SiouxRanger

It is all about profit to National. Merit Badge Pamphlets could be digitized and made available online for a pittance of the hardcopy version. For some reason, National has not figured out how to cut its costs (no longer publishing hardcopy MB books) yet make merit badge pamphlets available online.

Well, to a degree. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? I lean toward education first, experience second. (Though I can see some advantage in letting Scouts attempt and struggle, THEN get instruction, but that seems inefficient to me.) Having recently counseled a Scout for Chess merit badge, I worked through the Merit Badge Book to make sure I was covering all the topics and issues included in the MBadge requirements, AND explaining them in the terms as the BSA presented them. The Merit Badge Book served as a checklist with explanation-and it was helpful. For me, person

From my last couple of meetings on a Council Committee, it appears that NCAP Standards are going to be applied to ALL Council and District events. Camporees, OA events, Cub Day Camps, Weekend activities (fishing, shooting, climbing, orienteering weekends) at the local camp. Some of these may already be subject to NCAP Standards. I am a fan of standards but I dropped out of NCAP Assessment Team participation as every camp we assessed, passed. Even when not a single fire extinguisher could be found that was within certification ("We ordered those-should be here in a couple of weeks." "

Having a "home base" also makes a lot of sense. Takes a lot of adults to make it work.

Just to pass on a comment from a SM that caught me by surprise, but intriguing (and I paraphrase to get all the ideas in context): "We did an alternative summer camp by camping at a number of different state parks and private camps/facilities. We'd spend a day or two at each, then driving to the next. The kids planned it all. We brought the adult talent to do program, but the facilities were provided by the parks and private camps. Done this a number of years."

I suspect it has more to do with 3 walnut shells, a pea, and some fancy sleight-of-hand. I agree. There seems to be some huge disconnect between the insurers' contractual obligations and insurance coverage for the COs. It seems that the settling insurers' contributions to the settlement fund severs their contractual obligations to both the LCs and the COs. It sounds like National essentially negotiated the amount of the insurers' contributions (apparently a sweet deal for the the larger insurers) and the amount of the LCs' contributions (who all appear to have gotten on board in

And we sold off 1/3 of our camp. For over a million dollars. Can we buy a CNC router to do decent signs rather than an old fogey with unsteady hands making suitable but pathetic signs, with a million dollars? (For a million dollars, I could learn to paint like Michelangelo). Or buy new chisels and carving knives for Woodcarving merit badge (which I resharpen, but only years after I was told that they needed to be resharpened-cheap steel-$4 knives and chisels…) Or pay to repair broken firearms? (We still have more functioning firearms than non-operational, but closing in.)

I spent yesterday routing signs to establish the new boundary for our scout camp-a camp of 50+ years now butchered by decisions made by…Fortune 50 Executives…NO, Fortune 500 Executives…NO, my barber, my caddie, my Uber driver, my pizza delivery person, my…NO, NO, NO. BSA Professionals. And how many of them are standing up to take credit? And @InquisitiveScouter you are likely to be searching for scouting for a long time.

As I understand the "model," BSA professionals "manage" the volunteers who "present the program" to youth. And therein lies the problem. BSA professionals--THEIR activities, decisions, (all benefitting their salaries and pensions), BANKRUPTED the BSA. (Not to mention the psychological carnage their efforts left in their wake.) And those BSA professionals (as a class), through the bankruptcy process, want to continue to direct us volunteers on presenting the program to youth. And why should we, the volunteers, even let the BSA professionals make this argument? Where is

I stand by my post. I could well be wrong. But my marker stands firm as I posted.

"When I wanted to understand what is happening today, I try to decide what will happen tomorrow; I look back, a page of history is worth a volume of logic." --Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice, New York Trust Co. v. Eisner (1921). Many cultures respect, if not revere their elders and the perspective that they have. Their perspective is considered "Wisdom." Barry, I listen to you.

Well, I am with you-never have heard of that before, internal pockets with interior poles. I'd think the doors must be large (wide) so as to accommodate inserting a pole into a corner pocket, then bending the balance of the pole through the door so as to be able to insert the other end of pole into the other pocket. Sounds very awkward. Two doors, or is this feat of contortionism conducted through a single door? Installing the second pole might be easier, until the last few inches of stretch to get the second pole end into the final pocket. I've had tents where the poles were inse

To All-- After 25 years of senior Troop leadership, having been the "go to" adult having 3 sons, all Eagles, and having been a senior adult during their Cub Scout years. I have seen my share of O/A elections in the troop. All of them. I am an OA member. Time and again, far, far too many times, I have seen crossover scouts voting on OA membership on older scouts' O/A membership where the older scouts had sports obligations and were only present to meet their Scouting requirement obligations.. The younger scouts may have never met the older scouts. Yet they could vote on t

And thanks to all who have persevered through my last two posts.

The things one remembers with clarity (maybe?) from one's childhood. In the 60's (19xx) when we decorated the family Christmas tree, we had spherical, glass ornaments. Nothing special. But beautiful to me-reds, blues, greens, ... Round balls. All carefully stored away in their boxes of 12, cushioned by cardboard baffles to protect them in the off-season. And then, at tree trimming, an ornament or two was entrusted to me (and my siblings) to hang on the tree, parents dutifully including us youngsters in the annual tradition. Entrusted to us for about 30 seconds or so, until sa

I have no practice experience in mass tort bankruptcies. (As a percentage of lawyers in the country, it is a tiny percentage who do.) But, I have persuaded myself that I have a working, plausible hypothesis of the litigation dynamics of this case. I see legal issues in terms of "pressure." ("Dynamics.") Very little is absolute. It is like chess. A move is made. The new placement of the piece poses a threat. And threats are of different flavors, a clear and present threat of immediate chess board carnage, a potential threat, perhaps needing a move or two to raise the threat to c

Folks seem to be drawn to older/ancient traditions. And such, foreign to their own traditions. Something mystical. Scouting history is young and not well-promoted. Not having reviewed merit badge requirements across the board regarding ancestral skills (skill by skill), perhaps every merit badge requirement should have designation of "ancestral skills compliance." And survival skills added. Having designed a primitive skills course for Summer camp, having been demolished by COVID, and sadly never to happen (my only chance to step beyond handling Troop paperwork), any sug

Thanks everyone. Great ideas. I have passed them on to the leadership.

So, 3 Omnibus hearings set through 10-27-2022. What does this mean? Perhaps no final ruling expected until or after 10-27-2022? My understanding of "omnibus" is that everything that any party wants to raise can be noticed up for hearing. Why would three omnibus hearings be set up front when perhaps all issues will be resolved at the first omnibus hearing? Perhaps the judge envisions an iterative process whee issues are raised at one hearing, followed by private negotiations, progress or lack thereof reported at the second hearing, and so on. Perhaps the Judge will announce

Our current thought is to have a campout shakedown session at a troop meeting with every scout packing his pack for a tent campout. We'd give them a list of suggested equipment. Adults "in the know," regarding donated equipment, would be able to see who is most in need. All the scouts are unknowingly participating in the gear review for donated gear (so no one is overlooked). And the scouts would get a chance to experience a shakedown and gear review and pointers. Then parents would be approached with an offer of donated gear. This is the best we have been able to concoct so that all

Our unit has recently received very high quality personal gear, 3 pristine Osprey 65L packs, for example, and us adults are at a loss to come up with a method to gift such donations to individual scouts who could use it. Only a couple of senior adult leaders are aware of the donated gear at this point. More gear is likely to come. We are considering quietly investigating each scout's needs, and making the gifts privately. Probably on a leader to parent basis. Our hope is that this procedure would avoid a scout feeling like they have been overlooked or slighted. Has anyone suggestions

Ponil. (autocorrect!)

As in "impassable" to get to Point, or didn't want to send vehicles to Ponil? Do you know which? Interesting comment. As most packs aren't waterproof, the pack material will absorb water adding weight. I always took a portable sun shower. 2.4 oz, if I remember. About 2 adult showers. Took a shower every day. In any event, one always remembers the tough campouts moreso than the cake walk campouts.

We've had a few folks post that their SM refused to allow OA elections. I always thought it was the duty of the SM and assistant scout masters to make program opportunities available which comport with the program, the OA being among them. If the scouts decide not to participate, so be it, but at least they self-select not to participate. We've had the scouts decide not to attend district camporees, mainly because the theme was the same, year to year-cooking-sponsored by a unit which essentially had to fund the materials themselves and did so marginally. It was all lecture-scouts s

How does one indent a paragraph if that is even possible.