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I am aware of two scouts in the past in the troops with which I have been affiliated who were home schooled. Why do you ask?

The most recent version of this amendment was SA574, short title "The Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act." Apparently this was killed by tabling on May 17. I don't know if Helms or anybody else plans to resurrect this.

The most recent post by yarrow seems to reconfirm concerns expressed by some, self included, about extremely young eagles. It is certainly true that behind every eagle stands a supportive family. Eagle is not intended to be easy. That was true of my middle son who pushed the envelope at the other end of the age spectrum. In another thread I expressed concern about scouts pushing membership age ever younger. I still have that concern, and would go so far as to suggest a minimum age for eagle. Age cutoffs are inherently arbitrary. Scouting is no different than society at large in this

This is one about which I have mixed feelings. I am a poltical conservative, but Jesse is not my favorite Senator. Nevertheless he has put forth an amendment to the current education bill working its way through congress that you may wish to contact your senator and representive about. I also am not a fan of the feds using funding to bludgeon local governments, but this time I will make an exception. Helms Steps Squarely into Gays vs. Boy Scout Debate Wednesday, May 16, 2001 By Steve Centanni Email this Article Stepping squarely between two of the moment's m

Did she also tell you that neither you nor I know how to spell sulfur correctly?

I hate to come across as negative, and I am not there to judge first hand, but I am very skeptical of thirteen year old eagle scouts. Certainly the young man's ambition and drive are to be applauded, but I doubt that he has gotten the maximum benefit out of his experience to date. What will he do next? I am reminded of the attitude exhibited by some scouters and scouts on the trail who treat each leg of a trek as a race to the next camp site. They miss a great deal along the way. Ask them what they have observed or passed through and they give you a blank look. Hopefully your thirteen ye

Mike, The fact that you have used sulpher in back country inhabited by bears and have lived to tell about it suggests that maybe it makes no difference. A sample of one is better than no sample at all.

Hmmm. Dealing with bugs and dealing with bears can create conflicts. We always place all "smellables" in bear bags, canisters, or lockers. At Philmont they advise using no sun screen or bug repellant on one's body after about 3:00 PM. I wonder if sulpher attracts or repels bears?

OGE, I never doubted that you had a sense of humor. The answer to your last two questions is yes and yes. I probably need to amend my original post to comment that some MALE scouters I know would probably be in favor of abolishing Mother's Day.

The following piece was lifted from National Review Online. Political Correctness has been raised to new levels! Or is that lowered? Actually a few scouters I know would probably favor abolishing Mother's Day because then we could cram another outing into May without taking any special grief from our wives. Trick Question: Without peeking, what does the fourth commandment command us to do? Apparently Mother Goldberg referred to in this piece is the same Lucianne Goldberg who advised Linda Tripp to tape Monica. My School Bans Mothers Day The self-esteem brigade marches on

I recall using sulphur powder as a kid as a chigger repellant. I also recall that it worked. When I put up the original post I was wondering if anyone had experience with sulphur as a tick repellant. Concerning DEET, I also understand that it attacks many synthetic fabrics. Anybody have any experience with that?

Re: Mt Hood I have never gone up Mt. Hood, but it strikes me as an outing that would require a lot of preparation. Mr. Hood is one of several major volcanic peaks throughout the Cascades. It lies East of Portland. Visit the Mt. Hood National Forest website for more information. A lot of these peaks are not "technical" climbs, but they can be quite challenging with a lot of elevation gain in short distances. These peaks stand out very dramatically from the surrounding countryside because, unlike the Rockies, Sierras, or most major mountain chains in the lower 48, there is no grad

We in California are amply blesseed with backpacking opportunities. There are also good opportunities for extended Whitewater Rafting trips through commercial operators. The lower Klamath River in Northern California seems to offer more opporutnities for longer trips. We are less blessed with canoeing opportunities. One can also put together extended treks in the mountains of Southern California earlier in the spring before the Sierras become accessible. Probably the best outing within a short drive of the San Francisco Bay Area is at Pt. Reyes National Seashore. We took advantage of a t

Very impressive site. I would suggest using somewhat larger fonts for the benefit of your older visitors (people like me), who tire easily from too much squinting.

Opportunities for patrol meetings can be created by setting aside one of your regular troop meeting nights just for patrol meetings at separate locations. A lot of troops try to have weekly meetings. It has been my observation and experience that it is often difficult to have really effective troop meetings every single week. In our troop we are now setting aside one of those meeting dates for patrols to meet. This does two things. It reduces the burden of putting together good programs for troop meetings, and it forces the patrols to try to get together and do what they do. This is not

Now that hiking and backpacking season are upon us, I am interested in people's views as to the most effective, least dangerous, and least damaging ways of keeping ticks off one's body. Open to suggestions.

A further word about the role of the committee chair, and the committee in general. I agree that the general role of the committee is to oversee and support the troop's program. Hopefully that is more than just rubber stamping everything that comes before it. I don't see the committee chair as having any special powers except in three areas. First, as presiding officer at committee meetings the chair is a first among equals. The other two items are where committee chair signatures are required. I believe that is on the troop chartering document (it has been a few years since I signed one

I believe that inspection forms are on the back of the one page flier that shows the positioning of insignia. These are usually freebies at your local scout service center. A complete uniform includes hats by definition. Personally I have never cared for the baseball style hats. They are useless for outings at the scout level. They are more important for Webelos since it is common to pin the activity badges onto the front of the hat. If you are attending a competitive event where uniforms are judged, I would expect to get dinged if hats are not worn.

I think it is a mistake to tie BSA policy to the teachings of any major religious grouping such as Christianity, or the beliefs and biblical interpretation of any particular subset within that grouping. BSA national seems to look at the issue this way as well, although that makes it harder to articulate a viewpoint. Not that I disagree with the Christian scriptural views on homosexuality as I understand them. These are important ideas that are taken very seriously by a lot of people. It is worth noting however that there are some branches of Christianity, and now reform Judaism, that think

Jmcquillan makes a very good point about focusing on the parents when a boy is considering joining scouting. Expectations need to be set across the board. Youth today are extremely fortunate in having so many worthwhile things to choose from. Thus Scouts has to compete for the time and attention of youth members and for volunteer time, since all these other activities also properly insist on parental support. If a troop forces boys to choose between sports in particular and scouting, it will lose a lot membership. A troop cannot accept low commitments from its senior youth leaders and

Uncle Bob, So glad to see you remembered to say "please." We may be mass murderers, but scouts are courteous.

Hey OGE, As always, your comments are welcome. A difference I see is that the Jimmy Swaggerts of the world are renounced and fall from grace very swiftly once their antics become known. The only clergyman who has gotten embroiled in scandal recently to rise again swiftly with no obvious reform is Jesse Jackson, but then he is a somewhat special case. When religious leaders engage in bizarre behavior they are not applauded. I don't see that happening in the gay community. By your reasoning, where is the lunatic fringe in the scouting movement?

Bob Russell makes two very good points. First, the straight community has its displays too, although probably nothing quite as outrageous. One need think only of the way sex is used advertising, the showgirls of Las Vegas, and Madonna masturbating on screen. (Remember when Madonna used to refer to the mother of Christ?) Second is the question of judging a group by the actions of its fringe elements. I guess the unanswerable question for straights is the extent to which gay pride events represent just a fringe, or represent the attitudes of the larger gay community. But we lose th

At the risk of inflaming opinion, I felt it was worth posting this article from an online source called The Onion. This is the first time that I have ever heard or read actual quotes of negative reactions to Gay Pride parades. Also note the use by one of the parade organizers of the pejorative term "breeders." In case you didn't know it, that is the term used in some homosexual communities to refer to heterosexual couples who conceive and raise children. Apparently this particular gay pride parade was just this last Saturday, April 21. Granted that all homosexuals are not like this, but a

I couldn't sleep a wink last night, tossing and turning, and envisioning the next headline... SCOUTING TRAINS AMERICA'S YOUTH TO BECOME HOMOPHOBIC MASS MURDERERS Perhaps, with a bow to the ACLU.... SCOUTING TRAINS AMERICA'S YOUTH TO BECOME RELIGIOUS FANATIC HOMOPHOBIC MASS MURDERERS