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That's why the founders gave us the fourth amendment: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Sadly most Americans are too stupid or too willing to be subjugated to the government "for safety" to appreciate the wisdom contained in those few words. Thank you very much but I'll carry whatever

As with all things in Scouting, we as adults can do the research, shopping, etc... much more efficiently than the scouts. I always try to see how anything we as adults do can be a learning and growth opportunity for scouts. If an adult is a "tent expert", great! How do we utilize tgat expertise to help the scouts become more skillful and knowledgeable moving forward. Ultimate goal being the scouts become the future experts. If a scout cannot "do" yet, the adults should not just do it for them by themselves, but instead involve at least some scouts in every stage of the process. Even if th

Paperwork for rechartering needs to be filed in 12 hours, I still haven't signed. Nor do I plan to. I'm more than a little melancholy but since it will have been exactly 50 years next week since I first put on a boyscout uniform, I guess I shouldn't complain. Been a long fun filled trail. " The road goes ever on and on, out from the door where it began, but I at last with weary feet, turn toward the lighted inn. My evening rest and sleep to meet"

It's the time of year when Webelos often complete their Arrow of Light and are ready to bridge over to a Boy Scout troop. But WHICH troop? That's the question. Every year, 10-year old scouts (and their parents) try to answer that question. For some, the answer comes easily and naturally. For others, anguish ensues as it seems like such a hard decision to make. Here are a few ideas for things that I would consider if I were a parent advising a 10-year old as to what kind of troop will best fit his (or her) personality, and personal goals. 1. WHERE DOES THE SCOUT WANT TO GO? Wh

For your specific issue, our committee gives the SM a yearly allocation for gear purchases. (Usually this is an estimate based on the SM and QM trying figure out what the troop needs will be. If the PLC is running smoothly, the SPL would be the one submitting the estimate.) The committee does not get into the weeds of what gear is purchased. That way, if the SM and scouts are buying a new stove, and see a couple of tents competitively priced, they may buy them. Receipts are turned into the treasure, and the committee sees the total dollar amount of gear purchased in the treasurers report, and

As recent events have shown, banning knives will only result in people packing narwhal tusks.

FYI, I saw they updated the med forms today. From what I see they look cleaner and highlight epi-pens and rescue inhailers. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/680-001_ABC.pdf https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/680-001_AB.pdf

I just wanted to be clear so that DuctTape wouldn't think I was offering to work towards the goal of "scouts doing it themselves" with his QM. I have enough on my plate, I don't want any more commitments.

Yes, I agree. I'm hoping that with my newest group of QMs, I can start working towards that process.

"It's the UK folks" - what's that shorthand for? Genuinely interested, not getting snarky. I mean, I'm assuming you mean "It's the UK folks, where all the civilised people stayed" but... A quick google suggests lots of people have suggested to the government that they discuss it, but I can't find anywhere where it's actually been discussed in parliament. I mean, as far as I can work out, not much useful has been discussed in parliament since the 2016 moment of madness (Br***t). Anyhoo, there's a government petition site and more or less anything that gets more than 100,000 votes will be d

That's quite an assumption there. I'm going to assume that you haven't camped much in Oklahoma. Barry

Well, outlaws and narwhals.....

If it were my troop .... I'd want the scoutmaster to let the treasurer and committee chair know before major purchases. Not for approval. More to be polite and considerate. Annual planning should setup the budget and expectations. From there, don't nit-pick the SM. He's a volunteer. Tents will last longer than the scouts. As such, I would "guide" the scouts as it will be a long-standing decision ... mainly because you want all the tents to match and have interchangeable parts. We used to use the base Eureka Timberline 4 tent (with vestibule). Never had trouble wit

Ultimately it the SM, who would have already had consult with the PLC (and ASMs if needed) that would present a request to our committee for X $s to purchase tents. I wouldn't at all have debate in my meetings on the type of tent, just whether we had majority to allocate the funds. The SM might come to me as CC, or I may go to him, to discuss the item(s) if we each felt it necessary. Being a first year group, your committee seems to still be "norming". A private aside with the CC to encourage that they try to keep these discussions on point and concise might be a good idea.

or it could be done in reverse order. The QM in consult with the PLC determines what gear is needed, puts together a proposal to the SM who brings it to the Committee to approve the funds.

I'll resist any ban of my semiautomatic butter knives. You'll have to pry them from my cold slippery fingers!

Surprised nobody has posted this yet - from the meritbadge.info facebook page: