My 2 cents on this....
Code has been on it's way out for a long time. With all the new modes it is
hard to require code and not the others.
Being a new ham myself, I found the 5wpm easy, to tell the truth 5wpm is
harder than 15wpm to me. Sometimes you can go too slow...
One thing that I have a problem with in the general written test is the
lack of proper operating procedures. I had no Elmer's for HF so the only way
I learned was by listening and making a few embarrassing mistakes that I was
corrected on with no lack of teasing. I wont say what was said but lets say
there is a wide gap between 2 meters and HF.

BTW I can repair my TS-400s and I run all my rigs off of solar power and
battery storage. I am not an idiot but have found that the more I learn
about ham radio, the more questions I have.
I just wish that there were more people out there like all of you, that
takes the time to help out the newbie's like me. I am a 45 year old newbie.
One more note..I was able to help out the EOC in Gulfport Mississippi,
after hurricane Katrina shortly after getting my technicians license. I was
down there for work and donated my spare 2m rig. So I guess I am proof that
even a newbie can help out when it counts.
Joe
KI4ILB
"robert casey" wrote in message
nk.net...
Stefan Wolfe wrote:


The demise of the Morse requirement, however, could be a boon for ham
radio
itself. After the FCC decision, demand for information
about radio licenses surged from about 200 in a typical weekend to about
500, according to the American Radio Relay League, an
organization representing ham radio operators.
......
"It's part of the dumbing down of America," said Nancy Kott, editor of
World
Radio magazine

In the R&O, the FCC observed that there was no connection between morse
code knowledge and compliance with the rules. The old 14.313 disaster
was back in the days of 13 WPM and above coded hams. And VHF didn't
turn into a CB mess since no code technician licenses started. And HF
didn't get worse with 5WPM generals and extras. So as far as the FCC is
concerned, they decided that there was no regulatory point in keeping
element 1 in the tests. And the FCC isn't in the business of handing
out merit badges. The whole point in requiring license testing is to be
sure that people are at least aware of the responsibilities involved
with transmitting RF into the radio spectra, that we do it in such a way
that doesn't trash the spectrum for other users, ham and others. We
then get permission to build, modify and so on transmitting equipment if
we want to. CBers or FRSers are not supposed to do that.

As for newbies, virtually all new hams want to be accepted into our
world, and will learn and adjust their operating habits as needed to be
accepted. This has been true since day one, and aside from a few fools
saying things like "No kids, no lids, and no space cadets" everyone
knows what it was like to be a newbie.