funscout

Beavah, I understand your point about everyday people who are pro-choice. I would never condemn someone for their beliefs. If I feel they are going against God, then I pray for those people, I don't condemn them. Also, barbers and secretaries don't have the power to change the laws, only elected officials do. That's why I don't vote for people who condone abortion. That doesn't mean I can't be their friend. I do have friends who are pro-choice, and I pray for them. By the way, I actually considered myself pro-choice back when I was in my twenties. Although I was personally against

I know that my antiabortion views are repulsive to some of you, but I feel called by God to share this story: Many years ago, I almost disobeyed God's call to me when I wanted to keep quiet as fellow teachers discussed the upcoming election. I was one of only a few Republicans in the whole school, so I usually kept my opinions to myself. After all, why would I want to rock the boat when I had to work with these people every day? That day I could barely eat my lunch as I wrestled with God's urging, and my own desire to avoid conflict. Finally, God gave me the courage to do as He w

I didn't require my boys to be in scouts, but I did make it clear that since I had made the commitment to be a leader, that I would finish out the year whether they stayed in or not. When my younger son was a Bear scout, he often told me he wanted to quit because he got in trouble at most every meeting. (He has ADHD, and I was his mean Den leader.) I wasn't about to let him stay home alone, so I told him he could quit, but he still had to come to the meetings with me and he could do his homework while we had our den meeting. His older brother was one of my Den Chiefs, and I'll never

On my Mom's side, I share common ancestors with Bill Clinton. On my Dad's side, I share common ancestors with President George W. Bush, through his mom, Barbara's family. I should have tried to go to my long lost cousin Jenna's wedding! I'm related to a few other former presidents and also to Lucille Ball AND her husband, Desi Arnaz. GernBlasten, we are probably long lost cousins, too, as I am also related to a bunch of boring Norwegian farmers!

Most kids think sports uniforms are "cool" and that being in a sport makes them appear "popular," so of course the kids are willing to wear those uniforms. Unfortunately, today's kids do not see scouting as "cool" so lots of the older boys are embarrassed to be seen in public with the uniform on. Personally, I wouldn't force kids to wear the uniform, or you'll lose boys. Instead, have positive incentives for wearing the uniform.

Just to clear things up, this is not a religious issue. I think Brian is just using Protestant vs. Catholic as a way to identify which troop or pack he is referring to. I'm a leader in the "rival" (so-called Protestant) troop, but I have not seen a rivalry from my end. I think it all boils down to failure to communicate between unit leaders. Brian, you know I would be happy to talk with you about any of these issues. My troop, which is not actually Protestant, but a mix of religions, (our CO is NOT a church) started helping out with our charter organization's pancake breakfast

Hi Brian, I agree with you that the "Protestant" Pack should not host the round-up at their church. This is unfair to your Pack, as well as the 3rd Pack (my former Pack). I know people at both of the non-Catholic Packs and they are nice people. Have you talked to the Cubmaster about why the round-up got moved to their church? Was the other site not available, or did the CM just not realize that hosting the round-up at his church (which happens to be my church, even though my kids did not attend that Pack) was not fair to the other 2 Packs? When my boys were in Cubs, some

At the cub level, we also found it helpful to have a real live cub scout, in uniform at our table. Of course, be sure to choose a boy who will be a good representative. The youngest boys were usually in awe of the uniform with cool patches on it being worn by someone that they either knew, or at the very least could relate to.

As others have pointed out, there are a lot more organizations besides scouting that are competing for our children's time. We lose many boys from scouting due to parents forcing their kids to choose between sports and scouts. If we can help the parents out, attendance-wise, then we stand a better chance keeping those boys in the program. When I was a DL I was very flexible about attendance, so I ended up with 11 boys still in my den by the time they finished Webelos 2. Some of my boys missed every Den meeting during a specific sports season, but then were back at scout meetings as

As a female, I would not feel the urge to spit, but I did accidentally do something just as bad when I was a teen at an amusement park. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go on the "Silly Silo," so I walked up to the viewing area to watch. (You stood against the round inside walls of a "silo" and when it got going fast enough for you to be "plastered against the wall" due to g-force, then the floor dropped out.) It looked so funny that I cracked up laughing, and my gum fell out of my mouth down into the spinning silo! Needless to say that decided me right there that I was not going on that ride.

Some of our troop's leaders are too hung up on advancement at camp. Several times, I reminded these leaders that as long as the boys were safe and having fun, then their summer camp experience was a success. Of course, there is nothing wrong with giving gentle reminders to the boys that skipping "classes" or not doing "homework" will result in not earning the merit badge, but ultimately that is the choice for the boy to make. As previously mentioned, this is a great learning experience for the boys. LisaBob, I loved your son's camp stories! My 12 year old signed up for 4 merit

Make sure ALL the leaders understand the precautions that need to be taken. I remember one Day Camp leader who felt the boys should "tough it out" and refused to allow them to do their fitness activities in the shade even though the temperatures were in the high 90's with high humidity. A couple parents had already begged him to move the little guys to the shade (and we had plenty of room in the shade), but he refused. It wasn't until I casually mentioned that my son often threw up when he got overheated, that he decided it would be wiser to move to the shade. I guess the leader wasn't as

Instead of saving the games for just one day, include them during the lessons: For nonswimmers who are afraid to put their faces in the water, you could start with ping-pong ball blowing contests. In order to move the ping pong ball forward, the child's mouth must be close to the surface of the water. This helps them get used to the water before they finally attempt going under water. For beginners, I've used hula hoops on top of the water to encourage kids to duck under water, and come up inside the hula hoop. You could play tag in the shallow end, where a child is "safe" while

I bought my son a pair of switchbacks, and when he tried them on, we thought they fit. Then he wore them on his first camp-out, and discovered that when he sat down, they were too tight and he couldn't wear them as shorts, because the hem of the shorts rode up way too high when he sat down. That was the first and last time he ever wore them!

It's good that there are different styles of troops available. For those who are dedicated to scouting above all other organizations, BrentAllen's troop would be a perfect fit. For others, like my boys, a troop that tolerates absences is the only kind that would work. In my school district band and choir are considered academic classes which have some required weekend events. Even my 6th grader had a couple weekend band concerts and competitions that he was required to attend. About the only acceptable excuse for missing one of these events is illness, so both my boys have missed so

Wow, I can't imagine letting my son go on an outing without adult supervision, and he's a good kid who always tries to do the "right" thing. He'll be 15 this summer, but there is no way I would let him stay overnight alone, even at our house. Add other kids in to the mix, and I definitely wouldn't let them have an overnighter without adults. I'm surprised the BSA lawyers would allow children to camp with no adults present. I can just imagine the lawsuits if one of the kiddos got hurt or lost. I'm just curious, would any of you who are willing to let your son camp alone (with o

CalicoPenn, That is horrible what happened to the young man you are counseling! Those scout leaders who perpetrated AND condoned what was done, should be removed from scouting. They are the ones who should be stripped of their patches! I don't see any relationship to this topic, however. I agree with the fact that if Muslim women are following their faith by exercising away from the eyes of men, then why are the Muslim men not following their faith by making sure they don't put themselves in the presence of women in skimpy outfits? Personally, I would prefer to have ALL men a

Last year was my first year at summer camp and I kept my sons' medicines with me, rather than turning them in to the nurse. After hearing about previous years when my older son couldn't take his nightly asthma pills because the Health Lodge closed before the scoutmaster could get there, I decided I would keep it all with me. I kept the pill bottles with me at all times, which was easy to do, since I carried a backpack. I didn't want to leave them in my tent, even locked up, so I just carried them with me. I do understand that why the boys shouldn't keep prescription medicines on thei

As a parent, I approve of the graduated driver's license programs. my older son will be driving in a couple of years, and I want to be sure he has minimal distractions while he is still an inexperienced driver. Although the Safe Rides program did help keep drunken teens (and innocent people who could have been hit by these drunk drivers) safe, I agree with LisaBob that I would not want my boys driving a drunken teenager home. As I said, distractions must be kept to a minimum for new drivers, and a drunken teen in the back seat would be a huge distraction!

Thanks for the article, hops, that was quite an eye opener! To think that so many military people died during peace time is astounding! Calico, you forgot to list the sources for your statistics.

Instead of spreading out the caucuses and primaries, I wish all 50 states held theirs on the same day. That would give every person a chance to have their say, rather than the later states only getting to vote for whoever was still left in the running. Maybe after that BIG day, another one-day (every-state) caucus/primary could take place, with the top 3 candidates. My son's 6th grade class did a mock caucus yesterday. It was funny to hear how some of the kids made their choices. The kids were told where to stand, in the room, in order to show support for each candidate (both partie

LisaBob, Is your scout Catholic? If so, then a Sunday service led by scouts and scouters would not "count" as mass for him. If the mother is unwilling to pick her son up herself, either early Sunday morning, or even Saturday evening, then that is her problem. I hate it when my fellow Christians act so un-Christian like! If the mom pulls her son out of your troop then it will be his loss, but probably a relief to your troop! I don't know where people get the idea that Scouting is a Christian organization. Even though my brother was a boy scout, I didn't know about the religious a

I agree with Beavah that a religious symbol, by itself shouldn't be offensive to anyone. However, when someone takes a religious symbol and uses it in a mean spirited, disrespectful, or disgusting way, then that is offensive. It doesn't matter if the artist was Christian or not, it still offends me that the cross was used in a disgusting manner. I would be disgusted if a symbol from ANY religion had been used in this way. I would also be offended if the USA flag had been treated in a disrespectful manner. I am not against promoting art, but I think that government funding of artists i

Bevah, I didn't mean Clinton was responsible for 911. Only Bin Laden and his gang were. I simply pointed out that Clinton was offered Bin Laden, but didn't take him. 911 wouldn't have happened if he had taken Bin Laden, but that doesn't make Clinton responsible for it. Saying someone could have prevented something doesn't mean that he/she caused it to happen. Yes, they would feel guilt over not preventing it, but they didn't cause it. Does that make sense? Now, what do you think the outcry would have been if Bush had been president when Bin Laden was offered, and turned down?

local1400, I think the guy/gal you're thinking of is Rue Paul.