King Ding Dong

I have not participated in guns since my rifle team days in high school so I am not up current events. From what I gathered was there was a run on ammo after Boston. But 22 ? People use 22 for defense?

Sorry about the ammo. Did you catch the post about the scout camp in Nebraska? Once they got the word they had huge donations.

That is the best. I think for religious preference in the future I will just responded with "Yes".

I failed to visit other troops and just went with the troop connected to the pack. Don't make my mistake. Interview each troop as you would a potential employer. Demand to see their program calendar along with the costs for each outing. Drop in on a couple of troop meetings unannounced, see if there are any older boys active in the program. How many Eagles they have and how fast they get there are not important criteria. In fact this is a good subject for a new post.

I know, the Lazy River at Six Flags sounds more exciting than this. It may take all day on a class one river with four boys in a raft trying to get it to move. Expensive as well, a canoe is much cheaper. The committee is half the problem, so becoming SM is not going to solve the problem. I have already sent an email to a troop that meets during the summer, no response yet, church based troop so that could be the problem. I need plan B in place before I make my move. I think most of these parents like it like this. Nice and safe with minimal interference with important things like soccer and lacrosse.

Try table decorations for B&G. Can't even get them to do that.

Let me run thins past you. Lawyer Dad has put together an event for August. (At least we will have one). Class 1 river 4-5 mile float on rafts. What is walking speed 3 mph? He is worried about the new scouts being able to navigate safely on the rapids. A CLASS 1 RIVER!!!

Pie in the face of cubs chosen leader for reach $150 in popcorn sold. (Pie was shaving cream)

By the same logic if they are completing an award it is under the auspices.

Our friend RichardB from National criticizes us constantly for assuming.

A gold device may be earned for each additional 50 miles hiked. A silver device is earned for each additional 200 miles of hiking. The Scout may wear any combination of devices totaling his current number of miles hiking.

Unfortunately the BSA dietary guidelines tend to be: Carbs with a side of Carbs. Not that I agree at all with the Food pyramid or My Plate nonsense, but they clearly missed the part about whole grains. Summer sausage and almonds are always in my ration kit.

Except for the camping MB and the Adventure activities, the Merit Badges such as hiking, cycling, orienteering etc have absolutely no requirement for within scouting. So the first bit does not necessarily take place within scouting. The middle bit does, and they make absolutely no mention of scouting for the last bit. Do you think this is an error on the part of the authors of the MB requirements and the authors of the NOB ? How many times to we hear "requirements exactly as written" ?

Tiger meetings sometimes run shorter than an hour. I have found having that Gathering Activity is very important. Usually just a coloring page or a US map peg puzzle. I agree, start the meeting on time, every time. Webelos meetings can run longer than an hour due to the nature of the badges. All three ranks together ? Ouch. You need a parent to run each rank. In my opinion if they are not willing to help out they didn't belong on scouts.

Webelos may choose a patrol patch but they are not patrols, they are a den.

Sorry about that. I even tried pasting from a text file.

Off the top of my head. An abortion or birth control pills is a problem with the Catholic Church. Blood transfusions are a problem with some, I can't recall the exact ones. Just about any medical procedure is a problem with Christian Science. Immunizations are a problem with many also, thought there is an exemption for those I believe. But what if one under one of those religions still decided to get immunizations, that could pose big problems. Unit leaders are often a part of the CO, unit leaders typically verify that the med forms are complete prior to leaving for camp. Tell me there is no possibility for abuse here. BD, I never said kick out, you did. I said used against them. Though I do believe having an abortion is grounds for removal from the Catholic Church as is birth control. A vasectomy is not allowed either. Scenario, if a single male leader has had a vasectomy and then decides to get married in the church, he can be denied. I went to Jesuit high school and had many of these conversations with the priests. Some replied they would never ask such questions (don't ask, don't tell). Others were very strict in their response. What first sparked this line of inquiry was a news report I read of a man in a motorcycle accident who was then a paraplegic. During his recovery he and his nurse fell in love and decided to marry. The Catholic Church denied the marriage because the marriage vows could not be consummated. None of the priests I spoke with about the situation would refute the decision. I would imagine a man with testicular cancer and had his testicles removed or damaged by treatment would be in the same situation, though I never asked about that situation. Let me make clear. I filled out my med forms as accurately as my memory serves. The only thing I left off were medications used on an as needed basis and would have no use for at a scout event.

Interesting arguments while I took the holiday off. I hope my paragraphs stay. Given Chris's response from Scouting Magazine it appears for the extra mile/hour/nights those requirements that do not fall under the Merit Badge must be at an "event". Given a decently active program and interestED scouts earning the rocker is hard in some cases but can be done. The camping rocker is not all that hard as it is only 5 more nights than the Camping MB. Lets now turn to the devices. The gold and silver are important for qualifying for the Medal. How are they earned ? It has already been established that there is no restriction on long term vs short term nights for the extra camping nights. Requirement 4 for camping clearly has auspices. What is the requirement for extra devices ? "A gold device may be earned for each additional 25 nights of camping. A silver device is earned for each additional 100 nights of camping. The Scout may wear any combination of devices totaling his current number of nights camping" Any mention of short or long term nights ? Any mention of auspices? No. The same language is used for all the other devices except for Adventure. Why is that? Lets look at the riding badge. If one were to only cycle and not ride a horse what would be required ? The cycling MB is 150 miles total. (No requirement for auspices on the distance rides). Requirement 2 is cycling MB plus 100 miles. Requirement 3 is Complete 200 miles of riding activities, either on a non-motorized bike or a stock animal, under the auspices of the Boy Scouts of America, including the miles in requirement 2. So 150 + 100 =250 so requirement 3 is met with 50 to spare. Only 50 miles need to be under the auspices in this scenario. Easily do able in a troop/patrol setting. The 200 miles needed for two gold devices would be quite a bit more difficult to get your troop/patrol to do. But there is no requirement for auspices for the gold or silver devices. I believe that is on purpose. Just as auspices is not included in the distance rides for the cycling MB. "Exactly as written" Lets look at aquatics 4. Earn at least one of the following merit badges: Canoeing, Kayaking, Rowing, Small-Boat Sailing, Whitewater. Complete at least 25 hours of on-the-water time, applying the skills that you learned in the merit badges. No auspices requirement here. You can easily rack up 25 hours of on-the-water-time working and practicing for two or three of these MB. Requirement 5 Complete at least 50 hours of any combination of swimming, canoeing, kayaking, rowing, small-boat sailing, or whitewater activity under the auspices of the Boy Scouts of America, including time spent in requirements 2 through 4. So this includes The 25 hours from requirement 4 so only another 25 hours need to be done under the auspices. That's not some huge mountain to climb. A troop should be able to provide that in their program or at camp. Again no auspices requirements for each 25 hours of aquatic activities. Let the boy go for it. Why hold him back ? I believe the Committee knew exactly what they were doing when writing theses rules. Encourage a robust troop program with a emphasis on outdoor activities that allows those Scouts that want to really "go for it" the opportunity to do so and earn devices and possible the Medal if they want to go for the additional requirements for the medal. Wilderness First aid and LNT trainer are substantial courses.

Or $1 to use the air pump for bike tires.

Can a person in a unit chartered by a religous organization look at the form and determine if certain legal medical procedures and legal medications do not conform to that religions principles and then use that information against them ? Yes.

I agree with you on the rather general stuff. I think she felt it was dangerous to give personal medical history to a religious organization that could use that information against her. You have to admit there are zealots within the BSA.

In case anyone missed it that ruckus was a line from Brian Johnson in Breakfeast Club. You took the bait. How many days of detention did you get ?

You keep mentioning all 20 activity badges, that is not relevant to crossing over. AOL is relevant, and that is what we are concerned about fudging. From your description that is not the case, but we see it all the time and opinions vary if it is acceptable. Congrats to your son on super achiever. It can be difficult to do if they are viewed as items to do sequentially. If your son has a firm grasp of all the requirements in Boy Scouts he can strategize efficient advancement. For instance work on cooking MB along with T-1 cooking requirements. When making a one pot meal for cooking MB utilize the tripod lashing to make a useful camp gadget (Dutch oven stand). Those responsible may not feel he has mastered each skill well enough to sign off, but he did get practice at them.

Info on a Venture Patrol. Minimum age 13. http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Venture_Patrol

Could you describe the ruckus, sir ?