skeptic

Time? When I have to remove them from my primary uniform, which is the only one on which I use them, it takes all of 2-3 minutes; and of course, the same to put them on again. Have yet to have any problem with them either sticking me, or falling off. Year pins, now they occasionally come off for some reason. Also have to remove name tag and OA ribbon. Guess I have too much time.

Like most programs, it depends on the leadership and troop environment. We try to discourage too many merit badges, especially the more difficult ones. Younger first or second years are encouraged to take just two or maybe three, as long as only one is harder, then work on advancement and partake of free time activities with a buddy or two. We also try to schedule a few troop activities, but allow simply "kicking back" time as much as possible. But you need to have the parents on board from the start. They need to "get" that summer camp is an opportunity for their son to earn some rec

Can surely tell who has not been around forever. It is basically going back to the original way of doing it. There were no Cub specific knots for years, they were simply Scouter knots with a device. I have three devices, a scout and commissioner device on the training knot, and the scout device on the key. I never understood the reason for the Cubbing array anyway, as they were the same awards, just in a different area. There were no special knots for senior scout leaders; they wore the related device. Will help a bit with the clutter; but there are so many other new knots, that it

They are called a bigot and get sued.

A comment in another thread and board regarding youth and adults feeling uncomfortable in a more public area made me think about my own experience as a youth. At that time, we did not have separate areas for adult men and youth in public changing areas or restrooms and so on. I can remember showering at the YMCA before I was 10, along with men and boys. In high school (we did not have JH gyms)we changed and showered in communal areas, though the coaches did have their own office area with shower. My brother and I have talked about this once or twice, and cannot remember being particularly

Am I just being left out, or did I do something right? I do not have any ads with banners or pics. Do have something with a link about cruises (which I have never taken nor looked for), and a couple of camping gear links.

Could not locate the original thread relating to climategate, so am tacking on here. Yes, I realize the attached link is from a group many find less than acceptable. But, the basic info is definitely of interest in this area. It will be interesting to see the follow ups on this particular study. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/30/richard-muller-global-warming_n_1066029.html?ncid=webmail12

"As Beavah points out, there really seems to be a lack of good mainstream scientific journalism." In reality, real journalism is almost extinct. It is really a shame that the best journalists appear to work outside of mainstream media. Whether it is due to standards, or lack of, or that "sound bite" writing is not real journalism, so the best writers simply go elsewhere. All you need to do is look at the atrocious spelling and grammar in any large newspaper to understand how far even basic standards have slipped. One of the reasons that a few blogs are so popular in some areas o

Shortridge: I will accept the likelihood that "some" executives were more concerned about "ass covering" than what was important, and would suggest that you admit there are some attorneys that are simply out for finding the biggest paydays and could care less about much else.

As Eamonn indicates, there is much that is not black or white, since most of the info is still not in the light. So, how does it get examined? Should BSA today, put together a team of individuals, both from within and without the organization to cull through the files and determine which ones were not dealt with as they should have been? What might be discovered by bringing it all out? To me, that is what they should do, as I too do not feel that trying to keep it in the shadows serves any purpose. On the other hand, the material needs to be handled very carefully, so as to not destro

Shortridge; please try reading what I asked, rather than suggest that I think the policies of the time were right.

While few here would likely say the methods in place 25+ years ago to deal with abuse accusations, verified, or only allegations, were correct, they were pretty much what "was done" in the majority of cases then. So, how do we deal with judgment of these issues more than a quarter century later? We can scream and holler all we want about how atrociously these cases were handled, but the fingers then need to be pointed at "society in general", as they were just as guilty of the how authorities and institutions reacted because they refused to support the few cases that actually came to pub

PETA is helping a killer whale sue for its rights; any relation to all this?

"The boys DO work in a realm of face-to-face interaction if the unit is active. It is not only a source of fun and learning but also socialization so they can learn how to get along with others" Pack; Above is so true. Was on a day hike Saturday with 5 scouts, and while we were at the rock scrambling location (no ropes), you could see the interaction going on. Have one photo taken by someone else that shows them in a shady spot in animated discussion, completely engrossed and having a good time. I suspect they were talking about video games or such, but they were together and inte

Pretty sure there are a number of camps in the west also; some have separate high adventure sessions in conjunction with regular summer camp options. Also a sea base in Newport Beach, and special HA activities at Emerald Bay. Still, always sad when camps are lost.

Moose; Here is your post from the other thread to which I had referred. "The DE should not have the right to remove a volunteer for this.. The Charter Org if they are frustrated with what they might see a an organized mutiny might.. The Council should only have the right to remove people due to crimial records of one type or another.. Period.. Otherwise it is the charter Orgs unit, and they have the right to choose their volunteers.. I would give your Charter Org Rep a jingle, and tell them the story, and get them to put the DE in their place.. Edited to add: Oh yeah

http://claremont.org/publications/crb/id.1876/article_detail.asp#

B.P; not sure why you think I was referring to you in regard to political issues. I was referring to the raising of PC issues as reason for dismissal by a SE; and that was noted by another poster. Your comment is rude; and it does not reflect well on you, IMO.

Appears to me that the same thing is seen in the school student leadership. For whatever reason, there tends to be more girls than boys overall, especially in middle school levels. May be the issue "momof2cubs" notes, or simply a maturity and interest thing. I would go more for the latter in that by the end of high school, there appears to be more male participation in the schools too.

Two comments here. B.P, while I know you were a pro at one time, I believe you are partly muddying the waters in regard to SE only can remove. As noted before, the CO has the final say on unit leadership. As I understand it, they can terminate the individual's membership, at least in their unit, which may be where we are fuzzy. I guess the individual could technically go elsewhere if the SE or other units should choose to accept that. We have dismissed a couple over the years, but we did notify the council and let them know our reasons, and they were removed. I personally wou

SM618; You need to understand that "common sense" and "reality" are no longer rational ways to respond. After all, the PC crowd has "all the answers", and "know better" than we "out of touch" commoners. The same empty nest PCers making many of the comments and authoritarian statements, if confronted with "their own sons" being in that unit with an acknowledges Gay would more often than not find a reason to not have the boy in it. What many espouse is totally different than what they will do when confronted with the reality. Again, that is why local CO control should be the rule.

Engineer; When I was a kid, scouts were everywhere; we wore uniforms to school either for special activities or because we were going to scouts after, even in high school. I became completely reinvolved in 1976, and scouting was still fairly prominent. But there was already the negatives from the inner city program and backlash from Viet Nam and any uniformed, civic supporting organization. Saw the disappearance of window displays in stores, partly because of malls, but mostly because of attitude and PC nonsense. Yes, it was already playing its discordance in its own way. Actually, t

Just my own thought with no known studies with which to support, but I think almost any college grad that had to actually work their way to their degree is likely to succeed at some level. Simply the knowledge gained in having to fend for oneself. Sort of like the scout whose jamboree is given to him, versus the one who had to earn most of it, or not go. Maybe if parents put a condition on their kids that they must earn at least 25%, or more, of their education, the kids would appreciate what they were getting and put in an more honest effort. Of course I mean real work, not a gimme of

GIVE ME A BREAK!

My, My!!! "My child would "never" do such a thing. I was not there, but I know better, because he is my son. I did not raise him that way!" There are crazies in both camps folks. Just admit that not everyone in your sphere of belief is as perfect as you think. Fools abound; and they are not limited by party, age, color, or any other commonly used group dynamic. Both sides of this head butting discussion have valid points. And likely most of those for or against each, are rational and civil for the most part. We seldom take note of the ocean around the cresting wave. Suf