!!!

That's right, 50 years old on May 21, 2026. 

 That brings me to my challenge of 50x50. I was hoping for a 50 percent increase in membership by our 50th birthday. I must say it isn't going well. We will not make the increase, but we are doing pretty well. Remember if you have got a lot of people to sign up please contact me because I am still giving out the cash prizes at the field meet.

 Speaking of the field meet. It looks like this one could be one for the books. Merry and her committee have been working on many things that are going to be happening at the field meet. Sounds like it's gonna be a great time. Don't forget the Freedom Rally will be a few days before the field meet on June 10th. The rally will be at the Lansing White House again, which is the same place as last year. Also, we will have the loggers there again and this time the whole road will be shut down. So again, there is free parking and best of all the fish people are going to be there with free fish dinners. Some of the best fish I have ever eaten. All caught in the Great Lakes. Thanks Scott, the owner of the White House for setting all this up again. 

 Ok now for this month’s rant.

 A bureaucracy is defined as a system of administration and management characterized by hierarchical structures, specialized functions, and adherence to fixed rules and procedures. In other words it's a bunch of unelected people installed into positions to affect citizens lives in ways that most of us can't. Bureaucrats are the individuals installed into these positions by elected officials. 

 I am sick and tired of these bureaucracies telling us what to do in the name of safety. The new one is NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and was brought in to help with a motorcycle assessment for the state of Michigan. The assessment was turned into a complete call for a nationwide helmet law. I fought this during the assessment but unfortunately, I was the only one fighting for it. So now this assessment is going to be posted on Michigan OHSP website. Even though I pointed out all the false claims and statistics and data that contradicted each other I was told they aren't changing it and they are putting it on OHSPs website this summer. 

 I have contacted friends of ours in the legislature about this and hopefully they can help with this. 

 This country was founded 250 years ago on freedom. If the soldiers in the Revolutionary War thought their lives mattered more than our freedoms, we would still be flying the British flag. I am not trying to compare our situation with a war, but my point is the freedom to choose is worth more than some bureaucrat or bureaucracy telling me what to do for my own safety. Let those who ride decide. I am done playing around. I think it's time to take our freedoms back. Give them an inch and they take a mile.

 There will be more on this at the freedom rally on June 10th. Please be there. Until then ride safe looks like we may finally get the weather for it.