NJCubScouter

FOG, I know the statute you are talking about. For those who don't, it is Title 10, Section 311 of the United States Code. I had to mess with the formatting and hopefully it will look ok, but here is what it says: Section 311. Militia: composition and classes (a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are membe

My council merged four years ago (coincidentally, with the council in which I was a Boy Scout so now my father and I are in the same council again. Well, I suppose it's not a complete coincidence, since if I had chosen to live more than one county away from where I grew up, the merger would not have reached that far.) I still see a few people with the old council patches, and I have never heard anyone say a thing about it. I was not a Scouter at the time of the merger so I missed whatever "protest" took place, I am sure there was some grousing and grumbling... in fact I caught sort of an "e

TrailPounder and/or FOG, I wonder if you have any statistics on how many guns, kept in homes for security, are stolen and used in crimes? (And, FOG, I don't mean used against the owner necessarily, I mean used in crime at any time.) Or how many guns carried legally are taken from their owners by criminals and used against the owners, or stolen and used in crimes against someone else? Or how many accidents occur with legal guns, even after accounting for any "skewering" of the statistics. As for the second amendment, in my humble opinion it is so poorly written that I don't think anybod

From one practitioner of sarcasm to another, very good, FOG.

I was not asked for proof either. In fact, I think I asked the Scout-Shop-person whether I needed to bring in my Arrow of Light card from 1969 (which I do have), and I was told no. Cash or charge, was the message. But I think the person also told me that they DO require proof for the Eagle knot, which isn't an issue for me anyway. Maybe some shops do and some don't. I think they probably should, for Eagle.

My contribution to this discussion is: Eamonn, I like the title of this thread, the first part anyway. Good song. One of my Christmas/Hanukkah presents this year was the new Beatles album with that song on it. (Ok, the album is 33 years old, but it is newly remixed back to its originally intended state minus all the Phil Spectorizing, and almost all the songs, including I Me Mine, sound better. Nice that they could do that for George even though he is no longer around to hear it.)

DS, you are right, the comment about "professionals" was out of line. I apologize. I think I made clear that I was talking about only the professionals who are doing what we are talking about, but even there, singling out professionals is incorrect, since volunteers can place the emphasis where it does not belong just as easily. What I really meant was "all those people who are doing what we are talking about."

TwoCub: Bingo. I think it was pretty clear what Eammon was saying. Some people have a tendency to "interpret" a post so that it asks what they want it to ask, and then they answer that question, instead of answering the question that the person really was asking... or in this case, respond to the rhetorical question as if it were a different, "real" question. Well, usually just one person, not some people.

NW says: Venturing does have an advancement program and working with Cub Scouts would fit in some of the requirements. I was wondering about that. But correct me if I'm wrong, the Venturer could fulfill the same requirements by working with other youth groups such as Campfire, 4-H, church group or whatever, right? In other words there is no special mention in the requirement that it be a group within the BSA. Cubs would meet the requirement but so would other groups. (There, I said the exact same thing from 3 different directions, but lately I have learned that I can't count on

Bob, what you have described is the theory. I don't think anyone here doubts or questions the theory. What we are talking about is what actually happens in reality. Some people have posted (in this and other threads) evidence that for some people, at some times, the "numbers" DO become the goal. Forget about "cheating" and leave Eammon's example aside for the moment. Scoutldr's example is not about "cheating" and it is about something that is apparently done openly. I also have difficulty believing that if his council's professionals are putting that on their web site, those in some other

Scoutingagain, since you mentioned my name in your question, I will respond as best I can, which is not very well. I am not an expert in international law. For some reason, practicing law in suburban New Jersey has not brought me into contact with any prisoners of war, enemy combatants or military detainees, or their legal rights. I have represented a few citizens of other nations who mysteriously found themselves in this country with no authorization whatsoever to be here, and before anyone gets huffy about that, please realize that my job was essentially to help clear away all roadblocks

RobK, when you talk about those bad countries who were trading with Saddam Hussein and otherwise helping him, are you talking about Europe over the past few years, or are you talking about the U.S. in the 1980's? http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A52241-2002Dec29? And before you say that that was before we knew how bad Saddam Hussein was, this article suggests otherwise. What it suggests is that the Reagan and Bush I State Departments were happy to be in bed with the guy as long as it served our interests. And I have nothing against our policies serving our national best int

FuzzyBear mentions Seton and Beard, and indeed either of them could be considered a "father of Scouting" alongside or even instead of B-P. Both had Scouting-like organizations (though not with that word in the title) before B-P did. Here's an interesting article, and along with others that I have read, it suggests that B-P is given the pre-eminent role at least in part because Seton and Beard agreed that rather than continuing to squabble over "credit," it would be best to recognize B-P -- but of course with no actual role in the U.S. organization. The article also says a whole bunch of

CubsRgr8 says: In my council, the charter year runs Feb - Feb, so signing up 300+ new venturers in December would cost significantly less than $3K. Is that also the case in your council, Eamonn? If so, I could see the professional staffer willing to fork over the cash himself in order to make Quality, and thereby assure himself of getting a decent annual review. I'm not sure if that makes this all sound better, or worse. Cubs, in Eamonn's scenario, do you really think that in February (using your recharter date, my district's standard date is the end of March) they are going to coll

scoutldr says: Suffice it to say that Eammon's council is not the only one offering free registration as an enticement to grow numbers at the end of the year. Nothing sneaky about it, though...it's advertised on our website. Just the normal recruiting methods...no herding them into the corral and locking the gate. Maybe I am being naive here, and admittedly I have never been involved above the unit level. But doesn't the phrase "the end of the year" indicate something? If the sole aim is to provide the "program" for as many boys as possible, and if growth in "numbers" is desireabl

An internet search on "den aide" turned up several position descriptions, all the same, so I assume they come from the current or past version of some official BSA publication. (Probably the Cub Scout Leader Book, which I don't have with me.) The description is: The Den Aide Role Qualifications: A teenage boy or girl, ages 14 through 17, who helps the den leader succeed in bringing the benefits of Cub Scouting to the members of the den. The use of den aides is optional with packs, and is usually done where it is not possible to recruit den chiefs. Den aides are selected by th

A biographical novel, I wonder what that is exactly. How is the reader to know what part is biography and what part is novel? The article cited-to does not say that Burnham was the "Father of Scouting." The name of the book about him is subtitled "King of Scouts," but it is pretty clear that this refers to his reknown as a MILITARY "scout." Admittedly the article uses the term "scouting" in a somewhat confusing manner, and always uncapitalized, and it is not always clear whether it is referring to military activity or Boy Scouting. Here is a quote from the article: Burnham pl

Bob White says: Being a Quality Council is a signpost that you are providing more support for more units and more scouts than you did last year. Unless you are cheating, of course. And if one council cheats, and people find out about it, that seems to devalue the award for every council that wins it legitimately. It makes it look like an award for "making numbers" rather than enabling more Scouts to get the program. And if what Eammon describes happened in one council, it is difficult to imagine that it has never happened anywhere else. I also want to make clear, having r

Eamonn, I have read your past posts about the 300+ students who suddenly became Venturers, but it was not until I read this post that that I understood that the council (not the new Venturers, or the CO, if there really is one in this case) are paying the registration fees. This just seems like plain old fraud to me. Was this really approved by the volunteer body that supposedly governs the council (I am weak on the terminology at that level), or is this something the Scout Executive can approve on his/her own? If it is the latter, it is my understanding (partly from reading this forum) tha

Is there any particular controversy you'd like us to talk about, Dave? In any event, it seems that "Council Relations" has been somewhat of a hotbed of controversy, so it's not like everything is quiet.

My son and I each received an air mattress (we have been using skinny foam pads) and a non-electric pump for inflating same. I don't think Santa quite got the idea that there are trips where we need to pack all our stuff to the site in one trip, to say nothing of backpacking trips themselves. These things are really no good for any of those kinds of trips as they are too bulky, and also pretty heavy. I am not going to look a gift mattress in the mouth, however. My son's troop gave all the boys new pocketknives. I suspect that someone "came into" a supply of these... if they were going

Commandopro, first of all, I agree that there is a "problem," I don't think I would call it a crisis, and the problem is partially generated at the national level and it is partially inherent in our society. These issues do not affect all areas of the country or types of localities equally. I can say from the perspective of a suburban area in a state that is "socially progressive," it is a big problem. Sports is a major draw away from Scouting starting in the first grade. The two CAN co-exist, sometimes, but they don't always. My son's troop has about 20 active members but is lucky to get

DS: Just doing my bit to try to increase the mutual understanding of constitutional law. Or trying to, anyway -- this is a tough crowd!

Eisely says: Enclaves such as Guantanamo fall under the authority of the military. US military bases not on US soil would fall under the jurisdiction of the US Uniform Code of Military Justice, and any "status of forces" agreement with the host government. This is one of the areas where I think the ninth circus went awry, by creating jurisdiction for itself, essentially usurping the powers of congress. I have finally gotten the opportunity to print out the full decision, though I have only read the part that discusses jurisdiction. The Ninth Circuit spends a lot of time discussing t

Just to add one thing to that. I have pointed out a number of times that while "separation of church and state" is not mentioned in the constitution itself -- nor is "innocent until proven guilty" -- there are a number of other things not mentioned in the constitution that have been interpreted as constitutional guarantees anyway. One of those is the "right to expressive association," which is not mentioned in the constitution, but if it were not a constitutional right, there would be openly gay leaders in the BSA right now. That principle was the basis for the Supreme Court's decision in t