skeptic

POSITION Im neither right nor left and certainly not center. To me to be among the silent majority means to be among the dead. And for me not two or ten or two hundred make up a minority. Every man is such because every man is different. If I met a man who looked like me and thought like me and walked and spoke like me and was in no way different from me only then would I consider slaying him for he would have stolen from me all those truths and all those lies I'd found out for myself. All the living that had brought me here that man wou

Actually Merlyn, the standing issue likely will eventually reach the high court with the San Diego case. The lower court's ruling on standing is thin at best, and completely illogical (logic is not always used in these decisions obviously) in that the primary litigants "never" actually tried to use the facilities because the very idea of even dealing with the BSA would somehow cause them emotional trauma. Reality is that they would not have been turned away in the first place if they had actually applied; though their first choices may have been taken by others, including scout units. I jus

Just experienced this a few weeks back when a scout, after finishing OA Ordeal and just staying the night for morning ride, walked across the area near my cot, then sat down on a log. It unnerved me because he pretty much did not respond, other than saying yes when I asked him if he was okay. I was just preparing to change some clothes before getting in my bag, and I was under the stars with a cot. It was like he was simply sitting there staring at me. He finally got up and went back to his bag and went to sleep; the others in the area were all under the stars too. Next morning he had no

Ah yes; "citizens bring lawsuits". In most of these cases you can find a political and/or extremist group pushing it from the background, at least to start. Of course, I am not sure what it says about an individual if they are "so threatened by an idea or belief" that they need to sue in the first place. If you do not believe in something, then tune it out and move on; or find some other group with which to interact. The real problem is the development of a radically egocentric society. As long as people feel that "only their feelings or beliefs" are important, there will be frictio

Made me smile; thanks. Was looking forward to an Uncle Dan type individual wearing a 1920's style uniform.(This message has been edited by skeptic)

Me thinks Tim242 may be a spammer????

Thanks; I will mention it to the assistant SE. Not sure where they are at on this, as almost anything new has to be brought to their attention by one of us before they make any effort to work with it or explain. They are understaffed, and under funded, like many, and so the ones there are over worked and always putting out fires.

We still do not have the complete freedom from extra permits locally in our council. I was told again today that we still have to file them as in the past, even if within the local council and less than 500 miles. So, we still have to print and take to the office, or fax. Wonder why the local council could not simply be added as a recipient of the on-line form. Then someone there could record it when they get it. But reality is that most plans/permits are not far enough out to be checked before an activity; so faxing or taking it in is still the best way for it to be on file there.

Since I often tend to think that people might actually be rational and maybe even act with some amount common sense, I put these thoughts out there. First; when health care reform and adjustment has been a major issue for decades, and continues to be a problem, why has this even been the first actual legislation passed of any kind? Second; since there are parts of this act that actually are beneficial to most people, and especially those with kids in higher education or facing very expensive health problems, why is there the baying of destruction of the entire bill by those against i

So, can we claim mispronunciation when we hit our thumb with the hammer? Or do we just have a corner taken from our Hammer Swing'n Chit? Just asking.

It appears, at least with Chrome on my computer, that the tool bar type links at the top do not work, but the ones to right in the red boxes do. Once you get to the page, the sub categories do not work, but the main page items appear to.

Do have a question regarding the article stating they had the "first" female SPL. Not sure how that might happen, at least within normal bounds. If it is a crew, then the leader is a president. The crew would not be a part of the troop. I suppose they might have made a local decision to merge the two, so to speak, and have an overall group leader, or SPL. Back in the day, prior to coed of course, we had explorer patrols that operated separately from the main core of the troop, including being able to do both the explorer and scout advancement programs, but they were part of the troop

Sort of like crowd control for the suffrage marches in the teens. The article notes the police refused to do it. Borderline, but a common thing back then in actuality.

Once again; we might want to consider the Koshare groups in Colorado. If you read their history, it is obvious that they have worked very hard over the years to develop authentic dances and to cooperate with traditions of the tribes from whom they take dances. And, if a concern is brought to them by a "legitimate" tribal authority, they have respected it, and worked to either solve the problem, or discontinue that part of their routines.

Great article; too bad no photos. But, there was also NO comments about the PC nonsense. That is to be lauded, as the story is about the unit.

The comments about OA being fake and insulting to Native American culture are simply part of the PC mentality of today. Yes, there have been some poor renditions of ceremonies and regalia; yes, some scouts involved do not give it the seriousness one would hope; yes, there have been a few real faux pas's over the years that did not show the OA as particularly cognizant of Native American history and tradition; but more often, the efforts are well done, and regularly receive positive feedback from local tribe representatives. In our area, we have local Chumash leaders that on occasion particip

Engineer: "Some of us have no interest in the outdoors." If that is the case, then why would they even consider the BSA? Whether or not it is as extensive as it once was, which really depends on the unit program, outdoors is still a major part of the program. Someone joining with no interest in nature and the outdoors makes no sense at all.

Two thoughts, or questions to ponder. How much effect does the project have on the age of attainment? Remember, no projects were required until circa 1965; and initially, they were not quite as specific in regard to requirements. On the other hand; are adult Eagles, those that earned it as an adult when it was still allowed, factored into the data. Also, when you consider that you had to be 12 to join until the 40's, then the age difference is even wider. Still, much of it has to do with maturity I would have to agree. Kids are so over protected and under challenged by things tha

Base'; I hear you. We are the only troop on the west end of our city, which once was the core, but is now the "poor" end of town. We have not had younger males available to do the proper outdoor program for 10 years; our parents are wonderful, but either no male in the home, or have things that make them unable to be involved except peripherally. Same goes for the cub pack that meets at our location. As such, we struggle to have a decent program in both units. And ours could be the next one of those about which Lisa speaks; we are very old, but we cannot draw the kids from the

Take away access to questionable video games, TV hypnosis, and delusions that every kid can become a professional sports player of some type so they might be involved simple playing for the "fun" of it. In the hay-day of Scouting, Little League barely existed, and there were few other sports for youth. High school sports had restrictions on how much training could be required in the off season by schools, and of course TV and computers were pretty basic and a minor distraction. Kids also were encouraged to simply play outdoors, often until dark; then simply were called home, or went t

Caleco; I think the difference may be that in the other instances, they were ordered released to the defense, but not publicly. Not sure, but seems to me this is the first "public" release order.

Can anyone say "McMartin"? Why is it that we do not learn from such fiasco's? Now the "witch hunt" is to open to whomever might likely profit from it, mostly lawyers with questionable ethics. As pointed out; how many individuals who were never prosecuted for whatever reason held sway at the time of the accusation or suspicion will now be dragged through the mud? How many victims will be accosted by things they may have finally dealt with and moved on from? Redacting victims is only asking the "diggers" to find them by other methods; but they will search, that can be almost guaranteed.

One of the aspects of this discussion seldom touched on is the reality of early pubertal children, especially boys. Having spent many hours in many schools as a sub for 14 years now, I have noted that kids in grades starting at about 3rd or 4th, but especially in middle or junior high levels, are almost manic about "gays being unacceptable". Boys are particularly obsessed with making sure people do not think they are gay, and also in their abhorrence of the idea. This observation contradicts the statements about acceptance, at least at this stage in development. As such, it is certai

By the year 2015, all advancement can be completed on-line so scouts do not have to waste their time going to meetings and outings. That includes Eagle; but the candidate must upload a video, no longer than 5 minutes, of his project being accomplished and completed. Virtual camping will become the only camping requirement, though they can still count actual outdoor camping, as long as they document it with photos or video. All high adventure activities will also be interactively available.

Tampa; did he ask about the "slip"? Just wondered.