tortdog

I don't subscribe to this theory, but found it entertaining. I've seen some Christians (never a Jew or Muslim, though) argue that it was 6 24-hour periods in which the Earth was formed, and that the evidence showing billions of years in between layers of earth resulted when the Creator put a 2-billion old layer here, then a 1-billion layer on top, etc up the chain...doing the layering in a few hours or so. They even theorized that the Creator did it in this manner to test the faith of man in the written word. Well, I found it an interesting proposition, at the least, but not much more.

>If a married couple only couns as one person, which sex is the one person? Doesn't matter which gender you choose, because each gender equally has the same privilege (to prevent the spouse from "ratting"). >You mean a husband and wife can't take the venture crew out on an oevrnight(co-ed) because they are only one person? In my opinion, I think the purpose behind the 2-deep leadership rule is partially frustrated because there will be no competent adult witness to any acts. However, you do still have 2 adults to supervise...meaning one bad adult would presumably have t

>Only in a court of law & that's only if they want it. And if it gets that far, there is a bigger problem! I think the policy is in place to prevent the "bigger problem", and the privilege arises during criminal investigations as well.

Seems to me that a married couple should only count as one, for the reason mentioned by others that they have spousal immunity.

>So, that would make the definition of "morally straight" kind of a subjective thing, right? Depends on who's doing the defining and asking the question. If God defines "morally straight", then it's objective because God is perfect and there is only one truth. It doesn't matter if someone disagrees. Since God didn't author the BSA (though I think it's an inspired program), there is no moral absolute with the BSA. However, once the BSA sets its standard (that's subjective by the BSA), the standard becomes an objective standard by which we can measure the definition, just as the un

I can't find wwww.scouting.org. Is this the fourth dimension internet? Al?

Usually its the SPL that "graduates" to Varsity, at which time a PL moves up to SPL. Historian becomes PL, etc., and the positions continue to shift among the boys as the boys move up and the cycle continues. There's always continuity of leadership because everyone doesn't turn 14 on the same day. With some of the boys hitting Eagle before Varsity, they have leadership within the troop ranks. At the Varsity/Crew level, that leadership is just more experienced. That makes sense because as you go up the Varsity/Crew ladder, the programs are designed to give the boys more authority to make d

It's hard to say what the norm is, when the Varsity program is currently underutilized. However, I'd say most Varsity units I am familiar with emphasize sports and high adventure. In our program, the boys have two years in Varsity. The 2nd quarter will likely always be basketball, the 4th quarter will be high adventure (we do a survivor type event in a state/federal park where the teams compete to best each other in 6 goals over three days and two nights). That leaves us with two "free" quarters each year. One quarter will be an "art", while the other quarter is up to the boys during the summe

I could definitely see the day when it would be a political liability to be affiliated with the BSA. Depending on where society goes, the BSA under its present policies could be viewed as a hate-mongering, isolationist, close-minded society of bigots. Of course, I'd disagree, but I could see it. In fact, I think we are already seeing some of society's traditional religions being portrayed in that light, with the refusal of Catholics, Baptists, Orthodox Jews, Muslims to accept that homosexual activity or premarital sex constitute moral conduct. My view, though, is that refusal to agre

Someone suggested that I explain how an effective BSA Varsity team works, so here goes. I'll explain how our team works (I'm biased). The Team Scouts Our Varsity team is composed of boys at least 14-years old through their 16th birthday. At any given time, there will be 5-6 boys on the team. I consider that to be a minimum and the team is trying to reach out to friends of team members to increase the size. The Team Adult Leaders We have one coach (similar to the scoutmaster of a troop) and two assistant coaches. The coach and assistants work along with the youth leaders to

>who gets to decide who is morally straight? The people who make it a requirement, no?

BTW, just last week a rep from my council contacted me and informed me that a non-LDS unit was looking to form a Varsity team to compete with other Varsity teams. Frankly, I can hardly wait because I am willing to bet that Varsity team will be formed because it WANTS to be formed (with trained leaders) as opposed to so many Varsity teams that are formed only because it is LDS Church policy. For some reason the LDS packs/troops get it, and the LDS crews sometimes get it, but the LDS Varsity teams rarely get what's to be gotten. Maybe if the leaders in those teams actually got trained...

I think the reason the LDS Church pushed hard for a Varsity program was because the Church divides the youth into three groups: 12-13; 14-15 and 16-18. The Church handbook emphasizes that those groups (or quorums) maintain its quorum identity as much as possible, i.e., no mixing 12-year olds with 16-year olds as a standard practice. When there wasn't a Varsity program, the 16+ went into Venturing, but the 14-15 group was left in the middle wondering what to do (separate troop?? and in the LDS Church every young man must register for Boy Scouts). I understand that the Church approached th

>Being somewhat unfamiliar with Varsity Scouting, can someone explain to me what a Team offers that a Venturing Crew does not? From what I can tell, Varsity Teams sound like Crews for 14+ boys but just with a sports focus, instead of high adventure (or whatever). Like troops, crews are not coed and membership teminates at 18. Do teams have their own methods? Given the choice, why would a 14+ boy want to join a Team or a Crew? I see a Varsity team as a mix between a troop and a crew. Troops are led by the adults (heavily), while crews are led by the youth (heavily). With a team, you hav

[nods head in complete agreement] Something about the Scout law comes to mind...kind. At a church conference this month, one of our church leaders spoke about how being Christian means being kind. He spoke of an instance in which he was a bishop of a church unit, and he reached out to an "in-active" member who had not been to church in a long time. He found out that the member had stopped going to church 40 years ago when a church youth leader pulled the youth out of a church meeting due to his bad behavior and told him to leave and never come back. Well, that youth did leave...and n

In Varsity, we divide our program into quarterly intervals, usually topped off with a competitive tournament where Varsity teams compete against each other. We use the 3-volume program resources, but they don't lay out the "program" for those 3-months, so I feel like I am reinventing the wheel every quarter. Granted, that gives the team freedom, but it sure would be handy to have a program schedule for each program. For example...we just finished basketball. It would be nice if there were a suggested schedule for the three months similar to this: Week1: Introduction of Coach; Explain

I sewed velcro to my right pocket, and when I get a "temporary" patch, I sew the opposing velcro to the patch (easy since it's off the shirt) and then stick it to the shirt. I usually carry around a couple temporary patches in my right pocket so that I can switch them for something to do as soon as people in our roundtable start arguing about which knot goes where on the shirt.

Since when did schools ask BSA councils for BSA eagle documentation? This sounds absurd. I am in the camp, however, that believes those who receive eagle at 12-13 years likely lack the appreciate/maturity of those who earn it at 16-17. Some 12-year olds will be more mature than the 17-year old. Would I hold a youth back? No. Would that 12-year Eagle appreciate his eagle more if he had earned at at 16? Probably. It is what it is. However, they still have a lot more to earn beyond Eagle (and palms). They have the Denali award and Varsity letter. They have the bronze, gold an

Who is the big dog in determining the uniform standards? The offical materials do not really layout the standards (other than the field uniform). There is no contact at the national headquarters on the website, pointing people to the local councils instead. So is the authority the local councils? For example, the Sam Houston Area Council (located in God's country) has put forward advice on what is an appropriate activity uniform for Varsity scouts, but you will never find that in writing in any BSA materials (that I'm aware of anyway). BTW...good enough for me because the SHAC has r

>Legislating your personal morality is bending your will around other people's necks and leading your people back into slavery. In this country (and every state), there is no such thing as the legislation of personal morality. There is the legislation of society's morality, which is imposed by the legislature as executed by the executive. Laws are inherently judgments on morality. That's just reality, so I'm not sure what the above comment means (except in a tyrannical form of government).

I think that's an accurate description of the Varsity field uniform.

I think they piggy-backed on each other. http://www.troop97.net/bsahist3.htm http://www.pattersontroop440.org/Content/BSA-History.htm This reference also notes brown shorts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varsity_Scouts We're going with black athletic shorts with short drawstrings...

Our CO prohibits the boys from wearing earrings, nose jewelry, etc. Were this our unit, I think the situation should have been handled differently, but this would apply regardless of whether the boy were in uniform or not.

The Sam Houston Area Council just informed me that the Varsity units can elect to make their own activity uniform, using any designed T-shirt and any suitable shorts, with white socks appropriate. I knew we could on the T-shirts, but did not know it included the shorts. SHAC also had never heard the "non-official" brown requirement for the shorts. Thanks for the input.

I understand that Varsity scouts can design their own T-shirts and wear them as an activity uniform (with the field uniform worn as appropriate). For some time we have done this, and each team has its own T-shirt with team logo. My question is regarding the shorts. We want to "standardize" on the uniform all the way to the shorts (with white athletic socks). I see no guidance from the BSA, other than a few unofficial sites stating the shorts should be "non-uniform" brown. Certainly the official BSA shorts are not an option for most of our activities, which include canoeing, basketball an