scoutldr

I thank God that I live in a country where I can hear ALL ideas. Not just the ones that make me comfortable. It's sort of comforting too, to hear all sides. As my office-mate used to tell me..."without them, we'd just be average."

To really look good, the poly/wool shirt should be word with the poly/wool trousers. They are more "dressy" and look like dress slacks. $60 bucks. JMHO

This is unfortunately what happens when Troops are not serious about recordkeeping. I would call your Council office and talk to the Registrar. Explain your dilemma and ask for an appointment to come down and research your records. Hopefully they have everything recorded in ScoutNet. If your troop did not submit advancement records to Council, then you have a problem. Good Luck.

Pack, I think your problem is, it's the "Great Master of all Scouts"...not "Scoutmaster", most of whom are mere mortals.

Bloomberg...hmmm. Rich. Jew. Businessman. Philanthropist. Eagle Scout. NY-ness. Maybe. But I think he's too far behind the curve, and hasn't got the momentum.

What scares me is that most voters will vote not on the issues, but on intangibles or on "what will he/she give me". My 75 yo MIL just stated that she would vote for Edwards because he's "pretty". Others will vote for Hillary because she's a woman or because she will provide the most govt handouts. Others will vote for Obama because they like Oprah. My impression: McCain: Most qualified to handle today's issues, but maybe too hawkish. Obama: Too inexperienced ... not ready for the No 1 job. Hillary: No track record of accomplishments...Bill will probably be the shadow President if he can keep his pants zipped. Huckabee: Capable, but not sure we want a cleric as head of state. Paul: Not very "presidential", but I agree with his Libertarian ideas. But now is not the time. Romney: Stuffed shirt...too plastic. He's done. Giuliani: Done. The others never had a fighting chance and just wasted our time.

Kinda explains why the rest of the world hates us, as we sit here heatedly discussing proper patch placement.

The official BSA policy is the "Decaration of Religious Principle" available on every application form. I would have the COR or CC send her a letter, stating that troop activities will not be altered to accomodate one family and if that doesn't agree with her, attach a list of other troops in the area. Same as if she were LDS...she is more than welcome to come pick up her kid on Sat night, but the whole troop will not be forced to adhere to LDS policy. It's usually not productive to argue with the "defiantly ignorant". Just send a letter and make it clear that's the final answer.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

I noticed most floats are corporate-sponsored. Marriott Corp and Edy's Ice Cream come to mind. Maybe something to honor Steve Fossett? (I got my Eagletter today) An all-Scout marching band would be awesome! Take some talented high school band members who are also scouts...I would contribute!

Some of the things we have done: Pot of chili with fixins...sour cream, shredded cheddar, sliced jalapenos Pot of chicken noodle soup made from scratch Grilled brats and teriyaki chicken skewers

Maybe Merlyn was sent to us for a reason...

No, I'm not kidding.

For District and Coucil recognition dinners, we are encouraged to wear "full dress". Those are the only occasions that I wear them for. We once had a Unit Commissioner show up to present our charter and do a uniform inspection. He looked like a North Korean General, complete with every award, medal, badge, that he had ever earned since age 8...even wore his merit badge and OA sashes. We showed him the door.

Bienvenue, Florian! Yes, most of us are American, but we have some Australians, a German, and a transplanted Englishman among us. It's always good to hear about Scouting in other countries. Hopefully you will stay awhile and join us around our virtual campfire.

The first thing that jumped out at me were silver loops on a unit level scouter. (Or, if you like, unit numbers and position patch on a District level scouter). There's lots more on the cover and throughout the issue, but I'll let others have some fun.

GW said, "BSA claims that boys who make first class in one year are more likely to stay in Scouting. I have a feeling that their data and analysis is horribly skewed." I think the real story is that the data showed that most boys who dropped out were not yet FC. Therefore, the solution from Irving was to spoonfeed them FC as soon as possible, ignoring all the other variables. Now we're scratching our heads, "I don't know why he got bored and quit...he got FC by the time he was 12, and all he had left to get Eagle were troop-taught merit badges." Advancement should be a by-product of the program, not vice versa. Just because boys are advancing and you're cranking out Eagles doesn't mean you have a good program.

I've been around a long time and have never seen a youth BOR. BOR is the job of the Troop Committee, and is a chance for the committee adults to do a QA check on the SM's program. It also serves the method of Adult Association.

Seems to me that if the Lodge/Chapter has a good program, Scouts will want to be active Arrowmen. They will be urged to seal their membership through active participation, fellowship and service. 30% Conversion is hard to get when you only have 10% participation.

I just took a look at the Scouts Australia website to see the uniforms...which I didn't find. I did notice a few things, however... - Co-ed - Division by age levels Joeys, Cubs, Scouts, Venturers, Rovers - Cub scouts rappelling! (apparently "age appropriate" has a different definition down under!) - Rovers goes to age 26 Maybe BSA could learn a few things...

I agree with Owl. Unnecessary and goes against LNT. I think a conservation service project could be an excellent team building exercise.

When I reentered scouting as a Den Leader, I also renewed my membership in the OA lodge. All I had to do was fill out the form and send in a check. The only situation you mention that I would have doubts about is the Exploring example...since Exploring is a part of Learning For Life, and not the BSA.

The legend patches are available on eBay, but are not authorized for wear on the sash. As far as I know, the ONLY things allowed on the OA sash are the anniversary patches...if earned.

Wherever you go...there you are.

I'm not familiar with "TANF". I, too used to work in the inner city (health department). I used to see it every day. There's a difference between being poor through no fault of your own and making poor choices all your life (which you can control). One I can help with. But, as they say "you can't fix stupid" no matter how much charity you throw at it.

From what I have seen, "most people" don't have a clue what the BSA membership policies are and since it doesn't affect them, they wouldn't care. That applies to most subjects and current events.