Years back, when the FAA was jerking Bob Hoover around, I flew in to SBA with a friend in his homebuilt. While he was in the FBO paying the fuel bill, some Fed wondered up and tried to conduct a ramp check. I asked, "you're with the FAA, and you admit it? You must be a low-life scumbag, working for an agency that is no longer legitimate, due to their tyranical persecution of Bob Hoover, just because one of their fat employees, who had openly bragged that he hated skinny people and was going to 'bring Bob Hoover down,' claimed he was flying his airshow routine eratically, though he could produce no coraborating witnesses. Ya know, I get so angry just thinking about it, I don't know what's keeping me from punching you out right here and now? Nobody would care. You're lower in society than lawyers now. You must be as bad as that fat guy, or you would have resigned out of protest by now." He backed away from me across the ramp and said some reassuring words in an attempt to calm me down, then disappeared behind a gaggle of GA planes in the tie down area. My friend returned from the FBO and away we flew. He would have passed a ramp check okay, but I wanted to let this guy know that we were not pleased with the FAA's shenanigans. I encountered another Fed about to perform ramp checks at the Camarillo Flyin in '97. I told him that was a really dumb idea and went against a memo that was sent out by the FAA Administrator, due to the bad PR it creates. When he said he had a job to do, I told him he should do it on Monday, because if he tried to do it on Saturday, he might not live to see Monday. The Sherrif's deputy that was standing beside him agreed with me, and he walked back to his car. Never be afraid to question authority, or you will end up being afraid of authority. That's what happened in Germany in the 30's. I wonder whatever happened to that fat guy. The FAA should have gone after him and all those bureaucrats in the FAA who backed him up, but they protect their own.