GernBlansten

Are you saying there are threads here that we can't see but show up in the list on the left banner? Am I missing something?

Well its fitting the Rudy got between 9 and 11 percent of the vote.

I'd worry about anything destroying the breathability of Gore-Tex by plugging up all the tiny holes in the fabric. Goretex works by allowing the smaller vapor molecules pass while blocking the larger water molecules. I've heard they sell stuff that is compatible with Goretex but haven't used any.

I've heard it both ways from two differnt district guys. Eagle when he passes the EBOR. Eagle when National accepts the application. Now for announcing it to the troop? As soon as possible in my mind. We do recommend that the ECOH not be held until national sends the certificate. You can't get the "Eagle" kit from the scout shop without it. It normally takes only about two weeks for national to process the paperwork and send it back to council.

Winter is my favorite time to camp. No crowds, no bears, no bugs, no lightning, no rain, gorgeous vistas, snow caves, ice climbing, skiing, crisp air and everything tastes better. If there is a golden rule in being outdoors in the winter, its stay dry. All your gear needs to help you achieve that. Once you get wet, you get cold. Once you get cold, nothing is fun. This saturday, we are skiing 6 miles and gaining 3000ft to a backcountry cabin. Ski back out Sunday. Been snowing all week and the avalanche danger is now considerable. Should be fun. In two weeks we do our annual OKPIK then a week later the District Klondoree. Who says you can't camp in the mountains in the winter?

I would agree that violating a restraining order is a serious offense, however I don't agree that TEMPORARY restraining orders are not giving out lightly. Any woman who goes before a judge and says she feels threatened by her husband can get one, correct? There's no burden to prove that threat, just claim it. In the subsequent hearing, both sides are heard and a better evaluation of the case is made. In this situation, the order was vacated because the threat was found to be bogus.

forgot to add, I doubt this will make the local paper. In fact, I doubt it will make it to anyone in the unit (especially scouts) besides the CC and myself unless he decides to make it public. But this guy is always above board and that's why he brought it to our attention. He wanted to air it to the full committee but we recommended going to the CO first.

Threat to the scouts? Absolutely not. Distraction? Absolutely so. In fact its one his main concerns with the troop. Would he allow the distractions to effect his role? Don't know. One thing, scouting is everything to this man. Perhaps too much, to the point of marital problems, although I'm sure it isn't the only issue between him and his wife. We are his extended family. It would be tragic if we had to send him away. Innocent until proven guilty has a nice ring to it, but we rarely apply it evenly. Just think how we'd react if he was accused but not convicted of child abuse or lewd behavior.

Scenario: Active, registered, dedicated adult leader is arrested for violating a temporary restraining order while embroiled in a nasty divorce. No violence involved (that we are aware of). Not sure the nature of the RO, but she didn't want him near the house. He went in to get something and she called the cops. Bamm. Now he has been charged with a criminal offense. The temp RO has been lifted after the first hearing so it looks like it was unnecessary to begin with. Its gonna take a while to clear it up, probably a year before trial. The perp called myself and the CC aside to explain the situation. It was decided that we needed to bring this up to the CO's IH and COR. The adult and CC are setting up a meeting. No one else in the unit is aware of the situation. I've known this adult for years and in no way do I feel he is a threat to the youth. Question: Should this leader step down from his leadership position until convicted or exonerated?

We are not one-eyed, we prefer monocular Americans.

The worst? The services where scouts read from passages chosen because the were the first thing that their thumb hit. A few droning hymns. Nothing inspirational or motivating. The best? Philmont, we hiked into an open field after sunset. Each scout and scouter sat in a large circle, 20 to 30 feet from each other. Clear night. The service leader with a lantern stood in the middle and recited the Oath, Law, Outdoor Code. Then sat down in the lotus position, doused his light and stared at the stars. No instructions to us, we just followed suit and stared at the stars with him. Total silence. About 15 minutes later (heck it could have been 3 hours), he stood and walked the 30 minutes back to camp. We followed single file. No words, total silence.

Religion is a very powerful and delicate subject that perhaps we shouldn't even try to meddle in. Best left for the families to administer as they see fit. I would draw an analogy of having a troop political officer. Assigned to help scouts develop their political views. You will never satisfy everyone and really alienate those whose political views are not aligned to the political officer. Perhaps, dare I say, that scouting is not the venue to promote religious agendas, but be a neutral zone to allow scouts of all faiths to develop as their parents wish without intervention or guidance.

Well his middle name is Hussien isn't it?

Well I stand corrected. Our unit does not have a chaplain who is a member of the cloth, but a well meaning born again parent. Sounds like the only one who should even step forward as troop chaplain better be ordained. I also see now that faith is such a powerful force that it should not be put in the hands of children or the lay people. I'm cool with that. Our chaplain's aides have been, well, one of those "easy" PORs generally taken by the scouts who don't really want a leadership position. Now for troop surgeon, we don't have those? Not sure too many scouts would want to be surgeon's aide. Probably be relegated to closing incisions and irrigating wounds. Leave the serious field surgeries and amputations to the troop surgeon.

I'm referring to GWB's performance as POTUS as a measurement that his stint as a Governor made him a better prepared person than a senator. Considering his dismal performance, I think we need to reevaluate the canard that governors are better than senators for presidents.

I have a hard time believing that any one's faith can be so fragile that a chaplains aide can screw it up. No youth is going to screw up my faith nor that of my kids. For Pete's sake, a Troop Chaplain shouldn't be ministering to the youth anyways. That should be their own shaman, rabbi, pastor, parent or priest. The troop chaplain should only be organizing scout's own services, opening and closing prayers at CORs and leading grace at meals. But I think I'm seeing a common element. Faith is so important to us that we cannot delegate this responsibility to a youth even though we are boy led. And many troops tiptoe around the issue for fear of offending individuals. Some troops even eliminate it from their program for fear of screwing it up. Yet, we make faith a requirement for membership. I'm getting a headache.

If being a Governor was a good qualification, why didn't GWB do better? I think the reason govs beat senators routinely is senators have to go on the record on many legislative votes. Those votes can be twisted into soundbites that are not representative of what the real issue was but none the less make the senator look bad. A no win for them. Obama's two year tenure will work for him as he has fewer votes for his enemies to sift through.

Kinda interested in the label of novice to Obama and none to Huck. Obama has degrees from Columbia University and Harvard Law. He has served in the Illinois senate and US senate. Huck has a degree from Ouachita Baptist University. He has been a Baptist minister, a lieutenant Governor and Governor of Arkansas. If I had those two applicants for job in my company, I'd give much more weight to Obama than Huck just on the resume.

The original thread brought this back to my consciousness, but why do we have a POR of Chaplain's Aide? Why not a Chaplain. We have a Quartermaster, a Scribe, a Guide, a Bugler, etc etc. But only one Aide. Why? Do we not trust a scout to be the troop spiritual leader? Must he work under the authority of an adult? Is that adult trained like the SM? Why does this POR the only one that is not truly boy led? Can't scouts be full Chaplains?

I'm sure everyone has been on the edge of their seat waiting for the Blansten Report. Well, here it is. Republicans.... Huck - ? Did anyone pay attention to this speech last night? What a stream of non-sense! Perhaps he was just tired. But man, if that's what he is, talk about a repeat of the last 8 years. No depth. I did dig having Chuck Norris behind him. That's cool. Romney - He's toast. Too many flipflops. Too plastic. Paul - I like libertarians, but not sure he's the right libertarian. McCain - Had his chance 8 years ago, failed with the black baby. Now he's too old. If he gets the nomination, its a repeat of 1996 with Dole. Guiliani - God's gift to the Democrats. This guy has so many skeletons in and out of the closet. Democrats.... Hillary - I'm tired of the Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton empire. We need a change. She may be competent and qualified, but out of 300 million, can't we have someone whose last name doesn't have anything to do with the previous administrations? Edwards - He is pretty. That's important to the majority of shallow Americans. Seems pretty smart. But he is a lawyer and we know what those people do. Obama - This guy might make it. His speech last night was pretty good. If you want change, he might be the man. Although he does have black babies and according to Rush is a halfrican American, I still might support him. Those things don't mean much to me. But his middle name sounds the same as the guy that has cost us trillions in Iraq to remove. So that bothers me. Ok, the Blansten Report officially endorses "Re-Elect Gore 2008!"

Gern, what can you make out of this? Necker? Why, I can make a hat or a brooch or a pterodactyl...(This message has been edited by GernBlansten)

That would be more of a Ham Handed Moderator than a Heavy Handed Moderator.

My favorite cracker barrel is some sliced pepper jack cheese and Triscuits . Maybe some dry salami if I feel carnivorous. Gives you fat, protein, and complex carbs to balance the digestion. And the pepper jack gives just enough spice to make you feel warm inside. As for burning body fuel cold camping, my son is type 1 diabetic. When we winter camp, his blood sugars go through the floor. We stop his insulin pump and jam lots of extra carbs down his pie hole to keep him alive. You'd be amazed at how your body adjusts to keeping warm by eating itself if you don't have enough food in your belly.

It seems the 4H does not have a religious test for membership, nor is religion part of their aims or goals. So why would anyone expect that prayers be welcomed as a part of the program? Would we accept political candidates to be able to deliver campaign speechs at meetings too? Of course not, its not part of the program.

I'm not saying to go to bed with a full course meal on the stomach, but a light snack will give you the tools to make it through a cold night. Especially a protein snack (smoldering fire), not a high fructose one (flash fire). Hot Jello is great to bring back the dead. We used it at our last Okpik. Sugar and protein in a liquid form really fires up the furnace. Had a pre-hypodermic youth in the morning at Okpik, the hot Jello really turned the worm for him. For a pee bottle, don't use a Nalgene! Use a disposable energy drink (aka Gatoraid) bottle. Real easy to figure out which is which in your dark cold quinzy/tent. Can be reused if you want, but you will never confuse it with your "drinking" bottle or your mates.