SR540Beaver

I would assume that nickname "stealing" happens frequently on the internet. Consider when trying to sign up for a Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL acount how hard it is to get the name you want. Seems 10,000 other people thought of it before you. For instance, kwc is my initials and 57 was the year I was born. Believe it or not, I've had to use different variations of those elements on other sites because kwc57 was already taken. Some people see a nickname that they like and use it on other sites they sign up for. No harm there unless you try presenting yourself as the person from the other site. Now, when you take someone else's actual name (John Doe) and use it or sign posts with it, you really are trying to be dishonest and stealing someone else's identity. There is another Scouting message board at usscouts.org where an "Al Lundy" has posted for a long time and has built quite a respected reputation there. FOG signed up her as FOG and signed his posts as Al Lundy. That is wrong, plain and simple. You know, if he had gone thru Wood Badge and was a Bob White and wanted to call himself that, he could have called himself Bob White 2003 or something of that nature to differentiate between the original BW and himself. Heck, he could call himself kwc99. Will it cause confusion? Probably, but it wouldn't necessarily be seen as malicious. Being Scouters, we expect the scout law to be observed at our campfire here. That some want to come in and play games is a sad reflection on them only. As they say in other forums, don't feed the trolls. If they can't get a rise out of you, they eventually go elsewhere to try to stir the pot.

Gags, What is Scout-L.

Dan, For what it's worth, I understtod exactly what you meant. I think I've found the answer to my earlier question when I read in the sheath knife thread where FOG said he used to umpire baseball. So did Yaworski. Circumstantial evidence, but I'm pretty confident in it. Plus, the attitude is about the same. Nuff said!

BW, You keep saying that FOG has rejoined us. Enlighten the rest of us please! Is he Yaworski/Zorn Packt or someone esle? Yaworski is the only person I know of that was banned. Without seeing someone's IP address, it would be difficult to know who is who when signing in under a different name. How are you privy to this?

Well cock-a-doodle-do!!! Congrats to your son and you. mk9750, I have a feeling that Rooster's wife would rather have you call her Mrs. Rooster as opposed to an "old clucking hen".

oz, Just curious, did the PL drop the didg accidentally or "accidentally on purpose"?

A big hug, kiss and an "I missed you" regardless of the dirt and smell. That is what I always want when I walk thru the door.......before being told to immediately take my smelly clothes off in the garage and head straight for the shower! LOL

Laurie, Our council still does WRC and I attended with my son just a few weeks ago. They have a GREAT program!!! If you want to get an idea of a good program, check out this site: http://www.lastfrontiercouncil.org/camps/CGT/CGT2003.htm It contains all of the information about the camp including camp rules and what activity pins are available for the boys to achieve. PS They also do a Cub Resident Camp seperate from WRC.(This message has been edited by kwc57)

Just curious, is FOG really Yaworski reincarnated?

My son's Webelos 1 den had 14 boys last year and as stated above, it was insane......numerous times I had to leave the room to clear my head. We have two assistant den leaders. One's work schedule makes it impossible for him to be there the majority of the time and the other likes to chit caht with the dad's. I've never seen him lift a finger. I suggested splitting them up last year and was told no. Same thing, they didn't want to split the boys up who had gone thru Cubs together. The decision was that we'd split them at their meeting after the opening and have them work on different parts of an activity. Half way thru the meeting, the boys would swap adjoining rooms to work on the other half of the activity. Didn't work. There was always kids who wanted to see what was happening in the other room or wanted to be with their buddy in the other room. We have had several boys drop out. The Bears only had three boys and they are now advancing to Webelos 1's while ours are advancing to Webelos 2's. Because the Bears was such a small group and no one would voluteer to be a leader, they are going to meet with the Webelos 2's!!! Now we are back at 13 to 15 boys in a mixed den. Bad decision in my opinion. The Webelos 2's will be crossing over in February and that will leave the three Webelos 1's alone and without a leader. The "ggod" news is that where I was not a leader last year, I'm now the new Committee Chairman. So, I can work with the problem and see what we can get done. However, it has been our Cub Master who has had to wear too many hats in the past and was the one who was resistant to splitting the den up. The den leader, cub master and I will all be leaving with our sons for Boy Scouts in Feb. That is going to put the pack in a world of hurt if we can't get others to belly up to the bar. On the other hand, I keep telling me self, "just 6 more months of chaotic meetings until we move to a troop!" Bottom line, I think 8 boys is a wonderful and managable number for a den. 10 maximum, 6 minimum.

OGE, Why thank you for introducing that good old BAPTIST song into the thread!!! LOL That reminded me of a friendly "feud" my wife and I have each Sunday. I was raised Baptist and she was raised Nazarene. We attend a Baptist church. Everytime we sing an old standard hymn, we look at each other and I mouth "Baptist" to her and she mouths "Nazarene" to me. Then we shake our heads at each other. We both claim the old standards as belonging to our faith and stolen by the other.

Eagle, You might search the older threads for this subject, it has been discussed several times before. You'll find a variety of views. My son's Webelos Den went to Camporee this past March with a Troop. We all stayed at the same campsite, but in seperate groups. The two patrol were set up close to each other at one end of the site, then the scouters were set up in the middle of the site and our den was set up on the other end of the site. Each group was close enough to recognize faces at either end of the site, but far enough away that we couldn't hear noise from one group to the next. Webelos camping is required to be with parents or a designated adult. The only adult they can tent with is their parent. They did split our boys up into their patrols for participating in the stations and we provided at least two deep (sometimes more) leadership to accompany the patrols to the stations. Rather than the patrols cooking seperately, the unit cooked all together with the Scouts and the Webelos assigned KP tasks by the PL's. A lot of people point out that the activities are not age appropriate for the Webelos. The stations we participated in were nothing that was too difficult for our boys. The Scouts took the lead and let them help. They did some orienteering, had to determine the height of a flagpole without any measuring device, etc. Probably the most risky was a fire building competition in a raised fire pit, but our boys looked for and supplied tender, sticks and wood and didn't handle any fire. It was a very successful trip for both the Troop and our Den. PS Twocub, I disagree about Webelos not being allowed at council camporees. We had many many Webelos dens at the Camporee we went to. It seems to be heavily used as a recruiting tool in my area. Come to think of it, it may have been a district camporee rather than a council camporee. I don't know if that makes a difference?(This message has been edited by kwc57)

OGE, What? Are you getting dizzy? Put your head between your knees and take long deep breaths.

smaster101, I don't know that I can offer much, but I do appreciate your concern. I was a very insecure child growing up. Why, I don't know? I had very committed, caring and loving parents. I'd put them up for parents of the year against anyone in the world. It was just something inside me. Actually, I was OK as a little kid, it was more towards my teen years that I became withdrawn. I was not prepared for Jr High. All of a sudden all the guys were playing sports, the girls were joining pep club or trying out for cheerleader and pairing off at school dances. I felt out of place. I just didn't get it and didn't know how to be cool like my friends. They started dressing with the latest styles. Also, it is in the early teens that kids who WERE your friends can become so cruel. If I could blank out any time period in my life, it would be 7th thru 11th grade. My "salvation" came thru the youth minister at my church. I always felt like a fifth wheel and one day he made an effort to include me in an activity. He made me feel important. He made me feel like a person......just like everyone else. He wanted to hear my thoughts. It started a close friendship and mentorship that lasted until his death. He drew me out of my shell slowly. He made me feel I had real worth. By my senior year, I was a different person. I don't know what is inside this kid's head or what his home life is like, but he does have some issues. He is lost at sea and is adrift. He may want to be normal, but just does not know how or have the confidence to do it. He may need professional help. I probably did to, but did it the "hard" way. He may need medicinal help too. My youth minister took a long shot and extended himself to me. He was persistent, but in the final analysis, it was up to me to respond. My best advice is to do your best to befriend the boy. Don't force him, but try to win his trust and draw him out. Spend time talking to him and listening to him. Make him your shadow. Make him feel important. Let others see that he is important to you. Most of all, do not tolerate the teasing of the other boys. I think a one on one individual discussion with the other boys to quiz them on how a scout should treat others would be in order. Make them think thru their actions. It will be a slow process, this boy won't change overnight. He may never respond. But you have lost nothing in making the effort and possibly gained another "son" in the long run. Good luck!

mk9750, You said, "I understand that most Protestant faiths reject the premise that Mary was a virgin at the time Jesus was conceived and immediately after." Is that what you really meant to say? My degree is in Religion from a Southern Baptist University. I've studied many different religions and denominations. I'm hard pressed to think of a Christian denomination that does not believe in the virgin birth of Christ. We do believe from scriptural evidence that Mary had other children after Jesus meaning that she did lose her virginity later. But I know of no one that says she was not a virgin when Jesus was born.

Tiny1pj, An interesting note on the use of the word "retreat". Our CubMaster has taught our boys to say "advance" whether they are marching to the pole or away from the pole. Seems that he was aware of some old veterans who take exception to the term "retreat" and will quite strongly tell you that the American flag NEVER retreats. Funny, I've noticed a lot of other pack and troop color guards using advance instead of retreat also.

BW Amen

nwscouter, We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Yes, their charters could be in jeopardy if their values change from what the BSA's values are. Remember, the chartering organization does not own or drive the BSA. By being a CO, they are "liscensed" and agree to operate the BSA program for a year by the BSA rules. While the BSA may reject their request for a charter, it really is more of a case of the CO changing their outlook and no longer supporting the BSA values that costs them their charter. If these "mainstream" denominations change (which means they are actually leaving the mainstream) that does not mean the BSA must also change. BSA will survive. Their will be other organizations willing to pick up the slack. Also, the BSA can't tell a boy he can't earn his religious emblem, but they can tell him it isn't recognized by scouting and can't be displayed on his uniform. He can still earn it and wear it on anything he wants except for his uniform.

Twocubs, Setting religion aside, most cultures throughout history has regarded homosexuality as immoral. All traditional religions that I know of have always regarded homosexuality as immoral and a sin. While there have been occasions in history where homosexuality was not looked down on, overall it has. While homosexuality may be a religious issue for some scouters, I think the BSA rejects it strictly on moral grounds and safety concerns. No, not all homosexuals are pedophiles. But look at what has happened in the Catholic church. Putting homosexual men around young boys and teens makes most parents uncomfortable. There is less worry and risk over allowing your son to be with men who are not sexually attracted to other males than there is allowing them around gay men. Safety and morals are the key to restrictions on gays in BSA, not religion. That some religions have decided to embrace homosexuality as "normal" is why their religious emblem is not recognized by the BSA.

I was just watching the Discovery Wings channel on TV and ran to the computer to post this. The show was about commercially built aircraft that was pressed into military service during WWII. Lo and behold, what did I see? An airliner turned into a transport plane with a backwards flag on the right side of the plane so it appeared to be flapping in the breeze while moving forward. The clip was from around 1940. Evidently the backwards flag has been around even longer than some in this thread thought it had been.

Forgive me for making a religious joke, but I'm poking fun at my own and Twocub's churches. We Baptists always referred to the Presbyterians as God's Chosen Frozen.

The valet is a given, I mean who else is going to carry the big screen TV and satelite dish?

Ed, Many of the private Christian schools in my city began about 30 years ago. They began as a response to busing and integration of our public schools. The Christian schools were very "picky" about who they admitted. Acco, I sure would be interested in what scriptures you are referring to when you say God discriminates over who can and can't be saved. Your Bible is sure different from my Bible.

BW, I'm honestly not trying to pick a fight with you or pick nits either. I appreciate your posts and agree with you the majority of time. But I think the difference in your approach is too subtle to see much difference. You can say, "hey guys, you have a choice of either being quite and not disturbing the sleepers or running the risk of getting up and going on a hike.....your choice". Or you can say, "hey guys, you have a choice of either being quite and not disturbing the sleepers or running the risk of being sent home....your choice". Either way, they have been given a choice of eith being quiet or suffering the consequences. For most scouts I know, being sent home IS punishment. By not being quiet, they made the choice of being sent home just like they made the choice of doing the night hike.

Too many things to list. But being diabetic, I make sure I take Sweet N Lo for my coffee. I went on a campout once where none was provided in the dining hall and I gag on unsweetned coffee.......and I HAVE to have my coffee. If I don't have my coffee, I run the risk of being sent home for going on a rampage!