scoutingagain

Jeeper folks, I read the "guy" comment as one with tongue firmly planted in cheek. As far as the rest of it goes as Beav notes we have 3rd or 4rth hand information here. No way to understand the context or what was really said. It could very well have been that the SM was trying to coach the SPL on how to encourage the scouts to learn stuff without having to link everything to Eagle. We just don't know. And I'm inclined to give a well meaning volunteer the benefit of the doubt. SA

The Arizona law does not go far enough. Only "Declared" pregnancies should be covered. i.e A legally married couple of two different genders would have to submit a notarized declaration to their employer, insurance company and the state that their next intimate encounter will be performed specifically for the purpose of procreation for the pregancy to be covered. The encounter must occur within 48 hours of submission of the "Declaration to procreate". All other encounters would clearly be simply recreational and should be be covered. No reason why the government, insurance companies, taxpayers or other premium payers should have to financially support those that engage in recreational intimacy. Only a socialist would think otherwise. SA

NC, Very glad your son was taken care of and your not in a cardboard box. Seriously. Thankfully I live in the Peoples Commonwealth of Massachusetts where 98% of our population is covered by some form of health insurance due to the foresight of our former leader, Comrade Mitt Romney. SA

SP that's why you need to be one of those poor sailors without a GPS or roller furler. I have to deliberately make an effort to burn through 20 Gals of diesel by the end of the season to make sure I get a reasonable amount of fresh fuel in the tank for the next year. SA

"Wait: Is pulled abdominal muscles covered? " Only if the injury occurred during an intimate moment with your legally married opposite gender spouse in an attempt to procreate. In all other circumstances you maybe on your own based on the moral interpretations of your actions by the government, your house of worship, your boss, your neighbor or super PAC. SA

Barry's suggestion that you pick an honest person is a good one. However, just as youth protection is just as much about protecting adults from unfounded acusations good accounting practices do the same. Simply having at least 2 different, independant people, preferably 3, having access to the account records and having them check the account even quarterly is often enough. Even a small unit should be able to manage some level of independant oversight of financial records. Any resistance to having independant access to the financial records is a red flag. SA

Couple of comments. I go to boat shows to see what the 1% are buying. I'm one of the poor sailors still navigating with paper charts and a compass. The big question Pack, does the plan cover birth control without a co-pay? I mean if a sailor's on his boat with poor navigational equipment, runs aground and finds himself with his significant other of childbearing age stuck for a while and doesn't want the risk of fathering another child, what's a poor sailor to do? SA

Just to be clear, I'm one of the 75% who doesn't. SA

I might add I was dissapointed that Huntsman did not get more attention. Seems like a rational fiscal conservative that actually has been consistent through his career has no place in the current Republican Party. SA

" And if Romney is just another version of Obama, that kind of makes him just another version of Bush too!" Exactly the point. As far as I can tell it seems Republicans care less about actual policy than having someone from their tribe in office. Face it. If Romney had won the nomination in 2008 and the general election he would have implemented Romneycare as a national health care reform and Republicans would be singing the praises of the individual mandate as the epitome of individual responsibility. This has been their rational for coming up with the approach for the last 15 years. Romney would also have continued the corporate bailouts under Bush. He would have done exactly what Obama did with the auto industry, forced them into bankruptcy and reorganize. In fact as a former CEO he probably would have been more hands on in acutually running the companies than Obama was. He would have followed conventional economic advice and passed some type of stimulus package. As Governor, he did not do much to dramatically reorganize state Govt. He tweeked around the edges but no major reforms. He did not raise taxes, but he is not a no new revenue zeolot. He significantly raised fees everywhere his executive authority allowed. He took no action on social issues like abortion or gay marriage. In short he was a centrist governor that made fiscally responsible decisions. He left office relatively unpopular. He will likely not be able to carry his home state. Anyone expecting dramatic changes to government should not expect them from Romney based on his record. But if your more concerned about having a Republican in the White House, he's your best bet. SA SA

"I have to admit, this Republican race is nuthin' if not entertaining, as the anybody-but-that-Mormon crowd runs from one candidate to the next every 6 weeks. Followed by the Romney SuperPAC spending another $10 million plus on new attack ads in a sort of ongoing public game of whack-a-mole. " This is about the best summary of the Republican Primary race I've seen. Obama has already come out and complimented Romney on health care, basically saying his program in Mass. was the template for Obamacare. SA

I wouldn't trust any quote from Romney. Over the years you can find quotes of his support for gay rights, a woman's right to choose, structured bailouts of auto companies and recent statements that are just the opposite. This man will say anything to anybody at any time to get a current vote. He's also been quoted recently in support of raising the minimum wage with inflation. A long time goal of liberal labor groups. What I find more interesting, is that in their desire to beat Obama, Republicans will nominate the candidate most like him from a political standpoint. Apparently "conservative" values don't mean much as long as a guy with an ® behind his name is in the white house. About the only difference you will find between Obama and the way Romney has governed is that when Romney signed executive legislation as Governor he was white and Obama is Black. SA

Don't know to what extent this decision bears on Catholic Hospitals, but by a 9-0 decision the SC gave religious organizations wide latitude with respect to employment laws. http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/10523-supreme-court-issues-landmark-ruling-for-religious-freedom Of course one must assume this kind of latitude would apply to all religions, not just the ones we agree with. SA

A sign would also eliminate the fear of having people pretend to want to purchase a product or service to try and find out if an establishment discriminates against a specific group. Great idea. SA

I'm saying it's something I'm not particularly concerned about. I'm confident if a gay couply in NH wants to have a wedding they can find a venue, caterer, flowerist, band etc. that will happily serve them. I don't see the need for government to force private businesses to take on additional customers and collect additional revenue and ruin them financially.... Unless of course those businesses are banks and the additional customers want loans they can't pay back so the banks can repackage them to sell them to others knowing they can't be paid back. SA

Another tempest in a teapot. No pun intended. I'm with Pack. Let the market work it out. If the wedding hall owner doesn't want to provide services to a gay couple fine. I'm fairly confident in any state where such a union is legally recognized there will be a hall that will gladly take their business. Same with flowers, caterers, music etc. SA

Congratulations. We often recognize others when a specific milestone is met such as Eagle, but it's these seemingly routine activities where the real character building shows through. You have every right to be proud. And take a bow yourself for being there for your son. One of the proudest moments I had was picking my son up one Saturday when he was working camp staff. A parent had noticed me walk up and help him load his laundry into the car. He pulled me aside and asked if that was my son. I said yes and he told me his son, first year at camp had really connected with him. He said his son was shy and really nervous about going away to camp but made a point of tracking down my son and introducing him to his parents as his favorite staff member. SA

I'd add that after 60 days any campaign contributions currently held or received be transferred to the Treasury earmarked for deficit reduction. SA

Here's what Bush's legal team had to say about these non-recess recesses; "Lawyers for this White House and for past administrations, including most recently with President George W. Bush, have argued that the use of "pro forma" sessions is merely a legislative sham designed to rob the executive branch of its powers. Two Bush-era lawyers, John Elwood and Steven Bradbury, called such a strategy "phony" in a 2010 Washington Post op-ed, and said, "The president can use this power to fill a vacancy during any recess between sessions of Congress as well as recesses during sessions of Congress, if they are of substantial length." The two cite a 1905 memo published by the Senate Judiciary Committee in which the panel sought to define a recess, saying one occurs whenever the Senate cannot "participate as a body in making appointments." The committee cautioned that a "recess" means "something actual, not something fictitious." But keep in mind this is the same legal brain trust that argued water boarding was simply an "enhanced interogation technique" . The irony of this appointment would be amusing if it didn't represent the ongoing dysfunction and partisanship of Washington politics. The Republicans are using the same tactic the Democrats used during the Bush administration and the Obama administration is using the legal argument made by Bush era legal staff to overide it. The additional irony is that Obama's preferred candidate was Elizabeth Warren who is now in a neck and neck race for the Senate seat held by Scott Brown®. I'll bet Senator Brown wishes they had let Elizabeth just have this appointment. A shame really because I like Brown and I think he'll end up being a footnote in Senate politics. SA SA

You mean the same type George Bush did while he was in office and Bill Clinton did while he was in office? SA

Several years ago visiting my sister and ready to go out to dinner with her and then 5&6 year old nephews, one pipes up, "Lets go out for a night of drunken debauchery!" I looked at him and asked, "That's a big word, where you learn that?" "Spongebob" came the prompt reply. SA

Just to be clear, the full and proper name of the Bear's opponent that day are the New York Football Giants. Willie Mays never played for them, althought I suspect he would have been an excellent wide reciever. YA Tittle to Willie Mays? SA (This message has been edited by Scoutingagain)

Yes, I have read, that there seem to be a disproportionate number of hunting "accidents" that involve spouses. This of course is strictly anectodotal and by no means is meant to imply all hunters have hunting accidents with spouses. SA

I think the Italian and Greek bonds might be returning 7.2% or more. SA

Cutting taxes is easy. Both parties have voted for tax cuts. Now they're only arguing about how long "temporary" tax cuts should be. It's the cutting spending part, and cutting back on defense capabilities, entitlements and government services or raising taxes that's the hard part and neither party has been able show they can actually cut spending in any significant way. At least not enough to balance the budget with current revenues. Heck, they couldn't agree on how to cut less than 3% of the budget let alone come anywhere near enough to balance the budget. SA