vol_scouter

Civility is not a descriptive term that I could apply to democrats today since now anyone who disagrees with Obama is a racist. This is an insult and a lie. It seems that many are fed up with liberals calling conservatives names when that are not getting their way. Conservatives have been accused of racism so often that it no longer has much of an effect. Conservatives are called names by left wing-nuts, so what is new.

The south has been punished for over 140 years for the civil war and the discrimination continues. We are constantly made fun of, berated, and insulted. As with others, I am tired of the hypocrisy demonstrated by others.

ntrog8r, Did you not know that it is perfectly acceptable for the left to sneer and denigrate those who do not fall into line? All of us from the south are inferior to them. I have been told in a threatening manner at an academic meeting that no one with a southern accent or who says y'all (which is more inclusive than you guys) has anything of value to say. The left inflicts the prejudice that they accuse southerners of practicing. Interesting that even though northern cities were just as segregated as the south (though not codified as the south), there was no busing after Boston. Somehow, it was bad that Bostonians were angry and violent about their children being bussed but those were not considerations for the south. So just get used to our inferior status. We lost the war and will continue to be punished.

Great story! I hope that there is a follow-up story showing the resulting memorial. Thanks for the post.

First, I condemn such statements. "Judge not lest you be judged" refers to man judging where another man's soul will end up. So it is not up to us to determine the mind of God toward a particular individual. The congregation should have a heart to heart discussion with this minister. The answer to your question is: the same place as all the coverage a true grass roots movement that brought hundreds of thousands (likely in excess of a million) to DC yesterday (my estimate based on the estimator used by USA Today for Obama's inauguration). Has Senator McCain, or someone else who is politically important, been listening to this kind of talk for 20 years?

True on the per captia income. I wanted to point out that Mexico actually has a large economy. On the per captia rankings by the IMF from the same source: Poland, Lativa, Russia, and Botswana was ahead of Mexico and Libya, Chile, Gabon, and Argentina are immediately behind. Those countries to my knowledge do not have the same issue with migrations of their population. Some of that is due to the proximity of the US to Mexico and the ease to come here. Some of the problem is that the government has not been successful in fostering capitalism in the rural areas. The wealth is concentrated in a few hands from the oil revenues. I said in earlier posts that trying tp round everyone up and put them into prisons is not a workable plan with so many illegal migrants but the border could be made a little more difficult to cross. The real key is to dry up the jobs for the migrants by punishing the employers.

The reason for the outrage is threefold I believe. First, it is ILLEGAL -it is not OK, it is breaking the law. Everyone should be outraged by the government ignoring people who break the law. That is part of the reason to have a government - to enforce the laws of the land. Second, they do take jobs away from Americans. After Katrina, I know several construction firms that took crews to the area. The crews were sent home because the contractors could not compete with the lower pay to the migrants. Third, they are correctly called migrants because they have migrated here to work but do not desire to become Americans. They want their own language and culture. Some want parts of the US to be annexed by Mexico. That makes people angry. Immigrants wish to become part of the society. I work with many immigrants, they all want to learn the language, adopt the customs, and fit in with American society though they still keep some customs from their home alive which is fine. I have taken care of hispanics who have been here for decades who cannot speak any English and I am forced by the government to pay for an interpreter at my (or the hospital's) expense - that makes people angry. The better informed are angry that the citizens of Mexico do not get rid of their current government. Unlike the main stream media likes to portray, Mexico is NOT a poor country. Its' GDP ranks it as 13th behind India and ahead of Australia. Also, hispanic workers do work hard. However, no one actually knows if they would work hard if they were given citizenship or whether they would take advantage of our social welfare state. The democrat party is aware that polling indicates that they would vote overwhelming for democrats. Making them citizens would give the democrat party a lock on power for years to come.

It is clear that diets high in carbohydrates are one of the main problems with obesity in this country. The high carbohydrate diet coupled with limited activity (not working 10 hours on the farm doing manual labor) is making us obese. The steep incline in obesity rates correlates with the emphasis on eating large amounts of pasta in the 1980's. That said, splenda or not, Dutch oven meals are usually not so good for us. If the scouts are wishing to emphasis being fit and trim, should they have avoided a fitness and weight loss article with Dutch oven cooking? I think so. I love Dutch oven cooking but it is usually not healthy food and may involve a less than strenuous outing.

There seems to be considerable confusion about medical education. Let me walk every one through a medical education. Here is a typical medical education. There is some variability with some medical schools but this should be a good first approximation !. 4 year undergrad degree with the typical required one year courses in: calculus, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, English, and biology. Most take microbiology, anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry among others. You must show community involvement and be well rounded with extra-curricular activities. 2. 4 years of medical school - the first 2 years are primarily didactic lectures. The volume of material was far greater than anything in undergraduate or graduate school (physics). At the end of the second year, most schools require passing the first part of the USMLE (when I was in school, it was the NBME) prior to starting the third year. It is a comprehensive exam on the material covered in the first 2 years. The third and fourth years are all clinical. There are several didactic lectures each week with the remainder of the time being on the wards of the hospital. My days would begin at 4-5:00 am each day and ended ~8-10:00 pm unless on call when it would be a ~36 hour period (this has been decreased). The year is divided into rotations that last 2-3 months. The rotations are typically: medicine, surgery, Ob/Gyn, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Family medicine. The second portion of the USMLE is typically required in order to graduate and is taken in the spring of the 4th year and it is comprehensive for the third and fourth years. During the fourth year, you must decide what kind of a doctor you wish to be and send applications to the programs that you are interested. If they agree to interview you, you travel at your own expense to the cities and are interviewed. Then in Jan. I believe (I might be wrong on this date) in your fourth year, you fill a form for the National Residency Matching Program by ranking the programs that you wish to match from 1-whatever. Most people interview at 20-30 programs or more if they specialty is very competitive. In March, the NRMP comes out and everyone finds out the same day where or if they matched. The program supposedly matches the medical student with the highest program matching them high Those who did not match will talk with their medical school who will start calling to find a position. Medical schools have students and students pay for their education by whatever means possible - scholarships, loans, rich parents, etc. Most schools 'ban' working (it is probably not enforceable). At graduation, the medical students become Physicians and are no longer considered students. 3. After typically graduating in June, the new MD starts their residency. The first year of residency in the past was an internship because the new MD would not be allowed to leave the hospital for a year. That practice is long since gone but the first year is still often called the internship. Residencies are paid positions because the physicians are providing care. Residencies are 3 (Internal medicine, Family practice, ...) to 5 years (General surgery). Residents are now limited to 60 hours per week. This is down considerably from years past and for this reason, the residencies will likely grow longer to get the same amount of experience. At the end of the first year, the MD is usually required to pass the third (and final) portion of the USMLE. In most states, the physician can then get an independent license to practice medicine and surgery (as most licenses read). Few ever stop there but if they do, they are called general practioners. Since GP's have only a single year of training, it is an insult to address an internist or family practioner as a GP. All medicine specialities (cardiology, pulmonary, nephrology, etc.) are 3-5 years after the initial 3 years of internal medicine. Surgical specialities require 3-5 of general surgery first. So many surgeons spend 7-8 years in training. They are caring for patients, putting in long hours and are paid to do so They do not pay tuition. The salaries are paid by Medicare - I think that this is not the appropriate way to fund graduate medical education but it is the way that it is currently done. When I was in training, I worked 80-100 hours per week and when I took my actual hours and divided into my salary, I was making less than the minimum wage. Just remember, residents are physicians who provide a service that they are paid to perform and are nit students. They often have to take exams to proceed to the next year and have to pass exams as well as have attendings continually critique their work. The attendings must approve the advancement of the resident each year. There are a few didcatic lecture each week. 4. Whenever the resident completes their training, they will interview for a practice and are typically salaried. They often owe > $125,000 in loans. They have been in undergraduate and medical school for 8 years and then trained for 3 - 8+ years. It is difficult to start families during this time period or in the first few years of practice. They have had to put off many things for years that their colleagues have already purchased. The residents pay is adequate but far from generous. Don't get me wrong, I am not whining, being a physician is an honor. It is an honor to have patients describe intimate details of their lives and be allowed to examine them in an effort to provide comfort and healing. Most physicians earn a comfortable living. However, I had some recent legal work done (not malpractice) and found that his rate was ~3 times my hourly rate (I am employed by the hospital). I do not think the attorney is over paid but that I am underpaid. I take people's lives in my hands everyday that I practice medicine - no one dies if my attorney makes a mistake so that I believe that my hourly rate should be higher. Some have mentioned else where that part of the problem is physicians being over paid. I could have made more money fields other than medicine. That means that there will be fewer going to medical school and a decline in quality (demand was ~5 applicants per space nation-wide in the 70's and ~2:1 now). At some pay, we all could say that the demands of the job are not worth the pay - doctors will quit if the pay gets too low (whatever that is). From what I have read over the years, if physicians and pharmacists were paid exactly 0 (zero) dollars, the savings to medicare would be only 10 %. That is hardly the problem. The VA is a government run medical system and it has significant problems. The democrat plans will not work and will result in massive increases in spending and rationing. There was an AP article this week discussing how health screening actually increases costs rather than decreases the costs. I am practicing medicine only 3 days a month and working full time research so that I am like most of you as a consumer of medical services more than a provider. I left partly because the government makes it more difficult every year to provide high quality care for my patients. The government option will eventually destroy all private coverage and I can only have nightmares as to how difficult it will be to even provide adequate care. Medicine is a complex subject and a very complex system. Obama, Pelosi, and Reid do not have the understanding to correct the problems or if they do, they are refusing to do so.

Beavah, The only way is dry up all the jobs for the illegal aliens. I think that we should do a better job than is currently being done on our southern border but I understand that it cannot be 'secured' by reasonable means. The country could make it more difficult though.

Beavah, I have developed considerable respect for your opinion but I am frankly appalled that you would contribute to a campaign for someone who does not represent you. I have never felt that is correct. I know many people who gave to the campaign of the republican who first ran against Hilliary Clinton for the US senate. I did not like Hilliary (though she looks great now compared to what we have in office now) but I felt that it was wrong for me to interfere in a process that really should only concern the citizens of New York. This is one of the problems in the election process. We should not stick our nose in other people's representation. I even have problems with the RNC and the DNC taking supporting local candidates. As to commercials attacking a candidate, the money should only come from the areas represented, unless the message is generic such as pro or con abortion, gun control, etc. without referring or inferring a particular candidate. Just my view of democracy.

It is the similar to the residencies, the Department of Education partially funds medical schools and the schools must do as told or lose the funding. The information is from the Dean of my medical in the mid 1980's. The modus operandi for the federal government is to provide enough funding that it can tell others what to do.

The number of doctors is determined by the number of seats in medical schools controlled by the Department of Education. The specialities of those doctors is controlled by Medicare pass throughs to teaching hospitals. A government controlled system will not affect the number of doctors. Since to pay for socialized medicine, medicare funding will be cut, the number of residencies will decrease.

The NRMP only determines which the program the physician will train. The Federal government determines how many total residency positions are offered and in what areas: internal medicine, surgery, family practice, etc. as well as sub-specialities and fellowships. So if you have problems with that system, do not blame physicians - blame the government.

A break from politics in this forum. The recent Scouter had a good article from the Chief Scout Executive about obesity and the need for scouts and scouters to be trim & fit. I do not resemble his goals but I agree with him. As I thumbed through the issue, I saw the article on Dutch ovens. I am a fan of Dutch oven cooking but the dishes that I am aware are desserts or other high calorie dishes. Since the Dutch oven and charcoal is heavy, this is not a backpacking activity but rather dump camping. The dump camping experience can be very active but it can also be relatively low energy expenditure activities. So I believe that the two articles should not have appeared in the same issue. Also, Dutch oven cooking should have a discussion on caloric content along with descriptions of activities prior to the evening meal appropriate for that level of caloric content. Maybe something about serving sizes as well.

While it would be difficult to go after all small business owners, larger businesses would be easier. In that case, make the CEO and the Board of directors responsible - big business will change their practices overnight.

Calicopenn wrote: "... And controls on medical schools? Heck, that's not even a government issue - that's a matter between medical schools and the American Medical Association, a private, non-profit organization - in a sense, a "union" for doctors. " This is a commonly held misconception. The Federal government is alone responsible for the the physician shortage. The Federal government controls the number of seats in every medical school in the country. If a school wishes to increase or decrease the number of seats, it must ask for permission to do so from the Federal government. In the mid 1980's, the Federal government commissioned a study on physician manpower needs called GMENAC I believe (I read it at that time so that may just be close). It predicted the physician shortages that we are experiencing now and it also predicted that those shortages will get considerably worse as the large number of baby boom generation physicians retire. The Federal government did nothing even though many medical schools asked to increase the number of seats. The Federal government also controls the total number and distribution of residency positions in the country. So when a politician in Washington complains that there are too few primary care physicians - they control it. If they complain about too many specialists - they control the numbers. The AMA is a professional organization. In the mid 1990's the Federal government had a 'cram down' as it was called of certain payment options with medicare (participating versus non-participating). The AMA was going to publish a set of pro's and con's for both positions but was blocked by the FTC. The AMA is strictly prohibited from discussing financial issues on that level with its members. A union can do so. The AMA has nothing to do with physician licensing, the number of seats in medical school, the number and kind of residency positions, and represents a minority of physicians. After the current stance in the medical care debate, those numbers will drop even more (a recent past president just resigned). So as you call for the Federal government to control all of medicine, just remember that it is the same organization who cannot run the medical education system well. You wish it to control your health care with no comparison to a private system to see how bad it WILL become?

Pack, Your observations on the parties is correct IMHO. However, as Beevah pointed out, the current primary system forces candidates to the extremes only to move toward the center in the general election. I believe that at some level we all lose some respect for the candidates changing from extreme to centrist even though we understand the reason. I sometimes wonder if the smoke filled back room deals to pick candidates was at least as good. I am just a little too young to remember much of those days but both parties had reasonable candidates. The democrat party moved away from the values of southerners with the inevitable change to republicans. The democrat party has become left wing from the left center of the 50's and early 60's. The south will not move back until the party moves back toward the center.

Eagle92, I certainly understand that states are different. What I am saying is if the public is paying for the caucuses or for the primaries, the voter should be able to participate in BOTH caucuses or vote in BOTH primaries. If the parties pay for the costs, rent the schools for the caucuses or election, etc then they can admit whoever they wish. If the taxpayer is picking up the bill, they should be able to participate in both the democrat and republican events the same day. As a taxpayer, I should not be excluded from one or be forced to reveal to anyone which party I favor for any office.

Beavah, I agree with you on the way that the primary system skews the candidates. Another issue that I have with primaries is that most (all -Lisa might help here) allow us to vote in only one primary. Since as a taxpayer I am paying for both, I should be able to vote in both. If the parties want to pay, then they can limit however they wish. If that was done I could see 2 possible patterns, 1) people would vote for their favorite in their own party and for a middle of the road in the other party to hedge their bets; 2) people will vote for the extreme in the other party hoping that it will be sure to defeat the other party. One way or the other, it might serve to dilute the extremism because candidates would want to appeal to most of the electorate and not the extremes. The electoral college is essential to our representative democracy to be sure that small states get some attention. Otherwise all of us in the "fly-over" states will be ignored.

gwd-scouter, Eamonn gives you good advice. Let the boys make their decisions. The boy that you are concerned about may surprise you. He may step up to the plate and show real leadership skills. Many boys change when they are finally responsible for something. I believe that our society does not allow our youth to be responsible for projects, chores, et cetera. So, hopefully, he will become a pleasant surprise. If he is not successful, you can gently suggest that since the patrols did not elect the PLs, that patrol elections be held after 6 months or so (not earlier because this boy deserves the opportunity to learn how to be a good PL. This may be one of your best accomplishments as SM.

Hal, I will certainly support that prayer - well said. vol_scouter

Clearly left wingers have problems with reading comprehension.

Gern, As usual you wish to attack the person and not argue facts. The left wing realizes that the facts are against their world view so they attack those who are not in lock step with them.

Pack, I read the book many years ago and there were several difficult to explain happenings but one could construct a plausible though improbable explanation for all except one. Duff was the SM of a troop near Washington, D.C. and they took a trip to the Blue Ridge mountains in North Carolina. Duff said that his eyesight was terrible and that he wore contacts. There were only two adults on the trip - Duff and an ASM. They had two vans full of scouts. Those mountains are notorious for high winds and on Sunday the wind blew grit into his eyes. He was forced to remove his contacts due to the irritation. He was not prepared having no glasses or other contacts. He felt that they must get back. He said a prayer in the van before they started since everything outside of van was fuzzy. After he prayed for the safety of his youth and put the van into gear, his vision cleared so that he was able to see perfectly. He drove back to home, dropping off all the boys without any visual impairment. When he pulled into his own driveway, he could not see to garage his car. He had to be driven to the ophthalmologist the next day for new contacts. I am in medicine and I can not construct a plausible explanation. Either the story is a fabrication or a miracle from God. The book has very good insights into teenage boys so I am sorry that you cannot find it.