Old_OX_Eagle83

That is a very interesting statistic, but I'm not as surprised as perhaps I should be. I've been a member of the Order of thirty years, and have had the distinct pleasure of belonging to two fantastic lodges, and one not so great lodge ... my current one. Being a longtime member I've seen a great deal of change in the order, some of it good, most not. When I was a scout the Order of the Arrow was "The Honor Camper Society", and was a program of the camping committee. Somewhere along the line there was a genius idea to restyle the order as scouting's "National Honor Society", and take the

Gonzo1: First I'd like to say thank you for your past, and ongoing, service to this great nation. Please don't construe anything I say as disrespect to you, when your county called, you answered, and that commands my respect. I understand what you're questioning, and it's good that we ask these type of questions, and discuss them as scouters. I've asked myself is a flag retirement something for just older scouts; is a flag retirement to much of a downer for a campfire; and are we making flag retirements too common. These are weighty questions. I was unable to serve in the arm

No official unifor jackets? The information below is directly from the insignia guide. Jackets and Their Insignia Multicolored jackets in nylon, wool, and poplin are available for optional wear by youth members and adult leaders. The universal emblem should be worn on the left pocket or, in case of a jacket without chest pockets, in the same area. The Philmont bull emblem is especially designed for the red wool jac-shirt to be sewn on the left side above the pocket. On all jackets the Philmont Scout Ranch, Philmont Training Center, or high-adventure base emblems may be worn centered on

Sorry Moose, I'm being thick headed today ... "missed it by that much * " *Insert picture of football stadium here

"Hispanics hate camping", I've never noticed this, and have been in units with several Hispanic Scouts. Of course I don't tend to profile scouts ...

BDPT00 wrote: ** Then you're clearly not on my training staff or one of my commissioners. If you're in a position to represent the BSA to other Scouts/Scouters, you should be in proper uniform. I won't mess with you if you're not one of mine, but I'll correct your uniform if you're in my charge. BDPT00 BDPT00, just as clearly youre not on my staff, or one of the commissioners in my charge. If you were Id instruct you in the purpose of the program, and the importance of recognizing the accomplishments of the scout, and his scouter mentor. That simple mentor pin not only makes that

All told, including District and Council events, about 16 weekends a year. Scouting is all about outing in my opinion. Most of us also do some trainings, and OA events, personally I hit over 20 weekends a year.

Packsaddle: A REAL favor would be to prohibit anyone weighing over 250 pounds from flying. I estimate the lines would be substantially shortened. Now we're going to discriminate based on weight? I'm six-foot-one and over 250 ... although I'm a little flabby now, at one time I weighed more, but had no body fat to speak of, all muscle. What would be the point of your suggestion? I'm going over the terrorist attacks, and can't recall where anything brought on the planes was used ... do these searches actually accomplish anything, other than create an appearance of addressing the issue

BDPT00 is correct. However, let me say that Id leave it right where the young man put it. Typically Im big on following uniform regs, but in this case, Id where it on my left pocket flap with pride. What I suggest is against policy, but I doubt anyone would ever say a word about it.

I dont see this post as causing trouble. I carried a fixed blade knife as a youth member until my council passed a rule against it. Why carry one, good question? The cool factor undoubtedly played into for me, mine was a Buck Pathfinder, with the black fold over sheaf. Are sheaf knives more useful, not for most tasks. Are sheaf knives less useful, this is often the case based on size, not the fixed blade. Are sheaf knives more dangerous, not by design. Sheaf knives cant fold up on you, but can come out of the sheaf and cause injury; these pretty well balance out. The sheaf knifes bad ra

John-in-KC has the right of it, regarding the steps to follow, and the attitude this should be approached with. Being a district scouter sometimes I look past the important first steps.(This message has been edited by Old_OX_Eagle83)

I read somewhere that when Lyndon Johnson was President the wealthy, the upper 10% of our society, provided 20% of our tax revenue. Now that number is near 4.5% of our tax revenue. Things have shifted drastically, and for the worse. I dont buy the Trickle Down Economics bunk, its just that. If these numbers are accurate, and I suspect theyre close, this puts the middle class providing 95.5% of the tax revenue. We pride ourselves as a nation on how well we take care of our poor, and that is noble, but we know the lower class are not contributing to this revenue. Of course, whats ironic, is the

CalicoPenn wrote: So now I'm wondering - why was all of this just fine under Bush II, Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, Carter, etc. and is now all of a sudden not fine under Obama? If you think this cynicism, I'll wear that badge with honor. No, not cynicism, I've been an Obama supported from day one. I'm just disgusted with our goverment in general. This type of thing has never been fine, and you don't want my thoughts on bush, Jr, or Sr, lol.

I wish this gentleman the best. I plan on sharing his story with the scouts in my troop, as well as the link, so that they can continue to be motivated

I think this unit is a symbol of the need to return to our core scouting program. However, the core program elements have to be packaged in a way that will appeal to current youth. Were drifting away from our purpose, and core methods of scouting. I see example, after example, of units recognizing this, and attempting to address this issue. I wonder why national turns a blind eye, are they caught up in a corporate numbers and dollars game?

Eamonn, perhaps the way I made my post was not the best choice to make my point. Let me come at it another way. Our thread is about sin, but sin is a component of a narrow group of the belief systems our scouts practice. Our discussion, and our programs, should take a wider approach to the topic of values, instead focusing on doing the right thing. Sin is the word you choose, likely because its the one used in your belief system to address this type of topic, but your posts do touch on the larger picture. Old Ox wrote: "Sin is a very subjective thing, one not uniform to all belief sys

Hmm, like the seminar talks. All required merit badges ... not sure I'm crazy about that. Something here kinda sticks in my craw. The trial to eagle, be design, requires the scout to be self motivated, demonstrate leadership, demonstrate organizational skills, and test his limits. This feels like a spoon feeding process. When I earned eagle yea here comes the walked to school, barefoot, uphill both ways, story Eagle scout used to be difficult, and 100% on you. It wasnt expected that you would reach eagle, it was like the holy grail! When you met an eagle scout you were like wow,

I find two things particularly disturbing about this, and the first one is kinda ironic. 1. Yea, I knew the CIA had been running similar ops for years, but this type of operation was always very discreet. Things have gone beyond open, to brazen. Running this type of op openly invites reprisals. Are we asking for another 9-11? 2. The amount of control being shifted from Congress, to the Chief Executive. This is precisely what our constitution was set up to prevent. Sure, it can be argued that the Constitution is 220 years old, and does not allow for the way things work in the world we

Aye!

A badge fell off that you sewed on, and you were forced to reschedule the BOR. Rule about pinning on the badge, no BSA doesnt have any such rule that Im aware of. I dont know your troop traditions, but this is not the way Id suggest doing things. If its a big deal that the badge is pinned on because of an unforeseen event, Id hand you a needle and thread and say let us know when youre done repairing your uniform. Of course, it could take you 5 mins, or 5 years to sew it on, that ball would be in your court. Every unit is different. Although I would not have handled things the way your troop di

Sin is a very subjective thing, one not uniform to all belief systems. To even entertain discussion of this topic with scouts crosses a line we as leaders dont cross. This is the province of parents and religious leaders. As far as program, its important that we remain are of, and sensitive too, the restrictions and tenements of all belief systems, and shape our program to not run afoul of any of them. Abrahamic belief systems include sin in greatly varied forms, most others do not. The differences in what is sin is massive when comparing someone who practices Hasidic Judaism, and a Unitari

Our Chief Spy, the CIA Director is named Secretary of Defense. Our commanding General in the middle-east is named to replace the CIA Director. The government confirms construction is under way on a covert CIA air base, somewhere in the middle east, tasked with running missions, on the sovereign soil of nations, who limit or forbid our operations. Admittedly, these missions will largely be securing, and/or eliminating, suspected terrorists. Who else is disturbed by this series of events? The CIA, which is beyond the control of Congress, is taking on a clear military role. We have our chie

Hats off to Cimarron, I hope he pulls it off.

As a youth I tought Wilderness Survival at summer camp for several years, it's amazing just how little you need, and what nature can provide. I think we have a generation that believes "roughing it" is not having a microwave, and cell phone gps/map app on a camp out.

The adult recognition program, like any other, is not without opportunities for improvement. However, like all BSA recognition programs, its designed to encourage people to step up, do the right thing, and then put that person forward as a positive example. Why no CC knot, I dont know. However, I will so no committee position as a knot. The Pack Trainer is not technically a committee position, but a program position. The Cub Scouter Knot is what you should be working toward. Basement Dweller, You may want to take a moment to consider the effectiveness of your communication, as I d