NJCubScouter

That's good news. Let's hope that was intentional and that the page is not coming back. As an aside, I like the BSA's "Page Not Found" page with the map and compass. I never noticed that before.

I have no idea what you are talking about. It is you who are "reading in" things that are not there.

You left out Reagan.

I guess it depends on what the definition of "it" is. From the standpoint of Youth Protection policies, Mackey is considered an adult when he turns 18. That part is "true" regardless of what his Scoutmaster does or doesn't say.

Cali Girl: Did your son join a new troop? Is the new troop declining to submit an advancement report for your son for First Class because the BOR members in the old troop deny the BOR took place, even though they signed the handbook? (That's what we lawyers call a compound question, so if any part of that is incorrect, please say so.) Has your son asked the new troop to do a BOR for First Class, and what was the response? (He should not have to do that, but it might be the easiest way out of this mess.) Has this issue been presented to council, and what was their response? (I seem to recall some council involvement from one of the past posts, but I don't remember the details.)

Generally I would choose the first option, although as Tahawk points out, dealing with other countries sometimes requires things that might seem less than honorable. I did not say I disagree with the philosophy of what Tillerson said, in fact I generally agree with it. (I have no reason to believe that the incoming administration will adhere to that philosophy any better than past administrations, in fact it may very well be worse, but I guess we'll find out.) What I said was that I think he should keep the BSA out of his political statements.

The BSA was going along just fine with no policy on this at all, before the bulls-in-the-china-shop at National decided they had to step in with some half-baked "policy" that isn't even really a policy. There probably were, and are, some transgender males (meaning, their birth certificates say they are female) in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts already. It is the BSA that has made this an issue, for no good reason that I can see.

I was not referring to what "we" in general might do. I was referring to what Rex Tillerson did, in the context of this particular speech.

Unless they are still wearing the red shoulder loops, then they stand out like a flashing beacon. Or so some people seem to think.

I think Mr. Tillerson should leave the BSA out of his political statements.

Ankylus and Stosh, it seems pretty clear to me that you agree on this subject, so I don't understand what you are arguing about.

I don't know about your council, but mine does not require membership applications to have DNA test results stapled to them. (Yet?)

Interesting. My son also earned Fingerprinting... but he also earned Engineering and is now an engineer, though he was heading in that direction before he earned the MB.

Stosh, if that is a translation from the Internet, it seems there are still a few bugs in the system. It does seem to work one word at a time, like on "pertolangan", but even then I got a list of several English words that mostly meant about the same thing (though it was a mixture of nouns and verbs), and then figure out which seemed the most likely.

The Internet tells me it means "help".

I think there were some others that were "new", I think something about weather. (Probably mostly common sense, like not handling large metal poles in a thunderstorm, but not part of the requirements previously.) And a few other things that were "new". I don't have it handy right now.

Is this one more generational thing that I am not aware of? Is eating peppers that are hot to the point of being poisonous a thing for "younger" people now? If so, how young? The guy in the image above looks like he's somewhere around 40. I am in my late 50's. At what point between those two age ranges is the border between this sort of stunt being acceptable and not? And by the way, this ASM's younger age did not prevent him from getting sick, according to the article.

Thanks for posting that, John. We had a couple of kids who were aiming to finish First Class by that deadline but didn't make it. I believe there are seven or eight additional requirements for First Class that they need to finish.

Our kids actually want to do different things for monthly outings from year to year, but not for summer camp. It's kind of strange. Maybe they have come to regard this particular summer camp as part of "home" (even though it's in a different state, but not by much; it's about 45 minutes from the church parking lot) and it's ok to leave "home" for two days once a month, but not to move to a different home. I'm just speculating there, but it's one possible explanation.

Yes, I once saw that on a list of "famous last words", along with "Don't worry, the gun's not loaded." I never heard the term "ghost pepper" until a couple of weeks ago and didn't really know what they were, but I took a guess that they were very hot. Without even knowing the chemical details as Stosh does, I stay far, far away from that stuff anyway - hot peppers, wild wings, etc. Give me the mild version - it tastes better, doesn't cause me pain, and won't land me in the hospital.

Mashmaster, I would prefer the kind of setup you are talking about to the camp that our Scouts decide to go back to, year after year. They attend a camp where everything is so structured and scheduled on an individual basis (including the non-merit-badge activities), all day and into the evening, that there is really room for only one troop activity, and that is a one-day (really half a day) rafting trip on the Delaware River. But the focus is so much on merit badges that the result of the rafting trip is that many kids have to "make up" the work they "missed." That sounds like the tail wagging the dog to me. The kids are made aware of other options and different kinds of camps and activities but they keep voting to go back to this camp. (I guess it will sound a bit less bleak if I mention that over the past 10 years or so, the associated Venture crew did go to Philmont three times, with the result that about 20 different kids have gone to Philmont while I have been involved with the troop, some of them twice or even three times.) We want to (and do) let the kids make the decision, as we should, but the fact that they keep rejecting the other options and keep choosing the same-old-same-old is a bit disappointing at times. One would hope that teenagers would have a bit more creativity and yearning for adventure. The same-old stodgy attitude of let's do it this way because we've always done it this way is something I would expect more from adults. The summer camp experience I remember from my youth is much different. There was way more free time and the Scouts themselves usually came up with the "troop activities", including what was available at the camp but also including a pickup game of soccer or whatever with another troop. And it was usually two weeks! (These days it's a "week", but it's really six days.) Merit badges were an occasional thing and it was only the outdoor badges plus first aid. And I remember going to four different summer camps, plus Philmont.

Our council's "Cub Scout family camping" weekends were (and may still be, but it's been a long time) held at a council camp where the campsites and trails were extremely rocky. Cub Scouts running around, or even walking around in open-toed shoes, would virtually guarantee that there would be one or more injuries over the course of the weekend. I think that is where the "no running" and "no open toed shoes" (and in some cases, "no sneakers") gets ingrained in our area. And as Barry points out, tent stakes (and stoves, other equipment, etc.) will be a hazard even if you are camping on a flat, grassy field with no rocks. If the field is large enough and there is an open area away from the tents, kitchen area, etc., then the kids can ask a leader whether it's ok to run around on the field. And they have, and they get permission if there is no safety concern. It is all a matter of common sense. I will also add that a number of the "myths" mentioned in this thread are not really myths. They may be unit rules or camp rules. Where they become "mythical" is if they impose a requirement that an official BSA publication says you cannot impose, such as adding to the advancement requirements, or if someone tries to justify a "rule" by saying it is a National rule, when it isn't. But in the latter case, it may still be a "local rule", the only "mythical" part is where the rule came from.

I agree with what quazse said, I would just add that in our area, "no running in camp" refers primarily to when the Scouts are in the campsites themselves. Most of the camps we frequent have campsites that are very rocky and/or uneven and running is dangerous. And when the kids are running in the campsites, generally it is not for recreation or exercise, they are just "running around." Obviously if there is an athletic field or a trail that is safe to run on, they can run all they want.

In my area, I doubt there are many people who are even aware of the Lone Scout program. Scouting is thought of as a group activity. As for Maric in particular, I think he is still gathering information and determining what he is comfortable with. My experience with a church that is a CO is the same as others who have posted about this. The church does not impose any religious requirements on the unit and only a few of the Scouts and leaders over the years have been members of that church or denomination. They do like to see us on Scout Sunday.

It's nice to see some good news.