Fat Old Guy

"Another reply could have easily have been our pack can do a skit." That doesn't work too well. You are sitting there in a group of 40 Cub Scouters and you say, "our." Who is included in "our"? If your assistant Cubmaster is sitting next to you, that might work but otherwise . . . Do you mean "our" as in all of the guys in the room? Who's included in the "us" that follows from the "our"?

"I think we all know that alchohol is not permitted." Actually, the G2SS doesn't say that. It says that the use of alcholic beverages is prohibited. A beverage is something that is intended to be drunk, very few intend to drink cooking sherry hence it is not a beverage.

Are there any guidelines for how active a Scout needs to be in a position of responsibility for it to count for advancement? We have a Scout coming up for Star and his POR was Patrol Leader. The problem that I see is that he became PL in the Spring, served as PL for one campout and then Summer came and no one did anything other than Summer camp. I don't see much leading here.

It is neither support nor mockery, it is mimicry. Some wasted person on stage wore one, so young people follow suit. Just like kids wear camoflauge even though they aren't military junkies, it's just "cool" to do so.

Since I had my scanner and OCR software fired up, I dug out another of my eeeeevil old handbooks and scanned the requirements from 1948. SECOND CLASS REOUIREMENTS To become a SECOND CLASS SCOUT, you do the following: I. Scout Spirit --While a Tenderfoot Scout, satisfy your Scout Leaders that you do your best in your everyday life, to live up to: 1. The Scout Oath or Promise. 2. The Scout Law. 3. The Scout Motto. 4. The Scout Slogan. (Your Troop leaders, both the boy and man leaders, will decide whether you have done your best to live up to the Spirit of Scouting. They will know after waicting your actions and your behavior. Your Scoutynaster inay want to talk with your parents, teachers religious leader, and others: Workon vour own Church or Synagogue' religious award will demonstrate your Scout Spirit.) II. SCOUT participation While a Tenderfoot Scout, NhOW to the satisfaction of your Scout Leaders that you: 1. Work actively in Patrol and Troop meetings. outdoor activities and service projects. (Your actions and behavior while a Tenderfoot Scout are important. Troop and Patrol records will show your attendance. Statements of your Troop Leaders Will show how actively you have taken part.) 2. Do your share in helping in your home, your school your church and your community. (Your Scoutmaster may check with your parents, your teachera and yous religious leaders to see if you have been helpful, in the spirit of the Daily Good Turn.) 3. Take care of things that belong to you, the property of others, and your country's natural resources. (A check with your leaders and your parents will show whether you have met this requirement. taking ptoper care of your personal belongings, prctecting other people's property, and helping protect wildlife and forests.) 4. Maintain a personal savings plan (such as reqular payments into a savings account or into a savings project sponsored by your family or Troop). (The regular practice of thrift counts more than the amount The amount may be in the fosm of a savinsls bank account. savings stamps or bonds, or insurance. Regular pisyments into a family savings project or a Troop project such as for cemp uniform. equipment. will be accepted.) III. SCOUTCRAFT 1. PREPARE FOR SCOUT HIKING a. Clothing and Equipment-present your-self for inspection suitably clothed for the locality, season and the weather, and equipped for a five mile hike. (Clothing will depend upon the time of year; equipment upon the type of hike and the place. Your Troop Leaders will give you that information.) b. Hiking Methods-telll the safety precautions to take on the highway and crosscountry for day and night hiking. Show correct way of walking and proper care of feet. Demonstrate at least six Silent Scout Signals for formations and field work. Demonstrate how to purify water for drinking, Explain how to make a one-man latrine. Identify local plants that may cause skin poisoning. Tell what to do if lost. ("Tell" and "explain" mean just that. Using your own words, explain how to do these things. "Show" and "demonstrate" mean to do those things. "Identify' means to recognize from pictures or in nature.) c. First Aid-Demonstrate artificial respiration. Demonstrate first aid for shock and fainting and, on yourself, for the following: arterial bleeding of arm and leg, common cuts and scratches, bites of insects and chiggers and ticks, burns and scalds, sunburn, blister on heel, skin poisoning from poison plants, objects in eye, sprained ankle. (You must actually demonstrate first aid for each item. Use proper first aid materials where necessary. and practice on yourself.) 2. FIND YOUR WAY a. Compass -- Explain how a compass works and give its eight principal points. Set a compass and take a degree reading with it. (Tell in your own words. how earth's magnetism attracts the compass. Recite the principal points. Using a compass. actually take a degree reading.) b. Measuring-Determine the length of your step. Walk a course for which you must take three compass degree readings and measure three distances with your step. OR Lay out in this manner, and stake a four-acre tract of land. (These are all things that you must actually do.) C. Map Reading-In the field, orient a map (preferably a topographic map) and follow a route far enough to prove that you know how to use the map. Read at least ten different conventional signs on a map, including contour lines. (This is a project that you must complete to show that you can use a map.) 3. COOK A MEAL IN THE OPEN (The four parts of this requirement should be met in the order given. You may sharpen your knife and axe ahead of time. but you should do the rest of the requirements at one time. in camp or on a hike.) a. Preparing Fire Wood-Sharpen a knife and an axe and use these sharpened tools to prepare kindling and fuel. (prepare enough wood to cook your meal.) b. Fire Building -Locate and prepare a suit-able fire site. Lay and light a fire (this should normally take not more than two matches). Keep the fire going for cooking a meal (Clear fire site. When dry wood is used, two matches should be sufficient.) c. Hike Cooking-Cook a meal from raw meat (or fish or poultry) and at least one raw vegetable. (You have your choice of cooking your meal without utensil. as kabob. on broiler or In the ground, or using utensils stewing. frying, baking.) d. Clean-up-Dispose of garbage in proper manner. Clean utensils, Put out fire. Clean up the site thoroughly. (Garbage should be burned: utensils cleaned in hot water. Put out fire by sprinkling water on it. Clean site so that it is almost impossible to find signs of the fire and camp.) 4. BE OBSERVANT 1. Observatio n-Do ONE of the following: TRACKING. Follow the track of a person or an animal in soft ground or snow for mile, reading the main meaning of the track. OR TRAILING. Follow a track made with trail signs for mile. OR STALKING Follow another Scout, who knows you are stalking him, for a distance of mile, without being seen by him. b. Wild Life - Find evidence, in natural surroundings, of at least six different kinds of wild mammals, birds, reptiles or fish. Identify them. (The simplest "evidence" is the discovery of the animal Itself. Other evidence: tracks, burrows, nests, feathers. skulls. and "pellets", snake skins, turtle eggs, etc. Name the animal from the evidence discovered.) 5. TAKE A HIKE Second Class Hike*-After you have done the above, prove yourself a SCOUT HIKER by taking a hike, properly clothed and equipped, with your Patrol (or, if this is impossible, with at least one companion approved by your Scoutmaster). On the hike, cover a route of a total distance of not less than five miles, indicated on a map or a map sketch, show correct hike style and highway safety, cook a meal, clean up, and return in good condition. (This is the lest requirement to meet in working for Second Class. It is a separate hike, taken after you have proved your Scoutcraft ability on previous hikes. The "one companion" may be a junior leader, a fellow who has already become Second Class. or your own father. The hike should cover all the -activities of a real hike as listed.) *NOTE on the SECOND CLASS HIKE If a physician certifies that the Scout's physical condition for an indeterminable time does not permit the Second Class Hike, the Advancement Committee of the Local Council may authorize the followinq substitution for the hike: The requirements for any one "outdoor' Merit B-.edge (such as cam mg, pioneering, nature subjects, etc.) which the Scout is capable of meeting. In EACH individual case, application for a substitution must be made in advance by the Scoutmaster to the Advancement Committee and the specific substitution must be approved in writing by the Committee, after thorough review. FIRST CLASS REQIREMENTS To become a FIRST CLASS SCOUT, you do the following: I.SCOUT SPIRIT-While a Second Class Scout satisfy your Scout leaders that you do your best in your everyday life, to live up to: 1. The Scout Oath or Promise. 2. The Scout Law. 3. The Scout Mono. 4. The Scout Slogan II. SCOUT PARTICIPATION -While a Second Class Scout show to the satisfaction of your Scout leaders that you: 1. Work actively in Patrol and Troop rneetings, outdoor activities and service projects. 2. Do your share in helping in your home, your school your church and your community. 3. Take care of- things that belong to you, the property of other's and your country's natural resources. 4. Maintain a personal savings plan (such as regular payments into a savings account or into a savmgs project sponsored by your family or Troop. (As for Second Class, your Troop Leaders will decide whether you are trying to live up to the rules of the game of Scouting in your everyday life. Having watched your actions and behavior while you were a Second class Scout, they can tell If you are doing your best. A check with your parents, teachers and church leaders will show to what extent you share in home, school and church duties,' whether you take care of the things that belong to you and others, and whether you make a regular practice of thrift.) III. SCOUTCRAFT 1. PREPARE FOR SCOUT CAMPING a. Clothing and Equipment-Present your-self for inspection suitably clothed for the locality, season and the weather, and equipped and packed for an overnight camp. (Equipment may be packed In a knapsack, pack basket or pack frame, or in an improvised pack to carry on the back. Your equipment and clothing should include all thing you will need In camp, for the time of year In which you are camping.) b. Health Protection-Explain methods used in camp for care of food and drinking water, fire protection and waste disposal, (You must show that you know how to do these things, so you will be able to do them In camp.) c. First Aid - Give artificial respiration for three minutes. Explain danger of taking laxative for pain in stomach. Improvise a sterile dressing. Use triangular bandage for arm sling and as binder for wounds on head, hand, knee and foot. Demonstrate first aid for one problem from each of the following groups (problems to be chosen by your leader after you have trained for all of them): Arterial Bleeding from face, throat arm, leg. Shoek, Heat Exhaustion, Sunstroke, Frostbite, Internal Poisoning. Puncture Wounds from splinter, nail, fish hook, dog bite, poisonous snake bite, Fracture of collarbone, upper arm, forearm, lower leg. Explain under what circumstances a person should or should not be moved. Improvise a stretcher and, with helpers under your direction, transport a presumably unconscious person. (Read Chapter 20 before taking part in Patrol or Troop first aid problems. Practice all these problems so that you can do them on yourself, if possible, and on someone else. After you have trained in all problems, your leader will ask you to demonstrate first aid on a few problems from the groups described in the requirement. You will not know what these problems are ahead of time.) 2. GET THE LAY OF THE LAND a. Directions-Lay out on the ground a true north-south line with the help of the sun by day and the North Star by night, and a magnetic north-south line, using a compass. (The line may be scratched on the ground, or may be a pole laid in the proper direction. You sh6uld have a general idea of the difference between true North and Magnetic North.) b. Measuring-With simple means and using your own personal measurements, determine a height you cannot reach (such as a tree) and a width you cannot walk (such as a river or a canyon). ("Simple means" may involve such things as small sticks, rustic poles or stakes driven in the ground, "Personal measurements" may be the length of your step, span of your hand, width of your thumb. or length of your reach,) c. Map Sketching-Select a site suitable for a Patrol camp and make a map sketch for laying it out. Make a map sketch by which someone unfamiliar with your' camp location can find his way to it over a distance of at least two miles. (map sketch of camp should use proper conventional signs for natural features with tents, firelaces and other camp features, indicated by simple signs. The map need not be drawn to exact scale. The two mile map sketch may be made from memory, after you have been over the route. It is not a map, but a sketch, and specific distances and compass degrees are not necessary. The main features will be landmarks that show where turns are made. types of roads or trails and other marks to show how to reach the campsite. Draw a North arrow to show the general lay of the land.) 3. LIVE IN CAMP a. Camp Making-Sharpen an axe and use it for cutting light wood into tent pegs. Locate a tent site and pitch a tent, fastening the guy line with a taut-line hitch. Prepare a comfortable ground bed. Improvise a piece of camp equipment rquiring lashings. (A ground bed may be made of grass, leaves or boughs: or may be a piece of ground cleared and smoothed, with hip and shoulder holes scooped out, and covered with a waterproof ground cloth. Improvised camp equipment. using lashings. may be such things as camp broom or rake, fire crane. table, kitchen rack, or Wash stand.) b. Wood Lore-Find and identify ten different frees or' shrubs. Tell their uses. ("Uses" may be suitability for fuel, poles for engineering wood for tool handles. edible parts. food for animals. shelter for animals. or use in soil control. You may identify ten trees only. or ten shrubs only, or a combination of trees and shrubs totaling ten in all.) 4. COOK YOUR MEALS a. Camp Cookery-Prepare in the open, for yourself and a companion. from raw ingredients, a complete breakfast of fruit, hot cereal and bacon and eggs (or griddle cakes); and a complete dinner of meat (or fish or poultry), vegetable, dessert and bread (or biscuits, or twist baked on a stick). (Second class cooking provides for an individual meal and First Class asks you to cook for another fellow. Breakfast may be prepared on one trip, dinner on another. The dishes are to be served as a complete meal. in their proper order. Fruit may be served raw. Dessert for dinner must be a cooked dessert, such as stewed fruit or pudding. Bread may be cooked In a reflector oven, pan, Dutch oven, or on a thick stick.) b. Edible Wild Plants-Find and identify four different edible wild greens, roots or fruits. (Greens range from watercress to dandelion leaves; roots from cattail to Indian cucumber: fruits from wild grape and numerous berries to a great variety of nuts. Even in winter snow country, you should have little trouble finding edible plants. Certain lichens and tree bark, It is not necessary to collect and cook the plants, but you will probably want to try it.) 5. GO SWIMMING Swimming* -Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe swim. jump feet first into water over your' head in depth, Swim fifty yards. During the swim, stop, make a sharp turn, level off and resume swimming. (By precautions are meant: 1. Have medical examination and follow doctor's orders; 2. Know your swimming ability and stick to the swimming place that fits your skill; 3. Always swim with a buddy; 4. Wait two hours after a meal; 5. Follow all rules and orders given by waterfront directors; 6. Never dive into unknown water, never take a dare to show off in the water, and never swim long distances, unless someone goes along in a boat. 6. GET A MESSAGE THROUGH Morse Signaling-Know the International Morse Code, including necessary procedure signals. Using that code, send and receive, by any suitable means, a message of 20 words (100 letters), over a distance of at least 100 yards. Morse Signaling- Suitable means are flags, blinker or sound device. No speed is required. No more than 5 errors are permitted, and none that destroy the sense of the message. Procedure signals Include: For sending: Attention, Error, End of Word, End of Sentence, End of Message. For receiving: Go ahead, Repeat. Word received, Message received, 7. GO CAMPING The First Class Camp-After you have done the above, prove yourself a SCOUT CAMPER by camping, properly clothed and eauippedp on a suitable camp site for not less than twenty-four hours with your Patrol (or, if this is impossible, with at least one companion approved by your Scoutmaster). During this camp, cook at least one hot meal, sleep in a tent or improvised shelter or under the stars, keep camp clean and safe, and leave camp site in good condition. (This requirement must Come- last. It Is a separate Camp, taken after you have proved your Scoutcraft ability on previous hikes and camps. The companion may be a junior leader, a First Class Scout, or your father. The camp must include all the activities listed.) NOTE on the FIRST CLASS SWIMMING REQUIREMENTS Under certain very exceptional conditions, where the climate keeps the water cold the year round and/or where there are no suitable and accessible places within a reasonable traveling distance to swim at any time during the year, or in cases where a physician certifies that the Scout's physical condition for an indeterminable time does not permit swimming, the Advancement Committee of the Local Council may authorize a substitution for the First Class Swim (as indicated on the "Application For Substitution For Basic Scout Requirements," Cat, No. 4434). Ina EACH individual case, application for a substitution mast be made in advance by the Scout master to the Advancement Committee on the special standard form provided for this purpose, and the specific substitution must be approved to writing by the Committee, after thorough review.

It is odd that in a time when many Boy Scouts are embarassed to wear their uniforms that they have become stylish among a section of society. While cruising ebay, I noticed than many shirts have the notations "emo" or "punk". I asked one of the sellers about that and was informed that punks (amazing that punk is still around after 20 years) and those that listen to "emo" music like Scout shirt. Evidently they are also popular among the skateboard crowd as well. Also, not long ago, my daughter showed me a spred in Seventeen magazine in which a male model was wearing a Scout uniform. I would have told BSA but after searching their web site, I couldn't find any contact information.

You were asking about old advancement requirements. These are from the '67 Handbook. No, I didn't type them. I scanned and ran them through OCR. Second Class To become a Second Class Scout, you must show by your attendance record that you have been active in troop and patrol meetings and activities for at least 1 month since becoming a Tenderfoot Scout. While a Tenderfoot Scout, do the following: 1. Tell what precautions must be taken for safe hiking. 2. (a) Take three hikes, each on a different day, of not less than 5 miles each with your troop, your patrol, an adult, or another Scout who is at least Second Class. (b) Before each hike, submit a hike plan for approval (unless this is a troop hike) to your Scoutmaster or an adult assigned by him. © Before leaving on each of these hikes, present yourself (to your hike leader or companion) for inspection suitably clothed for the locality, season, and weather and equipped for the occasion. (d) On each of these hikes, observe proper hike precautions. (It is suggested that Tests 5, 7, and 10 be completed on these hikes.) If a physician certifies that the Scout's physical condition for an indeterminable time does not permit the Second Class test hike, the advancement committee of the local council may authorize the following substitution for the hike: the requirements for any one outdoor merit badge of a comparable nature that the Scout is capable of meeting. In EACH case, application for a substitution must be made in advance by the Scoutmaster to the advancement committee on a special standard form provided for this purpose. Application for Substitution for Basic Scout Requirements, No.4434, and the specific substitution must be approved in writing by the committee, after thorough review. Other ranks for which an application for substitution may be made include First Class, Star, and Life Scout. A boy, to become an Eagle Scout, must meet all requirements or qualify using Application for Alternate Eagle Requirements, No.6101. 3. Identify on a topographic map at least 10 different map symbols including contour lines. 4. (a) Explain how a compass works. Give its eight principal points. (b) Set a compass and use it to read at least three bearings in degrees. 5. (a) Show how to orient a map. (b) Use a map (preferably a topographic map) and a compass to follow, far enough to prove your ability, a route indicated on the map. 6. (a) Explain how to keep from getting lost. (b) Explain what you would do if you did become lost. 7. (a) Identify local plants that may cause skin poisoning. (b) Find in the field 10 different kinds of wildlife (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects) or evidence of them. Tell what they are, describe the natural surroundings where each was found, and explain how this wildlife depends on plants. 8. Do two of the following: (a) Follow for a half mile a trail made with trail signs or by a person wearing tracking irons or dragging a whifflepoof. (b) Follow for a quarter mile the track of a person or animal in soft ground or snow, reading the main meaning of the track. © Follow another Scout who knows that you are stalking him for a distance of a half mile, without being seen by him. 9. Correctly sharpen a knife and ax and give rules for their safe use. 10. (a) Use an ax correctly to prepare kindling or fuel wood. (b) Build a fire on a safe spot using not more than two matches. On this fire, © cook~without utensils~a meal from raw meat (or fish or poultry) and at least one raw vegetable. (d) Properly dispose of garbage, put out your fire, and clean up the cooking area. The term "without utensils" means without such items as cook kits, foil, tin cans, and other items manufactured for cooking purposes. Native materials such as kabob sticks, greenstick broilers, etc., may be used where permissible. 11. (a) Tell how, in an emergency, you would reach a doctor or a hospital. (b) Explain what first aid is and tell how to act in case of an accident. © Show how to handle "hurry cases" of arterial bleeding and stopped breathing, and tell what to do for poisoning by mouth. (d) Demonstrate first aid for shock and fainting. (e) On yourself, show what to do for cuts and scratches, burns and scalds, blister on heel, bites or stings of insects and chiggers and ticks, skin poisoning from poison plants, sprained ankle, object in eye, nosebleed. (f) Show how to sterilize a dressing. 12. After completing the above tests, meet with your Scoutmaster (or an adult assigned by him) in a personal conference. At this meeting, complete to his satisfaction the following: (a) Discuss your ideas about the meaning of the Scout Oath (or Promise), the Law, motto, and slogan; and give examples to show that you do your best to live up to these ideals in your daily activities. (b) Describe several Good Turns you have done and explain how you think they helped others. © Look over the tests for First Class and discuss how you intend to progress toward that rank. First Class To become a First Class Scout, you must show by your attendance record that you have been active in patrol and troop meetings and activities for at least 2 months since becoming a Second Class Scout. While a Second Class Scout, do the following: 1. Tell what preparations to make, what equipment to take, and what kind of campsite to pick for a safe and successful camp. 2. (a) Take at least two camping trips of not less than 24 hours each with your troop, your patrol, an adult, or another Scout who is at least First Class. (b) Before each camp submit a camp plan for approval (unless this is a troop camp) to your Scoutmaster or an adult assigned by him. © Before leaving on each of these camping trips, present yourself for inspection suitably clothed for the locality, season, and weather and equipped for the occasion. (d) On at least one of these overnight camps, carry on your back, for a distance of not less than 1 1/2 miles, a pack containing your personal equipment and your share of common camping equipment and food. (e) Pitch a tent correctly and use it for shelter during your encampment. (f) Make a ground bed and sleep on it. After striking camp, repack your gear and carry it out at least 1 1/2 miles. (g) On each of these camping trips, follow proper sanitation practices and safety precautions and leave a clean camp. (h) On at least one of these overnight camps, prepare from raw, dried, or dehydrated ingredients and cook over a fire in the out-of-doors a complete breakfast of fruit, hot cooked cereal, hot beverage, and bacon and eggs (or pancakes); and a complete dinner or supper of meat (or fish or poultry), vegetable, dessert, and bread (or biscuits or twist). (i) Clean up afterward, properly dispose of garbage and trash, put out your fire, and leave a clean camp. 3. Lash poles together with shear, square, and diagonal lashings. 4. Using compass and your step measurements, make a sketch map of an area approved in advance by your leader. Include map symbols indicating location of at least 10 landmarks, a north arrow, and scale in feet. 5. Point out in the sky the North Star and at least five constellations. 6. Identify in the field 10 different kinds of trees or shrubs. Describe the area where each was found and the usefulness of each to its surroundings or to animals or to man. 7. Find at least four different edible wild greens, roots, buds, shoots, nuts, or fruits. Prepare and eat one of them selected by your leader. 8. (a) Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe swim. (b) Jump feetfirst into water over your head in depth. Swim 50 yards. During the swim, stop, make a sharp turn, and resume swimming. 9. Send and receive a message of at least 20 words, using either international Morse or semaphore codes and necessary procedure signals. 10. (a) Show that you have retained your Second Class first aid knowledge by being able to demonstrate any of it asked for by your examiner. (b) Show how to use a triangular bandage for arm sling and as a binder for wounds on head, hand, knee, and foot. © Explain first aid for puncture wounds from splinter, nail, fishhook, dogbite, poisonous snakebite. (d) Describe how to recognize and care for victims of heat exhaustion, sunstroke, frostbite. (e) Explain danger of taking laxative for a stomachache. (f) Demonstrate first aid for fracture of collarbone, upper arm, forearm, lower leg. (g) Tell under what circumstances an injured person should or should not be moved. (h) Demonstrate walking assist, one-man and two-man carries. (i) Improvise a stretcher and, with helpers under your direction, transport a presumably unconscious person. 11. After completing the above tests, meet with your Scout-master (or an adult assigned by him) in a personal conference. At this meeting, complete to his satisfaction the followmg: (a) Discuss your ideas about the meaning of the Scout Oath (or Promise), the Law, motto, and slogan and give examples to show that you do your best to live up to these ideals in your daily activities. (b) Describe at least one service project in which you have taken part since becoming a Scout and explain how you think it helped others. © Discuss the adventure and vocational exploration of the merit badge plan. Look over the requirements for Star rank. Plan the next steps in your progress toward becoming an Eagle Scout.

"There are many Boy Scout Troops out there who use the patrol method and still are not boy run." If they aren't boy run then the Patrol Method is not being properly implemented.

Another downside to the autonomous nature of the small Girl Scout troops is how some girls can miss out on Scouting because no troop in her area is willing to accept another girl.

I think that I've talked about this before but I'll repeat myself. My connection with the Girl Scouts is as an observer, my daughter is a Girl Scout but I have very little to do with the group. One thing that I've noticed is that the small, autonomous troops are self-defeating to some extent. The troops don't work together to schedule events so each troop is left to plan everything for itself. Rather than three troops each sending four girls on a campout, no one goes because no troop has enough interest in the event. One thing that I like about GSUSA is that the girls have to stay in almost through high school to earn the highest award instead of Eagle at 13 and out like so many Boy Scouts.

I see nothing in the insignia guide that prevents this.

"Snookums??? Sweetie??? " The fastest way to get women to stop using cute nicknames like that is to call them "toots" or "babe".

At Staples you can buy blank sheets of postcards that can be run through a laser printer. This way you can print anything that you want. I'd recommend using a laser printer because the ink won't run if the mailman gets it wet.

I think that the use of the term Nazi to refer to a dictatorial person started long before Seinfeld took to the stage. Nazi (nts, nt-) noun plural Nazis 1. A member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, founded in Germany in 1919 and brought to power in 1933 under Adolf Hitler. 2. Often nazi . An adherent or advocate of policies characteristic of Nazism; a fascist. fascist (fshst) noun 1. Often Fascist . An advocate or adherent of fascism. 2. A reactionary or dictatorial person.

Bob White, I'm sure that you thought that you were being very clever but it really looks like you need a second or possibly a third cup of coffee.

Dang! Forgot the closing HTML tag for BOLD. The only thing that was supposed to be bold was "THEIR."

We have a Pow Wow in the Fall which is just for Cub Scouting. If there is a Boy Scout Pow Wow, I'm upset that I've missed it for all these years. In the Winter there is the University of Scouting. UoS has courses for all levels of Scouting. Both Pow Wow and UoS can accomodate thousands of Scouters and are always full to the gills. I don't believe that either have courses for youth but that is a good idea.

Very eloquent Bob White and very compelling but flawed and very old-think. I just reached out and took down one of my evil old books, the 1962 printing of "The Scoutmaster's Handbook." Right there on page 35 it says, "A Scoutmaster's job is to train and guide boy leaders to run THEIR (emphasis theirs) troop. . . ." Curiously, elsewhere in the book, it says "your troop," obviously addressing this to the Scoutmaster. After read this, I reached out and took down my copy of the new and good book, the current edition of "The Scoutmaster's Handbook" (I'd be that you didn't think I even owned a copy) and perused it. I did find a reference to "their troop" meaning "the boy's troop" but there was no emphasis added. Elsewhere in the book, I find statements like " . . . the boys in your troop will be getting the full measure of the Scouting program" and on page 3 it says "the Scouts in your troop will look up to you . . ." Evidently BSA has long felt that the use of a possessive pronoun when describing the troop in conjunction with the Scoutmaster is acceptable. Furthermore, BSA also seems to have de-emphasized the idea of the troop belonging to the boys. As you have told so many others, put away the old books and the old ways and use the current literature.

"You never know with 100 percent certainty that anyone on a trip is heterosexual." Sure I do, I'm 100% certain about myself. " If you reverse it, it can make more sense -- let's say you're a 14 year old boy and step on something in the shower. You cry out in pain and a woman charges in to help your naked self. It would be mortifying." However, that rules permit two women to take a group of boys camping. A man and a woman are only required IF and ONLY IF the outing is co-ed. So you can easily be in a situation where the only adult to aid an injured boy is a woman. Role models? Why should we worry about providing positive female role models for girls when there is not a similar fuss about providing male role models for boys. True, it seems that the men are slackers. I've lost count of the number of women that I see wearing an SM or ASM patch. In my troop, In the troop with which I am affiliated and humbly serve as best as I can, most of the ASMs are women, their husbands are all "very important and very busy" so they have no time to spend with their families. Maybe the women are better role models.

"The only issue is, how would BSA verify a males, or females for that matter heterosexuality? " Good question.

NJDude, think what you want, I know what I know. If you think that BSA's every public statement is the entire truth, you are incredibly naive.

"Anyway, who should feel like they own the troop? The SPL? The PLC, Just whom/who? ( I never could sort that one out) " Everyone who is actively involved with the troop. It is like your home that you own in Tenants by the Entirety with your wife, you own all of it and she own all of it. Neither of you do anything to the property without approval from the other owner.

"FOG that's just a red herring. Why doesn't BSA have a rule now prohibiting two female Scouters from taking boys on a trip? Same principle would apply." Not a herring of any color. GSUSA requires that a woman be on all excursions. BSA requires that a woman be present if female youth are present, this rule pretty much applies only to Venturing (section of G2SS on adult Leadership, page 5). Why are these rules in place? Because heterosexual men are seen as predators when it comes to young women. Oddly, no one finds the rule that requires a woman be present with girls to be unreasonable. I would argue that homosexual men should be considered as predatory toward young men as heterosexual men are toward young women. It then follows that a heterosexual male must be present on all excursions.

Cincinatti Chilli! Finestkind! I miss going to Skyline Chilli for four-way. Yum! Time for a Road Trip!

I no longer have my Cub Scout books available but as I recall, to earn the Summertime Award, a Cub Scout need to attend one pack activity EACH month. So two in June and none in July would not qualify. The idea is to get the Cub Scouts to do something every month.