Kudu

Kahuna is correct, but he fails to mention that the Wood Badge Beaver Patrol is always the first, and therefore the best Patrol! Congratulations on your standing up for the right to fly the flag. n4ari said flay the US flag, Kahuna: to criticize harshly, to excoriate or censure scathingly :-/ Kudu

Instructions on how our Troop makes the 32" "full square" neckerchief, plus two different early histories of the BSA neckerchief (including long lists of practical uses for the full neckerchief) can be found at The Inquiry Net: http://inquiry.net/uniforms/neckerchief The last time we made them, they cost us about $2 each. If you study at the old Norman Rockwell paintings, you will see that it is the full square neckerchief (when worn correctly over the collar), that gives Rockwell's Scouts that classical "Boy Scout" look. likewise, if you look at the neckerchief in the be

The Uniform Method was reinstated with Hillcourt's new Scoutmaster's handbook then, but they didn't allow him to restore the rest of his Methods of Scouting. Hillcourt was still an outsider. I'm not sure how much a historian can dig up. I suspect that the national uniform committee exists only on paper, and I also believe that Irving Texas has less control over BSA Supply than most of us assume. This move toward modernization wasn't limited to the United States, although the fact that the BSA is run by corporate managers probably had a significant influence. As the number of Sco

I would be interested in Miki101's account of this. It seems like the Oscar de la Renta Uniform was part of a progressive-modernist movement that began in the early 1970s with the goal of reforming the "outing" out of Scouting. Kudu

There is no provision in BSA for a unit to develop its own "troop uniform". More importantly, there is no rule against it. Reality Check: Depending on where you live, you may never meet these negative Internet "Uniform Policemen" in real life. In fact back in the mid-1990s there was a running joke among the District Executives in our Council Office. They said that they could always tell when I was debating the Uniform in Scouting forums by how upset their secretaries would get when they had to take messages from "people from the Internet" who telephoned the SE to report that my t

Running one's personal version of Scouting and intentionally violating the letter and spirit of BSA hardly seems to be an honorable basis upon which to teach boys to make ethical choices over their lifetimes. The whole point of this thread is to design Troop Uniforms that do not violate the "letter" of BSA policy. As for the "spirit" of the Uniform Method, in the 70-year history of the Boy Scouts of America prior to the introduction of the dress-designer uniform, except for swimming is there a single photograph or drawing depicting a Boy Scout camping out of Uniform? My books

Thanks for the advice FScouter, it means a lot coming from you :-)

Now, I do have to make some assumptions that Christ's actions have been relatively accurately portrayed in the Bible, but I find it more likely that his words might be distorted than accounts of his actions. I'd say just the opposite. The accounts of his supernatural miracles are suspect, but his moral allegories as recorded by his chosen disciples may be intact. Most people do not realize that B-P's father, Rev. Baden Powell (first name "Baden," last name "Powell" -- no hyphen) was more famous (or infamous--he was charged with heresy, after all) in the 19th century than his son was

"It might be very different if worn by some scouting reform organization." Like the Kuduscouts? Baden-Powell Scouts! http://www.1sttarrantbpscouts.org/Info.html Baden-Powell's system had an entirely different approach to insignia, so there is no need to use the BSA's badges. If I was going to "reform" the BSA, I would base a "Traditional" (back to basics) Scouting movement on William Hillcourt's name or nickname: "Green Bar Bill Scouts" maybe :-) "Traditional Scouting" is usually defined as a return to the founder's original program (Hillcourt in this case), maki

Kahuna asks: So, how do Scouters go about calling for a uniform revision? There is a national uniform committee. Has anybody raised this issue with any of them? The people on the national boards are people who live in our communities, although we don't always know who they are. I would be happy to explain the process for you, Kahuna! As you know, in the olden days almost everybody knew somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody rumored to be in the national uniform committee. You don't hear about that anymore because the bipartisan Friends of Scouting in Congress (FOSC) was

Ed asks: The god Saturn? And pray, what does this god do that would make anyone want to celebrate it? Well, for one thing, he has the coolest-looking planet. Kudu

By your reasoning, anyone who does anything that can be remotely tied to some pagan holiday (i.e. take time off from work, light candles, or dance), is celebrating that holiday. Thats ridiculous. Rooster, like most secularists, all you can think about is getting out of work, lighting some candles, and dancing! You fail to acknowledge the deeply spiritual aspects of this holy day: the celebration of peace on earth, gift giving, helping those less fortunate, and--of course--bringing evergreens into the home on the winter solstice to celebrate the rebirth of life. These are the deepl

Saturnalia was basically a sex & booze orgy! Ed, you are confusing Saturnalia with Christmas office parties. Kudu

ScoutingAgain, There might be room in the laser-tag section of the Guide to Safe Scouting for your proposed rules! Kudu scoutingagain writes: Hmmm, use the uniform method, just not with the official uniform.... So which group lives the scout law in it's everyday life. The unit that uses the uniform method, using a non-official uniform,(which as Kudu points out, seems to be within the rules of the BSA) or the unit which requires wearing of the official uniform at meetings and activities to maintain membership and achieve advancement within that unit, which is clearly a

Beavah, Mike Walton is AKA "Settummanque" or "Black Eagle," See: http://www.mninter.net/~blkeagle/mwalton.htm It was a long time ago, but I believe he was appointed by a local Council to accompany the police and go through the possessions of a molester. As I remember, he said that the warrant specified that they could seize everything with a BSA logo on it, but not third-party Scouting paraphernalia. Kudu

I am a Buddhist, but I have Christmas decorations up and I send Christmas cards...The trees are Christmas trees. So the Buddhists have declared war on Saturnalia? Our mainland Shangas didn't get the memo :-/ As Stephen Colbert said in his Traditional Christmas How-To Guide, the Roman practice of bringing an evergreen into the home and placing candles on it is such a traditional Christmas activity, that it predates the birth of Jesus Christ himself! Kudu

Could the problem be related to the semi-transparent login screen that reads "Please login to Scouter.Com to enjoy several new customized features and locally targeted content"? I didn't notice that until about the same time as the server errors. Kudu

It's not just you, the problem is also being discussed under the heading "Today's Active Topics" http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=118485 Kudu

And Saturnalia is celebrate where now? If you decorate your home with images of Santa (aka Father Time), light candles, bring greens into your home, take time off from work, celebrate peace on earth, give gifts, help those less fortunate, or dance in the new solar year, you are celebrating Saturnalia, even though some people in this increasingly secular age have forgotten the true meaning of this holy day. The Roman Empire no longer exists. Whereas Christianity does. Christianity was a product of the Roman Empire, and we celebrated that with mangers and angels until the Christia

Break down the word Christmas and you get Christ festival. Seems pretty apparent to me. Ed, break down the word "Saturnalia" and you get the neuter plural of saturnalis of Saturn, from Saturnus. Seems pretty apparent to me :-/ The term "Christmas" was only a temporary victory in the Christian's war on Saturnalia, 336 A.D. Fox News is reporting that they lost the war to the secular humanists in 2005. So if Christ was never born we wouldn't have Christmas! If Christ was never born we would still be celebrating Saturnalia on December 25th; the Feast of Sol Invicta, the Unco

Fox News' John Gibson's book The War on Christmas got a very favorable review on the "Colbert Report." To see the video, click on "Xmas" at the following URL: http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/videos/most_recent/index.jhtml Ed writes: And if Christ wasn't born we wouldn't have Christmas! I believe you are thinking of the god Saturn, Ed. Where in the Bible does it say that Jesus was born on December 25th? This year, let us all remember the original holy meaning of the holiday, and put "Saturn" back in Saturnalia! Rooster7 writes:

Eamonn writes: Clause 9 states that all badges and Insignia shall remain the property of the BSA Beavah, believe it or not, Eamonn and FScouter are correct about the BSA's claim. Mike Walton once wrote a first-hand account of his participation in a raid to seize BSA uniforms, publications, and badges from someone who had used his position in Scouting to commit criminal acts. However, I suspect that such warrants are only issued in situations where the "controlling law" is not likely to be contested by the defendant. clause 12 talks about authorization, saying that the nation

So, if you're going to "make your own Troop uniform" when are you also going to write your own handbook? I already offer a free 2,000 page supplement, just ask FScouter! You're already doing away with part of the program, might as well come up with your own. Speaking of better handbooks, try William Hillcourt's 3rd Edition of Handbook for Scoutmasters. This two volume masterpiece by the man who brought the Patrol Method to the BSA from Denmark is a thousand pages longer than the current Scoutmaster Handbook (even counting all of the current edition's pictures, blank pages and in

your jeans. My jeans? When my Scouts catch me wearing jeans at the mall, they can't believe their eyes. They point at my jeans and scream "COTTON KILLS!!!! COTTON KILLS!!!!" Your plan sounds as if you want to pick the uniform apart and only use what you like (ie the patches). That about sums it up :-/ The idea of a Troop Uniform is to use the Uniform Method, but not the official Uniform. If there is no regulation that specifically prohibits using the BSA patches on unofficial uniforms, then use them! If they are specifically prohibited, then use BSA metal badges, or im

Kudu: No one is stuck with the uniform, and who is this we you are talking about? I would be happy to explain that for you, Dan! "We" would be those of us who understand why our Scouts are stuck with an over-priced, inferior uniform. From the Christmas tree red epaulettes to the blister-causing cotton socks, the hot-house parlour-Scouting BSA Uniform is first and foremost a symbol of dress-designer values. But when worn properly, the BSA Uniform serves as a symbol that all Scouts can understand as to why their freedoms as Americans depend on a free market economy. The BSA U