packsaddle

So...I can't visit my relatives in Birmingham? Bummer. I wonder when they converted.....

Thinking about the original question, I just read an OpEd in the NYTimes which argued a limit to the first amendment in which an online magazine advocating terrorism and giving instructions on how to kill should be banned. I was unaware of the publication but the argument made seemed to have merit. I'd be interested in hearing alternative views. http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=4z5Q7LhI+KVBjmEgFdYACPLKh239P3pg5nB5w5go5/OdvCJorKS4KdQU9fbPYAz8ZNL4wRBxwkiGhvRG4k9GDFwPnYDHW5GUqM43oxefWJ/99joAfWtSRvNA98Q2aA/VGEG/s/+Gd1aRpmNpYgj6yh6xYKRlcDcOGbkfUwYnfSM=&campaign_id=129&instance_id=53043&segment_id=68369&user_id=66917861a07a0f006bcfb9f5be2a750e&regi_id=48592939

Dedkad, that's a good idea. I had no idea that Lego had those axles, thanks. To me the primary measure of success is determined by how much fun the boys have. That the adults get caught up in all this is to be expected for a family-oriented program. We just have to try to keep it focused on the boys and not the adults.

Yeah, I've gotten the '...1 character...' message. NJ's is a new one on me though.

Faithful to the spirit I'm reading in this thread, I now ask the question...the one burning question that has arisen, resurrected as it were, in my mind from reading it. What....is ilk? What is its density, its position in the periodic table, how do I make some? Is it fluid, does it have viscosity, or if solid what is its coefficient of expansion? And most important of all, how can I belong? I just can't seem to identify who is supposed to be part of this 'ilk' thing, whatever it is.

Aw, and I was hoping for a discussion similar to angels on the head of a pin, lol.

Egad!

CSkip, I'll respond in that case. Dcsimmons, you left me hanging with that post. I'm not disagreeing. Rather I'm curious as to what you think success after 9/11 would have been for the USA? Also, I'm not sure what you're saying about the NSA (disparaging remarks about NSA deleted, heh, heh, just kidding guys) Have a nice day.

I was still a toddler when Horace Carter took on the Klan but I learned about it during the early '60s, actually that and a lot more. I knew about Klan activities where I was growing up a couple hundred miles west of there. The last Klan rally I saw personally was in the early '70s in the upstate of SC - the robed figures (cowards) were stopping traffic on the highway "...looking for n*****". I can tell you some rough stories about those days. I suspect there were more rallys held in other places even later in the Carolinas. I knew persons my age who claimed to be Klan members. I was told they did things that I'm glad I didn't witness personally, both here and in Vietnam. Like I said, rough stories. I have long marveled at how persons who had almost no interaction with certain other groups of people could cultivate such intense hatred of those groups. It seems to be human 'nature' for some of us and sadly, I have never understood it. And while I can express confidence that things have improved since those times, that latent tendency to hate, prejudge, and exclude is still here with us. The Klan was essentially a home-grown terrorist organization. I suspect we could name others as well if we wanted but what I saw and heard back then wasn't too far off from what seems to be done these days (and perhaps in the past as well) in the name of religion. Maybe in time these human failings will fall by the wayside but I suspect, not in my lifetime. Maybe for my grandchildren...if I help teach them well. Burke's words haunt me, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing". Of course these days 'What' to do is the hard question. Not, I think, a particularly optimistic view of the future.

Welcome to the forum, I have copied this thread to the Advancement forum as there are many other discussions about merit badges in other threads and this one seems to fit there better. I suggest that anyone wishing to respond, go to the same thread in Advancement.

He can join my group of young people going to Dominica. The "Nature Island of the Caribbean" will be THE experience of a lifetime.The time frame might be the only problem.

Welcome to the forums! I copied your original question to this forum because it was the better forum for you to get responses. I will close the other thread and leave a message to redirect anyone who is interested. Edit: Well, it seems that 'Copy' really means 'Move'...sorry. This forum will have the responses to many other merit badge questions as well. Now, in response to your question I will use 'Camping' as the example since you didn't mention a specific merit badge and I presume that camp outs are not likely to be where you work on, say, home repairs or welding, lol. In the case of camping, or others like it, a troop or patrol camp out is a great place to complete requirements. Ideally the MBC would know about such a plan in advance and some arrangement can be worked out to provide evidence if needed. Frankly, I think that for hiking or backpacking and MB's like those, it would be an unusual MBC who accompanied the scout for all of the advancement steps.

The idea of a 'double standard' implies two alternatives in an unequal relationship. I think more accurately in this case, the problem is that there is no clear standard at all. Instead we have purely arbitrary and perhaps thoughtless (does the term 'knee-jerk' come to mind?) decisions. From the link: "However, it was clear that what was conceived as an effort to unify was not having the intended effect." I'm not sure about the Duke bell tower but that quote sure rang my DUH! bell. The idea that an institution can do ANYTHING regarding a single religious group without criticism from others....would make me question the bloated salaries of people who think this stuff up - if I didn't already question those. The Peter Principle is bad enough already. Do we have to give them obscenely large salaries as well?

Evidently, THE POPE thinks the answer is 'no'.

JoeBob, I think Franklin Graham must have been 'channeling' you.

DC, your argument works better applied to the federal research money that comes in. There will be a very healthy 'discussion' on and around that campus as a result, I predict. I'll be interested to see how long this lasts.

RememberSchiff, just so you and others will know, the moderators are taking a very serious and hard look at this thread. Its future is uncertain just now. What say you all?

LeCastor, Indeed. We should watch to see 'how' it unfolds. That might be instructive.

LeCastor, what you see unfolding here is each of us making that decision ourselves. I am fairly certain that no one (so far) has changed their mind about their First Amendment rights or what they 'should' say - as a result of what someone else has argued.

We should be free to exercise our own personal judgment to answer that question for ourselves, personally. I submit that in a free society this is what will happen no matter what this forum, for example, concludes should happen. Unless we collectively decide to restrict speech in some manner for everyone, that decision will always ultimately be left to each of us individually.

Yeah the Delaware is way too big. You want to find a tributary stream that has good access and isn't precipitous in its gradient but has lots of little (up to 5 ft) waterfalls and cascades to slide and scramble over. Often there are trails along the shore but in the summer heat the water will feel a lot better and a lot more fun. We have many such opportunities in my region and it doesn't have to be over any long distance. One mile of solid scrambling can be a huge adventure. For the Delaware, I'd suggest a raft trip or maybe canoes if you have them available. We've done ski trips nearly every winter and right now is THE time to do it. What we have available doesn't compare to the West or Northern mountains but we've always had good experiences. Some of the slopes have campgrounds as well so we can combine a camping overnight with the skiing. Kind of pricey though so fundraising and planning are important. I'm going to take a quick look at the Delaware to see if I remember any candidate tribs.

I like variations on the primitive theme. This can be done backpacking really nicely. Take no matches. No cooking utensils. Improvise. For a real challenge, only allow fire by friction, no flint and steel...but you have to challenge them with some lessons ahead of time - it isn't necessarily easy. In the heat of the summer, canyoning on a local river is fun. You basically swim down the stream and scramble over the boulders when needed. We don't really get 'dead' of winter here and to me only the last week or so has been decent backpacking weather (below freezing). But the boys like creature comforts so when we do the winter outings, a good challenge is who can make the best camp food - no holds barred. It's surprising how creative they can be.

That shotgun modification, if it had been done, can be reversed and probably didn't matter to the boneheads who stole them. I can tell you that even here in SC, awash in guns that anyone can buy with no ID and take with them anywhere in the country, a single-shot 22 at the flea market will cost at least $100-150. I see plenty of 22s out there but most have magazines and go for more than $200. If the single-shot has peep sights, add about $30 to the price. If it is in nearly perfect condition, another $25 or so. It wouldn't surprise me if some of those guns end up for sale here. It's like we are the supply depot for criminals in other parts of the country.

DC, it's not about what you wrote. It's because you ARE a bologna sandwich, . Actually I have no memory at all of that thread whatever it was, but reading what you just wrote, I can't disagree with it so....I guess I'm salami. Sorry, like a lot of my memories, this one must just be stuck in cholesterol or caught in tangled plaques.

Do you suppose, maybe, they had the records for serial numbers on all those?