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CalicoPenn

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Everything posted by CalicoPenn

  1. A wholly under taught little fact about the Consitution of the United States, which most people consider to be the founding document of the country, is that much of the basis for its structure of government, and most of the rights enshrined in the original Bill of Rights, comes from the governance structure of the Confederacy of the Iroquois. The Founding Fathers had interacted heavily with the nations of the Iroquois and all of them were heavily influenced by that interaction. Benjamin Franklin's Albany Plan took much of its structure directly from the Iroquois - that plan led the way to th
  2. It all depends on the ceremony. At a call-out ceremony, sitting is appropriate during much of the ceremony, and people can be asked to rise as necessary. For the Ordeal, Brotherhood and Vigil Honor ceremonies, the "audience" should remain standing throughout (except for those that need to sit for health, etc. reasons). You're there to stand behind your brothers as they take that first/next step in service or to stand in congratulations and honor to those that have performed exceptional and distinguished service (Vigil Honor). The Order of the Arrow is predicated on the ideal that
  3. Technically, OA Chapters are optional, not required within the organization of the Order. Most Lodges do have chapters due to the size of the Lodge to assist in delivering the program (election teams, call-outs, etc.) but ultimately, the responsiblity for the OA program is the Lodge's. If the Chapter is unable to perform the duties, the Lodge would have to step in. The Lodge shouldn't have any problem with an election team from another chapter performing your units election but you can always ask your Chapter Advisor contact to make sure it's ok with the Lodge Chief and Advisor.
  4. A survival kit shouldn't be so big as to require a day pack. A small "fanny" pack should be plenty large to carry the essentials - mine is in a pocket of my many pocketed day pack (which I call my "possibles" bag - it carrys everything I could possibly need while I'm out hiking - and even some things I don't "need" but its nice to have handy if I want it (like one of my Native American style flutes to play, a pair of binoculars, a paperback book (the current book is The Journals of Lewis and Clark), a silly dice game, a deck of playing cards, and my journal - but come to think of it, my journ
  5. On the one hand ... and on the other hand ---. Let's just agree to disagree. CalicoPenn(This message has been edited by CalicoPenn)
  6. Trevorum, Glad you could find something new in my post. Plenty a young lad in my troop were sent to the Oxford English Dictionary at the local library to look up the term Girl if they complained. No one complained after learning the history of the word. It helped that it was used as a term of endearment. CalicoPenn
  7. I haven't had TV at my house since 2001, not even the networks. When I was at college, our television received 2 channels, one was the ABC affiliate (which worked out well - they showed McGuyver which I liked and syndicated reruns of Magnum, PI, which my roommate liked) and the PBS affiliate. Our antenna couldn't pick up the other channels and cable was still a good 5 years away from hitting town (and this was back in 1985!). Other than the shows we sat down to watch (McGyver or Magnum, or something on PBS assigned as a class project), we never really watched the TV, though it was on all th
  8. I always tried to follow the example my former Scoutmaster set: When addressing the troop when it was time to get to work or an important announcement needed to be made, it was Gentlemen. When addressing the troop at during an activity (such as a hike when it was time to take a rest, etc.) it was Guys. When it was a court of honor or other event with parents, community members, etc, participating it was Scouts (as in Will the following Scouts please come forward). When speaking with an individual Scout it was Sir, Lad, Young Lad, and often Mr. (insert last name). If it wa
  9. An inexpensive, yet very good, brand of hiking boots is Hi Tech. They make lightweight hiking boots that weigh no more than gym shoes, cost around $45.00, and don't take long to break in. I wear these hiking boots as regular shoes every day (except for work), and have since 1985. With heavy use, I go through a pair maybe every 6 to 8 months. I mentioned they don't take long to break in - my personal experience is that the amount of time it takes to break them in is less than 5 minutes. You can get them either ankle high or low cut, depending on whether you need the extra ankle support
  10. Wonderful stories and memories, Eamonn. Thank's for sharing! Calico
  11. Thanks for the compliment Baden - I certainly try to be positive about Scouting as it was a positive influence on my life. The point of my post is not to embarass the BSA. The point is to suggest that rather than just vent, take action. It seems many Scouters are taking the route t158 is and that's to just stop working with the district and council and just stay working with their units - not that there's anything wrong with that - but it means many good Scouters like t158 who would otherwise be available as mentors for leaders of other units aren't available anymore, and I just don't s
  12. It should be worn over the right shoulder with the point over the left hip so that the sash doesn't cover the rank badge on the left pocket of the uniform. The OA Sash is also worn over the right shoulder - one of the reasons you can't wear the Merit Badge Sash and the OA Sash at the same time. CalicoPenn
  13. You might be a Scouter if you disconnect your automatic dishwasher in favor of the 3-pot technique. Calico
  14. I see a doctorate thesis in this cul-de-sac flag situtation. If a flag doesn't exist on the ground until you paint the flag on the ground then is the ground on which the flag is painted on really the ground for purposes of the flag not being allowed to touch the ground or must you first lift the flag off the ground to place it back on the ground before you can say the flag is touching the ground? Oy Vey, now I need a Tylenol. CalicoPenn
  15. Is the council a 501c3 organization registered with the State of New York as a charitable organization? Do you have evidence they aren't following their bylaws and are committing fraud? Take it to the Attorney General's Charitable Fraud Division for the State and let that office look into it. Or do what my father and about 300 fellow volunteers did one year when they were angry at Council - hold a public Red Jacket burning and invite all the media - nothing embarrasses a Council more than seeing news footage of dedicated volunteers burning their red jackets on the 10:00 (oh, sorry - N
  16. fgoodwin, I had stated that my opinion of that provision was that Congress could give the Supreme Court original jurisdiction over something listed as something they have appellate jurisdiction and that Congress could make regulations on how the courts would operate but couldn't restrict them on what they could rule on. Lisa'bob pointed out the Marbury vs. Madison ruling in which the Supreme Court ruled that Congress could not change jurisdiction or make restrictions without passing a constitutional amendment, and that also states (and I'm sure that someone will correct me if I'm mis
  17. Thanks for the advice Gern - I had to add standing on my head to get it to work - LOL Calico
  18. Oh my goodness! Wearing pink on Valentine's Day! That's it, slap a rainbow flag sticker on his forehead and hand him tickets to see Brokeback Mountain! Last year, the most popular boy's t-shirt sold at Kohl's was pink and had one of two sayings: "Tough Guys Wear Pink" or "Don't Laugh, This is your Girlfriend's Shirt" Glad you were able to laugh about this Eamonn. And here's to your crew growing in numbers! As to letting the lad know about the membership requirements, I wouldn't tell him about avowed homosexuals not being able to join if you've never told any other
  19. LisaBob, Thanks for the clarification - I knew that Congress couldn't remove original jurisdiction without amending the constitution but the way the article reads, it seemed that Congress could make an exception on appellate matters and give SCOTUS original jurisdiction. I read the decision of Marbury v. Madison after you pointed it out (man, I just love the internet) and thought it interesting that the court called the sentences we're talking about superfluous, or as I interpret that, as meaningless fluff not to be taken seriously. Is that how you see that? But more to the point -
  20. LisaBob, Thanks for the clarification - I knew that Congress couldn't remove original jurisdiction without amending the constitution but the way the article reads, it seemed that Congress could make an exception on appellate matters and give SCOTUS original jurisdiction. I read the decision of Marbury v. Madison after you pointed it out (man, I just love the internet) and thought it interesting that the court called the sentences we're talking about superfluous, or as I interpret that, as meaningless fluff not to be taken seriously. Is that how you see that? But more to the point -
  21. LisaBob, Thanks for the clarification - I knew that Congress couldn't remove original jurisdiction without amending the constitution but the way the article reads, it seemed that Congress could make an exception on appellate matters and give SCOTUS original jurisdiction. I read the decision of Marbury v. Madison after you pointed it out (man, I just love the internet) and thought it interesting that the court called the sentences we're talking about superfluous, or as I interpret that, as meaningless fluff not to be taken seriously. Is that how you see that? But more to the point -
  22. Since I brought it up, seems only right I try to explain my thinking. Consider the following scenario. You've gone through this incident, and took a "boys will be boys" attitude with no real action. Now let's say a boy joins the troop, and becomes a new target for this bully. At a campout, this bully pulls out an airsoft gun again, points it at the new kid, pulls the trigger, and hits him square in the eye, causing serious injury. The parents of the boy who was injured discovers that there was an earlier incident with the bully involving an airsoft gun and that the troop leaders, BSA
  23. That same argument was made last year when Congress passed a law that told the court that it had to make a specific ruling in the Terry Schiavo case, a rule that the court promptly, and correctly, said was not proper and ignored. That is the same argument being being used by the backers of the Pledge Protection Act. If this argument were to succeed (and thus far, in all the times it has been attempted, it has not) the check/balance function of the Judicial Branch would cease to exist. Under this interpretation, the Congress could tell the court they can't make rulings on any number of contr
  24. Well, I suppose the most obvious is to do research and be aware of the possible hazards of the area one is going to go backpacking in. From a human hazard standpoint, it could mean knowing if there are any prisons in the nearby area meaning you could potentially (highly unlikey, but potentially) run across a prison escapee, or finding out if the area you're backpacking in is known to have places where drug growing is taking place, or if there have been any crimes lately on the trails or trailheads in the area. From an environmental hazard standpoint, have there been reports of ille
  25. Normally I would suggest that when the Charter Organizations Representative's children leaves the Charter Orgs troop for a new one, it would serve as a wake up call to the committee - but I really doubt that's going to be the case here. Hereajo, I commend your actions and judgement in this so far. Now I wonder if it's time to step away as the Charter Org Representative and turn the responsibility over to someone else. With your sons no longer in the unit (if indeed that's still the case) and considering the seriousness of the offense, I wonder if the committee will see your involvement
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