skeptic

Hope you are not holding your breath Beavah. Once again, you are asking for rationality and common sense. Not likely!

One of my concerns the past couple of Jambo's, which I did not attend, was the amount of merit badges "earned" at the Jambo. So, I made it a point to visit the midway and observe. Overall, it did not seem as if boys were being "handed" the badges. A number of the booths specifically noted that a scout was likely to only get a partial, unless he had valid verification of some prior completions. Certainly, at least in the areas I observed, the boys were required to actually do things, and were also tested. The men and women running the activities were very conscientious and worked extremely

Personally, I am truly disappointed that some "Scouters" seem to have lost perspective on what the Law and Oath stand for, and are setting such a poor example for our youth. The booing is a direct reflection of what the scouts have seen, very possibly from some leaders, neighbors, and, sadly, very likely familial adults. We "Should" be better than that.

THIS HAS BEEN RE-POSTED TO HERE FROM THE JAMBOREE THREAD WHERE IT HAD A NUMBER OF RESPONSES. I would like opinions about the "Patch of the Day" being limited to so few, 2010. I know that quite a few were in some Staff hands, more or less, due to arrangements with certain T.P. individuals. Personally, I felt it was not a wise decision, and was truly unfair to the kids, as well as staffers who had to work odd shifts and had very little chance to get there early enough, or at all. There really was no reason to make the limit. If they had made 10-20 thousand, they still would have sold t

Wonder if this subject should be moved to the "Patch Trading Central"? If someone in control wishes, makes sense to me. Thanks for comments to date.

Mr. Boyce; Found that I really liked keeping my wallet in the left lower pocket with the zipper. I was less uncomfortable, and more secure it seemed.

I would like opinions about the "Patch of the Day" being limited to so few, 2010. I know that quite a few were in some Staff hands, more or less, due to arrangements with certain T.P. individuals. Personally, I felt it was not a wise decision, and was truly unfair to the kids, as well as staffers who had to work odd shifts and had very little chance to get there early enough, or at all. There really was no reason to make the limit. If they had made 10-20 thousand, they still would have sold them most likely, and made more profit as well. Then we would not see them going on eBay alre

Good luck Pack; keep in occasional touch. Find a local scout group if time allows and then report back to us how it appears compared to our own and others with which you are familiar. YIS

Perhaps she should review; my Woodbadge shows on my records. It is definitely training, and not an award. Granted, mine is under the older version; and my staffing the new course the first year out does not show up anywhere, even though it too was additional training. No matter.

"Scouters and Scouts are not like other people"! Their rules and guidelines make them "super humans"! They "never" veer into any grey areas, nor deviate from the exact definition(s) of their Law and Oath. None of them "ever" look for an "easier way", or a more rational and balanced perspective. They are ALWAYS in agreement as to the meaning of their tenets. They ALWAYS perform exactly as they should. Why? How? BECAUSE THEY ARE SCOUTERS AND SCOUTS!(This message has been edited by skeptic)

In S Cal we have few camps that offer patrol cooking at all, mostly due to fire restrictions, and also because of possibly too much focus on merit badge sessions which fill a lot of time, especially in mornings. But, even the camps that offer it have found the need to do central feed much of the time, due to complete closure of sites to any kind of fire, including gas stoves. Central feed is often slow and not overly appetizing, so the time factor is a bit misleading. Travel to the dining hall area and the waiting, followed by cleaning up by some, may almost balance it out. But, unle

Let us not forget that reality in most, if not all, the court cases has been "adults", mostly without real Scouting connections, suing for personal reasons. Example: Randall twins were happy as larks until "Dad", publicity seeking lawyer type, decided to make an issue. I have found it interesting that when one of the twins was interviewed about it as a cub and asked how he explained things such as the wonders of the outdoors; he stated that "Mother Nature" was responsible. Uhhhh; isn't she a Goddess representation? So, youth ae far more malleable, and are in continuous rebooting stages as

Most appears to be there now, but I spent endless time at least 2 or 3 different periods resubmitting troop records for training, including my own. But none of the Philmont things show up, and I attended 5 courses over the years, starting in 1977. Have the certs someplace, so it really does not matter, other than accuracy. It is now better than it was. Would make far better sense to have always had the same registration number, maybe even carrying over the youth number; though that might be questionable on some levels. Still, once a SS# is issued, it stays; so at least link it to what

Beavah; You are not surprised are you? Pseudo intellectuals generally have very narrow minds. Not sure how much more precise you could have been. Shield up.

Having been a NESA rep for a former council, in the seventies, I know that it CAN be beneficial if we work at it. Our district was able to find a number of unknown resources during that period. However, ever since coming to my current council, I have not seen NESA be as good a resource as it could be. They technically sponsor the annual Eagle Recognition, but I do not see members actively involved in doing so currently, though in the 80's they were. We even displayed the NESA banner. Why not now? I am not sure. The list that each council has as a resource from NESA is a tool that HA

All the way, but with coed option on local levels. JMTCW

I would much rather they seriously look at the rules for adult selection. Over the years I have had two, at least, adults who were major pieces of a viable outdoor program, but who did not have enough vacation time to both go to camp and take the rest of the family on a family vacation. Because they did not go to a "summer camp", they were determined to not be eligible, even though they had spent well over 30 days and nights out on weekends, some of which were 3 or even 4 days and nights. When, after 4 years, I wrote a letter to the lodge on behalf of one; the lodge flat turned him down. W

I contacted National supply regarding the selling of "current" restricted items on eBay, mainly the historical merit badges and 2010 advancement patches. These items are supposed to be earned, and as far as I know, have a paper trail through the scout store or office. Yet there are individuals selling them as sets and piecemeal. How are they getting them in the first place? Our local store refused to sell them in quantity to anyone, and even those of us she knows well who are historians only could purchase one complete set for their personal collection. Yet there is a guy in the council a

I discovered today that there apparently are two different memorabilia events scheduled during the jamboree at hotels in Fredericksburg. It appears, from the descriptions, that they will likely have a lot of things of interest historically. Does anyone know if it is something we could visit while working on staff? If there is a way, I certainly would be interested in perusing them. I am a paper and ephemera guy, so these are the places often to see some unusual items. Thanks.

I discovered today that there apparently are two different memorabilia events scheduled during the jamboree at hotels in Fredericksburg. It appears, from the descriptions, that they will likely have a lot of things of interest historically. Does anyone know if it is something we could visit while working on staff? If there is a way, I certainly would be interested in perusing them. I am a paper and ephemera guy, so these are the places often to see some unusual items. Thanks.

And if the last ML post happened, I would wager the building would sit vacant and become run down, as the economy is so bad, and the city has no money to keep it up. On the other hand, there may be some truth to the rumor the city wants the land to offer as part of a larger deal that benefits political cronies. I admit that I am now pretty much skeptical of anything to do with government, as I see them mostly as self serving, egocentric, individuals only looking out for their jobs and selves, rather than being the servant they are supposed to be. The real irony here is that any uneven

Sorry, but I am a bit confused here. If the son is the Woodbadge candidate, working on a portion of his ticket, then he is an adult. So, why is "mom" involved? When do we stop the helicopter stuff? Maybe I am being naive, but at some point parents need to let things be and let their children deal with adversity, even when it is indirectly part of the family. Of course, there does appear, based on the scenario cast, that the father perhaps has also been a bit overbearing; but dealing with that should be part of the ticket process, as well as simply growing up and being an adult. JMO o

Abel, and others. Anyone remember McMartin? And while I cannot remember the exact names, there have been at least two other similar cases. All of them eventually were proved to be primarily wrong; but those people's lives were ruined anyway. Based on the periods these files cover, the scouts were ahead of the curve in their efforts. Granted, the intent did not always work as it was intended, but they made the effort. Yet now they are being held accountable to current laws and abilities. I would hazard a guess that if anyone had the time and resources, they likely could find simila

Following are three letters that appeared in the DESERT TRAIL, a community paper in 29 Palms, Ca., home of the largest Marine base we have. The troop is from the town it appears, but they likely have Marine dependents involved; and the town is very supportive of the base mission. What impressed me most are the responses by the SM and SPL, published publicly. Boy led, adult mentored. Your view: Scouts' behavior disappoints reader Published: Wednesday, June 9, 2010 6:21 PM CDT Melodie Chambers; Twentynine Palms (Community member) Dear editor, I, like many Ame

Be in trading post B, serving or doing something with food. Only know where I will be, not the exact job. Tried to get in something to do with scouting history or literature, or even displays; but at least I have a place.