CalicoPenn

Hey Buffalo Joe - welcome to the forum. As you're working on a wiccan/pagan award, you might want to check out the Hart & Crescent award administered by the Covenant of the Goddess (cog.org). In the early 90's, the Covenant of the Goddess approached the BSA and asked that it be recognized as part of the religious awards program - the BSA declined, then passed a rule that said a religious organization must charter at least 25 units before its religious award would be recognized. Of course, that's well within the BSA's right to do so. However, the Hart & Crescent award is as s

Forgive me for being a bigger nerd but Ketchup is indeed Thixotropic, or more accurately a Pseudoplastic Fluid showing Thixotropic properties. That means its decreases its viscosity with an increasing shear rate. In other words, it becomes more fluid as it is shaken. A Dilatant Fluid increases its viscosity with an increasing shear rate - an increase in viscosity means the fluid gets thicker. A good example of this would be a corn starch/water mixture. The more you shake it, the thicker the fluid becomes. The key is to remember that an Increase in Viscosity means a Decrease in Fl

The Arrow of Light is awarded by the Cub Scout Pack - not by the Boy Scout Troop. There is no Boy Scout Troop Board of Review before the awarding of a Cub Scout Award. The conference with the Scoutmaster as part of the Arrow of Light awards is not the same as a "Scoutmaster Conference" needed to advance in rank in the Boy Scouts. The AOL conference with the Scoutmaster need not be any more difficult than a 1 minute conversation with the Lad about his interest in Scouting and his plans to join a troop. Note also that the requirements do not state that the lad has to have this confer

Board's of Review are held for Boy Scout Rank advancements. Arrow of Light is a Cub Scout Award. It isn't awarded by a Troop, so a Troop wouldn't be giving a Board of Review for it. Once an award is earned, it's earned. A future unit, in this case a Boy Scout Troop, has no ability to re-affirm an award by holding a Board of Review. The same would hold true for a Scout who transfers from one Troop to another as a First Class Scout. The new Troop doesn't get to hold a Board of Review to decide if the lad gets to keep his First Class. Calico

I'm sooo confused - I have so many questions. How was it possible for the Lodge Adviser to change the dates of the Ordeal, and for the second Lodge Adviser to change them back? It's not up to the Lodge Adviser to make these decisions - its up to the Lodge Youth Leaders. The Lodge Adviser can make the suggestion, but its ultimately the Lodge Chief and his cabinet of officers (including the Chapter Chiefs) to make the decision. And no, the Lodge Adviser doesn't get "veto power". How can the numbers be so much different between summer camp Ordeals and spring and fall Ordeals. Theo

Wow, Packsaddle (and NC) - I'm impressed! Not many people know that Broccoli and Cauliflower, two completely different looking vegetables, are actually the same species! Even fewer know that Kale, Collard Greens, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts and Kohlrabi, also all completely different looking vegetables, are also of the same species as Broccoli and Cauliflower. Every single one of them are of the Oleracea species of the Brassica genus - all of them share the scientific name Brassica oleracea. It's pretty obvious that NC is telling us that Scouts are Scouts no matter what they lo

Scoutldr, It's time to mail that Eagle medal to the Eagle Scout you've not heard from in a while. It was earned by him and it belongs to him. Just pop it in a box and mail it off, or hand deliver to his home. There is really no reason why the unit should be holding on to it. Calico

Slippery Slope. It makes it harder to deny a request by Representative Kent Lambert, Senator David Schultheis, and Representative Terrance Carroll (all Eagle Scouts)for Scouts and Scouters to appear in uniform for some future events - not that any of these gentlemen asked for uniformed Scouts and Scouters to appear at this one. This is much different from Scouts going to the capitol to fulfill a merit badge requirement, or a unit taking a tour of the state capitol - this is a plea from this Council to request that Scouts and Scouters insert themselves into the legislative process for

You're absolutely right, it might not be very Scout like. Lisa recently posted a question about what we do for a living. I hadn't answered but now would be a good time to do so. I am a counseling psychologist for a non-profit organization. I specialize in counseling gay and lesbian youth, and their families, as they come to grips with their sexual orientation. Over the last 3 months, I've been counseling a young man, 17 years old, who tried to take his own life. He was a Boy Scout, earned the Eagle Rank, and was an honors student in school, as well as a respected student athlet

I never requested that I be given any kind of heads up before someone posted something. I only asked what the point of the posting was. Fred often posts things blind in the Politics section but what he posts is generally related to Scouting, or to some subject that might impact Scouting. This posting doesn't appear to do either. Women only hours at a gym in Harvard don't seem to have any impact on Scouting at all, unless you would like to bolster Scouting's policies by making a point about free association, and the rights of private organizations to make rules that discriminate against a s

I wasn't commenting on anyone's replies to the original posting, only questioning what the point of the posting itself was. However, it seems to me that many of the replies bear out the validity of the question. Even the title of the thread leads me to the thought that this posting is part of the politics of the divisive, the politics of the "angry (read neutered) white man". Why is it that only "Male Muslims" are pointed out to be possibly hypocritical in not asking for "male only" time, and not all males? Why, in fact, are "Male Muslims" even mentioned at all - because the folks who

So he has bought an engineered car off of e-bay for the past two years? Or is he using the same car over and over again? One rule that is pretty standard is that a boy will have a new car every year. One pack I know of had a winning category for the slowest car. Others have huge prizes, as Lisabob suggests, for such things as most original design, best Pack spirit (car decorated to show pride in Pack/Den), most futuristic, etc. I've heard of a couple of packs that place an indelible identifying mark on one of the wheels before handing out the kits to be worked on - the mark mu

I don't get the point of this thread. It seems like it's just tossed out there for folks to pounce on with their mysogynistic and anti-Muslim views like a pack of ravenous hyenas. Calico

My question would be is there a particular reason why boys that are not already First Class by Summer Camp also can't work solely on Merit Badges at Summer Camp and not work on any rank advancement skills? I mean no offense (and welcome to the forum!) but it sounds, at first blush, that the way your Troop is doing T to FC is pretty much the way I mentioned some Troops doing the First Class/First Year emphasis - running a New Scout Patrol more like a Webelos Den than a Boy Scout Patrol. While I won't say that this is absolutely wrong (there are many variations on how Troops run their pr

Not every Troop sets their annual planning for September - that is much more common in Cub Scouts. PLC's may have an annual planning event just about any month of the year, depending on the Troops schedule. Often, its set around the Troop's elections for SPL, so that the new SPL is leading the process. Troops also don't always run by a School Calendar, like Cub Scout Packs tend to do. Troops are active year round, many of them continue to meet on a weekly basis in the summer, though many may choose not to have their weekly meetings the same month as Summer Camp, and some may switch

Let's take a look at the requirements to become a Boy Scout. In order to become a Boy Scout, a boy must either: Be 11 years old, OR completed the 5th grade OR earn the Arrow of Light. For a March crossover, I imagine the key here is Earn the Arrow of Light. Many packs time their Webelos Program so that most eligible Webelos are awarded their Arrow of Light at the Blue and Gold - the Big award ceremony of the year. Once those Webelos have earned the AOL, they can join a Scout Troop. While they can technically be crossed over in February, many Packs delay the crossover to March so that

As John says, you can only be a member of one Lodge. You would wear the Lodge flap of the Lodge you are registered in, and yes, you can wear that Lodge Flap on your District Committee shirt even if that District isn't within the Council that your Lodge is in. The Lodge Flap indicates active membership in a Lodge (and active means....dues paying). John presents a good option should you desire not to offend folks in the other District (and gosh knows who might be offended by it), and that's to wear the Universal Arrow. As far as I know, that device can also be worn if you compl

I guess we'll just have to agree that we have a different definition of what the word "All" means. Calico

Maybe I was being too obtuse in one of my answers. In this specific case, it is highly unlikely that any kids will miss out. The city sponsors Police and Fire Explorer Posts (which are part of LFL). They don't sponsor these units blindly, as many sponsors (including schools at one time) do - they aren't just a place that signs paperwork once per year and maybe provides a place to meet and store equipment. No - these LFL units are Police and Fire Department cadet units - not only does the City (through its individual police and fire stations) sponsor these units, all of the adult leader

Court Case in Chicago - Man files complaint with Human Rights Commission because Chicago Council does not hire him based solely on his sexual orientation. BSA admits this is the case. National BSA states that it is the policy of BSA not to hire gays and lesbians for the job person applied for. Human Rights Commission rules that BSA violates non-discrimination law. BSA appeals on the grounds it is a private religious group and is therefore exempt, under the religious exemption clause. States again that it is policy of the BSA not to hire gays and lesbians. Illinois Court of Appeals rules i

They were call Skill Awards. You can find the requirements for the Skill Awards in any Boy Scout Handbook circa 1972-1989. There were 12 Skill Awards in all - and they covered basic skills. There were requirements to earn a certain number, as well as certain types to earn T, SC, & FC ranks. Many of those requirements have been re-integrated into the current rank requirements. The 12 Skill Awards were: Camping, Citizenship, Communications, Community Living, Conservation, Cooking, Environment, Family Living, First Aid, Hiking, Physical Fitness and Swimming. I earned all 12 of them

Nothing can be done? That's a rather defeatist attitude. There are, in fact, a couple of things I can think of right off the bat that can be done. For instance, the study states the three contaminants of highest concern are Mercury, DDT and Dieldrin. DDT has been banned from use in the United States since 1972. Dieldren since 1987. So where is it coming from? The story tells us its coming in from the atmosphere. How can that be if its been banned in the US? Simple - other countries. There is no universal ban on DDT or Dieldren - the US is way ahead of the curve on that on

Question: Who will take the place of LFL in running these programs? Answer: The City of LA. If we stop and think about what LFL programs the City of LA sponsors, we'll realize they are Police and Fire Explorer posts. Who actually runs these Explorer Posts? City of LA Police and Fire Stations. Who are the advisers? City of LA Police Officers and Fire Fighters. Now let's think about this for a second (and it's something I've wondered about in the past). Exactly what value does Police and Fire Department Cadet programs get by also being part of LFL, by being an Explorer Post?? Is there

This shouldn't really be a surprise to those of us who have been following this issue from the beginning. Learning from Life was "spun off" from the BSA as a result of Dale, specifically because the BSA knew that they would have issues down the road based on non-discrimination in public schools and public entities if they didn't Exploring was placed in Learning for Life to protect Police, Fire and School sponsored Explorer Posts. When the BSA did this, many of us asked how long it would take before there was a challenge to Learning for Life as the consensus seemed to be at the the time

I understand where you're coming from, but the call-out example doesn't help your case. Once the election is held, a Scout has 1 year to attend his Ordeal. There is no requirement that the Scout go through a call-out first. A call-out, while a fine tradition (and one I encourage), is optional. Calico