scoutingagain

"Back when THIS guy was, say, 13 years old, there was not only nothing wrong about those thoughts, but those thoughts were evolutionarily unavoidable" But Pack, I thought at that point you "chose" to be heterosexual. SA

"It is not the bogeymen of the ACLU that is the issue, its the judges that make the decisions that effect the BSA " Well that, and as you have pointed out, the laws the judges base their decisions on. There's that pesky Constitution we would have to deal with. SA

I'm also the Advancement Chair/Eagle Advisor of the unit I serve. For better or worse the SM generally defers to my decisions relative to advancement, but I recognize that he guides the advancement program not me. I empathize with your frustration Joni. But 1) Let the past go. Anything awarded in the past is done and there's basically nothing you can do about it. 2) I agree with Lisa. See if you can work with the SM to tighten the standards applied going forward. I bet if you asked him if he really believed all the scouts had met the standards the BSA expected to advance

I think this is a good thread. There will be many opinions and I think we need to respect them all and exchange ideas. I agree nutrition should be age appropriate and the needs of 11 - 18 year olds will be different from us geezers. At the same time I'm not from the camp that expects us old guys to eat nothing but nuts, berrys and greens. I like meat and there are certainly more healthy ways of preparation and cuts/variety of meats that are more healthy than others. The issue of adult cooking is a different one and I hope this thread stays on track discussing healthy menu suggesti

I'd like to see how he would answer the question in the project workbook on "How does this project benefit the community?" SA

"Let the sabotage begin." This can also happen in the caususes as well. Look what happened in WV. SA

"but there should be enough sufficiently fit adult leaders available that it never comes down to not having enough adults to do an active outdoor program. " Absolutely. And as Clint Eastwood said, " A man's got to know his limitations." If adult leadership is holding back the unit from high adventure activities due to their physical limitations, they either need to recruit adult leaders that and take on these types of activities or find opportunities the boys and take on without adult leadership from the unit. For those interested here's a link to the Valley Voyageur program offered

Well unless religious conservatives are willing to hold their noses and vote for a candidate that votes his conscience instead of marching lock step with party big wigs, those superdelegates may end up selecting the next President. SA

I agree with Acco that unless there are extenuating circumstances, adult leaders should generally be fit enough to deliver an active outdoor program and model a healthy lifestyle of diet and physical activity. All I'm saying is, a person can be quite fit and healthy and not necessarily have the chiseled features of a body builder or Hollywood action hero. In fact, some folks may have a natural body shape that on the surface would lead one to believe they are overweight and unfit, however given their level of activity and fitness, they are just fine they way they are. Looks alone

Pack, I agree. The point of my post is that we should not be so judgemental about physique. That alone is not an indication of an individual's physical fitness and as you point out, there are good people with individual reasons for the way they look. SA

I guess the question is where does one draw a line with respect to fitness and leadership. I would not recommend it be based on body shape or type. There is ample research to suggest some larger folks at their "natural" weight can be fairly fit, healthy and active but will not look like a model. On the other hand if adult leadership is not offering scouts opportunities to participate in high adeventure activities because the adults can't keep up due to personal weight and fitness issues, thats a problem. Adults as role models don't need to look like television fitness gurus, but sh

I'm having deja' vu all over again. SA

As long as we're quoting; Here's what that great intellectual and philosopher Loudon Wainright III had to say about Men; SA Men Loudon Wainright III When a ship is sinking and they lower the lifeboats And hand out the life jackets, the men keep on their coats The women and the children are the ones who must go first And the men who try to save their skins are cowards and are cursed Every man's a captain, men know how to drown Man the lifeboats if there's room, otherwise go down And it's the same when there's a war on: it's the men who go to fight Women

OK, this thread kind of comes from the EBOR thread. But more than just Eagle candidates go through BORs. Sat in on one last night for a Star scout. Good kid, active, could be a little more active in his role as PL but overall doing well. A pleasure to have in the troop. Asked, "What do you do to live the Scout Oath and Law in your daily life?" Scout Response: " Well,... I'm not mean to anyone." Was his serious reply. The Board looked at each other and started laughing. I suppose you had to know the scout. We then coaxed out of him how he helped around the house, at school

RMcCown, Had anyone given the QM feedback on his performance prior to his SM Conference? Or were folks silent on the issue? Generally folks interpret no feedback, as I must be doing OK. If the scout is not fulfilling his responsibilities, he needs to know that prior to his SM conference so he has a chance to correct his efforts. SA

I've never tried this, but it might be of interest to a ship's crew. Is there a Radio Controlled Sailing club near you? Or would you have enough $$ to buy a couple of RC Sailboat kits(I've found them starting around $125.)? Build a couple of RC Models and have a series of indoor match races ala America's Cup consortia at a local pool. Supply wind with some fans off to the side of the pool. (be sure their plugged into Ground Fault Circuit Interupter outlets) Something different. SA SA

The relationship with our CO had been like most, nearly non-existent. Things have improved the last year or so and I expect them to improve dramatically in the future. The church got a new Pastor last year and his son just joined our feeder pack! SA

Firecat I tend to agree with you. I believe some of Pappy's rhetoric is simply to get other's worked up. Pappy, Do the scouts and scouters in your unit know, understand and agree to live by the Outdoor Code? The Outdoor Code As an American, I will do my best to - Be clean in my outdoor manners. I will treat the outdoors as a heritage. I will take care of it for myself and others I will keep my trash and garbage out of lakes, streams, fields, woods, and roadways. Be careful with fire. I will prevent wildfire. I will build my fires only where they a

I realize there are some elements of the MB process for some badges are going to be school like. Some require readings, and written reports, etc. My biggest beef with the MBU type events is they go out of their way to make the MB process not just school like, but school! They completely destroy the intent of the MB advancement process. SA

Summer camps have been in the MB business for as long as I've been in scouting and that goes back .... well before Nixon. However I remember MBs at camp to be more activity oriented, MBs that were not easy to get other places, i.e. canoeing, rowing, riflery, life saving, sailing, swimming, archery, etc. I remember them being challenging and completing a MB in a week was not a sure thing. I remember having to wait a year to complete a couple because I had not mastered skills to the satisfaction of the youth counselor. My son worked at summer camp the past two summers. Tried to give partials

" am firmly in the camp that says slashing and burning, cutting and building, is a lot more about conserving the manly arts and man's proper relationship with his environment rather than doing our darndest to keep the TV Indian from crying. " Pappy, The above is probably the biggest issue I have with your vision of scouting. I could care less about the patatoe guns. Your scouts have their own private camping area to slash and burn. Most of us camp in public parks or other peoples private property. Leaving it as we found it is just a matter of common courtesy. It has nothing to

Yes Merlyn, thank you for the correction. SA

Pappy, The BSA already has a program very much like you describe. As OGE noted it is called Veturing and is open to all youth ages 14-21. SA

Just an FYI. That ID card will get any scout or scouter an instant 10% discount at any item at any Coleman outlet store. Including items previously marked down. SA

"Would I prefer a Catholic centered scouting organization for me? Sure. But I could imagine a Jewish Scouting Organization, an Islamic Scouting Organization, LDS, Jehovah Witness, Evangelical Christian, an Ecumenical Scouting Organization, An Atheist Scouting Organization, a Wikan Scouting Organization, and a Secular Scouting organization, etc. Whats wrong with scouting being tailor fitted for the CO or even a Nation-wide affiliation of COs? " And every option you mentioned above is currently available to COs in the current BSA organization, with the exception of an athiest scout unit.