Hal_Crawford

BeaverIII:

At least they know what Trojans are, that knowledge might help them to "Be Prepared" in later life. I'd hate to think what the patrol cheer would be. What if you had a Trojan AND a Beaver patrol in the same troop? They could SO get thrown out of camp.

Narraticong:

Your troop seems to love math. How about a Pi patrol? Lots of potential for patrol cheers but I would go with "Hmmmm, Pi"

Its a personal project of mine

A new value for pi to assign

I'd set it at three

It's much easier you see

Than 3.14159

Hal

Since 1934 automatic weapons have been subject to pretty tight regulation and only two murders have been committed using those weapons. Sounds like a triumph for gun control. Am I correct that private citizens can still buy fully automatic weapons, just not ones manufactured since 1986? If I'm wrong then tell the NRA as this comes from their website (http://www.nraila.org/Issues/factsheets/read.aspx?ID=130).

BTW, the NRA speaks of the underhanded way in which Representatives Hughes and Rangel got the Hughes amendment passed but they don't mention how it managed to get through the Senate or how it came to pass that President Reagan signed it.

Brent: How's the snow in Dunwoody? I was living in Atlanta in 82 when 4-6" of snow completely shut down the city. The Downtown Connector became a parking lot as commuters abandoned their cars and walked to hotels. Of course "Snowjam 82" hit in the middle of a work day and this storm hit on a weekend but I still wondered how the snow has impacted life in Hot'lana? Does the city own a snowplow yet?

Hal

I remember my dad describing someone as "a big shot; with a dot over the oh".

Hal

Yeah, Gern. I'll bet your mother encouraged you to masticate at the dinner table.

Hal

Hold the phone Shortridge. Do those cubs point their squirt guns at each other?

Section IX-Unauthorized Activities: "Pointing any type of firearm or simulated firearm at any individual is unauthorized". Those squirt guns could be construed as simulated firearms.

To paraphrase Capt. Renault, I'm shocked, shocked to hear that cubs play with squirt guns.

Hal

Thank you for your service. Glad you didn't have cause to betray your country.

Hal

I don't think it is that big a leap given that the "famous American statesman" in question was the president of the Confederacy. His state may have seceded but he chose to seek and accept a leadership position contrary to the oath he swore as an officer in the US army. That is treason.

Hal

And then he committed treason.

Hal

Calico:

Your post reminded me of an award ceremony I lit in Atlanta in the 1970's. The winner for the Best Experimental Theatre production was a play called The River Niger. The presenter was a local drama critic, a white woman in her 70's. She opened the envelope and mispronounced the winner in the worst way possible. The audience let out a collective gasp and then held its breath. The presenter apparently did not know what she had said. The recipient, an african american director, accepted the award rather cooly and gave his acceptance speech without acknowledging what had been said. When the next presenter, another african-american came onstage the audience had yet to exhale. The presenter stepped to the microphone and said, "I think that we should all be glad that the last winner was not a man named Fuchs". The audience exhaled, laughed and then clapped. The moment passed and the show continued.

Hal

One of my colleagues sat on a jury recently in DC. The accused was convicted of a murder he committed using a semi-automatic version of an Ak47. Guess he didn't get the memo about preferring more concealable handguns. The DC snipers in 2002 used a variation of the AR15, legally purchased, to kill a number of peoplein our area, one of the murders close to where I live.

I realize that these are anecdotal incidents and may not compare to the level of handgun crime. In fact I do not particularly support the assault weapons ban. I do support tighter regulation on the sale and ownership of hand guns which are, as Brent points out, more likely to be used to commit crimes. I'm sure Brent joins me in in support of tightening up the gun show loop holes to keep hand guns from reaching the illegal market.

Hal

Scout:

South lost the Civil War, get over it.

Hal

I would also suggest talking to all your ASMs and telling them that they are not to hold Scoutmaster's Conferences without your specific direction. It is yours to delegate. This arms the young ASM with the response, when approached by a pushy parent, with the response,"I am not authorized to conduct an SMC; you have to talk to Mr. Maynard." If an ASM holds an SMC against your instructions then you should talk to the CC about removing the ASM from the troop.

Hal

And who was John Browning's biggest customer? Who bought the bulk of the M1911s, the M1917s, the BARs, and the Ma deuces? You guessed it, the US government. Without that customer Browning's name would not be nearly as well known. As far as I know, Eugene Stoner only designed military weapons. Again, without government contracts would we even know his name? How many of the firearms manufacturers would exist if it weren't for government contracts? Innovation was driven by developing the products that the customer (the government) wanted.

Hal

"All that initiative, innovation, and invention was done without the government"

Really? Much of our innovation has come out of the military, the space program, the National Institutes of Health, research grants to universities and various government contracts. The internet that you use to post your opinions was developed with a lot of government money (USAF, NSF to name a couple). While I am sure you can think of some I am presently at a loss to think of any significant innovations that occurred completely without the government especially when you consider that most inventions are protected by patents granted by the government.

Ronald Reagan's favorite candy was developed under government contract... the military wanted candy that was easy to eat and wouldn't melt. The slogan could have been, "melts in your mouth, not on your trigger finger".

Hal

The next time you hear someone referred to as a geek have them look it up. Or just ask if he/she bites the heads off of chickens and snakes.

Shortridge:

Thank you for clarifying the hatchet/hand ax issue. Mile High had me going there. I will now retrieve the hand axes from the dumpster ;-).

Hal

Sniper fire harassed the British but it did not win the war. Infantrymen could fire three rounds a minute with the smooth bore but Brown Bess. They used pre-made paper cartridges and the ball pretty much dropped to the bottom of the barrel. A rifle on the other hand required that the ball be set on a patch and rammed with considerable effort down the barrel. Riflemen did not use paper cartridges so they had to deal with a powder horn and measure as well as patch cloth and knife. The process is slow and you could well have a British bayonet in you before you reloaded.

Trenton was won because of the element of surprise and the brilliant tactics of General Washington. Hessian casualties were 22 KIA, 83 serious wounded and almost 900 captured. Washington's cannon (placed at the ends of streets) accounted for some of the casualties. The battle was in the streets but not really house to house. Most (if not all) small arms was smooth bores be fired in volleys. Rifles played little if any role in the outcome. It is BTW a myth that the Hessians were drunk. Surprised yes, drunk, no.

Hal

In our troop it is tradition to start all BORs with the Oath and the Law. It is not a retest and to my knowledge no one has ever been denied advancement because the forgot. It is merely viewed as a formal start to a formal occasion. You do learn a lot about a scout's spirit by how he is uniformed, how he stands and makes the scout sign and delivers the words that are supposed to guide his every action as a scout.

When I was CC I chaired an EBOR and the scout went up (actor's phrase for forgetting his lines) on the Scout Law. I think he made it to "Helpful". Every attempt got him further from the right words. After a couple of tries I suggested that he go back outside, take a moment to collect his thoughts and then, when he was ready, come back in and try again. No big deal, take as much time as you need. The world's greatest actors sometimes forget their lines. He stepped outside, returned after a minute or so, said the law perfectly and went on to have an excellent EBOR. It actually was an icebreaker for the rest of the discussion.

If I had a scout that I knew had problems with speaking from memory I might suggest omitting this ceremony but it has never been a problem. We would certainly ask questions about what the Oath and or Law means to them and applies in their daily lives.

FWIW, my 2 cents.

Hal

How did we ever win the Revolutionary War with such bad weapons, as BadenP claims we had? Another history scholar.

Brent:

How did we win? Both sides were using the same muskets, the flaws balanced each other out. Battle lines would face off at close range and fire volleys. Some muskets would misfire, some might blow up but most would fire. Individually they were not accurate but the regiments made in affect a giant shot gun. Ultimately the more disciplined side would advance with bayonets and the other side would probably fall back. The winning side was usually the British.

Rifles played very little part in the revolution as it took too long to load them. A fast loading infantry rifle didn't come about until the introduction of the Minie ball shortly before the Civil War.

In truth, the Revolution was not won so much by colonial muskets as it was by maneuver, artillery and finally the French (yeah, the French) navy. Cornwallis' army was trapped at Yorktown on a peninsula between the James and York rivers. Under artillery bombardment from French and colonial guns, Cornwallis waited to be rescued by the English fleet under Admiral Graves. Graves was headed off by the French fleet and withdrew because the French had more ships. No rescue. Cornwallis attempted to withdraw his army by small boats but a squall wrecked the boats. Cornwallis, trapped, surrendered, the band played the World Turned Upside Down and the rest is history. (Graves arrived 5 days later).

Hal

When did this become about Catholics?

Mile High:

When I took IOLS about 7 years ago they did demonstrate the use of hatchets although I remember the trainer saying that he thought that BSA would eventually ban them because of safety concerns. I checked and the word hatchet is not used in either the Scout Handbook or the Scoutmaster's Handbook in use at that time so perhaps the trainer was off base.

If the BSA does not want scouts to use hatchets then why don't they say "the use of hatchets is prohibited"? Like the issue of sheath knives they take a non-position. Seems kind of passive-aggressive don't you think?

Hal

Hops-Scout:

Here's the link to Gallup. http://www.gallup.com/Home.aspx Other polls may have different numbers. While at Gallup take a look at the numbers for State of the Nation and Consumer Confidence-frightening!

Hal

You can't go wrong with Shakespeare. I couldn't use your script because I am not an Eagle and would feel somewhat the poser welcoming a new Eagle to a band of brothers to which I don't belong. The Henry V speech is one of my favorites though, and not just because Henry and I share a nickname.

I have used the plot of Hamlet as a campfire story a couple of times. I don't use the name but rather call him the Danish prince. A couple of the older scouts and about half the adults made the connection. I've thought of using the "Scottish play" as well (theatre superstition leads me to refrain from using the title). Witches, blood, guts and a sleepwalking queen who wants to put out the dog. Yeah, that could work.

Hal

I had not noticed that hatchets are not mentioned in G2SS or Totn'chip. We still teach and use hatchets in out unit. How are we to interpret the omission of the word "hatchet". Perhaps since Totin'chip says "Use knife, ax, and saw as tools, not playthings."we can infer that hatchets may be used as playthings;-).

Really, have hatchets been banned by omission? If so, shouldn't they say so? I am trying to imagine telling our SM (who is on a much deserved vacation) that we need to stop using hatchets because it is specifically omitted. I think my head is going to explode.

Hal

Yes, according to Gallup, Obama's approval rating has plunged to 67%. Down from a high of 69% right after the inauguration.