Gold Winger

What do we really mean by "live"? SNL is "live" but is it living? Live could just mean "in person, right now."

"That is not the worse part. Even more eggregous is the fact that those in the royal succession lose their place if they even marry a Catholic. I don't know how anyone could support such restrictions" If you want a Catholic monarch, move to Spain.

Could be but I don't think that the RAF would have iggles on their buttons. Luftwaffe perhaps?

I saw the former CEO of Citicorp on the Charlie Rose Show and he said that even though we are suffering localized pain we should be happy that we're improving the standard of living in other countries. Sure, the guy also talked about his $300,000,000 donation to Cornell. I guess if I could give away $3 megabucks and still afford to pay the rent, I wouldn't care about a bit of localized pain either.

What do we make here? Not much. Computers? Consumer electronics? Bicyles? Tableware? Staplers? Pato furniture? Power tools? Free market? It's greed. Just plain cupidity. Disposable income? Sure, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and the rich have more money to waste but the poor are living in the gutter and eating Alpo.

John, Naval Aviators wore green back then, actually they can apparently still wear green now but rarely do. The service dress grey uniform was adopted during WW II was primarily worn in the north atlantic and had shoulder boards like the service dress khaki not sleeve stripes like the aviation greens and dress blues. Also the old naval aviator uniform included breeches which is what the boy is wearing (Jodhpurs are much roomier in the hips). I am unsure if the Naval Aviator uniform included a Sam Browne belt and I can't check it out because my reference materials are buried in my basement.

Apparently, all tan shirts are supposed to have green numbers. I think that Cubbers and Cubbies should still wear red and white numbers but I don't make the rules.

Thanks also to OGE for pointing out BeeDub's misunderstanding of the misunderstanding.

I don't think that there is an official Boy Scout policy regarding hanky-panky providing the hankying and pankying doesn't take place at Scouting functions. However, it would bother me too and I'd have a conversation with the committee chair or the charter org rep. If they aren't willing to do anything, it might be time to look for a new unit. The guy's wife could accidentally find out about the hanky and panky.

Why? All you need to do is follow the rules. :-)

It could be that the housing market had a downturn because people aren't making any money. Why aren't they making money? Because we don't make stuff here anymore. The people who used to make a living making plastic cups, drills, toys, and Boy Scout uniforms don't have jobs anymore. Why? The greedy capitalists sent those jobs to China. It's all about greed and the capitalist mantra, "More for me and the heck with you." Unions? They're just as greedy as the capitalists.(This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

Look at the money raising application. Scouting and Venturing units are prohibiting from soliciting funds. Only council and districts may directly solicit donations of money. Why? One reason is that they don't want every unit to be dipping into the pot when the FOS guy comes around and asks businesses for donations. Another is "dem's da rules." However, if someone comes up and hands you a c-note and says, "Buy your troop some gear," you may accept it.

I don't think that warmongering policies had much to do with economic downturns, war is generally good for the economy. The economic downturn is the result of the greedy capitalists from both sides shutting down their factories and running to China. Positive world opinion? In my lifetime, the world opinion of the US of A has only been positive when they want something from us. A disaster happens, we send help and get criticized for not sending enough. We take in the poor and huddled masses and get yapped at because we want them to follow some silly rules. It's really strange that no one seems to like our country but so many of them want to come here and suck whatever they can from the system.

Then maybe the units should pay.

Mock me if you will but my terpsichorean skill put me in high demand as a gigolo when I was in my mid 20s. Seriously, it helped make me popular on the dance floor as in my mid-20s when the other guys were out there doing uncoordinated gyrations, I could take Suzie out and whirl and twirl and tango. Now, in my advancing years I'm still in demand . . . unfortunately only for my dancing skills :-(

Mock me if you will but my terpsichorean skill put me in high demand as a gigolo when I was in my mid 20s. Seriously, it helped make me popular on the dance floor as in my mid-20s when the other guys were out there doing uncoordinated gyrations, I could take Suzie out and whirl and twirl and tango. Now, in my advancing years I'm still in demand . . . unfortunately only for my dancing skills :-(

"If it says demonstrate, the Scout must demonstrate! Does the Scout have to be an expert at the task? No. Just be able to demonstrate the task." This one is a big part of the problem. "Okay Johnny, cross the ropes, now bring one around and over the other and tuck it through. Yea! You just tied a square knot, I'll sign your book." In the sports world, we look at "spirit and intent" to help us interpret the rules. What is the "spirit and intent" of "demonstrate"? Does it mean, "learn, practice and then show" or does it mean "show with coaching"?

It occurred to me that back in those days, boys would often wear sailor suits and other military styled clothing as dress clothes. The wings and the rank stripes on the sleeves (like the navy) made me think that it might just be a little boy's dress outfit.

Way back in high school, I took a ballroom dance class because I figured that knowing how to dance was an important social skill. I learned to waltz, foxtrot, tango, cha-cha, samba, rumba, how to lead, how to dip, how to twirl and even how to Hustle. Boy was I ever disappointed when I went out and wanted to demonstrate my skills. I found that in the 70s most girls were lacking the most basic of couples dance skills and that slow dancing meant just standing in a single spot and rocking back and forth.

Doesn't look like any BSA uniform that I've ever seen. Could be the uniform of either a military school or an organization like "Sons of Nippon Drill Team."

" at least I think I avoided it" Did the young women avoid you after dancing with you just one time? It may not have been your skill on the dance floor. :-)

Because, if you believe the UnderArmor rhetoric, cotton kills.

Thankfully this is America where you have the right to your opinion, no matter how wrong it is. :-)

Since bison (buffalo live in Africa and Asia) are ruminants, you could make cud chewing noises. :-)

Ooooooh boy. Where to start. Let's start with the people who believe that it is horrible to withhold anything from a child who wants it. That's what's brought about high school teams with no cuts. So to say to Johnny, "sorry Johnny but you just didn't get that knot right so you don't get your badge yet" is just plain wrong. Add in the wacky parents who view the badge as the goal and not the skills learned along the way. One ASM in my son's troop used to say (and probably still does) "we got to run these boys through XYZ so they can get it signed off this weekend." Were any skills actually learned? No. It was the classic thing of "here's how you tie a square knot, now show me one. Okay. You're good." Whatever happened to "here's how you do it. Go home and practice and come back next week and demonstrate it"? Mix in a little of the wacky adults who think that kids can't do anything on their own. These are same goofballs that will brag about how smart their kids ("you ought to see him on the computer") but think it impossible for their son to plan a menu for a campout. They pack their kids' packs for campouts, school bags, sports bags, etc. because they believe that the danger of diminished experience outweighs the experience gained when you get to the soccer game and find out that you left your cleats at home. Stir in a healthy does of the looney parents who are bound and determined that their children succeed at all costs. These are the ones who prompted the development of the SAT prep courses, are the nut jobs that berate high school coaches because their son didn't get enough playing time for the scouts to see him, and harass teachers because Johnny's grades are slipping and he won't get into Harvard. What do we have now? Advancement that means little. Eagles who can't find north with a compass. General diminishment of the program. Where can we point the fingers? At BSA with it's misunderstood FCFY emphasis or its overemphasis of Eagle? At councils with their summer camps that either rush through 1st Class requirements or are merit badge mills? At districts that run "Merit Badge Universities" (come Saturday and earn up to six new meritbadges!)? At troops that race boys through requirements? At parents who don't care if the boy learns anything as long as he gets the badge?