JoeBob

They want to sell the BSA mailing list. Just another fund-raiser to put more cash in their pockets before the bankruptcy judge fires them all. See the other topic about mortgaging Philmont to gain an enlightened view of Irving's trustworthy intents.

Taught Paul Bunyan. Heated our home with firewood for 35 years. Splitting: Aim for the checks in the log, where the grain has already started to naturally separate. Don't use an axe on anything bigger than 8 inches, use a maul or a wedge. If your axe becomes stuck in a log, turn it over and swing the combined axe/log down onto your stump, axehead first to get more penetration. (Does not work with double bladed axes...) Plan the arc of your swing to end at the top of your stump, not the top of your target log. (You were planning to split the log completely on half, right?) On really

That ought to cover exec salaries for another what, five years?

I think that you have swallowed the bait. We Southerners have always used a slow speech pattern to deceive carpetbaggers into underestimating us while we separated them from their money and women...

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 knowle

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Withdrawn from social engineering?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 pro

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 S

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

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 out

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 c

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?

My COR has a nice big jar of grommets in a place of honor at his home. It got to the point that he would cut off the corners and wire the grommets together to aid in recovery after the ceremony.

Southern District of New York... Hmm. I hear they are notorious ambulance chasers!

Reminded me of a 10 mile hike my troop did from Young Harris GA to Brasstown Bald (Highest point in GA). It was a balmy 65 when we started, and the SM INSISTED that we take jackets. Huh? We had 8 inches of snow on the ground when we topped out. We were in cotton sweatshirts and tennis shoes. As sweep, I had to pick up two scouts who laid down in the snow and claimed it was warm. The weather front had iced over the macadam road to the summit; so when we reached the end, we had to glisade down the iced road to get to the truck. Sit, slide down until you hit the snow bank on the opposite cu

Is it a safe assumption on my part to guess that you've never taken NRA Instructor training? That can re-define 'boring' for you if you get a poor instructor. Ever handle a .50 BMG round? Know how heavy one round is? Want to carry 50 of them on a day hike? We pass inert cartridges of many calibers down the line. I've never seen a boy fall asleep when one of his peers chambers an 870. (Dummy practice rounds). How stupid are movie heroes who walk up to a confrontation with an empty chambered shotgun, anyway? And to the Hollywood intellects who cycle the action a second time a few

Our troop requires two 3 hour long sessions that take the place of the regular meetings prior to going on the Shooting Sports weekend. If a scout doesn't pay attention and/or fails the written test, we don't let them near a loaded firearm. The basics of gun safety are best taught in a tightly controlled environment where a boy's attention isn't distracted by "Enough about safety; when are we gonna shoot!?" So far, none of our instructors have ever been swept with a loaded firearm.