OldGreyEagle

Trev, Trev, Trev, my man Bacon, from Sir Francis Bacon. Quite admired even when he was alive, in fact William Shakespeare thought enough of Bacon to emulate (see copy) some of Bacon's work. Not that plageurism is bad (ask Joe Biden) So Bacon is out and we know most of the New England Coast worships the lobster as the economic engine that runs the economy.

Nothing worse that having to explain your own joke, unless its explaining someone else's Yes, Tuesday was named after Tiu, a Germanic god of war, much as the French Mardi came from Mars, the Roman god of war which lends itself to Mardi Gras, literally Fat Tuesday. Wednesday comes from the Germanic god Woden, Odin in Norse mythology Thursday is from Thor, the Norse god of thunder Friday is from the Norse goddess of fertility and love, Freya, Saturday from Saturns day Sunday from the Day of the sun (natch) and Monday from Moon's day Lets see, western civilization dates are based on the Gregorian calender, given to us from Pope Gregory. The days of the week are from Roman, Germanic and Norse religions. The Babylonians gave us the number hours in a day and minutes in an hour etc The english language is comprised of a mixture of several languages, Roman, Greek, German, etc And sone people have the nerve to say our culture is not diverse, it is a comglomeration of what has gone on before and what is going on now

GW, we have a start on numbering the days of the week, Two's Day Trev, can't go with your suggestions, I mean some parts of western Montana worship Strawberry Shortcake as a goddess so that's out. Then, the Exalted Church of Classic Nursey Rhymes reveres Peter Peter the Pumpkin eater as Blessed, so thats out as well.

I agree with Ed BTW Trev, Happy Thor's day!

I agree with Beavah The Mission is to develop a scout who will make ethical decisions over his lifetime. Rushing a scout through requirements and signing off things the boy knows he didnt do is of no value to him or anyone else. If a Troop cannot achieve producing a scout with First Class skills in a year by all means FCFY should not be attempted; but that does not mean First Class First Year is a flawed program

Great post Starwolfmom, now, does your elder son see the issue as being in the First Class First Year program or in the Troop administration of FCFY?

Beavah asks: At the end, does the lad really have solid skills so that he can function confidently and independently in the woods, and is therefore ready to start takin' responsibility for leadin' others? Well, if he doesnt have the skills, he dosent get signed off now does he? Where in the BSA literature does it say that a scout should receive credit for accomplishing a requirement if he does not posses the skill required? If given the choice between having a First Class scout who knows his stuff, or a boy who has a First Class rank patch in 12 months, I take the First Class scout who knows his stuff, but I didnt realize the two were mutually exclusive. Is first class first year possible for an average lad? Depends, how do you deine average? If the boy goes on every campout (one a month) and attends Summer camp, he should be able to make it. If he doesnt go on campouts or attend summercamp, then its going to be more difficult. The adults in the Troop can only assure the troop has a program that meets BSA guidelines. Past that, its up to the boy.

This is my understanding of First Class First Year: First Class First Year is a committment that a Troop makes to its First Year Scouts that it present a program that will allow an active scout to achieve First Class in one year. It is not about lessening or eliminating requirements. It is not a promise that every scout will be a First Class scout in one year, the scout still has to go on the outings and perform the requirements. As far as I have seen, each unit decides who will sign off requirements and establishes an acceptable level of peformance. It is the responsibility of each unit to assure the requirements are met and that the scout has an opportunity to use the skills presented in the journey from Scout to First Class. Why First Class First year? Why not have a program that would allow an active scout to advance to First Class in a year. They still have to do the work and know their stuff

I see the phrase its for the boys much as I do many catch phrases; it means different things to many people. Hopefully for most of the scouter, its for the boys means just that. The work, time, effort and what-all we do is to help deliver the best program we can. Then there are those who use the phrase its for the boys as an excuse to subvert the program. Such as the new ASM who wants to show the boys how to deep fry chicken in a Dutch oven and does it all by himself, with the disclaimer, hey its for the boys. Or the Committee member, who looks over the troop survey sheets on what the troop wants to do next year, sees Paintball written in and says he will put together a paintball outing of troop youth that is not a troop outing because its for the boys. Everything we do related to scouting is for the boys, we need to be careful that the phrase its for the boys doesnt become an excuse for something we want to do anyway

``If they would rather die,'' said Scrooge, ``they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. Such a timeless seasonal thought...

Why Christmast City, USA of course, better known as Bethlehem, PA. About 90 minutes east of Harrisburg. How far from Cabela's are they?

Where in PA are you heading Dan? See, I always thought the correct greeting ran, "Have a Cool Yule, ya Fool" of course with "fool" used as a term of endearment(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

Ah, the timing of holidays and traditions. Where DID the Yule Log come from? Why does the Easter Bunny exist anyway, what part of the Passion involves rabbits? How did All Hallows Eve become a celebration of the macabre. Besides, Christmas is not the most important holiday anyway, its number 2

I beleive the gentleman's (!!!) stage name is RuPaul.

Comedians usually never fail to get a laugh when they mention Congress. It's an easy target, but then why is the recidivism rate of Congress so high? Why is so hard to dislodge an incumbent? People will decry Congress as fat cat bloated idiots, but their Congressman? He is usually a "nice guy" worthy of re-election. And just why is he a nice guy? Well, two years ago when the Defense DEpt wanted to shut down that Army base a few townships over, Congressman Nice Guy lead the charge to keep it open, even though it was redundant and wasnt necesary for National Defense but was the economic heart of the tri-county area and without it hundreds would lose their jobs. Then there was the bridge he got the federal funds for. A nice big one, maybe bigger than needed, but that Congressman Nice Guy, he sure gets "our share, and maybe a wee bit more" and we love him for it. He is a great guy, not like some of those other guys who love their Pork Barrel projects

ok, In less than a year we will be selecting a new president. Hopefully this new president will have a great term, be re-elected and go out after 8 terrific years. I wish that for any president. Then, perhaps 10-15 years after leaving office, he/she is interviewed by Larry King (he will never die, he has this picture...) who asks him what was his/her best qualification for being president and the ex-president says? I wasnt George Bush? Thats all we have for criteria?

Lisa, I do live in an area that has many people who are Jewish, so maybe I missed it. It could happen you know. So, Joe wouldnt act on a Saturday? Sorta like if JFK was president no one would come to a state dinner on Friday because they would only serve fish? People who only vote for single issue candidates are fools. A well rounded individual is required for any political job. Sorry Pack, I got twisted in the thread, so much for a red herring, you actually were trying to speak to the thread, how novel! I guess to echo a famous quote, at least I think its a quote, sonnoer or later people get the form of goverment they deserve,

Pack, not that you would ever be impish enough to throw in a red herring, even a thought provoking red herring, but I do not see the relevance of Christian or Mormon. Last election when Joe Lieberman was running, I dont recall an issue of Christian or Jew why is this an issue this time?

well then, right you are Ed !

Ed, I know we both use english, but sometimes I have no idea what you are talking about. I was agreeing with you, I agree with you. Where did the referral comment come from?

Well then Merlyn, let me wish you a Happy Festivus now, once the holiday goings on start going on I may forget. Ed, I think you remember back to when Health Care Providers ran medicine. Then Kaiser started HMO's and having business people in charge of Health Care was all the rage. I remember politicians saying that while physicians were good at caring for people, they didnt know how to run a business and business people should take care of the business of Health Care. So, now we don't understand why physicians arent in charge of Health Care when it was the public who took control of Health Care away from providers. Somewhere along the line, Health Care stopped being a commodity or a service and became a "right", an entitlement due you whether you could pay for it or not. And Health Care costs skyrocketed. Because of Physicians and Hospitals overcharging? No, trying to stay in business when 1 of 3-4 people dont pay for the care a hospital is legally required to provide. So, have the goverment take over Healthcare, call it by its proper name, socialized medicine and when you think of the countries who have socialized medicine tell you how great it is, ask how many have Private Hospitals and how many people go there. How much would a car cost, if every 5th person who came into a car dealer was entitled to get any car he "needed" whether or not it could be paid for. The unfortunate alternative is to walk over the dead and dying bodies in the Emergency Room parking lot next time you need stitches, unless of course you can't pay for it either in which case its better not to go to the hospital, people are sick there. I dont have an answer, but havign the goverment run it does not seem to be the best option, what do they run well anyway?(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

Lets not rewrite history. Many many many Democrats called for regeime change in Iraq and many many Democrats said there was WMD in Iraq. Lets remember what happened. Iraq invaded Kuwait. #41 put together a coalition to kick Iraq out of Kuwait. Iraq was thrown out of Kuwait. Hussein never thought the world would cooperate long enough to throw him out. Swartzkopf was on his way to Baghdad when 41 brought him home. Part of the treaty that Hussein signed to keep his country was to allow the UN weapons inspectors to well inspect. He didnt live up to his side of the bargain. He did use chemical weapons on the Kurds. How many UN resolutions were there calling for Saddam to honor his committments? What were we to do? If Saddam had WMD and used them in Kuwait or elsewhere, how many people screaming for GW's head for rushing us into war would have been screaming for GW's head because he did nothing? That we never forced Saddam to honor his committment to the treaty would be unforgivable. Maybe Saddam was the king of scam. he never had the weapons, but his downfall was based on what he did, not on anyone else

My father says you can steal more with a briefcase than you can with a gun. Outlaw? politician? what did the Bard say? That by any other name would still smell as sweet? Anyway, Jeb Stuart of the Confederacy is in my past as is John Wesley Powell,

I love the concept of National Healthcare, brought to you by the same people who bring you the IRS, The Postal System, Amtrak and the EPA. Yeah, thats who gets to determine health care, those guys

I remember the 90s and a few presidential compaigns that promisd to only raise taxes on the rich. Well, guess what, I found out I was considered rich in the eyes of the winner. The fact I worked my way through college, worked hard and sacrificed things was of no interest. Only I had "too much" and I had to part with more of my money.