JoeBob

A third party would not have to be very large to wield great influence. Just having 10% of congress belong to Party 3 would empower votes of 55%-45%. Keep the Republicans out of our bedrooms and the Democrats out of my wallet!

Sorry if this posts twice - my first effort disappeared into the ether... Find some former Seals in your area that would be interested in a 'Blanket Party'. http://www.udtseal.org/ Ya gotta love the phone number: 757.318.FROG (3764) If you contact Seal Heritage by eMail, you could 'accidentally' CC the liar SM. Wonder how he'll sleep knowing that the real guys are coming? ;^) Your Charter Organization shouldn't want to be near the Poop-Bomb that will splatter everyone when this imposter is unmasked to your troop. Your main selling line to the CO should be "This SM is teaching the boys how to lie."

I don't think that BSA will be very interested in this knot because there will be so few of them. The cost of updating materials and publicizing the existance of a knot for earning all merit badges will cost way more than BSA will ever make selling 36 or so knots. Allowing a private issue knot would be in BSA's best interest. I also think that translating 121 merit badges into a simple square knot is very HUMBLE way to display that accomplishment. Very few people will recognize the knot for what it is, and the wearer can decide how much ego to use when he's asked.

Living in the Georgia Piedmont, I've become heavily dependant on terrain features for backwoods navigation. If I could only have one, I'd choose a topo map over a compass. Then I visited northern Alberta for a week. The land is very flat, and the forest all looks alike. Cloudy days, when I couldn't rely on the sun, I just stayed on the trails. I've always felt at home in the woods, especially at night; but way up there, way out there, it was a little spooky... I could see me walking in circles.

Gern, Ain't a thing wrong with being a male lesbian. I've been that way since my second year of college, so I'm resigned to it. My only point of confusion is that I have large hands. Does that mean I'm well-hung? For a lesbian?

Gern: Thanks for emphasizing my point about about Drs not wanting to work for the Govt: NY Times: Doctors Are Opting Out of Medicare http://www.patientpowernow.org/2009/04/06/ny-times-doctors-opting-medicare/ Who do you work for? Whoever pays the bill. And more and more Drs are deciding it's not worth it to work for the Govt.

Gern: Thanks for emphasizing my point about about Drs not wanting to work for the Govt: NY Times: Doctors Are Opting Out of Medicare http://www.patientpowernow.org/2009/04/06/ny-times-doctors-opting-medicare/ Who do you work for? Whoever pays the bill. And more and more Drs are deciding it's not worth it to work for the Govt.

The last PEW research study that I'm aware of counted more minutes of Liberal commentary on FOX than Conservative commentary on ABC, CBS, NBC, and MSNBC combined. Lou Dobbs is really growing on me... Sorta reminds me why Liberal talk radio can't compete. On radio you have to be able to explain and defend your ideas against facts and logic.

We already have a dangerous shortage of GPs. Lower pay ($170,000 vs. $400,000), longer days, and double the paperwork persuade med students that they'd rather be specialists. "The AAFP is predicting a shortage of 40,000 family physicians in 2020." http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-08-17-doctor-gp-shortage_N.htm "...one study found by 2020 the United States will be short 85,000 doctors." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/17/eveningnews/main1726479.shtml So, how is chasing older doctors who don't want to work for the government into early retirement; and adding 47 million new patients to the already overworked pool of doctors going to make our healthcare better?

Relevant? Is skin cancer on your ears relevant? Wear that bad boy!

A few choice shots: On the UN ranking health care quality in the US 37th in the world - UN rankings include subjective qualifiers like 'access' and always make the lowest possible estimation of anything in the US. First point on Life Expectancy - The US leads the world in obesity ranking # 1 at 30% (Mexico 24%, UK 23%, Slovakia 22%) http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity Another point on Life Expectancy especially for Gern; Legal carry of firearms saves more lives than are lost: "Scholars engaged in serious criminological research into "gun control" have found themselves forced, often very reluctantly, into four largely negative propositions. First, there is no persuasive evidence that gun ownership causes ordinary, responsible, law abiding adults to murder or engage in any other criminal behavior--though guns can facilitate crime by those who were independently inclined toward it. Second, the value of firearms in defending victims has been greatly underestimated. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealed_carry_in_the_United_States#Statistics Final point on Canada: Two years ago I hunted bear in Alberta. My guide was 25 years old with a bad knee. He was in the middle of an 18 month wait for surgery. The other hunter and I wound up carrying the bait buckets most of the week because it was so painful watching him try to hustle through the woods with only one good leg.(This message has been edited by JoeBob)

GPS has turned land navigation into an archain mystery. Until the first electro-magnetic pulse. Then nobody's GPS will work,and everybody will be lost. At least our cars won't be running into each other. ;^) What happens when China decides to scramble the satelites? I wonder if ships at sea still have sextants onboard?

Eisley, I'm with you, plus one. Right now the states regulate a minimum type of coverage that has to be included in every policy sold in that state. In my state, men and post-menopausal women are paying for pregnancy coverage; eveybody has to pay for mental health and alcoholism. That's one reason why insurance in one state can be twice as high as in another state. Either let consumers buy insurance ala carte or allow purchases across state lines. Tangent subject: What is with the trial lawyers? If the Dems succeed in getting a 'Public Option' health insurance company, and it does evolve into a single payer system run by the government, who are the trial lawyers gonna sue? The government has Sovereign Immunity, and can't be sued. Unless the Dems are going to waive Sovereign Immunity for health care, and the trial sharks can feed on the US Treasury for pain and suffering....

If only the teacher could get the text group list, and send out a set of wrong answers...

The intolerant strain of Christianity always puzzles me. It seems that the more restrictive their interpretation of their faith is, the more determined they are to be uhappy. Eventually they'll get to the point of demanding a minimum number of pixels be used in displaying the upper case 'G' in the one true font. If you use Arial or italics, you're going to Hell! But I'm sure that the conversation in Hell among well dressed 'Bad Parents' will be much more interesting. ;^)

I first thought that Youth Protection training was bunk. Then I was confronted by the fact that you would NEVER be suspicious of the one child molestor that I personally know. High ranking (LTC), decorated military officer, from a good family, with a good family, beautiful wife, and deeply religious. Now communing with God in Leavenworth after molesting two of his three daughters. He was working as the top cop (IG) at an overseas military base when he was caught. You just can't tell from appearances, and so you have to be a little bit wary of everyone. Sad, isn't it? JoeBob

I second TwoCub. Get regional guide. I grew up in Georgia and never saw a familiar tree in Washington.

1- You MUST allow Jack back, or you've broken your word. Let him know he's on probation, and he'll probably avoid all the women so as not be accidentally bumped into one. 2- Teach the ladies to shoot.

At the risk of being a pariah, I don't like the popcorn. It just isn't very good. When my son was a Tiger, we went all out and sold a respectable amount of popcorn to friends and family. When the orders arrived, we were dissappointed in the size of the containers. We and our customers were expecting the larger containers sold for similar dollar amounts from other vendors. The taste was poor. Even the stuff you pop yourself was lacking in flavor. (Granted, we only tried the light.) It was so bad that my kids haven't even opened the case of cheese popcorn from two years ago. We've been embarassed to go back to our neighbors to sell them more. We need a product like Girl Scout cookies. They're good. Slightly expensive, but it is a fundraiser. Everybody looks forward to Girl Scout cookies, because they know they'll taste good. Many in our pack feel the same way, so we're actively looking for an alternative. Pasta salad shaped like college teams is what we're looking at now, but it's priced at $7 with half going to the pack. Same size packets of regular pasta in the store sell for $1.50. Has anyone had a good experience with any other products?

I can see both sides here, but I'd have to agree with TwoCubDad. 1- For Eagle to be withheld in the first place, something has to be seriously amiss. 2- If the problem is indeed the scout, and not the troop's leadership, to circumvent whatever stain is on his record by using politics demeans the Eagle Award. 3- Why should the SM endorse this behavior and further cheapen Eagle?

ElyriaLeader: The Cubs don't know the rules for council,district/pack operations, so they aren't being taught to disobey rules. Heck, many of us had to read this post to know that we were bending the rules. Save the sarcasm for a more apropros target. Having a trained instructor teach shooting sports in the smaller arena of the pack where a)- you have more control because you know the kids, b)- you have a higher ratio of adult supervision, and c)- you can spend more time with individuals, is certainly a safer scenario. Day camps are usually strangers rushing to push 300 kids through an 8 or 12 bay range before the guns get too hot to touch in the sun.

Ah good. Reason returns. OldGrayEagle: I'd certainly follow your second course of action. (Thanks for reminding me about 2DL. I normally would handle such a meeting privately, to cut down on the scout's embarrassment. But this is one where CYA is definitely needed.) I'm one of the 'No Electronics in the Woods' clan. So my position is based on the assumption that we're talking about a Playboy mag smuggled in to giggle over with friends. This whole discussion might dampen the desire to confiscate phones for the duration of a trip. If porn is on the phone, and the confiscated phone is in your possession, are you a felon? Can you hear the prosecuting attorney: "So, Mr. Scoutmaster, you confiscated all these boys' phones so that you could enjoy the personal photos of their girlfriends in the privacy of your own tent?" LisaBob Said: "Drat, that whole business of being clean of mind and body, mentally awake, and morally straight. Ruins all the fun." We can debate the degree of dirty mind needed to view pronorgraphy. All male members of the forum who have never viewed a photo of a nekkid lady, please raise your hand... Adam and Eve started the world nude, so it can't be too bad. It's your attitude towards nudity that makes it 'dirty'. Mentally awake? Do folks regularly fall asleep in strip clubs? With 'Morally straight' you have a point, except with troops sponsored by nudists. (Anyone?) Everyone involved with Scouting must adhere 100% to the morals of the majority. So, if you've ever exceeded the 55 MPH speed limit, turn in your car keys. I do think that Child porno (harmful to the minor in the material) and a repeat offense in disobedience of an earlier warning are cause for sending the Scout home, and in effect booting them from the troop. I just get irate when I observe hypocritical over-reaction to a victimless crime.

I'm curious: have any of you actually sent a Scout home from a trip because you found porn in his kit? The public humiliation, shame, and his anger would almost certainly mean that you would be seeing that Scout for the last time. Has anyone in this forum hung a scarlet letter on a boy and had that boy return to the group that so branded him? Any kids I know would choose to hang out with their other school friends and talk about how 'up-tight' the Boy Scouts were.

Hey Packsaddle, I can't blame you for not knowing more about the NYC plotters. You have to look long and hard to find out that they all converted to Islam in prison and belonged to a mosque noted for 'teaching peace'. I guess that makes them 'Islamic Terrorists'. Oops! I mean 'Friends on hard times'. God Bless the FBI for finding that particular cell without the surveilance tools the Dems took away. If not for an informant, they would have had REAL C4. The war on terror is over? Now we have 'overseas contingency opertions'? That makes me feel much safer. BP: You've bought the Bush-Derangement media line. I'm probably wasting my time, but: "There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years," the vice chairman of the Intelligence committee told the Senate. The president was Bill Clinton (Dec. 16, 1998). The senator was Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia (Oct. 10, 2002). http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05310/600991.stm Pelosi is trying to take the CIA out of the game. Why finance an intelligence organization if they lie to us? Enough for now.

I miss George.