skeptic

My card from 1959 is the same as all the other rank cards of the time, except it has the dangle Eagle in a circular background at the top. Same for the palm card. To make things worse, for some reason I carried them for a while and managed to fall in the water with them in my wallet. Now they are soiled, ragged, and the ink ran in places. Still, they have a special place in the memory book. As pointed out already, it is not the card, or the certificate that makes one an Eagle.

But you can love your neighbor, yet not love his choice in lifestyle. As usual, no one on either side of this, here on the boards, or elsewhere, is likely to change their minds. On the other hand, it does get tiresome to have a few individuals who feel the right to insult others because of interpretations of things. BSA, almost all agree and understand, has the right to make these rules. They see them as reflective of the central ideas of the program. No where do they say these individuals are "bad" people, or should be ostracized from society; only that they are not examples of a sty

Looks as if they have the whole new book up on line. Take a look at this address. http://www.pilandonline.com/BSHB_web/ Interesting material, and links to related sites outside of scouts. Seems to be a huge advancement in this area.

I find it somewhat interesting to see Nick's comments. A few years back I breached the subject to a small group of my older scouts, over 16, who asked about an incident where a guy verbally attacked us at a public event. Their response was just about the same as Nick's. Whether or not a few individuals will continue to insist that this is not representative, everything I see in schools and actual interaction shows a discomfort and choice NOT to interact by a large majority. On the other hand, most of the same individuals will state that those who do make that choice have that r

Nick; Unless a scout has a physical problem, there is no reason he should not be able to do the swim requirements. If this means learning to overcome a fear of water, then it is a growing experience as well. But, because being able to at least swim at a minimal level is really a safety issue, it should stay. It is like suggesting that because a boy has trouble with math, he should not have to do personal management. Unless he is challenged, then he just needs to overcome the obstacle. Part of growing up is facing challenges; and this is one that basically all scouts need to face.

While I have no specific proof, I have been led to believe that BSA has suggested a merger with GS a couple of times, but been rebuffed by the national organization. In our area, there have been a number of GS troops that would have gladly joined with a same age BS group if they could. That also goes for the girls in the 11-14 age group; they would join BS if they were allowed, but have no interest in the GS because, for the most part, it is too focused on home and craft stuff. Personally, as long as you have the male/female leadership needed, I would not see it as a problem. I know

Since there seems to be so many with ideas as to why Eagle is not what it once was, lets have different levels. Perhaps: Basic requirements: 21 merit badges. Cooking required, but variants for level of Eagle. Still require basics, e.g. first aid, swimming or alternates, lifesaving or emergency prep, 3 citizenships, personal management. Personal fitness would have options to fit the level. URBAN EAGLE: No outdoor requirements, but more focus on everything urban. Would require learning to cook, but only in a kitchen. Project would be city focused. PF option would be very minim

BadenP: For someone who is so out spoken about things and the honor of scouting, you surely are not setting a very good example. We all have issues with likely many things, and even perhaps a number of people in the program. But your strident attacks are becoming, at least to me, a bit tired. You do not like Mr. Mazzuca; that is your right. But your recent comments are bordering on slander. Perhaps it is time for you to consider your recent posts from a distance, and maybe tone things down a bit. And, who knows, maybe someone else even agrees with me. And just so you know

Here is a more responsible story from the Durango Herald. It does not sensationalize the story, nor mislead people with an erroneous headline. http://www.durangoherald.com/sections/News/2009/07/24/Suspect_in_court_for_child_sex_sting/

Actually, an issue could come up if for some reason there were not enough mb's listed for Star of Life with the proper dates that precede the BOR. Say it shows only 5 badges before the Star date, or only 10 before Life. Then he did not meet those requirements according to the data given. So dates earned are very important prior to Eagle.

Same flap never would fly; too many "radical collectors". How would they survive?

Never even seen these; but I would agree that the universal ribbon arrow is all you need.

More hours in the day.

Good advice all around; clean, neat, and accurate depiction of your record within the bounds of the insignia guide. I personally do not feel the option noted by John in K.C. is appropriate. An Eagle board is not an OA event, so the sash is not relevant. The merit badge sash is a must, in my opinion. Good luck.

In August, we will be having an Eagle ceremony in our troop. As we were leaving for camp, the young man's mother told me about "her" letter requests. Apparently, she sent letters to everyone on the relatively long list gleaned from the web. She capped that with, "I even sent one to the Pope". Now, that is great, but they are Baptist. Am I the only one who often wonders how much these letters mean to the young man himself? In this case, at least at the moment, he could care less if he even has a ceremony. While it is great to have these things, would not a few from truly mean

Yep; junior college straight out of high school, and had to live away because I was from the middle of the desert. Barely a C average, 2.01 for 60 units after being near top of HS class. Went in service and got out at 25 with G.I. Bill and back to college. Dean's list and B average overall. Grad school after 2 more years, married, full time job, and still a 3.75. Maturity and responsibility seems to have made a difference, at least in my case. Have seen far too many drop out of college early because they were just not ready. Our school counselors might be wise to not push some to hard t

Just a thought: How many within that huge increase would have been better served to have been guided into a trade or other occupational training? It seems to me that we put far too much emphasis on "everyone" going to college. Reality is that many do not want to, are not really able to succeed, and so waste money and time which could have given us more tradesmen, an area in which we are critically short. JMHO

Lisa; You hit the nail pretty squarely. In Ca, the initiative process has severely damaged things too, as many of them were passed without thinking about how they would be paid. Of course, we also have more severe problems with illegal immigrants than much of the country, in that many of our laws allow them to receive services, even though they are here illegally. While most people understand that they do pay some taxes, they do not feel that offsets the cost of the services. There are no easy answers. But somehow we need to find solutions, or we will definitely find ourselves

Don't they have a device that jams signals? I read about some restaurants that were using them. That would be an easy fix I would think.

DesertRat; I got back into the program in Spring, 1976 and was quite surprised at the materials I found. Fortunately, I was in the Topanga District of the old GWC in the San Fernando Valley, and did my introductory training with the infamous Patrones, who were old school for sure. When I went to Philmont for commissioner training in 77, the talk was all about the loss of traditional scouters and the start of the change back to "real" scouting. But I was really glad to see the new handbook that year. I remember getting a free copy that spring given by a scouter there in the Valley to al

Lisabob; While it is still nascent, and a long shot, I will not be overly surprised if the drive for a rewritten constitution comes to fruition. Even though so many no longer vote, they might still choose to completely redo the whole governing structure. A few other things that could happen, at least on paper, would be limiting pay to all politicians, taking away perks such as cars and per diem for those earning over a certain amount, and some kind of control on judges that make politically skewed decisions against the will of the people and not based on solid law. As long as th

We brought it on ourselves. Hardly anybody is willing to look past the next moment in time and make needed adjustments for the future. I have it, let me spend it. In today's recession, those who have been prudent are okay, though perhaps a bit leaner; most have problems due to their poor decisions and blinders. Our state governments are just the same, or worse. In California, Grey Davis spent the surplus rather than save it for a rainy day. Now the monsoon has hit and guess what, the floods are inundating the state economy and its population. Still, the idiots in the capitol are p

Actually Eamonn, that is exactly what happened here when the infamous "Inner City" program was put in place that pretty much put the "outing" out on the periphery of the program. From what I have seen in historical material, that is when they lost the most "old time" scouters; and many never returned even when much was put back in place, either because they "were" old to start with and disappeared, or they were so upset they simply chose not to. And, I think that would happen again if they decided to go that far overboard. Anyone who looks at the successful troops can immediately see t

"A Scout is Hungry"; he eats when he can, all he can, and whatever he can. The 13th point dates at least back to the 50's, and likely much farther.

Merlyn: So, you have made our point; "YOU CANNOT prove God exists, but you also CANNOT PROVE God does not exist". Perhaps he/she is simply out in the universe riding the unicorn.