Zahnada

I'm afraid I don't have anything in my car right now. But I do know the other ways that scouting creeps into my life. Is there anyone else out there who can't bear to go on any sort of trip without a pocket knife? Does anyone else carry a bandanna all day in their pocket? Does anyone else have to have a raincoat when you leave on a trip regardless of what the weather is suppose to be? Man, that "Be Prepared" stuff really sticks with you after awhile.

I've looked at resumes today. You know what so many boys have under the heading of "Leadership"? I've seen tour guides as leadership positions. I've seen honor roll students as leaders because "We set the example for the school." I've seen secretaries of many clubs that only have half a dozen members pass as leadership. I don't mean to belittle these tasks, but none compares to organizing events for six months for 50 boys. Leadership is a beautiful part of BSA. It is the best thing we can offer boys. Many boys will have difficulty finding responsibility in other places. I love the B

Well, I have to admire the creativity and resourcefulness of the scout. I'm kind of glad to see that there are no bids for him though. I'd like to meet this boy. What does everyone think. Is he a "slacker" who just didn't want to work for the money? Or is he industrious and not afraid to try new methods for fundraising? My gut tells me that this boy may have a creative side that could be effectively channelled into other troop activities. He may even have some good fundraiser ideas for his troop. Breaking the rules doesn't always call for discipline. I'm thinking of Sid from "Toy S

I think the JASM should act as a sort of liason between the youth and the adults. It's a great position to be in (not to mention very difficult). You're more experienced, but you're also still on the same level with many boys. This is kind of an unofficial duty in my opinion, but very important. I often see the JASM as the person who defends the SPL to the adults and makes sure that boys lead. You're the behind the scenes kind of guy. Also, I like the suggestions about mentoring Life scouts. It's a wonderful position because it's so loosely defined. I've seen JASMs serve as a recruiter an

It's tough to think of just one thing to change. There are so many little things I'd like to change. Really I'd like to just echo some of the other comments. I would use magical powers to give all adult leaders faith in the boys. I have seen great boys from the "tweener" age of 18-21 be chased out of the troop by adults who still wouldn't not listen to their views. I considered some of these boys much more experienced, capable, and knowledgable than these adults, but the adults wouldn't listen to them. They basically chased the best young adult leaders out of the troop. Pity. I think we

It's a tough line to draw on skits these days. My all-time favorite skit is "Stab-Die." It's been outlawed in my council as too violent. It is a very funny skit and the name really implies too much about it. I have never found something nature (like animal urination) to be offensive. I think a rule can be made against sexual references, swearing, and inappropriate amounts of urine and excrement. But to splash a leader in the face with a cup of water does not offend me and I doubt it will warp a boy's mind.

Ok, the link didn't work. Another great example of my computer ignorance. Here's the article: Are they torturing captured al Qaeda thug Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? A report in a moment, but first the Talking Points Memo. Blood money in Iraq. The Factor has been investigating just who is profiting by having Saddam Hussein in power. And here's what we found out for you. Russia profits the most. Saddam owes Moscow billions for arms and supplies and is paying the debt off by sending the Putin government oil well below market prices. The Russians then turn around selling the oil,

Well, today France, Germany, and Russia have blocked a UN resolution to use force in Iraq. This brings us back to earlier topics in this thread. Below is a Fox News piece that really articulates the resistance those three countries have to the use of force in Iraq. ASM1 tried to explain it in earlier posts, but I think this is a much easier read. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,80187,00.html

About the "quiz," As I'm sure all of you know, it's very difficult to trace the origins of a string of forwarded e-mails. I would be the first to shout out, "THIS CAME FROM AN E-MAIL AND NOT THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UN!!" So I know that validity is always an issue. I do know that it comes from Stanford University (some student-faculty collaboration I think, but am not sure). That makes if fairly reputable in my mind. I have also received several e-mails that challenge the answers. However, the challenges are often concerning the wording of the questions that are leading to certai

I received this in an e-mail today. I thought it was really interesting. I don't have any source citations to back any of it up, but it might generate some good discussion. Take the War-on-Iraq IQ Test Do you know enough to justify going to war with Iraq? 1. Q: What percentage of the world's population does the U.S. have? A: 6% 2. Q: What percentage of the world's wealth does the U.S. have? A: 50% 3. Q: Which country has the largest oil reserves? A: Saudi Arabia 4. Q: Which country has the second largest oil reserves? A: Iraq 5. Q: How much is spe

cmcmullen, I have to disagree with you and that's why I started this thread. I do not believe that BSA's policy is clear. The beliefs of many of the people behind the policy (such as yourself) are very clear, but the actual policy leaves itself open to much interpretation. This is as I understand it at least. These are some basic questions that should be answered. My main questions are distinguishing between a gay man's actions and his beliefs. If he's attracted to members of the same sex, this could be interpreted as being gay. But if he doesn't follow those impulses, is he still le

Now, any topic on a forum will undoubtedly stray eventually. But this is really something else. I don't even know what we're talking about anymore. Often topics evolve into other intelligent and useful conversation, but this has just diminished into ramblings and insults. In an attempt to bring the conversation back around, does anyone think that war with Iraq is avoidable? ASM1 I think would argue "no." And many here would say that it is avoidable. But should we avoid it?

Get ready for a nice chunk of ignorance! (I have very little faith in the history I'm about to utter so feel free to correct me) Didn't many of the Arab nations try to overthrow the Israelis? Wasn't it the 6 day war? I think there were many and they all failed. I know that Egypt, Jordan, and Syria were trying hard to dislodge the Israelis. Anyway, the only way to make the world happy would be for the United States and Europe to completely leave the Middle East. Of course that would leave Israel vulnerable, not to mention the oil issue. Of course, then the world would complain that t

kwc57, This is exactly why I ask these questions. I really want to know where the lines are drawn. It is my perception that BSA is walking a very thin line on the whole issue and it's only a matter of time before someone pushes them. I'm not trying to start up debates or argue with people. I'm finding out how broad the policy is and how broad are people's opinions of the issue. I'm kind of torn on the nature vs nurture issue. If it is a socially constructed thing, then a person can easily decide to not be gay. Are they then allowed back in despite how "avowed" they might have been?

I realize the topic of gays in scouting has practically been beaten to death in this forum. Neither side is really giving any ground. My only reason for starting this topic is so that I can better understand the issue and the actual policy of the matter. Terms like "avowed" and "gay" are actually very vague and not well defined by the BSA rules as I understand. So I want to ask some hypothetical and direct questions to see where the boundaries of these rules are. Does the policy apply only to adult leaders or to anyone associated with BSA? What about non-volunteer members of BSA?

I don't want to see any more comparisons between Hitler and anyone. I've seen Bush compared to Hitler and Saddam compared to Hitler. Such comparisons are ALWAYS faulty. Anyone can be compared to Hitler, but it never proves anything. "Gee, Hitler was a great motivator. And Ghandi was a great motivator. Ghandi is like Hitler." The typical comparison to Nazis goes like this, "Person X has this trait, Hitler has that trait, Hitler was leader of the Nazis, Nazis are evil, Person X is evil." Where is the discussion? We all know that Hitler and Nazis are bad. There's only one Hitler.

I would recommend a standard Leatherman. If you want to go cheap, you can buy imitational Leathermans for $10. Those pliers have infinite uses during a campout.

You should almost never take the press at face value. This goes for US media and foreign media. Anyone out there who blindly watches the press and makes opinions from its reporting are only being used as tools. There is no such thing as an objective media. Personal ideologies of the reporters and of the editors will always creep into any story. It also shows their ideologies by which stories get published and which ones are ignored. Just one look at Fox News should be enough proof of some blatant bias in the press. Naturally, any form of media that is stationed in the United States is pr

Never get in a land war in Asia. This is a lesson that over 300,000 Chinese soldiers couldn't teach the United States in the 1950s. I think the point was made in Vietnam though. Where's General Ridgway when you need him?

ASM1, You've grabbed my interest. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not well-informed in many areas of politics. So what are these "facts" that you have that say we'll be up against French, German, and Russian troops if we enter Iraq? I know they don't support the war for numerous reasons. But I said they weren't going to take up arms in defense of Iraq. And I'm still waiting for your evidence to the contrary.

ASM1, Regardless of what France, Germany, and Russia think about the war and their relations with Iraq, I seriously doubt they would offer Iraq any military support during a conflict. China is different though. While the world still is uncertain of what China would do, the threat is there that they would enter a war if we attacked North Korea. Are you seriously stating that you think that if the US went into Iraq, we would be up against French, German, and Russian troops? Do you think we'd even be up against French, German, or Russian arms? If we fight Iraq, they will stand almost

It's definitely a combination of answers. Many of the choices factor in to ignoring North Korea. I personally threw my vote for the China connection because I feel that's the most important. China makes a ground war impossible (we saw that during the Korean War) and China has strong economic connections to the US. China is a friend we wouldn't want as an enemy. Who is Iraq's friend? Nobody as big or as powerful as China. The public seems against Asian ground wars after previous experience too.

ASM1, Disagreement fuels discussion. Discussion can create change. I'm glad you're here and I'm glad you're expressing your views in such a strong way. Where would the conversation be if everyone agreed? I feel that this is the wrong war, at the wrong time, with the wrong enemy (quote taken from Omar Bradley concerning the Korean War. Kind of ironic). No evidence has been presented that has convinced me that we need a war.

I'm asking this question because I'm genuinely curious of what the consequences would have been in this hypothetical situation. What would you personally have done if the BSA had fought the Dale case all the way to the Supreme Court, but they had lost? In other words, if BSA still tried to represent the scouting tradition that many in this forum support, but were unable to, what course of action would you take?

I don't know if this is in line with BSA policy or not, but my personal belief about rank and merit badges is that their purpose is to offer a tangible of a boy's achievements in scouting. Therefore, they represent what was learned but should not become what was learned. A fine line yes, but I shall attempt to walk it. When I see a boy with a First Class Scout badge, I make assumptions about him. I assume that he knows basic scout skills (pioneering, orienteering, cooking, etc). I assume that he's also been on several scout outings and has probably been camping and backpacking. I do not a