Trevorum

Those who deny the fact of global climate change are, by and large, the same as those who deny the fact of biological evolution. It''s the same mind-set.

That is good news. What is your source? "A highly placed but unnamed official"?

Hah. Trust me on this one: there is nothing endearing about cholla if you have ever done transects through the stuff. Maybe you've eaten the pads? I find them bland. But the fruits! When ripe, they taste like a combination of Guava and Raspberry! You can buy prickly pear jelly. One year I made my own and gave out the jars as Christmas presents. Don''t know about you, but in my unit the fellows don''t stick me with needles from behind when I''m not looking! (This message has been edited by Trevorum)

Scott, ouch! I imagine that most of us who camp in the west have cactus stories! We have one young fellow in our troop who shall forever be known as "Cactus Butt". I''ll skip the details (you can imagine), but will add that I made sure there was another adult present as I was tweezing out those needles. Sometimes I think the worst are those microscopic glochids. It''s impossible to get them all and they just irritate you for days.

You are right, cholla is common in the deserts of New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Mexico. It is closely related to the Prickly Pear cactus although it is tall and spindly rather than lobeate. Some species are so skinny they are called "pencil cactus". Prickly pear is a friendly cactus. It gives us deliciously tasty fruits (I could never bring myself to call them "tunas" - that just seems wrong) as well as (somewhat less tasty, IMHO) edible pads. And Pricly Pear is polite 0 it stays fairly low to the ground and doesn''t jump at you when you are turned away. It''s evil cousin, the cholla, however, is singleminded about stabbing you when you least expect it. Plus, the cholla is cunningly segmented so that whole parts of the plant actually stick into you like huge, evil velcro. And the spines on the segments have perfected the concept of overlapping fields of fire, so that ANY direction in which you try to pull the segment off of yourself results in some spines being pushed even deeper into your skin. {shudder} I hate cholla. But, dead, it''s skeleton does make a nifty neckerchief slide.

I''ll bet it was cholla. Google "cholla wood" and see it it matches wht you remember. Cholla is also known throughout the Southwest as the "jumping cactus". Some people will smile indulgently, but they have obviously never been attacked by cholla. I swear, it really does jump at you when you''re not looking!

I feel immense pity for Senator Craig. The poor fellow''s entire life has been a lie. Very sad.

Well, I don''t know if wrestling is real, but after reading about Sputnik, I can say that truth is way, way stranger than fiction.

By the way, if you''ve read the thread this far and haven''t yet linked to Ricks recruiting page, do it now. It really is full of great ideas. goto http://inquiry.net/adult/recruiting.htm

Semper buddy! We''ve missed your cheesy puns! You are truly out standing in your field. We''ve become far to hide-bound around here without you and don''t at all mind you horning in.

Terrific spiel! You clearly remember what it is like to be an 11 year old boy! Love the "strict rules" bit! It''s the sedition that makes it especially great. And congratulations to your scout "mole" in the VP''s office. He''s a heads-up fellow.(This message has been edited by Trevorum)

Tim, post your question on Patch-L. Almost certainly one of those folks will have an answer! goto http://www.gilwell.com/patchl/

Brent, heh heh, yes it keeps me out of trouble too! On those occasions when my beautiful bride will ask, "What? another Scout meeting? Isn''t this the third one this week???", I can reply, "Well, would you rather me be hanging out at a bar, like xxx''s husband?"

I wonder if we would be having this discussion if the official BSA uniform was simply a neckerchief and maybe a vest, the way it is in some countries.

. In another thread, a comment was made that some DEs do the "boy talks" at schools because volunteers generally can''t get time off from work whereas the DEs HAVE the time during the day. This is contrary to my own experience, where the talks are done by volunteers (during the work day) or not at all. All as part of the "One hour per week". So how large is YOUR "One hour per week"? What types of activities are included and what is your position? (Which reminds me of the old math joke: "One plus one equals three for very large values of one".)

I am still curious as to what BadenP thinks about Fred Thompsons wife: is having a much younger wife a good thing or a bad thing, and why?

OK, I tried. I really did. I gotta go with Merlyn on this one.

At our local high school, there is a religious club. I''m told that during lunches, while the chess club sets up their pieces, this club prays. Aloud. However, they are respectful of the rights of other students and they don''t insist that everyone else pay attention to them. Some students listen to what they are praying; most don''t.

Ed, Because even though a student is providing the voice, the school is providing the microphone, the sound system, and more importantly, the official venue. That prayer would be endorsed by the school. Students can pray in the hallways just like they can argue politics. However, the school - as a representative of the Government - may NOT argue politics NOR tell the students when or where to pray, or to whom.

BadenP, I''m not sure I follow your comment about Fred Thompson. Having a much younger wife - is that a good thing or a bad thing in your thinking? (and why?)

That''s a good suggestion, Brent. I also suggest that REGULAR uniform inspections (monthly) will serve to raise the conciousness of the fellows (and their parents) about what is expected. They don''t have to be complicated or heavy handed, just a clear message. Finally, mtm makes an excellent point: the best way to get the Scouts to wear the uniform is to have uniformed adults. All that being said, JohnKC also make a cogent observation about more general attitudes towards uniforms; it may just be an uphill struggle ...

More simply put: Students in public schools have the right to pray at any time, silently or aloud (as long as they do not disrupt lessons, etc.). However, the school (ie, the Government) may NOT choose the prayer or the deity or the time or the place.(This message has been edited by Trevorum)

"Richardson is stumping for votes & will probably say just about anything to get as many as he can!" Ed, that is precisely my point. Regardless of what the candidate thinks, he knows that a large segment of the voting population - large enough that he wants their votes - no longer sees the BSA as reflecting positive moral values. To this segment, BSA represents the prejudice and bigotry against minorities of the past century. And Brent, I''m not so sure that a "vast majority" of Americans supports the BSA style of prejudice against homosexuals. National poll data on changing attitudes towards homosexuality would seem to suggest otherwise. It may well be that the vast majority of your friends and aquaintances feel this way, but they may not be a statistically valid sample of all Americans (just as I know my own friends are skewed )

(oops) (This message has been edited by Trevorum)