As my very first post on Reefs.org, I am going to aim this one directly at Vitz's head.
I have been watching this forum for over a year, and I just cannot contain myself any longer. Vitz, for someone who has posted over 2500 times, you owe it to yourself, and this forum, to say something truthful and helpful every once in a while.
Let me correct a few terrible errors you have made here, and passed on to the general readership. The Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) does not pay its Board of Directors. None of them receive salaries, or any form of payment for serving on the Board. They were picked primarily for their expertise in their respected fields. It was also necessary, for legal purposes, that the Board be partially composed of representatives from conservation organizations. You, and a few others who post here, are of the mistaken belief, that the MAC BOD, are a bunch of paid buffoons. These are fraudulent claims against an organization that you, and others, have accused of fraud.
That is rather ironic, but then again, the Internet brings out a kind of insanity in people. You sit in front of a keyboard, typing out whatever comes to mind. There is nobody there, sitting in front of you, to stop you from sending out worthless trash. Vitz, when you hit the "Submit" button, it is almost as if you've flushed feces down the toilet.
Your recent post of the Draft Legislation from the United States Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) was both a good thing, and another terrible mistake. Good, in that now the forum can read the proposed law that the USCRTF has crafted. Terrible, in that you have falsely given the impression that this really exists as a law. I guess your "Deep Throat" informant turned out to be a "Shallow Navel".
I spent a good number of hours in Samoa in 2000, with the USCRTF, discussing just what this proposed legislation would be about. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a ban on importation, or an "end to the hobby". Many here have adopted a sort of paranoia, that the Government is just one step away from pressing the button. The button that will end the hobby. This is not true. The USCRTF wishes to bring necessary changes to the marine aquarium industry, not eliminate it.
The MAC is not breaking any laws Vitz. But you, are breaking an unwritten law, that most mothers pass on to their children...don't lie to people you care about.
The USCRTF supports, and is looking to, the MAC, to bring about changes in the marine aquarium industry. It is an enormously difficult task to reform an already-corrupted network of supply and demand. The effort is only multiplied, when false statements are cast out to the teeming millions, right here on the World Wide Web.
You have mentioned that you "will wait a year or two before I start to make a very big stink.." I hope, for the sake of sanity, that you wait a century.
I am watching you Vitz.
John Brandt
Marine Aquarium Societies of North America (MASNA) - Representative to the United States Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) and the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC)
Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) - Board of Directors, Best Standards Advisory Committee, Unsuitable Species Advisory Committee
Chicagoland Marine Aquarium Society (CMAS) - Vice President, Programs Committee Director