scoutldr

J Corbi is a perennial school band fundraiser here. We always buy and the quality is reasonable. I have no idea why your council would declare it off limits...other than the fact that they don't get a cut, like they do with popcorn. I'm not aware that our council has taken a position; my unit sells Xmas wreaths from Mickman Bros. I haven't bought BSA popcorn in years...but we buy pizza and wreaths every year. There's a message there.

Pass the Soma...

Robotics - ok, I'll buy that (must be a similar situation to Composites...sponsored by an industry group?) GPS/GIS - should be incorporated into Orienteering SCUBA - I'd be surprised. That would be REAL expensive to offer at summer camp. Unless a scout took a commercial course (NAUI/PADI) or went to Sea Base, I don't see it being real popular.

"I am the first CC they have had in 3 years and it shows" Your statement is a little confusing...a Pack can't charter without a CC. Were they just "in name only"? Usually it's the COR who is "in name only". If the COR is actually engaged and doing his job, perhaps the Committee resented it and didn't like the "interference". I know in my unit, that would probably be the case, if our COR came in and started telling us how things were to be. I don't have any solutions...it will take time...and perhaps some turnover of personnel before things start to get better. My advice...don't try to turn it around overnight, or you will just get more resistance. It didn't get that way overnight and it will take time to "morph" back to where it should be.

The OA ceremonies are filled with symbolism and tradition. Read the materials you were given carefully...several times. Then throughout the weekend, pay attention to the words of the ceremonies and "take them on board" ... it's a time for reflection, thought, and hopefully a redirection of your life. What you go through during the weekend is minor...and temporary. But the lessons and friendships will remain with you forever. I had my Ordeal in 1968. Today, as a 50-something adult, I still remind myself of the Obligation I took...and sometimes it helps get me through the day.

I know it exists...I have some on my uniform. Try your local sewing/fabric store.

"Color of our skin is not, cannot be a determining factor on anything." Except for Affirmative Action, of course. Racists come in all colors. It's sad that we have to deal with things like this in our volunteer "leisure" time. Kinda makes people not want to volunteer. I liked the suggestion put forth..."Mr. X, if you are concerned about how we are running our program, please fill out this Volunteer Application and help us out."

It's sad that the trespassing gang-banger got himself shot. But I won't lose a lot of sleep over it. You go looking for trouble, deal with the consequences. The real issue is how many laws were broken in the process of getting shot? Let's enforce the laws we already have...trespassing, possession of concealed weapons by minors, etc, etc.

My mom said if I twitter too much, I'll go blind.

"The key point is that he made a promise that will likely go unkept." Reminds me of the story..."you knew I was a snake, what did you expect?" Politicians are all alike.

I recently heard a statistic...if someone visits a website 3 times, and the content hasn't changed, they won't be back. Our Unit Commish resigned 6 months ago...her name was just removed from the Council website. There's no excuse for that. Keep the content fresh. Another tip is to plan the Pack/Troop calendar at the annual planning meeting (everyone does that, right?)...then send out the calendar and post it on the website. DON'T deviate from the calendar unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. Parents and scouts (and Scouters!) these days are over-scheduled. If you hope to get on their calendar, you need to be first in line. They just announced our District Camporee will be in May instead of the second weekend in April like it has been for 20 years. Sorry, but I won't be there...my schedule is full for May....but now I have an opening in April.

Niger....that's that bird seed my wife gets me to buy at Home Depot. Indeed, our language can be queer at times. I still see no harm in looking a word up in the dictionary...then if the meaning still fits what you are trying to express, go for it.

Time for an English lesson. Just tell them they are not allowed to use words if they don't know what they mean. A brief search online tells me that "fricking" is a derivative of "frigging" which is (or was) a sexual term...from the Latin "fricare"...to rub. At my wife's elementary school, they use this tactic. A boy was once sent to the office for fighting because someone called him "faggot"...he was told to look it up. Bewildered, he said, "why would he call me a bundle of sticks???"

As we have discussed here before, BSA has defined "active" = "registered". So that's a moot point if you are keeping him on the rolls. To get a Palm, you need a SMC. The SM controls who does them and who signs them off. Period. You also need a BOR. The troop committee chair controls that...NOT the district. IF the district is interfering in troop business, then give the District Key 3 a call and politely tell them to butt out. You also need a signed Advancement Report signed by the Troop CC and other BOR members that the advancement has been completed. Give the Council Registrar a call (or send a letter) saying that ANY advancement report for your troop signed by anyone other than (list the names) is NOT valid and is not to be entered into Scoutnet. Make sure your COR and CC are on board with you before doing any of this. If they refuse, then you have a career decision to make.

In my paying job, I deal with reading and translating government regulations. In fact, I've written some of them. The words "should", "shall", "must", "may", "rule" and "guideline" have standard specific legal definitions that the BSA should become familiar with. OSHA, for example, will write a regulation, and also will post online enforcement guidelines and letters of interpretation in response to inquiries. They will also publish a "preamble" to a regulation that thoroughly explains the rationale and thinking behind the language in the rule. It would be REALLY helpful if BSA did this.

You can't spend what you don't have. A small detail that seems to get lost in the political bickering. As the government postures to take even more of my hard earned wages away from me to give to others, I am forced into defensive mode to protect me and my family. I'm not saying Obama is evil (although I DO wonder about Pelosi), just that I disagree with his strategy toward Socialism. Bush was no Einstein either. But as Cramer said, the reality is that every time Obama opens his mouth the Market reacts negatively and I lose another month or two of retirement living expenses. I can't stand by and do nothing. I don't have 20 years left to "recover". "I seem to remember that it is up to the people to take care of themselves, not the government." Obama was elected by a majority who seem to disagree with you. "It is up to people to take care of their neighbors as well." Charity is something that I decide and is between me and my God...not the government. When the Government forces people to give charity, it's called taxation, and they resent it. I give more than my fair share to charity now...WAY WAY more than Joe Biden. Of course, that's about to change.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

Honestly, OGE, I think you're seeing something that's not there.

Watching Jim Cramer last night ("Mad Money", CNBC), he recommends "Obama-proofing" your portfolio...moving into "off shore" companies beyond the reach of Obama and his tax-happy band of Socialists. It has also been recently revealed that the Obama plan is to remove several tax advantages for those making more than $200-250K (the number keeps changing day to day), such as eliminating deductions for mortgage interest, charitable donations, etc. According to Dick Morris, the effective new tax rate will be somewhere around 60-62%. To me, this has many chilling implications: -Small businessmen will no longer be willing to invest in entrepreneurial endeavours, thus NOT creating new jobs and "trickle down" cash flow to suppliers. -Charitable organizations will struggle and many will die. -As investors move their money to foreign companies and hard commodities such as gold, the value of US companies will continue to spiral downward, resulting in massive unemployment. -The construction and real estate markets will evaporate as the advantages of home ownership are stripped away. -The continuing international devaluation of the US$ will lead to hyper-inflation and bankrupt the country (let's hope the Chi-Coms keep buying our worthless debt paper) So, what have I done so far? -Cancelled plans for major purchases (SWMBO really needs a new car, but we'll wait) -Cancelled family "vacation" this year - forget Jambo -Paid down consumer debt and credit cards to zero -Starting to accelerate mortgage payments while I can still deduct the interest -Moved my 401k to "all cash" to preserve capital...my "paper appreciation" has already evaporated -Increased savings allotments from paycheck to increase emergency "cushion" in case of layoffs -Will probably reduce or eliminate FOS donation this year - if I donate to Scouts it will be to my Unit -And the big one for me: Will start a diet and exercise plan so I will be less likely to have to depend on Government Socialist Health Care, which will be non-existent when I get there. I have NO faith that the "GOV" will "take care of me"...nor should it. Maybe that's a good thing...old folks are living way beyond their abilities anyway. That's not what Nature intended.

"listening to this pack of jackals makes me ill" But you do it anyway, don't you? Don't despair, mm. Your $600 check is on the way....then your life will be changed forever and everything will be ok.

Government "help" to business is just as disastrous as government persecution... the only way a government can be of service to national prosperity is by keeping its hands off. Ayn Rand (1905-1982) It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master. Ayn Rand We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force. Ayn Rand

One tip is to keep the feet dry. A common scene at camp is that after an aquatics badge, instead of changing into dry clothes immediately, they rush to get to their next badge (or campsite), still wearing a wet bathing suit, dripping into their shoes, usually with no socks. The shoes stay wet all week and they wonder why they get foot-rot.

"the poor guy has been saddled with the worst train wreck since FDR" Poor BHO. Led kicking and screaming into the White House against his will. Gimme a break. The mess we're in is due to ALL the politicians, on both sides of the aisle. They were all asleep at the wheel while Big Business ran amuck, except maybe for Ron Paul, whom everyone dismissed as a whack job. Seems everything he's said has turned out to be true. There's another gun show this weekend in my town. I'll be there stocking up as well, while I still can.

"Other than to say, "Mine is more powerful than yours", or something to that effect, what is the reason for having them?" I guess one could say the same thing about those hundreds of Boy Scout patches in my closet. I don't really NEED them, so maybe the Government should pass a law prohibiting me from owning them.

GO FOR IT!!! If you don't, you'll regret it the rest of your life!

Most of the troops in this council rotate camps every year. All of the camps in Va and NC are within a days' drive, so that means a scout can age out and never go to the same place twice. In regards to supporting your local camp, we sometimes have more out-of-council-troops than we do in-council. As long as there's a scout in every cot, who cares? And most councils charge a surcharge for OOC troops.