An August 2, 2010, Wall Street Journal editorial, "100 Years of Merit Badges," notes the centennial of the Boy Scouts of America and the significance of the organization for the broader American culture.

Most Americans live their lives blessedly far from the political headlines, and for some 35,000 Boy Scouts and their adult volunteers the big event of the summer is the annual National Scout Jamboree now underway in Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. This year's gathering is especially meaningful because the Boy Scouts of America are celebrating the 100th anniversary of their founding by newspaperman and magazine publisher William D. Boyce.

Scouting isn't fashionable in our politically correct age, since the organization bars openly gay scoutmasters, atheists or girls under the age of 13. Naturally this has led to lawsuits, most of which the Boy Scouts have won. Some 2.8 million boys across the country nonetheless belong to Scout troops, learning the traditional Scout values of trustworthiness, loyalty to friends and country, and volunteering in the community.

They also still work to acquire "merit badges" by mastering a particular skill, such as first aid, cooking, camping, hiking, environmental science and personal fitness. To become an Eagle Scout requires 21 merit badges. Some 212 Members of the 111th Congress were either Scouts as boys or served as adult leaders, which shows that Scouting does not guarantee a successful career choice, but it has done an enormous amount of good by turning millions of boys into better men.

It's too bad President Obama couldn't find time to address this year's 100th anniversary Jamboree. The boys would have cheered him, and he might have noted what Alexis de Tocqueville called the particular American genius for voluntary organizations that sustain civil society without government power. America would be a poorer place without the Boy Scouts, so congratulations on a century of merit. 

Tulsa's Troop 1, based at First Presbyterian Church, is one of the oldest scout troops in the country, founded May 10, 1910, just three months after the Boy Scouts of America.

Leupold has issued a customer alert about counterfeit Leupold Mark 4 and Prismatic riflescopes originating in China.

Leupold® is issuing a customer alert to purchasers of products, particularly via Internet sales, in regards to bogus Leupold products that are apparently being illegally imported from the People’s Republic of China. These products bear many of the marks and trade dress of current Leupold & Stevens riflescopes making them very hard to distinguish externally from authentic Leupold products.

Counterfeited Leupold Mark 4® riflescopes and more recently, counterfeited Leupold Prismatic riflescopes have begun to arrive with increasing regularity at the firm’s Beaverton, Oregon, headquarters for service. These products are not manufactured by Leupold and are not covered by the Leupold Full Lifetime Guarantee.

Leupold employs serial number tracking for all its riflescopes, so if a customer finds a scope that is suspect, he or she can simply write down the serial number and call 1-800-LEUPOLD to confirm if it is indeed authentic. 

At the link, Leupold describes how to identify these counterfeits.

As you pause this Memorial Day weekend to remember the servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifices for our freedom, take some time to watch these videos. In 2007, members of the Downtown Tulsa Kiwanis Club spoke about their experiences in World War II. About 40 minutes into first video, Councilor John Eagleton recounts his father's experiences on the Battle of Okinawa and the fight for control of Sugar Loaf Hill.

WWII Veterans, Tulsa Downtown Kiwanis, 2007/03/26 from John Eagleton on Vimeo.

WWII Veterans, Tulsa Downtown Kiwanis, 2007/06/25 from John Eagleton on Vimeo.

The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators hit its highest level ever in March 2010, increasing by 1.4% over the previous month, according to a story in the April 19, 2010, Wall Street Journal. A "Heard on the Street" item in the following day's edition reports a cautiously optimistic response to the record-setting numbers:

Seeing isn't always believing. For a sign of how deep the scars from the credit crunch are, look no further than the Conference Board's latest index of leading indicators.

On Monday, the New York-based consultancy reported that its 50-year-old index jumped 1.4% in March, to a high of 109.6. Comprised of 10 components such as the yield curve and weekly jobless claims, it was a good predictor of the economy's plunge into recession, and has so far done a good job calling the turn.

However, despite recording a 10.4% annualized gain over the past six months, one of the strongest showings since the series began in 1959, even the in-house economists refuse to get carried away. Says one of the group's economists, Ken Goldstein, in a statement accompanying the hockey stick chart: "The indicators point to a slow recovery that should continue over the next few months."