CalicoPenn

I think a question related to the one posed - AND related to the digression about number of religious awards earned is: "How much religion is there in your Scouts". In a lot of ways, the answer to that question will answer the others. My troop as a youth was sponsored by a non-demoninational, mostly protestant, community church. No divisions into Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, evangelicals. It was open and welcoming to all - including Catholics and Jews. The troop was therefore open and welcoming to all - including Wiccans, Shintoists, Nativists, Deists, etc. For many of the

An Ilk is a rare, large ungulate that feeds on grass, shrubs, flowers and trees. They roam in herds throughout flat country in the north, mating in fall and giving birth in spring. Male Ilk grow large sets of antlers that are prized throughout the country as the basis for "western" chandeliers in cozy "greatrooms" in ski and mountain resorts. Ilk are related to Deer and Moose. It's most closely related animal cousin is the similar looking Elk. The difference between an Ilk and an Elk is the coloring of their fur. Ilk fur is a dark chocolate brown with deep red stripes, much like an

There is a difference between Truth and Fact. While Fact is always Truth (in the True/False sense - A = B, B = C, therefore A = C is True AND a Fact), Truth is not always Fact - for instance, Faith is generally not based on observable Fact, yet for most people, what they take on Faith is a Truth to them. God exists is an act of Faith - but since there is no physical evidence, said statement is not an act of Fact, yet despite not being Fact, it is still. for many people a Truthful statement. The Investment that Lisa mentions is a form of Faith-based Truth, though not in the religious sen

Thanks, Dan! My Inclusive Scouting Award is now on order! Calico

First - shouldn't it be TAZE? Whenever I read TAZ - I think of a Warner Brothers cartoon character that bugged Bugs Bunny when he was whirling around in a cloud of dust. Should we really be following the example of some illiterate bonehead who may have spelled it taz on a bumper sticker or poster? Second, there are no penalties for violating the flag code. While it promulgates rules on the display and use of the flag, there are no penalties for not following the rules - other than pangs of your own conscience. Where penalties have been attempted to be imposed on certain acts (flag des

Happy New Year everyone! (In the Celtic Tradition, Samhain celebrated the end of the harvest and the beginning of the winter season - it was also considered to be the start of the New Year with the end of the harvest being the end of the old year). Calico

It's believed that Jack O'Lanterns have their roots in a folk tale from Ireland. Seems there was a man name Stingy Jack who agreed to have a drink with the Devil but didn't want to spend his money on the drink so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin. Jack pocketed the coin next to a silver cross so the Devil couldn't escape and made the Devil promise not to bother Jack for a year or to claim his soul if he died. The next year, Jack got the Devil to climb a tree then carved a cross in the tree preventing the Devil from escaping. He let the Devil go only when the Devil promised

There used to be a Division of Research in the BSA. I'm not sure it still exists. Most of their studies seemed to be geared towards sociology than psychology. Calico

The greatest immorality of all is judging other people to be inferior to oneself in any way, shape or form. CalicoPenn

Kudu - as I stated in my post, this is what my Troop taught me about the symbolism of the Scout Sign. We obviously didn't follow BP's Scout Promise as we were a unit of the BSA, not a unit of the Boy Scouts in England, which is not to say the BSA doesn't have their own version of the Scout Promise or what the symbolism of the Scout Sign is. I say whatever works, use it. Where they got it, I could not tell you - but I still remember it which is why I consider the Scout Sign to have dignity above the common use of "Shut Up". Barry and Gunny - Good question about the effect outside the un

I'd like to issue a challenge and encourage the end of the ubiquitous use of "Signs Up" (though full well knowing I'll be tilting at windmills like Don Quixote as I do so). My Troop never used "Signs Up" and even though we learned what it meant when invloved with gatherings of other units (or as most of us learned it, in Cub Scouts), we never responded with a raised sign, though we would respect the intent. Here's why: Our Troop taught that the Scout Sign means something - it is not just an empty gesture but had a real symbolic meaning. The three fingers of the Scout Sign each indi

Did anyone else notice the big headlines over at CNN yesterday (10/24) that the UN climate change group released their study showing that the Greenland icemass is indeed melting, and faster than they had originally thought. Interesting that this was one of the "11 inaccuracies" that the Judge in Britain based his ruling on when the Government didn't defend the supposition. The ruling in the case in Britain really doesn't support the global warming debunkers case since the British Government (the defendants) never really put on much of a defense anyway. I wonder what would have

"Those students would go through scouting and never be touched by this policy." Does anyone else see what makes this statement by a spokesperson for the National Jewish Committee on Scouting so obviously wrong, especially at the Cub Scout level? Students whose parents were same sex couples would indeed by touched by this policy - every day of their time in Scouting. When I was a Cub Scout, I was proud that my mother was a Den Mother and that my father was an Assistant Cubmaster as my scouting career started. Imagine the devastation a child that age would face (remembering to consid

Though I hate to contribute to the further hijacking of this thread, I'd like to point out something about the wording of the 1st Amendment. The sentence reads "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." The Supreme Court throughout the years have interpreted this to mean that Congress (and States and Local Governments) may not pass a law or appear to favor any one religion over any other, or for that matter, any religion at all. The opposition viewpoint is that this sentence means that Congress can't form a n

If you've already "scrubbed them to blazes", then they are already clean and there really is no need to clean them more. The "black stuff" in the pits (I'm assuming the cookware is pitting, small dings in the surface of the aluminum)and along the edges is not likely to be food particles, not after all this time. More likely, it's just oxidization (yes - Aluminum "rusts" (it's called Aluminum Oxide - just like Iron "rust" is called Iron Oxide) and this Aluminum Oxide hardens and serves to protect the surface of Metallic Aluminum. The surface of most aluminum cookware is treated to reduce oxi

Beavah will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe what he is saying is that a violation of YPT isn't neccessarily a violation of a state's child welfare laws - that something reported to the Scout Executive wouldn't neccessarily be reported to a state's child welfare agency. At the same time, IF you are a state mandated reporter (I don't know of any states that have included Scoutmasters in that list (yet)) and there is a YPT incident that you would be mandated to report to the state, reporting it only to the Scout Executive would not be an acceptable substitute, you must also, and likely mus

Beavah, Am I to understand that you are advocating that this Scout should just accept that all the work on the merit badges he earned at summer camp was for naught and that he should just give up the badges he earned and start all over again because his unit is failing to follow National Advancement Policy on earning Merit Badges; and this Scout should limit himself only to Merit Badges that are counseled by Troop level volunteers and not Merit Badges that may interest him which may not have someone in the Troop signed up to, let alone qualified to counsel? Am I to understand that your p

Talk to the Unit Commissioner who was present when this policy was announced - if s/he doesn't tell you that s/he and/or the District Commissioner and/or the District Advancement Chairman will attend the next Troop Committee Meeting to tell the Troop in no uncertain terms that the Troop WILL follow National Policy and WILL award Merit Badges earned outside the Troop Merit Badge Counselor List with NO retesting and that s/he expects the Troop to award - immediately, all of the Merit Badges earned at Summer Camp then call the District Commissioner as well - this Unit Commissioner needs to be ret

Wouldn't that be War Against Xmas (WAX)? That would sure make it easier to know when the war was on and when is was off again for another year. All we would need to do is have Pat Morita announce on the TV at the beginning "Wax On" and at the end "Wax Off" Calico

Someone from the unit attended the Popcorn Kickoff. Did the information presented at the kickoff match what is being said now? If the 27%/30% split was explained at the kickoff, then Council has been upfront about it from the beginning and there is little more that can be done. However, if it wasn't explained this way, or wasn't explained clearly and the impression was the units would receive 30% with an additional bonus of 3% if other criteria was met, then that's something to bring up to District/Council popcorn chair. If you were promised 30% and they changed the rules in the middle

Philadelphia's BSA Headquarters building would be considered a single tenant office building. Typically, single tenant buildings, be they office, retail or industrial, have NNN (Triple Net) Leases - that means that in addition to base rent, the Tenant pays for all other expenses needed to maintain and operate the building, including taxes, property and liability insurance, and maintenance & repair costs. In most single tenant buildings, the tenant pays for those services/expenses directly, meaning they contract for the services, they pay all the bills when due. Any improvements made to

let''s not forget that there is also an element of training the Scouts on properly addressing adults when their parent(s) is in camp. In my units, there was never a "dad" or "mom" in camp. A call for "Dad!" always went unanswered (and yes, you do have to train the parents not to respond). On a campout, if I wanted to speak with my dad (if he was in attendance), it was Mr. CalicoPenn. No kid wants to call his parent by Mr. or Mrs. - helps prevent the Scout from relying too much on mom or dad too. Calico

You ask a good question regarding intent - what is the intent of the POR time in service requirements. Let''s come at it from a different way - what it the intent of the Eagle Leadership/Service Project. We rarely give the intent behind that much thought. Now I readliy admit I''m extrapolating from experience and am in no way quoting any official writings of anyone, as far as I know, so what I''m about to say is my belief as to the intent. I believe that the intent of the Eagle Leadership/Service Project is to give our Scouts the opportunity, and the challenge, to transistion from Unit

I''ve looked and looked and looked and looked on Google Earth and I just can''t find the Tropical Island with a lagoon, a volcano, an underground cave system, a bamboo motor car and seven stranded castaways. Calico

Sounds like you''re making the right steps, and your answer that they chose their SPL is a good one. Its important that the SPL and the PLC get trained as well - not just training by the Troop but try to take advantage of the training offered by your District and Council - getting the perspectives of Leaders in different units is invaluable. Might I make a small suggestion? The requirements for holding POR for rank advancement is 6 months for Eagle. Why not structure your SPL election around the rank requirment. Hold SPL elections twice a year - every 6 months instead of once per year