scoutingagain

Where do people come up with this stuff? It took our last Eagle nearly 9 months just to get all the town boards to approve of his project to even get started. The actual work on the project took only about 6 - 8 weeks, but he never would have met this new "requirement". I agree with some of the others. Sit down with the advancement chair and have a polite, friendly discussion. Personally I'd bring one or two like minded leaders from other units to show it's not just you and your unit, but other units have concerns as well. Don't bring so many that he feels like your ganging up on him, but he should know it's not just your issue. SA

"If the states want a minimum wage then let them do it, not the feds. " Many states do set their own minimum wage. They just can't set one lower than the federal. With regards to Health Care, I too don't have an answer. It needs to be addressed though for two reasons, 1. Too many people don't have access. 2. Our employer based system is crippling business, particularly manufacturing, in their ability to compete in a world economy. Unfortunately, with the current domestic economic issues, Health Care reform is not likely to be addressed any time soon. SA

OGE, No, my point was exactly the opposite. If the California Prop 8 is allowed to stand, I see no reason why women wouldn't be able to restrict the "opportunity" for men to vote, if they chose to do so. (Although I recgonize there would probably be some women who would vote to allow us to continue to vote, but who knows.) I guess what I'm saying is, as white males, some of us may want to think long and hard about supporting any intiative that allows a simple majority to limit the rights and or opportunities of any specified minority, as that's where we're headed, if we're not there already. SA (This message has been edited by scoutingagain)

Or since women make up the majority of the electorate, they could get together and deny men the right to vote. SA

Obama knows who put him into office, and who can re-elect him and it wasn't wellfare queens. It was moderate Republicans and middle of the road independents, who are looking for a fiscally responsible government. The Republicans have shown, especially the neocon, tax cut and spend like there's no tomorrow crowd, that they are not the party of fiscal responsibility. Obama will get tremendous pressure from his own party to open the spending floodgates for their own special interests. Hopefully he has the wisdom to temper their impulses. The current administration didn't. We shall see. SA

I agree with most of it as well. As far as number 1 goes, well by tanking the economy and available jobs, epecially in the residential construction market, the only folks that are still sneeking into this country are highly suspect, so I agree. No. 3 I would love a Flat Tax. We can only dream. No. 9, We already have the most powerful military in the world and the largest defense budget in the world. We need to use that $$$ more wisely, less on complex, expensive weapons systems that fatten the wallets of special interests and more on personnel. True conservatives need to do some sole searching and decide if the Republican Brand name is so damaged that a new party based on the tenets you've outline and a new name might not be a bad idea. SA

MSNBC currently has the following posted Obama 64,417,303 McCaine 56,736,505 with 98% of the votes counted. I suspect the initial numbers did not include all the Democrats that voted Wednesday. SA

Well some of examples of political grace from the opposition I've seen lately include: McCain's speech after his loss. President Bush's statement and his commitment to full cooperation and an orderly transition. Condolezza Rice's comments. SA

I think everyone needs to take a deep breath on Obama's potential tax policies. He had been talking about rolling back the tax breaks given under the Bush administration that McCain and most mainstream economists described as irresponsible at the time. Obama had been talking about a tax cut for those making less than $200K per year. Well given current circumstances, that is not likely to happen any time soon and Obams has pretty much said as much. We all need to be worried about our wallets, because in the long term to get our economy back, we will need to begin paying back the debt run up by the current administration. SA

"One of my friends owns a business that has been in the family for over 50 years and now she and her relatives are afraid they will lose the company." So the business has survived at least four other Democratic Presidents and they're afraid they'll lose it because of Obama?

"he won in the urban counties where large populations of low income or no income voters were promised welfare in trade for a democratic vote." All 63 million of us. That's why Obama won. Yep. For sure. SA

"Do we really want or need a government to tell us how much money we can make, and who we should share the fruits of our labor with? " "Do people really believe that is truly going to happen.?" Obama's comments on coal fired power plants were related to a cap and trade system on carbon emmissions. Something both he and John McCain support. "Once you make people feel entitled to money from the government you can never take it back." Like the some 1800 banks lining up for the Bush corporate wellfare program? With the auto companies lining up behind them? Like Pack, I have reservations about Obama, but truely wish him the best. He has taken on an enormous burden and I pray he is up for the task. I believe his leadership will be far more pragmatic than his detractors predict. The alternative had their chance and we are where we are. Time to change guard. SA

Yeah. Obama won yesterday and they havn't even counted the Democratic votes to be cast today. Imagine that. What can you say when Republicans vote in a liberal black man as President? Truely a transformational time. SA(This message has been edited by scoutingagain)

Filibusters. I'm sure the Republicans are still bemoaning the fact John McCain and his gang held up the filibuster back when the Dems were in the minority. Wonder if they are willing to re-introduce those rule changes in the next session. They would stand a better chance of getting them passed SA

Do I want to pay higher taxes? Of course not. But it's not about what I want. Like it or not, regardless of who gets elected tomorrow, someone, somewhere, at sometime, will have to pay higher taxes to begin pay off the irresponsible debt we've gotten ourselves into. I didn't vote for the tax cutting, irresponsible spending current administration, but as a citizen I recognize my responsiblity to the country and my kids to try and begin to pay up. Like it or not we are in a mess of our own creation and we need to begin to set thing right, and it won't come easy. Not paying taxes is unpatriotic. Period. Down there with the anti-war crowd that say they won't pay taxes to support a war they don't agree with. SA

I like Beavah's post as well. I've travelled all over the world and have run into racism in most places I've been to. It certainly has no geographical boundries. It exists here in Boston, in it's well-to-do suburbs and in the neighborhoods of S. Boston as well. I've seen it in China where they truely are incredulous to the fact we may acutally elect a black man to be President. (I suppose that in itself is a racist statement.) I've seen it in S. America where it was more a form of the class conflict Beavah described. I recall working with a colleague from Columbia (the country, not the college.)and who spoke with a rather thick accent. She was truely insulted as I recall when someone asked her if she was Mexican. I've heard folks in my own office here in Cambridge, MA refer to folks in some of our southern offices as "those people" when discussing politics or social issues. I told one woman she was one of the most bigoted people I had ever met as she went on about how "those people" felt about race and various other social issues. Even though I agreed with her position on many of the issues the way she characterized others I found offensive. As far as the initial topic of the thread goes, I agree Scouts in Uniform should not be political and it may be something that should be included more in the Citizenship Badges. For Perdidochas, I alway liked Sweet Home Alabama by Skynard. SA

Gravy on patatoes? In Boston's North end it is well known gravy goes on spaghetti and pasta. SA

This might be a little out of the box, but you might try the limo companies. Some may have a stretch limo used for proms etc. that if they are not otherwise engaged may be willing to give you a decent rate. At least not that much more than renting two minivans. Just a thought. SA

First, it's the FOX network showing of the World Series, not the Fox News Network. While owned by the same company they are different as are NBC and CNBC. What really would have been rich is if he had bought time on FOX News and pre-empted O'Reilly's program. SA

Well yes. For those of us in the moderate middle of the political spectrum, it comes down the the candidate & party that seems to suck the least at the moment. At least it has for the last 2 Presidential elections. SA

"William Ayers(of Black Panther fame), ' You may want to factcheck this one too.

To be fair to scoutldr I believe he was referring to " those who have carefully analyzed the issues and arrived at an informed, educated decision." as those who are in the extreme minority. I also have reservations about Obama. Mainly because I generally don't buy into the classic liberal, government is the answer philosophy. But at least the democrats are honest about that approach. The Republicans as a party have a major credibility gap. You can't claim the mantel of fiscal responsibility and lead the country to a $500 billion deficit and $11 Trillion debt. You can't claim your for less government and then lead us into the biggest government intrusion into the private sector since the New Deal. You can't claim to be the party of "values" and run a campaign on hate mongering. I have enormous respect for John McCain. I've voted for him in every primary. I too expected more from him. I'm afraid his ambition to be President has gotten the better of him. It's a shame because we really could use the John McCain from 2000. So I will reluctantly cast my vote for Obama. Mainly because at this point things are so bad that the devil I don't know might be better than the devil I've seen the last 8 years. John McCain has done nothing to convince me he's a different kind of Republican than we've seen and he's done everything to convince me otherwise. This is what one prominent McCain supporter who knew Obama at Harvard had to say about him in an article in the New York Times.(Yes I know a liberal rag unworthy of journalism.) "I saw no evidence of a radical streak, either overt or covert, when we were together at Harvard Law School, said Bradford A. Berenson, who worked on the Harvard Law Review with Mr. Obama and who served as associate White House counsel under President Bush. Mr. Berenson, who is backing Mr. McCain, described his fellow student as a pragmatic liberal whose moderation frustrated others at the law review whose views were much farther to the left." If Mr. Berenson's assessment is correct, I can live with that. The entire article on Obama's association with William Ayers can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/us/politics/04ayers.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1 . SA

Welcome Bulldog and thank you for your service to scouting. I think you need to keep in mind advancement in scouting is based on individual accomplishment. Either a scout has met the requirements to be awarded the rank or he hasn't. Troop discipline is an entirely different matter. I'm not saying the boys shouldn't be reprimanded for their behavior but it would be wrong to use BORs as a collective disciplinary device. The adults are there to serve the youth. If a boy has completed all the requirements for rank advancement a BOR should be convened as soon as is practicle for all concerned. The youth should be respectful of the adults volunteer service and not expect them to drop everything to hold a BOR for him. But the adults should not artificially hold up a BOR either. The adults are there to serve the boy in the advancement process. This service includes making sure the boy has met all the requirements for advancement and provide timely feedback. The incident is certainly a good point of discussion during a BOR. Fair questions to youth that participated in the event would be how did he see the results of the event as keeping with the scout law? What should be done differently? Does he believe he lived up to the scout law during this event? If so why? If not, what will he do to do better. Based on answers to these questions, I might suspend a BOR until he has demonstrated he has learned from the event and than re-convene the BOR and then approve his rank advancement. But to wholesale suspend BORs would not be the correct thing to do here. My two cents. SA

For "others" my son used our neighbor and his grandparents. But I agree a well written reference from a peer can be very moving. I speak from personal experience. The neighbor's son, recently wrote his college essay. He was kind enough to share it with my wife and I. He's been through some tough times lately, parents recent divorce, minor trouble with the law, grades falling off, but is basically a decent kid. His essay was about my son. He talked about the kind of friend he was and how as an Eagle Scout he was able to look to my son as a role model and turn his life around. The boy is very well written. He opened up in the essay and showed a sensitive side to himself. He also talked about how he saw my son and wanted to be like him. The boy is in his final year in High School and recently won the lead in the school fall production. His grades have improved as well. He can still be a bit spirited but has learned where the lines are. It was quite moving to read first hand how much youth leadership effected this boy, especially when that leadership and role model was my son. I hope the young man gets into the school of his choice. SA

With respect to credit cards, there has been some movement in this area. I believe minimum payments have been increased a bit, but they should probably be increased further. I would also support a cap in interest rates. However, neither of these things are what Banks and credit card issuers want. They limit they're project revenues, earnings and ulitimately don't let the executives mislead investors. You would think they would be smart enough not to lend people money they know people can't pay and then project those impossible payment into the future. This is another shoe waiting to drop as while folks may not be able to get loans but may have rediculous credit allowances available on their credit cards at loan shark rates. It's amazing to me how much the tide has turned against free markets so quickly. 30 years or so ago Ronald Reagan lead a rebirth of the Republican party on the platform of limited government and free enterprise. In the last two weeks even the most stalwart Republican leaders are turning to the government as the last institution with enough credibility to invest in, (T-bills) lend and borrow money. Now this administration is talking about government purchasing banks ala Sweden. SA