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AZMike

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Everything posted by AZMike

  1. infoscouter, I really like the idea of using that Stanley rolling tool box, thanks. I see they have them for about $75 at Home Depot.
  2. Like the other Arizonians, I favor shorts for as long as possible (111 degrees here some days), but don't like the long socks. They make me feel like I should be wearing a pith helmet and drinking quinine water and vermouth on a veranda in the Punjab (not that there's anything wrong with that.) I have a friend, though, who went hiking through high grass around Gary, Indiana, in shorts, picked up a tick, and got full blown Lyme Disease which has made his life miserable. It makes me reconsider wearing long pants.
  3. Yes, it's Martyrs Week here on Scouter Forum. Remember also that tomorrow is not only Independence Day, but the Feast Day of the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassatti, who not only was a world-class outdoor athlete (mountain climber, alpine skier) and celebrated good company, good wine, and good cigars, but also a child of wealth and privilege who gave much of his wealth to the poor of Italy and resisted Mussolini's fascists before dying young. Good guy to emulate even if you're not religious.
  4. Black Bartholomew the Pirate? What was he doing in the Inquisition? Actually, those who were investigated by the Inquisitions had a lot of legal protections that we lack today. Upon arrest, you were allowed to make a list of anyone you considered an enemy, or would be likely to provide false testimony against you, You could make the list as long as you liked. By the rules of the Inquisition, none of those people could provide witness against you. Forced conversion, also, has always been outlawed by the Catholic Church, so I suspect the gladiator Demetrius is probably safe from the Gr
  5. I too am trying to figure out what Black Bart the stagecoach robber (and PO8) was doing in a medieval torture chamber. Is this like one of those "What would happen if Wyatt Earp fought Charlemagne?" type of things? Statistically, religion is among the LEAST common causes of war throughout the centuries, by the way. And in the 20th century, intolerance of religion created a much higher body count rather than religious intolerance. We can statistically predict that a sovereign's willingness to commit genocide in that century against his own countrymen is directly proportional to his own s
  6. "AZMike, insurance is largely regulated at the state level, eh? So is medical practice and licensing. It's not easy to waive a magic wand and open up interstate commerce on the matter without federalizing a huge body of state law and practice (with a dubious constitutional basis for doin' it). " Perhaps, Beavah. But the overhaul of the U.S health-care system that we are about to see will be so unprecedented that they might as well go all the way and create a federal oversight board for interstate policies. Maybe that is the way to go, I don't know for sure.
  7. "About public prayer.. I am fine with someone doing a sunrise service in the park, or a ceremony of Hope and prayer at a public playground where a child went missing.. You announce the reason for the meeting will be religious and people can attend or not.. But, public prayer at a graduation or a town meeting I can see as being different.. People were told the gathering was for something else, and you will have a mix of people coming for the overall purpose of gathering, some who are fine with the prayer, some who are religious but not comfortable with YOUR type of prayer, some who are uncomfor
  8. "Can you cite the rulings from the cases you disagree with? I am unable to find any significant supreme court rulings on the establishment clause since 1997." Really? Pretty much any SCOTUS ruling is significant. Some of the post 1997 SCOTUS rulings re freedom of religion: Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) - Re school vouchers - issuance of vouchers to religious schools does not violate the estabishment clause. Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004) - "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance - SCOTUS held that the atheist non-custodial dad lacked standing to challe
  9. "I think this idea of a new Scouting organization might not be such a bad thing. The BSA will, of course, be willing to share the name "Boy Scouts", so instead of the names that AZMike suggests, I would suggest "American Boy Scouts." Now, because many of the American Boy Scouts members and leaders have been members of the BSA, and have helped build up the BSA through the past 102 years through several generations (my family's BSA heritage goes back to at least 1938), it would be only fair to have some sharing of the assets as well. A poll would be taken, and let's say that 30 percent of the BS
  10. I'd have no problem with that. Traditionally, health care programs have been one of the points prospective employees can weigh along with pay, title, location, and other fringe benefits. By requiring the same coverage be provided by every employer's underwriters, it creates this problem. As many Catholic facilities are self-insured, it doesn't completely solve the problem. Using marketplace incentives, like allowing the sale of policies across state lines, would drive down the cost if insurance, as would tort reform, but Obama has resisted those.
  11. If our nation is that inconsistent and polarized, no one private organization will ever please anyone, and probably shouldn't even try. If someone wants their kids to belong to an organization that promotes traditional (whatever that means) values, which include an orthodox religious view of homosexual behavior as a sin that is morally incongruous with the goals of scouting, and favors the expression of a general non-denominational theism, the Boy Scouts should probably fill that role. If the marketplace of ideas demands an organization that does not express those values, it is proba
  12. It's also interesting that many liberal politicians (not only Obama) state that while they are personally opposed to abortion, they would never try to "push their morality on others" by voting for any bills that would restrict it in any way; yet they continually talk about how their Christian beliefs compel them to vote for more aid to the poor from tax dollars, restricting petroleum development, restricting gun ownership, opposing tort law reform, etc., all of which require infringing on the competing rights of others. Why should their religious beliefs be trumpeted if it is a liberal cause (
  13. "Christians cannot be trusted with the public square." I would certainly agree with our president that he is a Christian, and as he uses explicitly Christian imagery to promote his agenda (as when he stated that Jesus would agree with him, and quoted from the Bible at the (gasp) National Prayer Breakfast): "For me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus's teaching that for unto whom much is given, much shall be required," Will you now feel yourself compelled to unplug his teleprompter?
  14. "So, it comes down to this: If everybody respected everyone else to follow their own beliefs ( which means not forcing yours or expecting others to follow them) then things would really be hunky dory!" I couldn't agree with you more. If Obama would just allow Catholic employers to pay for the insurance needs of their employees as they see fit, and not have to pay for abortifacients to kill the unborn or contraceptives, things really would be hunky dory. Or, looked at from another angle: If the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. would have stopped trying to impose his da
  15. Sorry, my last post was in reference to an earlier post: from johnponz: ""Romney says if elected he will repeal "Obamacare." Can one person do that? Doesn't he need to get the 60 votes in the senate to avoid filibuster of the repeal?"
  16. I slept in a jungle hammock in an actual jungle but now that I live (and camp) in the desert, it would seem to be of less utility for me, as there are fewer sturdy trees to lash the ends to (unless up north). I like the idea of weight savings, but I also rotate all night long as I sleep. Any of you hammock users have a problem with this, or does your body adapt and keep you in one position as you sleep?
  17. By your logic, someone who holds to a "progressive" ideology could argue that we should delete other sections of the Pledge to better conform to his or her beliefs. One could argue that one should not pledge allegiance to a flag, as it is "only" a piece of cloth. One could argue that "one nation" is inaccurate, as America holds both rich and poor communities. One could argue that "with liberty and justice for all" is inaccurate, as liberty and justice are denied to many. One could further argue that it is wrong to force any child to compromise his or her belief by public
  18. >>Eisenhower also stated "From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty." Which is the antithesis of religious freedom.
  19. >>I wouldn't mind if they removed "God" from the pledge. It was only added in the 1950's. The pledge has been modified four or five times during the 20th Century. During WWII, we said this: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We also used to not put our hands over our hearts the way we do today. http://www.hlswatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/children-flag-salute-1930s.jpg Things change over time. We changed it recently to have "under
  20. Kudu, since you spun this thread off from my post on another thread about weight issues, you might want to mention that I was referring to hiking alone, on the sidewalks of my suburban neighborhood, in the wee hours of the morning, for conditioning, just as many do on the treadmill at the gym. I don't think it's a good idea to hike as part of a group setting, with scouts or others, while listening to an iPod. It kind of defeats the purpose of being able to experience the outdoors and the company of friends. It seals you off when you should be open to nature and others. For safety's sake,
  21. Some of the best scouters I know struggle with a weight problem. I generally work hard to stay in decent shape, as my job demands it and gives me the time and resources to do it, but the combination of advancing years and a slowing metabolism, the time demands of work, family, and avocation (such as scouting), and cumulative injuries (especially knee and ankle injuries) can make it hard to stay in shape as we get older. Many scouters, I've found, are excellent cooks (probably more so than the adult male population as a whole) and tend to enjoy eating their own meals. But as someone el
  22. For backpacking, I like the Uncle Ben's rice pouch meals, available in the rice section of most grocery stores. They're pre-cooked, and you just need to add about a spoonful of water. I like to use the Spanish Rice packet, add a foil packet of chicken, a dash of chili-powder seasoning from my spice bomb and a packet of ground red chili-peppers saved from the pizza parlor. The Uncle Ben's Wild Rice packet goes well with a foil pouch of salmon and some dill seasoning. Heat 'em up in a pan. Good amount of carbs and protein with some fat. I burnt out on dehydrated meals long ago, these tas
  23. Hello everyone, first post and nice to be on the forum. The ALPS Mountaineering XL Comfort Pad is more comfortable than my bed at home, whether on a cot or on the ground. It's strictly for base camping, but it's wonderful for that purpose. ALPS sells it to scouters at a deep discount on their scoutdirect.com website.
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