Nike

Our old troop, as well as the neighboring troops, in southern Germany wears the uniform everywhere, including on the trains. Things in Berlin might be dicier.

Let Council hire him.

It would have gone Republican if current Lt Gov Bill Bolling had been the R's candidate. Virginians don't like fringe. Most people voted less for a candidate and more against the other.

BD, I've gotten the same response from other DEs.

Sometime in the next year one of those Scouts is going to be the "adult."

The IRS deciding on its own to harass people is scary enough, let alone of there was some sort of intelligence directing it.

Only when it comes to your sibling's excruciatingly vivid retelling of your most embarrassing moment ever.

I was really wondering how to address the lack of unposted/unregulated land, highways and byways, permits required for everything, and the ever present threat of a well intentioned bystander alerting police or social services to a couple of unsupervised kids. I think these kinds of trips could be very formative and instructive for everyone.

The most important First Class requirement is missing: The First Class Journey. Therefore the BSA's outdoor requirements are designed to get Cub Scout survivors to Eagle without ever walking into the woods with packs on their backs. For a while, Hillcourt's Patrol Leader Training got Patrols out into the woods without adult helicopters, but in 1972 Wood Badge replaced it with Troop Method training called "Leadership Development." Therefore the BSA's leadership skills requirements are designed to get Cub Scout survivors to Eagle without ever walking into the woods with a Patrol

Why don't you ask them what their thinking is since the weekend has been planned assuming their full participation? They may have rented the cabins so that after the campfire, they shuffle on home and get some sleep while the older boys stay up. Maybe they aren't as confidant of their WEBS foul weather experience and want a place to get them warm and dry fast. Maybe one of them has a medical or physical condition that makes it just easier to be in a cabin. Maybe it's their last hurrah as den parents. Ask.

KDD is correct. Other countries are freeriding on our pharmaceutical industry. The US industry is the only one doing significant R&D. My SIL works for big pharma and they have very few overseas partners because those pharma industries have just shut down R&D. We are going to be in a world of hurt in about twenty years due to the lack of pharmaceutical research today, because that's how long it takes to get the average drug from thought to pharmacist.

KDD is correct. Other countries are freeriding on our pharmaceutical industry. The US industry is the only one doing significant R&D. My SIL works for big pharma and they have very few overseas partners because those pharma industries have just shut down R&D. We are going to be in a world of hurt in about twenty years due to the lack of pharmaceutical research today, because that's how long it takes to get the average drug from thought to pharmacist.

To get to 15 nights per "active" Scout, that's only about 33,000 truly active youth, 1/6 of the purported registered. It'd be interesting to compare other councils' stats, if stuff like that is available.

I've read this many times. It always makes my mom-stomach turn. But, it's great advice and essentially what my #1 son did when he was a Scout.

Seeking adventures outdoors » Utah’s three Scout councils contend extreme misbehavior is rare and goes against training. They note that nearly 200,000 Scouts in Utah spend about a half-million nights camping a year. I sure wouldn't be bragging that my Scouts only spent on average 2.5 nights camping. Even if half are non-camping Cubbies, that's only an average of 5 nights a year. The real show of course is in the comments. Bring your fire resistant suit for reading, let alone participating.

SG, you assume that BD shares these confidences with his Scouts and many of their parents. A lot of Scouters love the program, the kids, and what its supposed to do for the generation coming up. They don't necessarily have to love the corporate organization.

Instead of quitting your job, why not volunteer for your district or Council? The happiest DEs I know are the ones who have retired once and no longer have kids at home.

Before "leadership skills," the purpose of Wood Badge was to train Scoutmasters to how teach the best Patrol Leaders how to physically lead their Patrols into the backwoods. Scouts learned their skills from a "Patrol" Leader, not a "Troop" Guide! Here is a Wood Badge participant's official "Wood Badge Training Notebook" from William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt's Wood Badge: http://inquiry.net/traditional/wood_badge/index.htm This was a really interesting comment on our culture as well. How much of those hand written notes and sketches are now simply distributed as a hand out

From VA and apparently should live in NM. Don't think so.

This assumes there is spare money in the neighborhood to begin with. In an extremely strapped area, there may be a great need for all the things you suggest, but those who need these services may not be able to pay for them. They may give a token amount, but that doesn't solve the original issue of needing to raise a larger amount of money. Troops in depressed areas need to be able to go where the money is. You can't rely on service projects to bring in operating funds.

I can be social and share on my own thank you. And, there was quite an outcry about giving all that money to the banks and certain special corporations. No one listened, just like no one wanted to listen to the populace saying, "Yeah, let's take a step back for a minute and look at this," when it came to ACA. Parts of it are very popular. Parts are not. Many, probably most, Americans don't want to see those with real medical need left out in the cold without care. However, without tort/legal reform, we aren't going to ever have any effect on the price of medical care.

There's no coal under those goblins.

They might even write "a very angry letter."

Wait a minute. You've got all this stuff and rely on one old John Wayne can opener? is it on your key chain?

I think trying to eat the whole elephant in one bite has been the worst plan yet. Phasing people into ACA via age cohorts might have been a better idea, especially if you started with all children 0-18. Yes, this would leave some families partially covered, but you have to start somewhere.