JoeBob

Progressives know that the key to controlling the future is to own the minds of the nation's youth. They took over education through the teachers' unions. The feminists usurped Girl Scouts. Boy Scouts of America was the last most prominent bastion for learning how to live a moral life. So that made BSA a very important target for progressives to eliminate. There once was a principle that one should adhere to their principles, even in the face of adversity. Compromise was the splinter that became a wedge that split the traditionalists from the program. Sadly for the youth, the knowledge and love of the outdoors was more heavily vested in the old traditionalist farts, who were reluctant to compromise their principles. I feel just fine on the road less traveled. Too bad BSA won't join me.

The kid is playing his parents against you? Play the parents against the kid. "Do you really want your parents here the next time you get into trouble? Won't your friends tease you about that? Won't your parents be embarrassed that their son is a troublemaker who can't control his mouth? " To the parents: "I'm so happy that you'll be available within 30 minutes to attend any future counseling sessions at weekly meetings, monthly camp outs, and Summer camp. Most parents are not that committed to micromanaging their son."

Withdrawn from social engineering? First they invited gay youth to be members, then gay men to be Scout Masters. Transgenders? Oh what the heck, y'all come on, too! And since BSA now allows girls to be in the BOY Scouts, you don't even have to stick to the gender you pick. Duty to God? Don't ask, don't tell; okay? WHAT TRADITIONAL SOCIAL BOUNDARIES ARE LEFT? I'd say that the Left has departed the field in utter victory. What else could they hope to accomplish? Drive all the straight males from the program? Wait. Maybe if BSA de-emphasizes the outdoors in the program, all the real men will get bored and drop out....

But how large does national need to be? I bet we could improve the program by cutting Irving down to 20 people: 1 Boss to be in charge. SE 1 lawyer. 4 people to keep the lawyer out of the way and in his closet. 2 folks to direct updating the BSH every 5 years and merit badge pamphlets as needed. (Direct: as in soliciting informed volunteers to get together and provide experienced input from boots on the ground.) 1 person in charge of Philmont 1 person in charge of Seabase 1 person in charge of Northern Tier. 1 person in charge of renting out Summit. 1 person helping the less famous HA venues. 2 people ordering uniforms and badges for the Scout Shops. 1 person to refer fund raising offers/donations to the appropriate local councils/ districts. 1 person to answer the phone and forward eMails. 1 ombudsman to make sure that every BSA decision is aimed at getting boys/girls into the Outdoors to experience Nature. 1 expert to answer local questions and augment real world experience into National best practice. 1 person to sweep, empty the trash, and turn out the lights. Fee increase? Shucks; we can reduce fees and deliver an better program. And have fewer assets for money grubbing lawyers to target...

2 more tips: Select a campsite with a breeze. A point on the lake, a ridge in the mountains. You can make repellent last longer and work better against chiggers and seed tics by spraying the insides. Before putting pants on, turn them inside out, spray repellent, let it dry, reverse pants, wear. Avoid repellents that react negatively with your skin.

Pull your arms out of the sleeves of a sweater or fleece jacket when in your sleeping bag. Just wear it around your neck. It acts as a nice baffle to keep warm air in and cold drafts out. Hammock sleepers will need two 1 foot square pieces of mini-cell foam to pad their shoulders. Your shoulders will flatten the insulation of your sleeping bag and sleeping pad, there will be a thin spot where your shoulders poke through, and your shoulders will freeze. The two pieces of foam make a nice camp seat. I always make a bundle out of the clothes that I'm wearing tomorrow and use them as a pillow under my knees. That keeps the clothes from freezing and aligns my back for a more comfortable night's rest.

March, 2009. A mere Eagle chick by forum standards. I've greatly enjoyed advocating for the outdoors and nature, and mocking those who wussified our standards with 'one and done'. The discussions seemed to have more meat on them back then. The political arm wrasslin has disappeared. I'll even admit to having my mind changed a few times, as long you don't quote me on that in the future... I've become a lurker because: a) my nattering about some of the changes is not welcome, b) I'm no longer knee deep in the program since my boy aged out, c) my areas of expertise, woodsmanship and outdoor adventure, are seldom discussed, and d) procedural questions are already answered by other fine participants. I'm not needed. But damn! I ,too, miss the enthusiastic virtual campfire of old. I miss interacting with Beavah and Merlyn and Moosetracker. Anybody wanna debate Donald Trump and the latest impeachment imbroglio?

The delay maybe be from insurance pricing. Unless BSA is self-insured, we may be unable to get liability insurance in the future. If you were an insurance underwriter for BSA, how much uncertainty would be in your cost algorithms right now? If the liability costs of having men and boys in the woods has ballooned to what the lawyers have trolled up, what are the future costs of having girls in the troops with the 'Me Too!' movement?

@RichardB, Thank you. I like the implication that this piece of rescue gear was used to retrieve recently submerged bodies that were resuscitated. Reminds me of my EMT class, taught by a Navy Corpsman, who recommended using towel clamps (basically forceps with curved hooks facing each other) to hook a victim's tongue to his bottom lip to maintain an airway while you tended to others.

From the bad old days: Optimus box stove, white gas. https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&id=509D17FF45F628690CBBD8E5E9267962D2F79410&thid=OIP.fHbYv5X_QGQH0GN3NImnuQHaHa&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fe9%2F1a%2F8f%2Fe91a8f8da8f4b001b69269007425c6e8--stoves-camping.jpg&exph=736&expw=736&q=optimus+box+stove&selectedindex=13&qpvt=optimus+box+stove&ajaxhist=0&vt=0&eim=0,1,2,3,6 When the fancy new stoves fizzle out, the 40 year old Optimus comes out of hiding. If you bring up the G2SS, you get no coffee.

I wonder how much time defending counsel spent considering whether or not to file counter suit : 50 year old Puccio spoiled the sledding area with red stains and got blood on an 8 year old Cub Scout's boot. OSHA standards require that the boot would have to be disposed of as a bio-hazard, and who really needs one boot? I know, I'm cynical and jaded.

I really enjoyed perusing the standard for grappling hook design. And you could buy the whole thing through the 'Supply Service'! Can you imagine seeing one of these on the rack at your local Scout Shop? I imagine that these were intended more for clearing debris from a swimming area than for body recovery? Can someone with knowledge of waterfront standards chip in to let us know if today's environmental standards allow us to disturb natural sediment or is that considered destructive to habitat? The language used to describe the big blunt hook grapple is poignant. Not only are they considered "useless", they are "inexcusably useless"! Wooee! Sounds like somebody has had a bad time using a big grapple.

If there is not already a process or rescinding 'Eagle', this situation makes a good case for one.

Which is more important: 1- The physical well-being of someone in my care, should the need arise for a firearm in the backwoods. 2- My continued membership in BSA. If I lost someone or someone became injured due to a wild animal or wild humans, I would not deserve to continue as their leader/protector. BSA rules are what's irrelevant, and written by lawyers with an eye towards liability. No scout ever knew that I carried, my pack was just a little heavier.

PL SPL PLC Or is the Patrol method truly dead?