AZMike

I hate to be the spoilsport here and suggest people define the terms they are using, but "PC" is pretty ambiguous. Many here are using it to refer to a social policy that one does not categorize or call people in terms they do not prefer (which I always thought of as "courtesy" or "good manners" or "being a gentleman.") How can one argue with not being needlessly rude or insulting? "Politically incorrect," on the other hand, was a term I first saw and heard used in the feverish political tracts and speeches of the far Left student movements (like the SDS, SLA, Weather Underground, etc.) o

Growing old makes you a stranger in your own country.

But on the other hand, that character (Spock) was originally made-up with greenish skin tone to emphasize his alien-ness. As Nimoy's character became ever more popular, they gradually toned down the green and turned-up his on-camera time.

FYI for Pogophiles, here is a later Walt Kelly government-sponsored comics on the Job Corps, from the LBJ era: http://randomactsofgeekery.blogspot.com/2014/11/government-comics.html

So if the precepts of humanism include (per the 2003 Humanist Manifesto): placing the human being as the central value and concern affirming the equality of all people and striving for truly equality of opportunity for all valuing personal and cultural diversity and condemning all forms of discrimination encouraging the development of knowledge beyond limitations accepted as "truths" affirming the freedom of ideas and beliefs rejecting all forms of violence, including economic, racial, religious, sexual and other forms of violence. And these are (ahem) religious precepts, we

Sounds like the U.S. Navy and the Bureau of Prisons aren't on board with the "Humanism is a Religion" claim: http://www.religionnews.com/2014/11/06/navy-faces-suit-denying-humanist-chaplains/

So...comments?

Oh, snap!

Sounds like the traditional merit badges are being de-emphasized as well: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/20/us/girl-scouts-debate-their-place-in-a-changing-world.html?_r=0

Sounds like the GSUSA is being pulled not in two ways, but three. The AHG may fill one of those niches. From what I read in the media accounts of the contentious recent GSA convention, you have a movement to make the GSUSA more of a left-wing social justice / empowering of girls movement at the possible cost of the mission to bring girls into the outdoors; a movement that wants to restore the outdoors mission; and a conservative movement which is focusing on the current leadership's ties to Planned Parenthood and similar organizations: http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/10/20/

I've always been a fan of Walt Kelly's brilliant, long running comic strip "Pogo" (from a poster's avatar, I know we have at least one other fan here, too.) If there were a Mount Rushmore for comic strip creators, Walt Kelly would be right up there in granite with George Herriman, Charles Schulz, and Bill Watterston. Back in 1961, the U.S. government (or "gub'mint," as Pogo himself might say) commissioned Kelly to create a guide for parents who were concerned about the effect of television on their kids. What Kelly created is both insightful, droll, whimsical, and charming. (As government

The BSA isn't and never was intended to be for all boys. It's an organization that requires a religious adherence as one of its membership requirements. Boys who aren't religious, like girls, can still be good people but aren't eligible for membership. They can be members of other youth groups or start their own, but this is the way the BSA was set up. I wouldn't join an atheist organization and demand they accommodate me by allowing me to start the meeting with a Christian prayer.

Man, you brought this thread back from the dead after 4 years...

Just ran across this today, I don't think it's been posted yet. An interview with Robert Gates and a look at grassroots level Scouters. http://www.esquire.com/features/boy-scouts-1014

Just found this on the web - I don't know how many issues there were: http://randomactsofgeekery.blogspot.com/2014/09/comic-reading-library-little-scouts-2.html#more

There's a best-selling horror novel titled "The Troop" by Nick Cutler about a Canadian Scoutmaster who takes a troop of Scouts camping on a remote island only to find they're not alone...here's the description from Amazon: “The Troop scared the hell out of me, and I couldn’t put it down. This is old-school horror at its best.†â€â€Stephen King Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping tripâ€â€a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfire. The boys are

Oh, yeah. Here in Arizona we had a department store chain called "Yellow Front" that sold work clothing, hardware, athletic gear, camping and hunting gear, firearms, and military surplus. There were big cases of (probably) Korean War-era c-ration cans that you could buy for 25 cents, big boxes of random miltary insignia and unit patches, mess kits, gas masks, and that Proustian military canvass smell you recall. It was a great place for kids to spend their allowance. Other catalogs I recall from times past: STEPHENSON WARMLITE, a mail order business run by an aerospace engineer that

The thread I started on outdoor supplier scout discounts got me started thinking about some of the mail-order outdoor suppliers that have gone out of business, but whose catalogs I pored over as a youth. Anyone else remember any of these, or recall any others? THE SMILEY CORPORATION - based around San Francisco (I think), they sold real old-timey stuff to prospectors, mule-packers, and others - the sort of people who planned to stay in the outdoors a good long while. Stuff you couldn't find easily anywhere else, like packable wood-burning stoves. HOLUBAR MOUNTAINEERING - pioneered li

Moah, including some regional outlets: I think that Mountain Sports in Arlington, TX also offers a 10% Scout Discount, but check first: http://www.mountainsports.com Outdoor Trails in Lynchburg and Daleville, VA also offers a 10% discount to card-carrying Scouts and Scouters. Their president and founder is a long-term Scouter: http://www.outdoortrails.com/scouts.html L.L. Bean offers discounts to Scouts under the following conditions: "We encourage young people to enjoy outdoor recreation. Accredited schools and troops affiliated with the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will receive

Say what you will, but that's the most distinguished mug shot I've ever seen.

Thought it might be worthwhile to start a list of businesses that offer discounts for outdoor equipment to Scouters. Please feel free to add any other sources of which you are aware. Also, please don't abuse these resources, many of which offer very hefty discounts out of appreciation for what Scouting does. Most of these businesses ask that you do not go to local retailers and use the discount price to try to get them to beat the price (which harms the relationship between suppliers and retailers), and obviously, do not purchase these items for resale, or for friends and extended fa

I think it would be a real draw to offer Wilderness First Aid certification to the adult leaders during summer camp.

jblake47: "Then I don't spend any time worrying about what might happen because so far it never has." A wise and prudent policy that should be the guideline for everyone involved in risk mitigation. ( j/k - in context, your statement makes sense.)