Gold Winger

(This message has been edited by a staff member.)

(This message has been edited by a staff member.)

Happy Solstice back at ya'!

(This message has been edited by a staff member.)

If I thought that I'd actually meet sexy Arab women, I might give it a shot. The stunning women in the ads aren't the ones that you get to meet. The available women will have a face like a camel, a squint in one eye and be missing three teeth in front.

Ah, throw money at the problem, that fixes everything. Ever wonder why poor families have so many children? Is it that they can't afford cable and have nothing to do at night or is it because the government gives them bigger rewards? I'm in favor of helping hands. If a fellow loses his job and needs some help with the electric bill, that's one thing. When a girl has three kids by the time that she's 18 by three different men and is not married to any of them, cut her off. Why pay for that girl's advanced education because she can't stay off her back when there are others out there working two jobs, no kids and trying to go to school? Remember all the hubbub when Oprah donated money to a school in Africa? Her reasoning? When she talked to poor American blacks, they all said that they wanted iPods, cell phones and video games. In Africa, they wanted nice clothes so they could go to school. Big difference there. The highly visible American poor would get a lot more sympathy if they didn't appear so greedy. I'd love to have an iPod but I can't justify spending that much money on a toy. If someone came to me and said, "I'll either buy you an iPod or spend the same amount on food for you" I'd take the food. I knew a woman who had three children by three fathers (two were in prison) and was shaking up with the father of the third. Because she is a 'single mom' she got rent assistance, her kids got free breakfast and lunch and they were given baskets of food at Thanksgiving. What did the boyfriend do? A union machinist but since he wasn't on the lease and they weren't married, his income wasn't factored into the aid. What would I change if I ran the system? A girl could only have one "oops" baby. If you want to collect checks, both parents would have to be snipped. Collecting aid? You can't smoke or drink. Collecting aid? The state will put you to work cleaning highways or parks or public buildings. Don't show up for work, you're out of the system.

I once played a lawyer on stage so take this for what it is worth? It depends on how they are changing them. If they are now saying that Scouts can fire M60 machine guns at Scout functions, no. If they are saying that you have to be 14 to shoot a rifle, you're in a grey zone. Within certain limits, units can set their own rules. for example, in my son's troop, if you signed on for the Philmont crew and don't make 3/4 of the training hikes, you aren't going to Philmont and you aren't getting your money back. People are told that up front and are okay with it. Signing something doesn't change your obligation to follow rules, it just indicates that you are aware of the rules and prevents people from coming back later and saying, "I didn't know that I couldn't bring a chainsaw." "Hmmmm . . . it says that right here and you signed indicating that you read and understood the rules"

"Years ago you never saw a parent at a scout meeting unless they were to drop Johnny off or to pick him up. Know they watch your every move. That is if they aren`t at Karate class or ten other programs they have to be at." That was true of most kids' activities way back when. Two or three dads did Little Leage. A couple dads did basketball. Very few parents even bothered to show up at games unless they were the "BIG GAME." When I was a youngster, it was my responsibility to make sure that I was where I was supposed to be. I might ask my dad to drive me but I had to ask him. If not, I walked or asked the coach to pick me up. Arg! I have a feeling that these will never be the good old days.

"Eamonn - How long a drive was it?" I'm not Eamonn but driving there from Martinsburg, especially with family, would take the better part of a week, a vacation unto itself. However, that could be an enjoyable trip, especially if you got off of the interstates and drove through small town America. Of course, if you have two 20 year olds as drivers, you could make it in a day and a half. :-)

"Just goes to show that atheists exercising their first amendment rights are considered to be ruining it for Gold Winger" Doesn't hurt me in the least, just makes you guys look like idiots and babies.

When I came to this thread, the ad on the right linked to this page, Islamic marriage Interesting, no? I find it interesting that the variety of Islam being preached is anti-Christian and Jew. From what I've read of the Koran, Christians and Jews are to be treated as friends.

Atheists wouldn't celebrate Saturnalia. Just goes to show that atheists are spoilers. Like little children they cry out, "I don't want to play your game but I'll ruin it for you anyway."

I believe in love and respect coupled with a large dose of fear, that's the way that my mother kept us in line. We knew that dire things would happen if we got out of line and we never wanted to find out what those dire things might be. The adults that try stuff like, "John, do you really think that it is respectful to pee on my car?" are considered idiots by the youth in question.

"WE" might not be here but somone would be. The Norsemen would have colonize America or Erikland as they may have called it. The Greeks or Romans would have made it here. Who knows but someone would have come.

Hmmm. . . I don't know how to take that. My sister-in-law smiles at me because she thinks that I'm an idiot because I hike, camp, like motorcycles, airplanes and sports cars and don't care for pro-sports. My best friend's wife smiles at me because I'm her husband's best friend, I was there when they met and the three of us have been having fun together for over two decades. My ex smiles when she sees me because I'll be taking the kids for a week.

"Most people" that have expressed an opinion to me about BSA's policies are happy that BSA still excludes homosexuals and athiests.

"Heck if these people are not really any good? Why bother? We could just line them up and shoot them all!" Works for me, it's cheaper than the alternatives.

I think that we strive to youth into better adults so that they excel over the general population thereby benefitting mankind.

"My understanding is that it's actually kind of a throwback to the way things "used to be." " Not quite. Back in the 70s (I think), Scouts sat on BORs for rank up to 1st Class. I think that the idea was that other Scouts would be a good judge of whether the boy in question was up to snuff. In any case, that's not the way things are supposed to be done today. It doesn't matter if you are a 300 lb simian. Do you also add merit badges to the Eagle required list? Are you still making the boys learn all of the knots required for 1st Class in 1953? "We do ours on an as needed basis, after all, we are there for the Scouts, not the other way around." So if Jimmy wants one on Monday night and Johnny wants one on Tuesday night, you'll convene boards two nights in a row?

Look at the supposed "holiday" decorations that you can buy at the big stores. Santa on a motorcycle? Polar bears and penguins? Igloos? Also, say Merry Christmas to someone on December 26th. They'll look at you as if you're crazy. Christmas is over! No! Christmas starts on December 25th and goes for 11 more days.

I'm with FScouter here. My objection to "Class A/B" has nothing to do with the military's use of the terms. I object simply because they aren't in the Scouting book. I would raise a similar objection if someone called a BOR an "Avancement Interview."

Like many here, I've received those invitations in the past. I was floored by the cost of the training so I chose not to go. If you think that a Phimont trek might be in your future, I'd hold of til then. Philmont is a beautiful location but I'm happy that my first experience with it was as hiker, climbing mountains, fording raging rivers, and fighting off the lions and mini-bears. Now that I've climbed the highest mountain and swum the deepest river (apologies to Ricky Neslson), it would nice to go back and look at the Tooth and say, "Hey, I've been up there." So, in a nutshell, save your time and money and do things with the Scouts.

When I used to have to do things like that, I just created my own. I usually used MS Access but Word shouldn't be much more difficult. Lay it out, print a test copy on bond, hold the two up to the light, compare and modify. Should only take two or three tries.

Wool is warm and will keep you that way even if it gets weat. Silk's nice but not as warm as wool. I have a light wool sweater that is just for sleeping. Wool watch cap and since I like my hands outside of the sleeping bag, wool mittens. It is a bit late but you can find military surplus wool sweaters, hats, and mittens for a song if you do some shopping.

As I've said before, we've (meaning I have) taken Scouts to the ER with nothing more than the BSA med form and have received treatment without having get the parents on the phone first. The Girl Scouts love paperwork and, as I recall, their permission slips don't look much different than the BSA med forms.