qwazse

I think the IT issue is there is a disparity between "registered with the BSA" and "registered in scoutbook" as it pertains to MBCs. BTW are any FB users getting ads sponsored by Aloha council offering for $20 to register your scout in an MB class? Basically, it's an MBC matching program.

Yeah, in my day, the councilor list was hanging on a bulletin board and we'd tell the SM that who we'd like to take the badge from. Same principal, but less global. Of course the SM didn't have to log much -- just stack up his portion of the blue cards then walk them over to Mickey's Men's store, grab a form, and order the badges. I'm not entirely against scouts using more global resources. But it certainly does slow down the process because the IT Group wasn't prepared to deliver the SM what he needed to be confident of his scouts' counselors the way older, smaller, districts used to be.

Didn't your scout meet with his SM before requesting a blue card? Weren't these counselors ones that your SM recommended for your scout before he contacted them?

The alternative is quite simple. If BSA believes that BLM has merit, they should: Encourage scouts to participate in the rallies in uniform either with the movement or with the police (both-and is possible), and help all participants maintain peace and order as they advocate their position. No merit badges, no rank advancement ... just another good turn daily. It's not original either. It's what we do. From two years ago: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39804471

You ain't kidding they are missing a huge opportunity: https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2020/03/05/on-the-100th-year-since-the-19th-amendment-lets-look-how-scouts-stood-with-suffragists/ Who want's to volunteer their kids to slap on uniforms and relieve the lines of riot police?

As someone who spends a lot of time brokering in sensitivity and specificity, and having chatted with a neighbor who was likely a false negative .... the whole "scarlet lettering" with antibody tests is unnerving. Given the current known accuracy of such tests, this all but guarantees that each camp will have at least one positive scout. Plus, what to do with a positive? He's going to remain so for who-knows-how-long after their body has killed that virus dead. And then we rack up the false positives who everyone thinks are no longer contagious and they wind up breathing the air of the false negative .... Controlled quarantine would be the most reliable. With your patrol 300' away from other patrols for a week. Then, if clear, with your troop. Then, march over to summer camp. Three weeks of increasing confidence in "no cases here" is the way to meet everyone's absurdly high expectations. Now that I think of it ... this may be why one of my Aunt's Campfire Girl camps lasted for "weeks on end". The first week was going to be rough not knowing who was bringing in what, but the subsequent weeks would be with an isolated population.

Each district in our state will be in a different position ... both financially and in terms of pandemic response -- which will vary by county. As I mentioned earlier nobody's writing checks in advance for the public health workers who would ideally be on site to trace contacts. There's a lot of potential for that to happen politically, but those gears need to turn faster. In general plans are being made to minimize and stagger times in the building. We might finally get those small class sizes that people think are important. At the university level, Pitt is starting the fall term early and ending before Thanksgiving. This *might* free up some volunteers to tutor high school students who aren't navigating the curriculum well. (Most of our universities have home tutoring programs.)

From the article that I noted above: So, does hating on a guy who the Third Reich hated make one more or less vile than the Nazis themselves?

The BBC countered some of the patently false claims of Topple the Racists https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-53007902 Oh, and one guess as to Corrie Drew's ethnicity ...

Actually, @yknot, our 20 somethings have been crossing from red to yellow zones regularly. They're in unique situations. But, thinking they confer more risk than someone who hails from a yellow zone is a very dangerous ecological fallacy. Thanks for training to contact trace, BTW. Those of us who use flip phones are counting on the lot of you to do what APIs wont!

It's pretty certain that asymptomatic folks crossing your state line aren't going to bring in any more virus than your folks going out of state for business or pleasure. At issue are bottlenecks. Lots of folks arriving by few mass transit hubs, checking in indoors, etc .... coupled with limited capacity to treat new cases. Contact tracing of post-modern nomads is a challenging exercise. And public health departments are putting the onus for accountability on camp staff. That's the real disappointment. From a public health perspective, camps would be ideal for training contact tracers ... an occupation we will certainly need come late fall. Forming the newly-unemployed into a Workman's Contact Tracing Corps would be a formidable endeavor, but the long-term payoff could be tremendous. But, I guess doing something of the sort would require a belief in big government that we all simply do not have.

Here, swimming pools are open. ('Round Pittsburgh, kids will swim, and we got a lot of rivers that reap as well as any virus would.) Seven Ranges in OH (which was our plan B) announced that it's closed. I'd grumble, but the per-capita mortality in Sweden -- which set up no substantial precautions --- has been excessive.

I hope that, beyond getting every city in the nation to police better, I'm hoping that these protests will show that large gatherings outside do not result in marked increases in transmission.

It's funny what people think they can and cannot afford. I'm more likely to take flack from big-ticket scouting parents over registration fees than I am from a parent with four kids and barely two sticks to rub together. But, that parent of little means probably does not have college debt, has settled for public school, vacations are c/o grandparents, and they aren't investing boatloads in housing (or boats).

And if the reporters show up and ask, be sure to tell them you got the idea from some stranger on the internet!

Yeah, I guess there's no replicating my early career as a paperweight when the drivers of dad's beer truck were too lazy to anchor the tarp. Replace "pickup truck" with "parade float" and we'll be in compliance.

Yes. Obviously the parents who join think it's worth the cost ... even after I describe the clothing and gear that the scout will be buying over time - especially if he's nuts about Jambo or other HA's ... doubly if the parent dives in as well. Many of them also "get" that vetting adults ain't cheap. But, for the parent who's paying for school tuition, sports fees, music lessons, church camp, etc ... they are going to think twice.

If I were in your shoes ... my feet might hurt. But let me just throw this out there: Instead of a Pope-mobile, have a scout-mobile! Find an outdoor location or set of streets that form a safely driveable block. See if someone can loan you a convertable or two, or a pick-up truck with a lounge chair ... or bicycles pulling wagons ... or chariots* ... Scout families take their place around the walk/drive. SPL shouts for the colorguard to "advance", i.e. get in the cars and be driven to central locations where they can raise colors prominently. To deliver awards, one would "drive" a vehicle up to the scout in question, transport him to the SPL, who dispenses awards. You then transport the scout around the arena proclaiming, "Behold, ___ is now a tenderfoot scout." Repeat for the rest of the group. *If you were near me, I have a couple of biers on which to place chairs to carry a candidate. Mrs. Q would be happy to see me part with them.

As long as that kiss of death is approved by your local SDW (social distance warriors), you'll be fine. But I agree. Most of the discussion on my favorite trail page has as much to do with citizenship and stewardship as it does with the sheer joy of stomping around in the big woods. When someone brings up gripes about littered trails (or blazing forests), I remind them that fewer citizens are being raised up to behave like scouts. Most learn in their late twenties, after someone calls them out on the mess they've left behind.

Our CO is elderly, so scouts' use of the church at this time was a non-starter. I was inclined to disagree because I felt the boys could meet at least to help disinfect the church. But, since I was busy helping my own church negotiate this time, I felt in no position to add another discussion to the mix. It's taken two and a half months for the boys to really start interacting online. Hopefully we'll get in a few outdoor activities.

BPSA not having a Title 36 charter, they are not obliged to report their numbers to congress, or anyone else, but if you want to count pins on a map: https://www.bpsa-us.org/find-a-group/. In general, they have a spartan following on the coasts ... not much in the heartland. While you are asking, however, TL-USA claims to be growing and maintaining coverage throughout the nation: https://www.traillifeusa.com/find-a-troop/. Their early members are now young adults, and based on my relative's experience, giving back to that program.

Looks like Bryan on Scouting hasn't gotten the memo yet. He called the National Venturing Cabinet president a "youth'": https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2020/06/01/meet-tyler-grey-venturings-top-youth-leader-for-2020-2021/

@yknot, Half my kin are in WV. They'd like your business, not your germs.

There is a sense that bigger is worse. Growing up, our default camping locations: Adjacent a water dam (no swimming, just hiking and fishing) Lakes on conservancy land (again no swimming) The trail that cut across our county. The back of a farm The county fair grounds (our campsite actually was an "exhibit" for the Bicentennial) Town/township parks A church camp that needed a trail built during the off-season The county airport (SM put a gnarly orienteering course there) The nearest summer camp ... we'd do Klondike there in the winter We had so many low-budget options that state park rangers would have to ask us to camp in their primitive sites.

Oh, it is much harder to get MBC's in general now. The paperwork someone has to do just to be registered probably consumes the equivalent of a few counseling sessions. Coupled with a culture that just won't answer the phone, and our boys have a hurdle 10 times the height that I did. A good district commissioner should help you hunt down that unresponsive MBC. There might be some real-life support that we as scouters could offer someone. Heck, in this case, the person might be an essential employee, and one of us could go till his garden for him/her! I am very grateful that my son's counselors got back to them right quick. One even stopped by the house because her office was chaos due to relocation, but she wanted to get Son#2 in right away rather than wait for her life to be settled. I know that doesn't always happens. But, this is the world that our scouts will have to live and work in. Shaking trees is a life skill.