Trevorum

That's a terrible thing to say.

Admittedly, there are LOTS of clueless people in this world, and yes, some of them vote. However, I take issue with the concept that someone "cancels out" my vote. By that logic, the last election was decided only by 50,000 people in Ohio. The rest of us could have stayed home since we all cancelled each other!

OGE, Excellent questions! I already use about half, but I like them all and will incorporate them as appropriate. (Do you need royalties? how about that dime that's floating around )

OGE, you get the dime back! Nine current councils: Connecticut Rivers Five Rivers Flint River Great Rivers Ohio River Valley Snake River Suwannee River Three Rivers Three Rivers Plus 18 merged councils: Long Rivers (1995) Four Rivers (1994) Two Rivers-Du Page (1993) Two Rivers (1992) Red River Valley (1974) Hutchinson River (1973) White River (1973) Iowa River Valley (1952) Fall River Area (1946) Lost River (1931) Alton-Wood River (1930) Red River Area (1930) Sunflower River 1929) Catawba River (1927) Powder River (1926) Fox River Valley (1925) New River District (1924) River Edge (1918)

... rain that flew in sideways, and sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at night. Sound familiar? Some of my best Scouting memories are in ponchos.

Well, it's about time you came on in to the campfire! Ol' Semper and I have been saving you a spot on our log.

I strongly disagree. Universal suffrage means just that. Everybody over 18. Who do you want to prevent from voting? People who can't read? People who can't speak English? People who wher born in a foreign country? People who think Jefferson was a running back? People who have an IQ lower than 75? People who commit immoral acts? People who wear white hoods? People who worship false gods? People who belong to fringe parties? People who think dangerous thoughts?

Adirondack Council has merged into Twin Rivers Council, effective January 1, 2006.

Michelle, What Eagle-KY may have meant (and this is my belief) is that in Cubs, there is another adult who is immediately leading the boys in each den. The DL certainly must know their names. But if the CM forgets a name or two (only seeing the pack once a month or so) it is not so great a faux pas. In a troop however, the SM sees all the boys every week and there is no insulating layer between him and the boys. It is critical that he how his scouts by name. Just my opinion however, having served in both roles.

Yes, most pullet-icians are turkeys and should be roasted!

Ed, I'm not certain I understand your point. Yes, "Scout Spirit" covers all 24 hours and all 7 days, including during AND outside of scouting activities. However, my reading of "Scout Sprit" does not include a troop participation quota. That should be covered elsewhere ("Be active in your troop and patrol ...)

Well, there's certainly nothing wrong with being anti-war! And more than half of the entire country is anti-Bush. But anti-military is bone-headed and short-sighted.

I think we should be able to vote for "None of the Above"

Sorry you're having a bad week. Sometimes it helps just to vent ...

I spent several hours last night going through the troop medical records, trying to get organized for 2006. It was amazing what we had in there - 5 copies of the exact same form for some guys, missing forms for others, plus records for scouts who haven't been around since 2003. A real mish-mash. Nearly all our scouts need a new Class 1 and many have the Class 2 out of date. I'm putting them in a 3-ring binder with an index up front - names, dates, etc. How does your troop handle medical records? Where are they kept? Who tracks them? How do you ensure regular updates? What happens to old records? Because of the sensitive nature of these confidential records I am reluctant to ask anyone else to take care of this task. I'd like to hear how your unit handles this. Ideas? Solutions?

IMHO a very important aspect of the SM job is to know every scout and parent by name. I am generally poor at remembering names, but I make it a point to know all the new guys by their second meeting and to greet them by name. "Hi Bobby!" "Hey there Jake, good to see you!"

Their loss, Stockton's gain. Down here, we have the WWII carrier USS Lexington, aka the "Blue Ghost" as well as the Battleship USS Texas. Both have "live aboard" programs that are very popular with our packs and troops. The boys get to bunk in crew quarters (cramped!) and have chow in the galley. Navy coffee for the adults. It's a blast! I hope the Iowa will be similarly outfitted to host Scout units in central California.

Those kooky San Franciscoans. Imagine not wanting a warship in your front yard. I'll bet they'll be sorry next time some foreign power tries to invade.

Oh, I forgot to answer your question about cross-trading (flaps for CSPs, and vice-versa). Some purists will sneer at such a faux-pas. However, there is no reason not to make an offer. If the other fellow doesn't want to trade, he'll say so. Often, the trade will be something other than 1:1, maybe 2 CSPs for a flap. On Patch-L I've seen some might weird trade offers (patches for copy machines, patches for auto parts...) It's a free market.

Well, if we do get back to discussing the ACLU, I suggest that we all first read Lisabob's and johndaigler's excellent comments about name calling in the thread on Scouting Values.

I'm vastly ignorant in economics, so I haven't a clue here. However, I dont believe that Exxon will ever "go extinct". If they are half as clever as I give them credit for, they will anticipate a changing, oil-less, world and will adapt accordingly. Look at Phillip Morris: they make and sell Raisin Bran now in addition to the tobacco products which are ever- shrinking from our world

JD, I agree with 100% of what you have said. BUT, for a different perspective on the matter, consider the following. The human brain is evolutionarily wired for pattern recognition. We are programmed to spot similarities in phenomena, evaluate the importance of various aspects of similarity, and then create summary categories that group phenomena together according to the important similarities (and discounting 'umimportant' similarities). The use of such categories allows for quicker stress responses than would be possible if all characteristics of a newly encountered phenomenon needed to be processed. ("Danger, Will Robinson!") This is to say that being able to create useful typologies is a survival trait. And every category needs a label. Old Anthropology joke: "There are two kinds of people in the world those who create typologies, and dead people". Thats not to excuse the willy-nilly use of labels as a substitute for analysis, but its nice to know there is a reason why we do it

Patch trading is fun. I've made some goods friends locally and all across the country. Scoutldr has some good advice. I'd like to add some of my own opinions and advice, too. At official BSA events such as Jamborees, there is indeed a rule that adults MAY NOT trade with youth. However, informal trading at non-BSA activities is not prohibited. For example, in trading via email and through the mail, one often does not know whether the party on the other side is an adult or a youth. I guess that 80-90% of my trading partners have been adults, but some are Scouts (funny story: once, after making 3 or 4 individual trades with a fellow, I emailed him back to let him know I had recieved his patch, and thinking that we should perhaps introduce ourselves a bit more now that we were good tradding buddies, I told him I was a SM and asked him what he was doing in Scouting. He replied and said he was working on his Arrow of Light! Thinking about this later, I remembered that his envelopes had been addressed in a very feminine script - his mom's.) Also, while most trades are indeed "one for one", not all trades have to be. Many "standard issue" patches are common enough to be traded this manner, but some have been issued in restricted quantities and are rare enough that a 1:1 trade is not fair. It is up to both parties to know the reletive values of their patches and negotiate a fair trade. This may be 2:1, 3:1, 2:3, or anything. I once did an 8:1 for a patch I really, really wanted, and we both went away pleased. Patch collecting goes way beyond flaps and CSPs, but most new collectors start with one or both of these. The best way to get started is to go to your local scout shop and but a handful of your local flaps or CSPs. Do a google search for "BSA patch collecting' and other similar strings and you'll find hundreds of sites. Many of these are owned by individual collectors who will post lists of their "wants" and "dupes" (duplicates, or trading stock). Other sites are bulletin boards and email lists. Some of these you can join as a member. You can propose and negotiate a trade via email (my Pikes Peak for your Chicago Area) and then exchange the patches through the mail. Always thank the other fellow and let him know when his patch arrives. Here are some good places to start http://home.austin.rr.com/elspanko/patchcamp.html http://www.simonhome.net/trader.html The International Scouting Collectors Association (ISCA) emphasizes a Code of Ethics in trading. http://scouttrader.org/ If you get serious about CSPs, you should get the latest edition of "A Aid to Collecting Selected Council Shoulder Patches, with Valuation Guide". It is updated annually and is THE book when it comes to knowing your CSPs. Once your collection grows, it becomes harder to find someone whose dupes match your needs and you may want to purchase harder to find patches to fill some of the gaps in your collection. This is perfectly ethical and OK. By this time you should have become pretty educated about reletively values. While nearly all of the people you will trade with will be Scouts and Scouters and will obey the Scout Law, not everyone who sells patches on eBay are Scouts. Some eBay sellers ask highly inflated prices - it is truly a buyer beware market. One final word of advice - you should keep a running list of all your trades. What, when, who, etc. Put a check mark when you mail yours and a check mark when you recieve his. Good luck! And HAVE FUN!

Prairie, I think the difference between a discussion and an argument is an extra dose of passion. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. (Passion is good!) Remember, a lawyer will present "arguments" to the SCOTUS. But this is just my opinion (see header above).

Just last night, I asked my daughter, "Why do we have FOUR open jars of peanut butter?". She shrugged, as if to say. "Dad, get a life..." I think it has more to do with one's sense of order, of Teutonic Ordnung, if you will. People who don't mind having several jars open are the same who don't mind living in a messy room ... (but that's another story).