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Callooh! Callay!1428010939

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Everything posted by Callooh! Callay!1428010939

  1. "Da details of background and security checks are quite properly not public. They're not public because they're not other people's business, and they're not public because makin' 'em public would compromise national security by allowin' foreign powers to exploit weaknesses in the person or in da background check process." That's only partly correct and only about the detail that it's the DETAILS that must be protected as private. But whether or not the person has submitted to an investigation and provided OPM with a completed security questionnaire is no secret. And the details are kept
  2. "Callooh! Callay!, please explain what the cliche' is" The cliche is "McCarthyism." Cliches can transmit meaning (see example in next senence). But "McCarthyism" steals too many bases. It's transparently calculated to condemn what it labels and to do an end run around having to think about any point the condemned might have. It suggests that the condemned's point is unworthy of consideration, so if one does consider it.... well, that one might be a McCarthyite too! And we're all deathly afraid of being called naughty things like "McCarthyite."(This message has been edited by Callooh!
  3. BHO a Muslim? Not likely. We shouldn't even assume Huma Abedin is a Muslim in the sense of actually taking canonical Islam seriously. Just because her name, Abedin, comes from the Arabic عبد الين (meaning "Slave of The Religion" - Islam, that is) and just because she claims to be a Muslim and is intelligent and charming, doesn't make her "interpretation" of Islam authoritative or even reasonable. So, no... not only is BHO not a Muslim, it would be surprising to learn that Huma Abedin takes canonical Islam very seriously. It seems likely that the Islam she professes is an "interpret
  4. The "McCarthyism" charges give us a glimpse into minds that perceive vast spectra of phenomena through the lens of a clich. AFAIK, Abedin has access to information classified top secret and she is widely known to have ties that might disqualify an ordinary US citizen from such access, not because they are criminal ties (this is not about charging someone with a crime) but because they are standard things OPM takes into account in security clearance investigations. Not just any US citizen is granted such access. The current POTUS might not qualify for access were he not an elected
  5. Why not bivvy bags? But if it must be tents: Poles: Aluminum bends, but bends back too. Fiberglass is OK but splinters eventually. Aluminum wins. Design: Avoid anything in which you must slide long poles through sleeves - it's too fiddly. A good design is with poles external (except maybe to the rainfly) with hook or tie on system to hold the tent to the poles is best and repairs easier when it breaks. Don't go for complex designs and gimmicks - KISS. Size: In general, a smaller tent will stand up better in the wind. In general, smaller tents set up easier and
  6. Hmmm.... Board of Review A "board" that..... "reviews." "Board of Review," not "Crucible of Confrontation." "Board of Review" sounds cordial, non-confrontational, maybe interesting. What's being reviewed is being reviewed... it has already been accomplished. So maybe the review is a chance to discuss how the accomplishments play into the bigger picture... talk about what worked well, what didn't... maybe check whatever organizational vital signs can be checked via this review... maybe talk about how lessons learned might play into what's next in the near and long term future.
  7. Uh.... never mind.(This message has been edited by Callooh! Callay!)
  8. Some know who Chuck is... one told me this one: Why are there so many Chuck Norris jokes but none about Bruce Lee? Because Bruce Lee is no joke. of course... that wasn't a Cub Scout(This message has been edited by Callooh! Callay!)
  9. "....outcome of any attempt on your part to stop your troop from participating will be that everybody else views you as a bit of a stick in the mud." "a stick in the mud?" One notices a stick in the mud because it's not like the stuff around it... the mud. Do sticks in mud throw pearls before swine? "Your boys might obey, but they'll also probably resent it." Well, this may sound boastful, but I reckon I could summon the strength to live under the crushing burden of this resentment. If one could continue to live happily under the shadow of this dreaded resentment, the exampl
  10. D-rat. You point out some worthwhile things to consider. Still, at o-dark-thirty, there they are... not all, but many... out to earn troop activity competition points for their participation in the mile run.... and it's strangely quiet. Absent is the atmosphere of excitement that surrounds meal time. Many boys who will, in the dining hall later that day, be shouting "this is table number one, number one" at the top of their lungs, find those same lungs to be rather delicate and lacking in capacity early in the morning. No one is running around with a spirited group yelling "We a
  11. "are you trolling us, and getting a big belly laugh from this thread?" Well, maybe a little. It is funny to get advice that essentially says: "Hey man, lighten up, it's not that big a deal... but you should leave scouting over it." Also funny are expressions of delight at seeing scouts "be themselves" by doing the same silly thing everyone else is doing. But, as incongruous as it may seem juxtaposed to the deadly seriousness of Callooh! Callay! comments on this forum, the man who animates the character is not above singing the Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts song to the tune of the
  12. Speaking of singing in the camp dining hall... Why must what might otherwise be a pleasant meal, be an occasion for raucous, repetitive, cliched singsong doggerel? "This is table number one...." "We've got spirit... yes we do..." "Fried chicken, fried chicken fried chicken..... oooh yea! Fried Chicken!" And even table pounding sometimes... I'm told they're "showing spirit." But there are different kinds of spirit. And in the spirit of discussing spirit... we might ask SPLs and PLs.... Is that spirit (described above) the one that should dominate mealtime?
  13. "I reckon "struggle session" is just a few parsecs over the top" Ok, maybe just a few. Parsecs. Perhaps a might have provided a clue to the employment of just a tiny bit of hyperbole. But emoticons are so emotional.(This message has been edited by Callooh! Callay!)
  14. "Struggle Session" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struggle_session (This message has been edited by Callooh! Callay!)
  15. Agreed. And the comments are interesting and thoughtful.
  16. Well those are some good common-sense answers. It appears the omnipotence paradox has no legs here. but let's get this H. Dumpty candidate vetted before we rally round. (This message has been edited by Callooh! Callay!)
  17. Hey. I just got singled out in the post above. I'm being bullied. Sometimes someone singles themselves out with behavior that crosses a line of propriety, legality, or decorum. And sometimes the appropriate acknowledgment of their self advertised singularity is to remind them that, yes, there is an imbalance of power and the the power would like them to knock off whatever shenanigans they used to single themselves out in the first place. So, pushups aside (I don't think they should be associated with punishment) - you notice a boy REALLY bullying another boy in a very serious way:
  18. Thoughts of rule interpretation in the thread from which this is spun bring to mind the following question: If BSA hired someone of supreme competence in language and logic to write advancement requirements and rules, would he be able to write those requirements so as to express the original intent with such specificity and clarity that even he couldn't later "interpret" them as meaning something not originally intended?
  19. To participate in an election is it necessary to run for office or does simply casting your vote count as participation? Forming up and standing for the express purpose of honoring the colors is participation in a flag ceremony. Anyway, this thread is about: Wolf requirement 2f: Participate in an outdoor flag ceremony I'm a fan of having them do the whole color guard bit, but if you count participation as um... participation, it's not like they're going to miss out on all other flag related knowledge and skills - just look at the rest of Wolf requirement 2: a. Give the Pledge
  20. "that story is 3 years old. Any followup?" "Following the backlash, Balzano resigned as head of the local chapter. SEIU members from Allentown, Philadelphia and New Jersey joined the Boy Scouts to help with the project and to make an apology. Wayne MacManiman, SEIU district leader stated "Kevin's doing an amazing thing.We've always supported the Boy Scouts, whether it's here in Allentown, Bethlehem or Philadelphia."" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Employees_International_Union
  21. And there are these opinions: http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=69236
  22. Participating is participating. Isn't it? The boys who stand and salute are participating in the ceremony as much as are the boys who have the honor of handling the colors. If you have time and access to a flag pole (or are handy to lash one up quick) a practice ceremony can be fun for Cub Scouts. A smaller flag is a good choice for little hands attached to short arms. It's a low pressure way to introduce them to handling the colors. With a small group it can be a fun activity that all boys can have a role in, yet still be imbued with the proper sense of seriousness and decorum. W
  23. This project briefly received media attention that reached nationwide: Union Bullies Boy Scout for Dastardly Good Deed http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Union-Bullies-Boy-Scout-for-Dastardly-Good-Deed-70285552.html
  24. Hazing schmazing. Pushups are good. Why associate them with punishment?
  25. "I wonder if this was spurred by an actual situation, or if you're just stirring the pot with an extreme hypothetical." It was spurred by an actual situation; complaints in this forum about rich kids along the lines of and in most cases worded similarly to the collected composite of them in the OP. As for stirring the pot... it's standard procedure for cooking sacred cows. But the OP was intended not to stir a pot, but rather to throw cold water on the old stereotype about the spoiled undeserving rich versus the virtuous and deserving poor. In your examples, you say the rich
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