OldGreyEagle

I am not so sure about HIllary's effect on Health Care, have you ever noticed that most hospital's have Women's Health Centers? That they often have a Women's Health Help line advertised? How mnay hospitals do you know have a Mens Health Center? Or are promoting mens health?

I am not sure I ever understood what a strawman argument is, but I know its not a complement to me. I dont understand why you feel the need to get worked up at those who follow the rules, then again, its a big program and I wish you success as I dont see either of us changing out views anytime soon

Tis a far far better thing you have done in taking care of her E than you have ever done before

Ah, the fascination of the American Anti-Hero, either JR Ewing or Gordon Gekko in the 80's and many others, but how does this square with to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law?

Hunt, you have hit on an area I was trying to clarify when I asked what parts of the program did one hold sacrosanct and was firmly told no one cares, or that what one holds sacrosanct was not important, how to help a unit was more important. But you have hit what I meant. If a CO wants to reward effort and "trying" and wants their Troop members to feel success, what if they said, you earn 18 merit badges and we will spot you the other two? What if they decided Co-ed was the way to go and enrolled 20 12 year old girls in the Troop because their religious principles said there shall be no discrimination based on sex? Is the intent if such an unit exists we are to applaud the well intentioned adult leadership and move on? If I remeber the story, or perhaps more accurately the legend of how Rugby got started, it was a frustrated Soccer player who just picked up the ball and ran with it. Now, the people in the game were appalled, it was an adaptation to the rules a tweak as it were, but clearly it wasnt Soccer anymore, it was something else. I see Forums as an exchange of ideas and thoughts and opinions. If someone posts a situation they want feedback. If someone posts a situation that is contrary to BSA policy, I will say so. Now, I may not have the entire story and frequently further clrification is requested and the answers start moving around and many times I feel like we are being set up but still, I am not sure when citing the rules and wanting them followed became such a bad thing. I always thought the rule of law was a hallmark of Western Civilization. Teaching scouts to follow the rules is part of the Aims, as in citizenship? I saw a comment somewhere that if it was between a rule and whats best for the youth, the rule would be ignored, but what rule is that? What rule does the BSA have that gets in the way of the youth? There may be such rules, but those are truly the ones that need to be changed or deleted. ANyway, to reiterate, I would like to know when following rules became a charactor defect?

and you aren't going to share?

these are the rules for a disabled Scout who wishes to earn Eagle The Eagle Scout rank may be achieved by a Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, or qualified Venturer who has a physical or mental disability by qualifying for alternate merit badges. This does not apply to individual requirements for merit badges. Merit badges are awarded only when all requirements are met as stated. In order for a Venturer to be an Eagle candidate, he must have achieved the First Class rank as a Boy Scout or Varsity Scout. The physical or mental disability must be of a permanent rather than a temporary nature. A clear and concise medical statement concerning the Scout's disabilities must be made by a physician licensed to practice medicine, or an evaluation statement must be certified by an educational administrator. The candidate must earn as many of the required merit badges as his ability permits before applying for an alternate Eagle Scout rank merit badge. The candidate must complete as many of the requirements of the required merit badges as his ability permits. The Application for Alternate Eagle Scout Award Merit Badges must be completed prior to qualifying for alternate merit badges. The alternate merit badges chosen must be of such a nature that they are as demanding of effort as the required merit badges. When alternates chosen involve physical activity, they must be approved by the physician. The unit leader and the board of review must explain that to attain the Eagle Scout rank a candidate is expected to do his best in developing himself to the limit of his resources. The application must be approved by the council committee responsible for advancement, utilizing the expertise of professional persons involved in Scouting for the disabled. The candidate's application for Eagle must be made on the Eagle Scout Rank Application, with the Application for Alternate Eagle Scout Award Merit Badges attached. Thats the rules we mindlessly followed

Seeing as I said the "more elderly" and as age is relative, as in the youngest one in the retirement home, I think I am ok with Eamonn as long as I spell Eamonn right, then again where were you last week when I could have used these pearls?

When everybody's out to get you, paranoia is just good thinking. Oh, yeah, BOOGER!!!

I want to thank Trevorum for starting this thread, I spoke at an Eagle Court of Honor on Sat, Dec 30th. It was for three scouts who were in the same tiger den together and all made Eagle about the same time so they planned a joint COH. I started with Roberts Frost's "The Road not Taken" then read the first two stanza's from the Loovin' Spoonful's "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind" and then finished asking them what would they do, take the Red or the Blue Pill whenever they had a difficult choice, to beleive what was being told them or to find out for themselves. It went over some of the more elderly in the crowd, but the scouts told me they understood. I wouldnt have used the red/blue pill thing unless I had seen it here

Our Troop just had a scout earn Eagle through the process that is available for disabled youth, so I guess one could say we thoughtless adhered to scripted procedure as found in BSA publications, or rather did we thoughtfully adhere to the procedure? In any event I have been asked to speak at the youth's Court of Honor, I have just the poem to end with although I am not sure I will make it through without breaking up

SO far its been one a heck of a holiday season, if I were a paranoid I would wonder why the Catholic Church has been used as an example of a CO exemplifying all sorts of mal deeds within the Scouting Arena and now Moderators are under attack. I think I have said this before, but in case I wasnt very clear, let me try it again. The Moderators on this foum are volunteers who look at content only. We do not have the ability to fix any technical glitches. If any such problems arise, they should be directed to the site owner. Having said the above, I think if you use other than Explorer as a web browser, you are prone to double posts, but as I am not an IT professional, I wouldnt know

I would think a standard presentation of the colors would suffice, after the posting, I would have placed at the seats a copy of the Venturing Oath and Code and the leader of the Ceremony could read the Oath and Code or have the members present recite them as well.

Afar A fire So why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the armadillo it could be done... Silly to some, but this joke kills in western Arkansas and Texas and anywhere else armidilloes roam

Lets see, on one end of the bell curve you could have a clever reproduction (so much nicer than saying fake, dont you know) and at the other a genuine piece of history. Is there a college close by with a History Dept? I would think they would love to look at it and research it and either authenicate it or debunk it

If it's within the guidelines and regs of the BSA, should it be considered a tweak in the first place?

I remember the Gerald Ford presidency, he was always being made fun of, if it wasnt countless replays of him stumbling comming off Air Force One, it was him hitting someone with a golf ball or a reference to him playing too many football games without a helmet. One of Mr Ford's biggest moves as president was the total and unconditional pardon of Richard M Nixon for all crimes related to the Watergate scandal. He was vilified, excoriated and generally beaten up and taken to task for that move. Many think that move cost him the presidency. But in the past few days I have read glowing tributes to a gentle, sensitive man who helped the country when it needed help. A man who healed the country when it needed healing. No mention of a young Chevy Chase doing a pratfall as an imitation of the president, just how great a man he was. Funny how a president's actions are judged at once in the present and quite often quite differently after the years past. A man once considered a political hack who was only president because of a quid pro quo agreement is now seen as a statesman for the ages. In view of this, how can we know how present leaders will be judged. Perhaps we best honor Mr Ford by looking forward as he did rather than revel in the past Gerald Ford, rest in peace, you served your country well

John-in-KC, Funny thing about fist times and flag retirements, the first flag retirement I saw was as a scout. Our Scoutmaster would have cord tied to the four corners of the flag and the flag would be brought over the fire, the heat from the flames would push the flag up and then the four scouts, each at a corner would slowly bring the flag down closer to the flames. The flag would bow up more as the heat grew. Stopping just before contact with the flames the flag almost glows, then bursts into flames and is gone. Back in the 60's when I first saw this done all flags were cotton and many were considerably faded, but they always seemed to glow with brand new colors just before they burst into flame. The new synthetic flags behave almost the same way, they bow up and fairly explode when they reach the combustion point. I have seen a few flag retirement ceremonies done other ways, but feel the way I describe is the best. One thing to consider is how to retire huge "Perkins" or auto dealer flags. I saw one that was folded in the normal manner and placed on a wire grill in the midst of the flames, all it did was smoke and turn into a big black ball of molten plastic or whatever material it was. While I am not a fan of cutting the flag apart, if retiring it piece by piece prevents a black smoky flaming ball, I could see it. I think what John -in - KC and mine experiences do make a point, youth scouts age (such as we were) can view a flag retirement with respect as it made such an impression on us that the way we saw it done is the only way we want to see it done now. The bottom line is that the retirement is done with dignity and respect.(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

I was thinking about this, I have often visited New Orleans, but not since Katrina. I rememebr down around the French Quarter there were a significant number of FDL's on lamp posts and the like, maybe it wasn't George Bush dynamiting the levees after all, it was the BSA lawyers, SHHHHH dont tell anyone...

Just an offical note, there is no truth to the rumor at such a gathering would myself, FScouter or any other moderator be dressed in white pants with a back and white vertically striped shirt. I may however be lurking in the background with my clipboard...

Yes, he is, but he also resigned from the National Board until such time as Scouting resolves its' "membership issues"

First the answer I think most are looking for: http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/about/thepack/index.html Note, its from the BSA website, but I saw an Organizational Chart for a Troop that just about caused a fist fight at the University of Scouting I was at. I can't duplicate the graphics here so I will do what I can, it ran like this Scout APL PL SPL Scoutmaster District Chair Etc. Seems a few people got upset that the scout was listed first, others saw it as the way it should be. I think the link is what you are looking for, but remember who it is we serve which is not who we always answer to(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

Well, Donald Rumsfeld is available as well as Michael Moore, maybe a series of commercials similar to the PC/Macintosh series would be interesting. They could each do a quick retrospective of their lives, and then say, but we are both Eagle Scouts! The ad ends with the new slogan, Scouting, Something for Everyone... Really!

Ok Beavah, I will try take 2, as I said I sometimes have problems expressing myself. Lets just say, just saying mind you, that you know of a Troop that conducts Boards of Review that last at least an hour and for Life, its 2 hours guaranteed. Every bit of Scout scraft is revisited and demonstrations of lashing, knots and campass work is required amoung other skills. The Scoutmaster was a scout in the 60's and he wants his boys to be good woodsmen. Many scouts leave this troop as they find the scoutmaster overbearing. Some scouts find other Troops who follow the program, most boys are lost to scouting forever and will always have a bad feeling towards it. Should the troop refrom its ways? The scoutmaster means well, does that make him correct?

Actually, Venture Crews can specialize in producing Rangers, Questers, Trusters, Quartermasters, and I don't think there is one out there for Arts and Hobbies Crews as yet. The question of what a Crew will or will not do is up to to the membership and the adult advisor. WARNING: I will explain myself. Let's say the Crew I support wants to go on a Cross Country Skiing Trek involving 5 days on the trail. I would help them arrange all aspects of the trip but I would also let them know they would need two adults as I am not planning on going. There are many things I will do, but 5 days in the snowing skiing is not one of them. The reality is, just because I am a Venture Advisor and it's up to the Crew to set the program doesnt mean I have to Bungee jump (if it were allowed, of course its not nor do I want it to be) off the Golden Gate bridge (Yes, I know thats not allowed either even if G2SS allowed Bungee jumping, I am using hyperbole to make a point)I do get to set my own personal limits.