scoutldr

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.

Eamonn said, "At some stage the government is going to have to face the fact that there just isn't enough money coming in to pay all the Baby Boomers who are retiring and find a way of making up for the shortfall." There's the rub. It is not the function of the Federal government to "pay all the Baby Boomers". I assume he is referring to Social Security...a system that has become so bastardized and abused over the years that it is no longer sustainable. It was never intended to provide total support for those who retire, and certainly not to pay for all the ancillary things. And it was not meant to supplement the income of corporate executives with multi-million dollar golden parachutes. The best thing to do would be to scrap the whole system, including Medicare with all its abuses. (I have 6 aluminum walkers in my shed from parents who needed them and Medicare paid for them...we didn't need them, didn't want them, but every time someone got sick, we got a new one...courtesy of the taxpayer. They have no resale value, since everyone gets them for "free"). Many corporations, and the Federal Government, are moving away from defined pension plans and placing the responsibility for financing retirement back on the employees, whcih I happen to agree with. I recently read that the average employee will need $600,000 in savings to survive retirement. Less than 10% will have that amount set aside. Why should I be expected to "make up the shortfall", with my hard-earned money, which I only have because I have scrimped, saved and sacrificed over the years, foregoing the "toys" and expensive homes and new cars. I have relatives who have lived a higher lifestyle than me over the years...but they have no savings. What will they do? They don't know...they don't care...they don't even know they have a problem...all that matters to them is today. Sometimes I wonder if they're not right...they do seem to be a lot happier and stress-free. I will probably vote for Ron Paul...let the people keep their tax money and decide where their charity should go. But I can tell you, if you are unmarried with no health insurance, have 6 kids by 5 different fathers, and can afford cable TV, fancy nails, cigarettes, cell phones and $1000 rims on your car...you won't make it on to my list. Go ask a Democrat.

Some people think anything can be fixed by throwing a square knot at it. I think a bowline would be more appropriate...Commissioner service needs to be rescued...or let it drown and forget it.

Dwight D. Eisenhower...3rd cousin, 4 times removed.

As I sat here all weekend with a fever and excrutiating abdominal pain trying to give birth to a kidney stone, I have done a lot of thinking. I went to an urgent care Friday night, and they gave me an x-ray, Vicodin and a referral to a urologist. The first available appointment is January 4. Sheesh. They said if I didn't like it, I could go sit in the ER with those without insurance who have the sniffles. I've already missed a week of work thinking it was just a stomach flu. And I have real good insurance. I can't imagine what National Health care would be like... I'm also wondering what will happen to my health insurance if the Dems don't fund the war effort and the Secretary of Defense makes good on his threat to lay off 200,000 DoD civilians without pay for 30 days or more. Saber rattling...maybe. But it's still stressful to think about. We've spent significantly less on Christmas this year, thinking that maybe we'll need that money to pay the bills without any income for a month or more. The good news is the federal exemption for estate tax is $2 million and for 2009 will rise to $3.5 million. In my family, we'll never see those amounts. I am for the fair tax...or a national sales tax. Tax consumption, not income and savings.

The ones that scare me are the "voters" who enter the voting booth and are seeing the names for the first time. Ever listen to Hannity's "man on the street" interviews? Scary.

John, respectfully agree to disagree. I think it's the Scout's job to convince the troop committee...not the SM. When you reach this level, you shouldn't need adults to step in and run interference for you. As far as we can tell, the scout has not even talked to the committee yet. At this point it sounds like he's just brainstorming and the SM is socializing the idea...not presenting a well-thought out plan. PS: The first statement is "A traffic light is needed near a school." I would not take that as a given. In my city, there are criteria which determine where traffic lights go, including traffic density, and the proximity of other lights and intersections. Traffic engineers get paid to decide these things. The first step would be to contact the traffic engineer who may just say "I don't care what you think, it doesn't meet the criteria". Or he may say "Great idea, let's run with it." Scout needs to do more homework before he presents his idea for approval.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

If the troop committee gave it a "thumbs down", I think you're done. The first step is getting the plan approved by the SM and troop committee.

This sounds more like a good project for Safety MB, requirement #6. Not an Eagle Leadership project.

A year ago, our UC suggested we set a goal of sending our SPL to NYLT. What we didn't do was ask the SPL. Unfortunately, the scout who got elected wasn't interested (too much time and money), so the troop will not qualify. Oh well. Rule #1...don't set goals for things that you don't control.

Call me paranoid...Romania? Could be harmless...or it could be a phishing site for off-shore pedophiles, immune from US law. Sorry...I would have to say no.

I don't think it's a matter of tearing down each others' religions (I prefer to say "denominations"). I agree, captainiron, there are flaws in all of them, and every religious person I know treats his religion like a cafeteria menu...support the things you like and ignore the things you don't like or are too hard. I know a Jew who observes every holy day, yet will eat 5 pounds of shrimp in one sitting...his excuse "what the rabbi doesn't see won't hurt him". I have Catholic friends who use birth control and commit adultery. I once worked for a born-again Southern Baptist who was a deacon in the church...but hated blacks with a passion (used the N-word at every opportunity). I could go on and on...It's not up to me to judge them...God will do that and one day we will all find out what the "one true religion" is...I suspect it won't be any of them and God is up there laughing his butt off at us fools and the money we are pouring into the churches' coffers. What we are doing (at least me) here is to try to understand the LDS doctrine, especially since we may be choosing one to lead our country. I think that's worthy of discourse. There used to be some Mormon posters here, and with all the LDS scouters out there, surely someone could chime in and give us the straight poop. Then we can make our own decisions on election day.

A nurse, EMT, LNP, or PA cannot practice beyond the scope of their license, which in most states, requires the supervision of an MD or DO. They can provide first aid, but we all can do that. They can administer meds, but only with a physician's order. Recognizing when a situation is beyond "first aid", is a professional judgement. In this case, it didn't appear to be a life threatening emergency, so I would have called a parent and said "this is what's going on, what do you want to do?"

We completed this in four consecutive district meetings. It's also been incorporated into University of Scouting. It is led by your District Chairman, District Commissioner, or DE. From another council's website: The workshop is specific for registered district committee members, designed to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the position you serve on the district committee. The discussion and interaction with Scouters serving in the same positions in other districts will strengthen the learning process. The overall objectives of the workshop are designed to: Define the four functions of District Operations, list the positions of the district, as well as define how these positions carry out the four functions. Identify and emphasize the importance of each participant and the role served on the committee Identify the major tasks of each district committee and position, identifying ways each task can be accomplished Improve communication and cooperation between the key positions within the council Discuss and establish the 2008 Centennial Quality District goals

If I recall correctly, Richard Nixon was a Quaker. And Dwight Eisenhower was raised a Jehovah's Witness by his mother, a former Mennonite, but abandoned that in adulthood when he joined the Army. After his inauguration, he converted to Presyterianism. (I'm a distant cousin...a Pennsylvania German Lutheran). There is a local radio preacher who espouses that there is no Biblical basis for religious denominations. They are a creation of men, for their own purposes, and it's unnecessary. All you need to know is written in God's word, according to him. We don't need it filtered and interpreted by prophets, Popes, Bishops, and self-proclaimed Reverends. I think there's a lot of sense in that. I am going to miss my steamed shrimp, though.

Stranger things have happened, Beav. I hope the BSA countersues for trademark infringement. I have been regularly challenging sellers on eBay when I see obvious infringement. I send the seller an e-mail asking if they are licensed by BSA to be selling trademarked items. Only one said yes, and I notice the same items (challenge coins) are now on the Scoutstuff website, so I guess he's legit.

One of my scout's dad died last year from a very aggressive pancreatic cancer. We watched a handsome hulk of a man dwindle down to nothing within six months. His pain was unrelenting. When he passed, the family asked us to attend the Mass as a troop in uniform, which we of course did. During his illness, we did our best to assure that the scout had a place to come where he could experience some sort of normalcy, even if just for an hour or two. Mom encouraged him to continue camping and summer camp, and we did have a few meltdowns, but we worked through it. Scout just made Life and is well on his way to Eagle, which I'm sure will be dedicated to Dad. I think it's important to ensure the scout is not treated differently. Your meetings and activities will be a respite for him and a chance to be a regular kid.

We had a scout pass his EBOR and that's the last night we saw him. He hasn't even dropped by a meeting to pick up his award. We told him that the ECOH was to be planned by him and his family, but we would help any way we could, or we could just have a Troop COH. I guess it's too much trouble to think about. Some have said we should just mail it to him, but I'm not even inclined to spend the postage at this point.