Hal_Crawford

Countries don't usually declare war on countries they have no problem with. I cannot believe that they declared war and then assumed that we would not react. Had we not entered the war, I suspect that Germany would have ultimately been defeated by the Soviet Union (more landmass, more resources and T-34s kicked butt) who would probably not have stopped at the Rhine but would have "liberated" Europe all the way to the Spanish border. Not a picture that your paleo-conservatives would like, I suspect. Hal

General Washington was commanding a conventionally equipped army. The revolution was not won with personal firearms but with military rifles and cannon taken from militia arsenals. The redcoats captured and destroyed 3 24 pounders at the battle of Lexington and Concord. These were large pieces of artillery not personal firearms. Read about the Virginia militiamen removing the guns and powder from the Williamsburg magazine so the Royal Governor could not turn it over to the British. Once the French joined us the supported us with troops, guns, artillery and a navy. The allies at Yorktown outnumbered the British and artillery carried the day. With regard to Vietnam. If the enemy had only been the Viet Cong the South Vietnamese government probably could have won the war without our help. The war was won by the NVA with support from China and the Soviet Union. They had MiGs, tanks, artillery and SAMs. Ask Sen. McCain about the SAMs. That wasn't some farmer with a hunting rifle that checked him into the Hanoi Hilton. I heard a Marine officer (who had done two tours) describe the NVA as some of the best infantrymen in the world. Of course there was that time that the Soviets invaded Colorado only to be repelled by a bunch or high school kids but wait that was just a movie. Hal

You may want to enlist the assistance of the Unit Commissioner or DE to help mediate. Good luck. Hal

Merlyn: Good point. By January 1942 German U-Boats were sinking American coastal freighters within sight of the coast. This was before the first US troops or aircrews departed for the ETO. Would they have done this had we not reciprocated their declaration of war? I suspect so. Hal

Picture of scout delegation with POTUS are now on the scouting.org. Nice slideshow of the whole trip. Hal

Scout: I am confused by your logic and Mr Buchanan's. Churchill and Roosevelt blundered into war with Germany? England declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939 in response to Germany's invasion of Poland. Churchill became Prime Minister on 10 May 1940. It would seem that Neville Chamberland "blundered" into war with Germany. Churchill didn't get the job until the beginning of the Battle of Britain. And what part of Germany and Italy declared war on us do you not understand? We had already declared war on Japan without addressing them. Why do you make excuses for them? I really don't get it. You keep referring to 200,000 lives. Over 418,000 Americans (including 1700 civilians) died in WW2. Are you just counting those that fought against the Germans? John in KC: Your father has my respect and sympathy. Those that served at Corregidor and in the Philippines at that time truly suffered. Few American soldiers have suffered more. The Battling Bastards of Bataan, no mother, no father, no Uncle Sam. I assume he was a POW? I hope he was able to recover from the experience and lead a peaceful and happy life after the war. He certainly deserved it. Hal

Scout: I said you sounded like either a neo-nazi or a neo-confederate. I asked if your were either. You took offense to neo-nazi and for that I apologize. Ft. Sumter was a US Army installation. The state around it seceded. It is up for debate whether that was constitutional. Lincoln and the army's position was that it was still a US fort. Confederate artillery attacked it. War resulted. Southerners often blame Lincoln for calling up 90,000 volunteers. They say that was an overreaction and the real start of the war. In fact, where I am sitting is an area in Virginia that was pretty quickly occupied by Federal forces. There were probably tents where I sit and the soldiers bathed in Four Mile Run 150' from here. Was it an invasion of the south or the reasonable reaction of a country protecting its capital? Wilson and Roosevelt probably violated international law through neutrality violations but they did not violate the constitution as what they were doing was enacted into law by congress. And, yes, congress has been complicit in a lot of more recent mistakes including the Patriot Act. My constitutional issues with the the past administration have more to do with their interpretation of the Patriot Act and other laws. The US did not enter WW2 to save European Jews. I am not saying that would not have been a good reason but we and the rest of the world were in pretty active denial about what would later be called the Holocaust. The US supported Britain, the USSR and China because it appeared in our best interest to do so. It was controversial and I have heard of the America First Committee as well as the German-American Bunde. American hero Charles Lindbergh was associated with both but some historians maintain that he was a victim of propaganda from both sides, pro-Germans who exaggerated his support through cropped photos etc and anti-Fascists who vilified him for his apparent support of Hitler. We entered WW2 because we were attacked by Japan. Germany and Italy declared war on us. Over 418,000 Americans died as a result. Was it worth it? My father was a veteran of WW2 and was at the liberation of a concentration camp. He was a career officer (combat engineers) who hated war. He thought WW2 was worth it. He did not feel the same about Korea or Vietnam. I have met few WW2 vets that thought differently. What do you think the world would look like if we had stayed out of WW2? Hal

Scout: I do not expect you to believe that the South fired first at Ft. Sumter. Southerners have spent over a hundred and forty years re-framing the "late unpleasantness" as the "war of northern aggression". Believe whatever you want. World War One: There were compelling US interests. Freedom of the seas was one. The Germans were practicing unrestricted submarine warfare, endangering American lives and commerce. The "Zimmerman telegram" in which the Germans tried to persuade Mexico to attack us was more compelling than the WMDs in Iraq. Also, in accordance with the constitution, Congress declared war on Germany. World War Two: Pearl Harbor, Japan attacked us. The next day Congress declared war on Japan. Then Germany and Italy declared war on us. Congress then declared war in return. Don't see the constitutional issue here. I think you alluded to Lend-Lease: We provided ships, tanks and other military hardware to Britain, the USSR and China. Again, this was passed by Congress, not the President acting on his own. This has never been determined to be unconstitutional. Before Pearl Harbor, American ships went on patrol to protect the US coast (neutrality patrols) and escorted lend-lease convoys as far as Iceland. I am not sure what incident you are talking about when you refer to American ships attacking German subs unless you are talking about the destroyer USS Reuben James getting in the way of German torpedoes, 31 October 1941 with a loss 100 US sailors. Note that World War II was the last time that Congress declared war on anybody. If there are constitutional issues they would be Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom not to mention, Somalia, Bosnia and all the other minor incursions that Presidents of both parties have involved us in in the last 60 years of so. I get the sense that you think the wrong sides won the Civil War, World War I and World War II. Is this so? From where I sit you are sounding more and more like either a neo-confederate or a neo-nazi. Do you see yourself aligned with either of those political philosophies?

'Cause its my constitutional right.

RPG? How 'bout a howitzer? Gives you some real firepower and adds a certain je ne sais quoi to scout flag ceremonies. Bugles or pipes are fine but nothing gets attention like a 105. Hal

I found this article on-line about the meeting. http://blog.al.com/breaking/2009/03/boy_scout_tory_green_meets_pre.html It sounds like President Obama accepted a BSA membership card. If so he is one of us now. Or does he have to wait for a background check? ;-)

"....and obey the Scout Law, to jump to conclusions at all times, to be..." The meeting was closed to journalists but you have no way of knowing why or whose decision that was. Perhaps they did not want to press peppering the scouts with questions about membership controversies. A better sign of where the President stands will be if he accepts the position of Honorary President. I think he will but we'll all have to wait and see.

Here's the link to MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#29491940 There are two clips, one is about marketing to Hispanics and the other is an interview with Bob Mazzucca.

Actually, you can take Fast Start on-line. http://olc.scouting.org/ While you are there you can take the Youth Protection which is really important if you are going to work directly with scouts. All of the on-line courses are relatively quick and painless. I understand that New Leader Essentials will be available on-line soon. Hal

Welcome to Boy Scouts and to the forum. Your son has crossed over to a different world. In cubs and webelos things were really organized but because the leadership was all done by grownups. Now what you see appears to be pretty disorganized by comparison. What you describe sounds like a pretty typical scout meeting in a boy led troop. When I was being trained as a scout leader the trainer said, "boy leadership is not a pretty sight". He was right and the first impulse may be to go looking for another troop or to dive in and help get the one your boy is in more organized. Both impulses should be resisted. Oh sure, you can find troops that operate with military precision but I will bet if you look closely you will see that the troop is not boy led. Learning how to how to lead is part of the process. The boys in my troop resist the idea of meetings being too tightly programed. They try to do what they need to do to plan the next camp out. The work with the younger scouts on advancement. The look forward to a game of murder ball. Some times the meetings are pretty good and sometimes they are awful. The camp outs are usually pretty good but they are sometimes awful as well. The adults are there to make sure that what the scouts do is safe and legal but we also let them learn by their mistakes. A lot of troops don't do as much in the meetings as you describe. Our troop does not do regular uniform inspections. Wish they did but it is the Patrol Leader's Council (PLC) to implement that. My advice, is to follow your first instinct and hold your tongue, step back and let your son assimilate into the troop. If you go on a camp out, remember it is not your place to lead. The Senior Patrol Leader and the Patrol Leaders are the ones in charge. Volunteer to become a leader if you want or be on the troop committee but get training ASAP so you will know the way in which the boy scout program is different from cubs and webelos. Some of the courses can be taken on line. Try not to be a helicopter parent. Not saying you are but it happens a lot. Give your son and the other scouts room to learn, room to grow and room to make mistakes. Sit back and enjoy the ride. YIS, Hal

The Rest of the Story Paul Harvey, September 4, 1918 February 28, 2009 RIP

Both my parents are buried in Arlington National Cemetery. My father was a combat engineer and a veteran of WW2 (from the Normandy campaign to Vienna) and Korea (both my parents were in Seoul when the North invaded). He started as a draftee in 1940 and retired as a full colonel in 1969. At his funeral, when the young sergeant presented me the flag he said something to the affect of "On behalf of the Secretary of the Army and a grateful nation I present this flag in honor of your loved one's service and sacrifice". Hal

I hope no one took me seriously about squirt guns in the hands of cubs. To me it is an example of going over the top with the G2SS. I had hoped that the reference to Capt. Renault from Casablanca ("I am shocked, shocked that there is gambling...") would keep it in perspective. Mile High, if you feel I have ridiculed you it was not intentional and I apologize. I hope that we can bury the... hand ax? YIS, Hal

Is that the same as the one about the rancher, the new bride and the flatulent horse? Punchline: "That's one".

The movie is the sort of thing that makes grown men cry. They show (without being too graphic), the care that the folks at Dover take to clean and dress the remains. You never see more than a hand still dirty from battle as they remove his watch and then later you see them cleaning that hand. There is a shot of a line of combat boots, some spattered in blood. There are also shots of parts of the immaculate Marine dress blues in which they have dressed the body. Much of the effect also comes from faces as they react to what they see. It is extremely well done. Hal

"A board can expect a Scout to be neat in appearance and properly uniformed." From Board of Review training (http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/trainingmodules/board%20of%20review%20training.aspx) Also: "But be aware that a Scout who is poorly prepared for the board, one who clearly has not achieved what his book says that he has, is a product, as much of his own merits as of the merits of those who have brought him the board, to those who have signed off his accomplishments without actually having them properly achieved." His what? His book. Seems BSA expects a scout to wear a uniform and bring his book to a BOR. Maybe not required but expected. My dad, a career army officer would say that expected and required are the same thing. I don't see this as adding requirements. Hal

This just in: Apparently the love affair between Rush and the GOP is on the rocks http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090302/pl_politico/19498 But according to one of the supermarket tabloids I saw yesterday, Obama is gay. Hal

Raisenemright: I am sorry for your loss. Sounds like a great dedication to your FIL or more to the point, your sons' grandpa. My dad was a scout and active in my pack and troop when I was a scout and later. He did some district scouting as well after I had grown up and moved away. My dad passed away before my son was born but I feel that everything that I do in scouting is a tribute to him. Hal

Situation Normal, All Fouled Up

Brent: You and I were not that far from each other during Snowjam 82 as I lived a block from Manuel's Tavern. If you don't know where that is you aren't a Yellow Jacket. We may disagree on politics but I am sure we can agree on Manuel's and the Varsity (outstanding onion rings). There may be one other source of disagreement though, in the fall of 82 I started grad school in Athens... Go Dawgs! Hal