mmhardy

Kind of a catch 22. The fact that all canidates must have completed requirements before they are 18 years old brings an awkward situation of having to ask a minor if he is gay. I highly doubt the BSA will want to stray into that territory. Thus there is no litmus test of sexual orientation.

Life is short...your son's time as a youth is even shorter. Confront the SM directly. Tell him that YOUR the final authority over your sons activites. Period...end of discussion. Ask when he will be scheduling your sons SM conference. If there is no commitment hand him this print out of this thread then tell him to have a check for any money in your sons account ready and your sons advancement records in order so he can hit the ground running with his new troop.

Do this in front of God and Country. Just like this Jerk did with the 7 boys.

That troop sounds toxic...no reason to put up with it.

Sound like you will have a blast.

You can almost always provision in any port town. Ask any sailor about the best places to provision. Also I suggest using Google Earth to check out the lay of land and turn on Grocery Stores in your view.

Which of the 3 islands will you be?

Patrol competition is an ideal way to bring guys together. But so is fostering comradeship by just getting together for an afternoon of videos/games during a cold Saturday, seeing a movie, hanging out. Being a patrol does not have to involve 100% Scouty activities.

Don't think for a New York minute that Rush really has a deep caring for conservative causes. He's a broadcaster. His success depends on bringing an audiance to listen to the ads. He found a nitch that works and has been exploting it for a dozen years.

The top radio shows in the US, 2008, are; The Rush Limbaugh Show - ~14.25m. Morning Edition - ~13.5m. All Things Considered - ~13.5m The Sean Hannity Show - ~13.25m

His show is nothing but audio porn for the politicos. If his rankings slip then his format will change.

10 minutes...including grace and clean up. Pop tarts are a gift from the gods! ;-)

Tick...tock..the End of an Error.

God Bless these United States!

Any Scout or Scouter that has earned the Triple Crown Award. I haven't seen that on the Red Jacs in our council anywhere yet this year 2 Scouters and 3 Scouts finally earned it.

So you really think that it's not hypocritical to expect Barack Obama to be the head of an organization that would exclude his own mother for not having "acceptable" religious views?

The real question is if that's his current religious view. In his book it mentions his mother encouraged him to study several religions and kept the Bible, Koran and the Bhagavad Gita in their home

And what if he accepts, but publicly criticizes the BSA for their policies and says they should change them?

Just like he is asking for a college football playoff system.

In the Seabase current Health and Medical Record it asks for insurance information. However it also states:

"ATTACH A PHOTOCOPY OF INSURANCE CARD. IF FAMILY HAS NO MEDICAL INSURANCE, STATE NONE."

Its silent on anything else.

Thanks for the information on the fund raising. Sounds like the Pack was 100% in the clear.

P.S. Walt is our Advancement Chair for the troop.

I have a very dear friend who had a close call a few days ago. He's a Cop that would never ever draw attention to himself. He has a young family and my sincere wish that the Scouter Community on this board wish "Walt" a speedy recovery so he can join our boys in a hike in February.

STERLING HEIGHTS A Sterling Heights police officer narrowly escaped serious injury after a multi-vehicle accident left him pinned between his patrol car and an M-53 guardrail Jan. 6.

Conditions were icy when the incident occurred around 9 p.m., said Lt. Luke Riley.

The officer, a 20-year veteran of the department, and a colleague had responded to a two-car accident on southbound M-53, on the 19 Mile overpass. The pair parked the police cruiser on the right-hand shoulder between the two involved vehicles, said Riley.

Each approached one of the cars to assist. As the officer handling the northernmost vehicle returned to the patrol car to retrieve paperwork, a passing motorist switching lanes to avoid the accident site was struck by another vehicle.

Riley said the collision caused the car to spin out, striking the patrol car and pinning the officer between the police cruiser and the guardrail. The other officer had to jump the guardrail to avoid being struck, he said.

The wounded officer was transported to Royal Oak Beaumont, where his injuries were initially thought to be severe.

Originally, they thought he had some serious injuries to his legs, and once they got him in, got his X-rays and whatever else they did, (there were) no fractures, said Riley. He was treated and released, miraculously.

http://www.candgnews.com/Homepage-Articles/2009/1-7-09/officer-M53-accident.asp

I'll relate an experience that we had within our Pack were I was a DL. A mom wished to be a DL for her son and filled out the adult registration. A background check showed she was living with a man who had a prior Sexual conviction. (When he was a minor!)This man was a father of the same boy and attended Den meetings from time to time and the Pack events. He was not a leader, just a parent who dropped off his boy then hung out until the meeting was over then took his boy home.

Needless to say this caused concern. Because all of the events occurred at a public school we felt out of place to ask him not to be there. What we did was ask that he drop his son off and pick up during den meetings but not hang around. He could attend the Pack meetings with no problem. He agreed and it all worked out. All the parents involved had knowledge and agreed to the solution. Our DE was also aware.

Bottom line is that a parent was convicted of a sex crime when he was a youth and the stigma will follow to his dying days. Its not just leaders. Our troop has a policy that ANY parent who attends our campouts is registered.

Ive seen so many postings that seem to feel that all these boys need to be treated as bunch of Faberge Eggs. Doing a daring thing for a good cause builds character too. I agree 100% with BW. There is nothing being violated. Wearing the uniform shows that this is a group of daring, robust & healthy Cubs and not a bunch of wall flowers eating paste. Hope Dar is OK.

That number is based on COH results I've seen in the fall. If a boy hits summer camp and Trail to Eagle that number is pretty typical. Sorry if I implied this was achieved at a single session.

The Trail to Eagle program offers more then the Eagle required badges. From the web site it states....

"The Trail to Eagle program is specifically designed for the older Scout to give him the opportunity to work on the merit badges he needs to finish his Eagle Rank requirements. It is a one week, highly structured program sponsored by the Detroit Area Council and held at the D-bar-A Scout Ranch.

Over 2160 Eagle candidates from 12 states, 31 councils, as well as from the Far East and Trans Atlantic Councils, have attended the Trail to Eagle Camp. For the year 2007, we had 191 Scouts participate from six states, eleven different councils, and a Scout from Shanghai, China. All districts from the Detroit Area Council were represented.

Over 55% of our candidates have attained the rank of Eagle Scout and even more are still working on achieving this lofty goal.

We have had 36 staff members who have been with the program for ten years or more. There is a ratio of one staff member for every two boys."

IMHO...Ya pays yer money, come prepared to work, ya gets yer stuff for Eagle.

Just to pile on a bit...a neighboring council has a "Trail to Eagle" camp each summer. Boys attending obtain 13-16 MBs a session.

There has been such a lapse in advancement being integrated in with the program that National has made setting a goal for advancement a requirement for ALL units in the Centennial Quality Award.

There is more than what everyone knows about the war.

Which is a chilling thought in a supposedly free, Democratic and open republic.

The countdown is to the "End of an Error"

I think the message is clear. The BSA is reaching out and looking for way to diversify to match up with shifts in the cultural makeup of the US.

Two years ago I sat in on a presentation from the Strategic Plan 2006-2010 Reaching America's Next Multicultural Generation

http://www.scouting.org/Media/~/media/legacy/assets/media/research/02%201058.ashx

That plan looks to mirror major components that the NYT article outlined.

The council/regional executive said point blank back then that the, Cub Scout program of today will be unrecognizable in a few years. There were a few gasps in the room.

Looks like those plans are now to the point of being executed.

25 days and counting. tick......tock.....

Here is another wrinkle. True Story. Eagle candidate served two terms as SPL as Star. Then as Life Scout took position as Scribe then Troop Guide during his tenure. Has he fulfilled his POR requirements?

Sarge,

Like most of the true thinking folk. I too have questioned what I have called the "childrens teaching" of what is a supreme being. You know..., in your heart..., right now..., what the answer is. Listen to your soul. It guides you every day. Once you accept your own answer to this question. You'll know what to do. As many give you strength...feel free to pass it on.

YIS,

Mike