mmhardy

How is a little funding for the Jamboree different then funding being given to other faith based organizations for various public good causes? I think Bork is right. This will be overturned upon appeal.

Fewer and fewer Scouts are Scouty because.... ...there are fewer and fewer places to be a scout. Fewer green spaces close to home. Suburban spiral means more condos and Wal-Marts. In 1969 my friends built forts in the woods, caught an amazing number of bullheads, cooked lunch over a fire pit we made, had rope bridges between trees at 20' up and swam in the river. TV sucked and we had no A/C. The woods were our playground. Today much of that environment is gone. ....there are fewer parents who care what their kid does. I heard from one mother who openly said has she was dropping Johnny off at camp. "Camping as no interest to me." Translated that means the parent will not have an interest in what their kid is doing and probably not support the kids activities. ...fewer adult volunteers with outdoor experience. My 14yo son freaks the adults out with his char can and flint and steel. He can track a buck into the swamp and thinks its fun to scare them out. While he is not a hunter he loves wild game over an open fire. How many kids today are exposed to these experiences by their parents?

Ummm...not impressed by smugness. The SPL asked for ideas. The idea posted was to have a Readyman Badge weekend. The Boy Scouts do the cooking. Your idea for a weekend was?......

My sons troop conducts an annual Webelo campout. The Webelos and their parents stay in a big cabin while the troop camps out nearby. They roast turkey and have a big feast Sat. evening. Skits are always a tradition. The older boys have refined one skit that become a command performance at summer camp. During the day the troop breaks up into workable groups and each patrol leader is in charge of a portion of the Readyman Badge. Late in the day leaders take all the boys on a short, about 3 mile, hike just before dinner. This allows the troop to finish up supper. The Webelos come back tired, hungry and settled down for the evening.

Here is the link to the Subcamp 3 webcam http://jambo3subcamp.virtualave.net/Webcam.shtml What about streaming audio from the on-site radio station??

Here, here Juris. Last year I created a first rate camp video/slide show with Pinnacle. Burned it as a DVD and gave it to the SM. He showed it at one of the meetings that made a point to have the parents around. As a result we had 28-30 boys at summer camp. Our largest turn out ever. A parent with video editing ability is a great asset to your troop and even at the district level with marketing the camp program.

Here is some tidbits on caffine and youth from the University of Illinois. Caffeine is one of the most comprehensively studied ingredients in the food supply. We know a lot about caffeine and it has been consumed safely for centuries. Caffeine exists in our diet from a variety of sources - primarily coffee, tea, chocolate, cola drinks, and both prescription and nonprescription drugs. While much is known about caffeine, many questions and misperceptions still exist; these facts and resources can help to set the story straight. WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE? Caffeine is a mild stimulant to the central nervous system. It is not addictive, though it can be habit forming. When caffeine intake is stopped abruptly, some individuals can experience headache, fatigue or drowsiness. Age and body size can make a difference in effect. A child or a smaller person may feel caffeine's effects more strongly than an adult or a heavier, taller person. A cup of strongly brewed coffee or tea has more caffeine than a weakly brewed cup. HOW MUCH CAFFEINE IS "SAFE?" MODERATION is the key. Most experts agree that 300 mg. of caffeine (about the amount contained in 3 cups of coffee) is a moderate intake. At this time, there is NO evidence that caffeine intake is associated with heart disease, hypertension, osteoporosis or high cholesterol. The amount of caffeine in some common foods and beverages is as follows: Coffee, brewed - 40 to 180 mg. per cup Cocoa - 4 mg. per cup Chocolate, milk - 3 to 6 mg. per ounce Chocolate - bittersweet - 25 mg. per ounce Cola and other soft drinks, containing caffeine - 36 to 90 mg. per 12 ounces http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/health-info/drug-alc/caffeine.html

You may have something here. Based on the list of events posted earlier, 7 of the 11 boys involved in incidents would be considered too young to go on high adventure outings.

Do you have an Beinet to go with that? You would be shocked that the supply of chicory coffee available at camp from the right sources..bon appetit mon ami.

After several trips out west I'd say that most of the LDS units operate in high level god's country. I say that with the upmost respect. My son went on a people-to-people event to Zion. They went all the way up Angels Landing. Now that I'm trained and a bit wiser I'm thinking what in the world!!!. But its different in your neck of the woods. I'm thinking that the odds are just plain better for us flat landers and great lake and many river area units.

What a shame there was no replys to this.

I never thought I would talk business but here it goes. Chances are boys will have about $20 in their pocket for the week. They want to go home with "something" I've walked into to many trading post where $20 is the first price point that gets you something neat. Have something with the camp name and symbol for about $3. Like a patch. Have inexpensive silk screen t-shirts in the $10 range. In doing this the boys will have something to take back and enough left over for soda and candy. Trading posts with a margin over 5-10% are only cheating themselves over lost opportunity. Boys will bring home $10 before spending it on something expensive.

I just picked my two boys up from a week at camp. They had a great time. My older one mentioned that there was an official announcement made that National has banned the Scouts from the coffee urn as an official policy. Needless to say my older son was un-impressed. He noted that there was at least 3 soda machines at various points in camp dispensing all the caffeine and sugar a boy can ingest at a $1.25 a pop. Noting all the morbidly obese scouts at the waterfront I say let them have a cup of Joe and place the pop machines in the dumpster. What nonsense...it this true?

Now were talken. If anyone has more "Jambo Live Online" links please post them.

Boy would it be great if somehow a few technically inclined folks could arrange for some web cams in the public areas and shows.

Amen Backpacker..I've got three boys in the program and they are 3rd generation Scouters. If National does not get in gear in short order it will not go into further generations. What a shame that would be. Maybe it would be better if we were smaller and more focused.

The figures for the most recent scout registrations are all available on public web sites. I think its important to note that the figures for traditional Scouting have been trending down while LFL have been making up the difference. Spin this how ever you want. The trend is troubling. I will gladly send you my Excel spreadsheet just email mmhardy1@excite.com. Being located in Detroit our boys get the opportunity to mix with the Scout Canada units from Windsor-Essex. The Dorchester camporeee has more then its share of US boys. I think they depend on us to make the camporee a success.

The numbers are falling but it depends on what numbers your looking at. (sorry about the alignment) Year Cubs Scouts Venturers LFL Traditional Scout Total Youth Y2Y 1990 2,167,062 1,010,857 740,753 374,314 3,918,672 4,292,986 1991 2,145,870 988,270 367,262 648,257 3,501,402 4,149,659 -3.34% 1992 2,110,633 975,589 367,093 696,833 3,453,315 4,150,148 0.01% 1993 2,067,279 979,192 380,903 737,799 3,427,374 4,165,173 0.36% 1994 2,031,282 978,608 393,444 784,689 3,403,334 4,188,023 0.55% 1995 2,063,547 989,343 407,905 837,407 3,460,795 4,298,202 2.63% 1996 2,095,811 1,000,078 422,366 880,422 3,518,255 4,398,677 2.34% 1997 2,152,387 1,016,383 455,268 949,850 3,624,038 4,573,888 3.98% 1998 2,171,987 1,023,442 188,075 1,161,733 3,383,504 4,545,237 -0.63% 1999 2,181,013 1,028,353 202,486 1,373,615 3,411,852 4,785,467 5.29% 2000 2,114,420 1,003,691 233,858 1,589,988 3,351,969 4,941,957 3.27% 2001 2,043,478 1,005,592 276,434 1,697,701 3,325,504 5,023,205 1.64% 2002 2,000,000 1,000,000 315,296 1,721,957 3,315,296 5,037,253 0.28% 2003 1,914,425 997,398 288,395 1,555,226 3,200,218 4,755,444 -5.59% Canada is really slipping Year Cubs Scouts Venturers Rovers Leaders Total Youth 1990 78345 33326 6859 1658 43948 243,114 1991 75965 33122 7123 1660 43974 238,441 1992 73303 32651 7586 1770 43515 233,007 1993 70394 32724 7855 1646 42979 225,301 1994 67340 31428 7586 1507 41365 214,119 1995 64309 31583 8060 1612 39663 207,150 1996 65702 32817 8532 1641 40161 212,841 1997 64179 32932 8510 1693 39656 210,365 1998 59748 29716 8711 1670 37492 195,388 1999 57310 28904 8497 1783 35377 186,311 2000 53842 27674 8026 1627 32934 175,133 2001 49776 25452 7394 1487 133,884 2002 45202 23495 6594 1368 121,185 2003 38444 20478 5314 1116 103,510

I guess the real intent of my post was to stir up the creative and insightfull feelings of those on this board. I heard one parent say that the Scout program is still stuck in Boar War woodsmanship. (OK someone explain that one to me.) But has Scouting ever taken advantage of the technology offered today? Last summer at summer camp I was amazed that the counselors and CITs had set up a wireless LAN in the woods of northern Michigan. Cell phones didn't work but they could place a call on VoIP via their laptop from the rifle range. (Using a wireless headset....very sweet) These are the same gentlemen that know the basics in the fieldbook cold but can d/l coordinates from from their GPS handhelds into a Palm and show a topographic map of where you are standing. I dare say that in todays world that may represent a skill worth knowing.

All the responders are rising up on this flame topic like a fish to the fly. Let it lie, and it will sink to the dead post pile.

On the front page of the USA Today is an article I found interesting. "Beyond Kiwanis: Internet builds new communities" It outlines how busy professional parents are utilizing email, cell phones, Blackberrys and the Internet to create and keep ties that allows them to participate in all sorts of ties to community organizations. The first several paragraphs highlight the activities of a very busy Cubmaster. Here is my question. Has Scouting really discovered and used this resource to its benefit? Forums like the one your reading now did not exist ten years ago. Yet here you are "talking" about a topic you are really interested in. Should the Scout Handbook be available on-line? Should every Scout family be provided an email account as part of membership? Should more technology be introduced in Scouting programs to support new ideas (some yet to be developed) of Scoutcraft, Environmentalism and Nature Study. How about a video game of Scouts tackling high adventure challenges at Philmont on their PS2? Will there be video streaming on the Web of any of the Jamboree this year? What are some of the "New Tech" ideas or programs your unit or council has tried?

So??? It's an integrity issue. Republicans, Dems, and your local charitys tell you that they may keep a record of your participation. I guess the real point is that the ACLU has told its rank and file that I would not collect information about its members without permission. It got caught in a lie. The NYT story states that as a result of getting caught it changed its policy statement on its web site on Nov 8th. To take a quote from the story..."Michael Meyers, vice president of the [ACLU] organization and a frequent and strident internal critic. Mr. Meyers said he learned about the new research by accident Nov. 7 in a meeting of the committee that is organizing the group's Biennial Conference in July. He objected to the practices, and the next day, the privacy policy on the group's Web site was changed. "They took out all the language that would show that they were violating their own policy," he said. "In doing so, they sanctified their procedure while still keeping it secret." Another point in the story which I found VERY interesting is that the ACLU pulled out of a federal charity drive because the US government required that the ACLU to certify that it would not knowingly employ people whose names were on government terrorism watch lists.

The Drudge Report has linked an article from the NY Times entitled "A.C.L.U.'s Search for Data on Donors Stirs Privacy Fears" its a chilling piece that outlines how the ACLU opens a file on significant donors and members and collects information such as ..." individual's wealth, holdings in public corporations, other assets and philanthropic interests." It also notes that the ACLU has failed to notifiy its membersip of the data-mining of personal information that it conducts on each of its members. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/18/national/18aclu.html?ei=5006&en=1fb103f41ec09d84&ex=1104037200&partner=ALTAVISTA1&pagewanted=print&position=

If your interested in getting the facts right how about the ACLU stating that the military gives the BSA $2 million per year to support the Jamboree. (Last paragraph in http://www.aclu-il.org/news/press/000220.shtml) This factual innaccuracy is on their website today.

No, the WSJ authors basic premise is correct. The Illinois ACLU DoD case, filed in 1999. The Dale case had been making its way to the Supreme Court since 1992. "July 29, 1992: Lambda, with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, files suit against the national Boy Scouts of America and its Monmouth Council on behalf of Dale..." I see that you are silent on the ACLUs problem with accuracy.