Gold Winger

" I detest all manner of Scout doodads." Isn't detest a rather strong word?

I like things and I like thank yous. However, if the thing is a thank you, I'd like some thought put into it. A gift card for Best Buy doesn't show much thought.

America's Most Wanted? What about "Nightline: To Catch a Scouter"?

No big deal except that we have 18 years worth of veterans who think that the Army way is the right way and they keep making a fuss.

"We could sew it on VERTICALLY, but then the blue canton would have to be on the flag's own right (left as it is viewed by an audience), wouldn't it?" That would give us something to do with all of those backwards flag patches that the Army has. "Howbout that Earl Battey, uh?" Waddabout Frankie Gustine?

I guess it makes as much sense as someone saying, "Bill Smith, MD" or "Sheena Easton, pop singer" or "Waldo Smith, Major US Army (retired)". Unless it is an issue about medicine or pop music or military protocol, it really doesn't matter but people do it because it impresses the masses. Of course, whatever Sheena Easton supports, I'm in favor of it especially if it gets me a date with her.

Live within our means? Can't do that and keep up appearances. Heck, everyone that I know says "I gotta pay for my kids' education" Why? I was graduated from college in 1982 from a university that is always on US News & World Report's list of top universities. I spent (not my parents) about $15,000 for my degree, including tuition, books, room & board, and beer. At that time, a new college graduate could easily expect to make $15,000 in one year, especially in a technical field. I paid back my student loans in about three years. Four years at that same school now cost over $150,000. I don't know many entry level jobs that pay $150,000. If you have $150,000 in student loans, how long will it take to pay those back and still be able to afford to do things like buy a house, get married, go on vacation, enjoy a hobby? I know a fellow who has a decent job as does his wife, she worked and let strangers raise her kids so she could work so they could save more. They don't have an extravagant lifestyle. They saved. Their two daughters are in college to the tune of nearly $100,000 a year. Both parents have second jobs. This fellow told me that they'll be nearly flat broke when the girls graduate, not to mention being in debt up to their ears. Ten or fifteen years to rebuild savings as well as pay off the massive debt? What sense does it make?

If we still made anything in this country, we could shop ourselves out of the mess. Okay, we do still make some stuff: cars, lumber, tanks, airplanes. However, more and more is being made by China, Inc. Everytime we spend a buck, 50 cents is going to China. Twenty years ago, we could cry "buy American" and be able to find American made products with the possible exception of electronics. Shoes, shirts, pants, power tools, underwear, backpacks, tents, knives, forks, plates, cups, glasses, etc.. Now just try to find anything that is a regular consumer good that is made here. I bought some Libby glassware recently that was made in the USA but that's about it. My MP3 player? Shoes? Clothing? My Alp mountainteering pack was made in China. My Coleman trekking poles were made in China. Sure, some big things are still made here like cars and washers and refrigerators but we buy a fridge about once a decade but buy cell phones and mp3 players every couple years. We buy clothing every few months. If every dollar we spent helped another American by giving him a job, we'd be booming. But what we with nearly every dollar that we spend is to help an American fat cat become fatter and help a Chinese fat cat become fatter.

How about a brick at the Scout offices or at the local school? At our Scout HQ, some local schools and at least on library that I've been in, you can donate some buck and get immortalized on a brick. "Joe Doakes, Scouter" For decades or centuries or even millenia, people will read that and say, "Wow, that Doakes fellow was something."

On a sailing ship. BTW, I stand with the idea that the flag on the shirt is a flag displayed against a "wall" and, as such, the canton should be to the viewer's left. Pretty simple idea but back in 1990, the Army ran amok with the idea that that flag should appear as if it was being carried in a charge. Lord knows that I've carried flags for enough miles in parades and at football games (yes, I've been on TV) to know that unless you're running really, really fast, the flag blows whichever way it wants. Forwards, backwards, sideways. I'm still considering removing the flags from my uniforms.(This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

"Lenin was supposed to have made the observation to one of his close associates, Grigori Zinoview, not long after a meeting o the PolitBuro in the early 1920's, but there is no evidence that he ever did. Experts on the Soviet Union reject the rope quote as spurious" from "They Never Said That" by Boller and George. Of course they have their own citations for the claims. You can go with your old book and I'll go with my new book. As for the legislation, I don't care. I don't have any money and it is unlikely that I ever will.

How do you figure that wearing it backwards on the right shoulder puts the blue field closer to the heart?

Hmmmm . . . OGE, what you quoted is not the requirement, it is just a bit of blather about the subject. The requirement is still "Demonstrate Scout Spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law in your everyday life." If I'm the SM, to sign I have to judge if that requirement has been met. In olden days, the SM called others and asked them what you were like. Now, that's no longer recommended. So if I know that Johnny was busted for shoplifting and gets into fights at school because he's taking kids' lunch money, he hasn't demonstrated what he needs to demonstrate. Gotta stick with the requirements, not the blathering.

No problem. They're the same sex so it wouldn't matter. Maybe they should change the rules to say that unmarried homosexuals may not tent together.

Whatever Beaver. The committee may recommend all they want but if the CC won't sign, that person doesn't get in. Pretty simple, no? Gotta get that ignore button working properly, it hurts my brain too much to read what you write. Maybe if you took a course on English as a First Language.(This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

"The Scoutmater Conference ... is held each time the boy completes the requirements for a rank." This makes no sense either. Since the SMC and the BOR are requirements for advancement, you can't hold the SMC until after the BOR and the SMC is completed but you can't do the SMC until after it has been completed. Everyone join me for a chorus of "I'm my own grandpa!" The problem here is that you cannot have secret or parallel sets of requirements. What is in the handbook or the requirements book are THE requirements (requirements book takes precedence). If the requirements said, "participate in a Scoutmaster Conference AFTER you have completed requirements 1 through 7," I'd buy that. But it doesn't, so the talk for peeing on the tent has to count. Unlike basketball, Scouting does not have a ethos of looking at the spirit and intent of the rule, it only goes with the letter of the rule.

That comes back to the "he has bucks" issue. If he's fairly well heeled, he probably hasn't not bought himself something that he really wants. If it comes from the unit, he might be a bit perturbed that you got a bit extravagent with the funds that he donated. Now if the leaders who are in on the secret all chipped in and bought him a red wool jacket or something like that, he might appreciate it.

During my brief stint as a UC, I was expected to call boys who hadn't crossed over and ask them why. Even without the "suspicion" factor, I could imagine the conversations would go like this: Hello Timmy? This is Mr. Winger from the Boy Scouts. Yeah? I was wondering why you chose to join Boy Scouts. I dunno. Well, there had to be a reason. Did you think that it wouldn't be fun? I dunno. Do you know what sort of things Boy Scouts do? Sorta. What do you think that Boy Scouts do? I dunno. Camping? Fishing? Hiking? Swimming? Mebbe. Would you like to do those things? I dunno. What do you like to do? I only like dreaming, all the day long, And video gaming, and singing this song . . .

Since BSA allows you get get custom made patrol emblems, I would say that you are within guidelines.

Well, since he has said that he doesn't want people to know, recognizing him would be going against his wishes. If he's active in other way, a nice plaque that says "For all you do . . ." would be vague enough to cover camping, driving and donations.

There is no "SMC for Advancement" or "SMC not for advancement." Read the requirements. It only says, "Take part in a Scoutmaster Conference." If you have a conference with a First Class Scout because he peed in the campfire, you need to sign of in his book because he "took part in a Scoutmaster conference." To do or say otherwise is adding to the requirements. Do I think that this is the best way? Nope but dem's the rules that you agreed to play by when you signed on the dotted line.

"GW, yeah I've read those arguments in the blogs too." I don't read blogs. I don't think that I've ever visited a blog. However, if you can't establish that someone said something, you shouldn't be putting it out there as a quote. Should you? So much for academic honesty.

If we look at the documents from ancient times, a Scoutmaster was supposed to talk to a Scout's teachers, pastor, parents and probably others like the police chief to determine whether the Scout was exhibiting Scout spirit. That's all gone by the wayside. Active in the troop? Pay your monies and you're active. Skills? Heck, don't even try to find out if a Scout has actually learned anything or even attempted to do his job. Why? Simple. The eternal greenback. If we "discourge" boys by not promoting them, they'll drop out and BSA will lose numbers and money. It all comes back to my thoughts that most boys in Scouting don't want to be there, it's their parents who want them to be there.

What's that old quote? Lenin: "When the time is right we will make great concessions and overtures of peace to the capitalists and they will sell us the rope with which we will hang them. I'm sorry to tell you this but neither Lenin nor Lennon ever said that.

Sorry Beav but I'm with BeeDubya on this one. Every bit of training that I've had in the past decade says that the CC is the final say and can only be over ridden by the COR or IH. You really do like to play fast and loose with the rules, don't you?