SiouxRanger

So, are we likely to see required or elective merit badges fill in for the merged Citizenship merit badges? And if required, what would they likely be? (Surely, 21 will remain the number to earn Eagle?)

For political reasons largely dealing with questioning council finances or council procedures, troublesome volunteers were removed. The BSA process is more akin to Franz Kafka's The Trial, than the protections embodied in the Bill of Rights. Litigation contesting the BSA process seems to favor the BSA. I haven't come across any case where the volunteer managed to obtain a judicial reversal of BSA's revocation of membership If anyone has a citation, please post it..

I will make this brief, for informational purposes.. 1. At the beginning of COVID, c. early 2020, I did a ton of internet research on summer camps. My rough calculation is that Scouting camps about 10% of all youth attending a summer camp. Surprise to me. Now, some of those "camps" are music and sport camps and not in the same class of outdoor summer camping conducted by BSA. 2. Camp Gold Arrow in California charges $4,225 for two weeks. That is 650% (6.5 times) more than my council's camp charges for a week. That is not to say that Camp Gold Arrow is expensive or a bargain. It

It is very hard to believe. I marvel at how human organizations spouting and touting the highest principals on the public-facing side accept, tolerate and/or practice abhorrent principles. BSA and the KKK. The Founding Fathers as slaveholders, John Adams apparently a notable exception. "Janus-faced." The duplicitous nature of human organizations is simply appalling.. TRUSTWORTHY (Who saw Her last, and where would She now be in our times of trouble?) Likely all to protect a paycheck. How base. (And we now see that in the BSA situation-thousands of educated "commissioned profession

And, whether this is the proper thread, or not, moderators can determine and move, the number of registered and active posters on this forum, is miniscule compared to the number of claimants, and even micro miniscule compared to the number of registered adult scouters. My primary focuses are 1. What can I learn to be reasonably informed; 2. What can I do to educate (trying to give others the benefit of what I have seen and learned), and, 3. What do I do next to make change (NOW-why wait)? So, there are very few active registered members on this forum, and about 150 guests on this f

"Acculturation" is another word too big in my estimation. "Assimiliation" is too strong-this denote permanent change. (Sexual predation is a single event, or a series of events which the predator does not see as permanent and the target as "subjected to." Nevertheless, "grooming" is far too benign to describe the nature of a sexual predator's activity directed at a target. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I (perhaps) remember Scout handbooks speaking of scouts engaging in "proper hygiene and grooming." Or those words, thereabouts. But in a positive posture.. WORDS COUNT, an

I have not "settled" on a suggestion, but grooming can be done by both adult and apparently older youth, it is targeted, and with evil outcome for the target. And so perhaps a single word won't embody all the aspects of the activity.. "Predatory grooming" is my near term recommendation, but I reserve the right to change my my mind and modify this. "Acclimatization" and "habituation" are words from the world of psychology which tend to fit the grooming activity, but too wordy, opaque, and foreign to most folks. A word or phrase is needed that embodies the notions of predatory, targe

All of this is now only known to me this moment. Unbelievable.

I heard the story of the Unknown Scout from a WD Boyce descendant who heard it from Boyce. It pretty much confirmed the romanticized version.: Lost in London, fog, Unknown Scout giving directions, tip refused.

Have you tried the Library of Congress? Was it copyrighted?

Your summary of "cultural norms differences" is what I thought it might be. Thank you. It comports with my sense of how those matters were treated then. And I wonder to what degree these matters today are still treated that way-or subject to those same societal pressures.. Even in these more "enlightened" times, look at the emotional energy expended by abuse survivors to overcome their own emotional inertia to step forward to be heard, and the push back from the alleged perpetrator, and the glare of the spotlight created by media exposure of their claim. I would surmise that not al

If it would not be too much trouble, and I suspect this has been discussed at length long before my time here, could someone itemize the basic elements of the "cultural norms differences" back when as compared to now? A paragraph or two just setting out the basics-what is allegedly different now compared to then?.

That's my unwritten thought. Thanks for giving it expression. "Grooming" just sounds too benign.

I have read the 1965 book The Codebreakers by David Kahn-perhaps one of the finest pieces of work I have ever read (notwithstanding my library of Winston Churchill and Prescott's Conquest of Mexico and Conquest of Peru). Cutting off at 1965, Kahn's book is miles behind current technology. There is an update, I believe. (Never thought of reading it until this moment, my interest being WWII.) I can only assume the technology is out there to detect hidden surveillance cameras, but that camp staffs now are placed in this position of monitoring and the time involved. Perhaps we are at the

Just to chime in on the side of safety and common sense.. I have studied "swiftwater rescue" techniques (in preparation for a raft trip on the Colorado). On a scale of 1 to 10, a lake (still water) is a 2 and floodwaters are a 27. Virtually NO amount of swimming strength, skill, strength, or experience will save you if caught in the current. And if then caught I a "strainer," a downed tree, chain link fence, mail box post, anything, you will become entangled there and you are doomed. A great outcome, and most likely, they would not have attempted rescue had conditions cau

Good observation. A process: decide to act on predatory impulses; take steps to identify likely vulnerable youth; initiate precursor grooming activities looking benign to casual observers; identify malleable youth; intensify grooming activities; identify camping or other opportunities to follow through with abusive activities; engage in abusive activities as they opportunistically arise; engage in cover-up activities (as needed). And there may many other steps and sub-steps. Not my field but just trying to stimulate discussion. Th

Forum shopping is a discussion topic in elementary civil procedure in law schools. Not promoting or discouraging it, explaining what it is.

I have to agree. A predator decides to prey, and then engages in behavior to accomplish that goal targeting victim(s). I am not sure the word "grooming" fully connotes the insidious nature of the process/goal. It sounds too benign to me. Maybe a new word is needed. But clearly, a predator sets a course toward abuse, and then grooms. (Perhaps another element of YPT training-grooming techniques to be aware of-perhaps becoming alert to pre-abuse activities will prevent actual abuse.)

Why is this called the "Churchill" Project? Does anyone know?

At one time, and perhaps to this day, the BSA publication, "Standards Of Membership And Leadership" was a publication restricted to distribution to professional (senior?) staff only. So, I ask, why would that be? And, does anyone have a copy they can post? (And, perhaps the provisions in that publication bear on the issue of BSA's alleged negligence in dealing with sex abuse claims.)

I had originally typed" impracticable and impossible," but that seemed wordy, so I dropped impracticable. Impracticable would have been the better choice. As camp buildings are scattered and accessed at all hours of the day or night, and a sweep is only good for the moment it is done, I was envisioning a Morning sweep, noon sweep, an after dinner sweep, and a lights out sweep. And that's convenient. I always wear a metal detector, so I will see you coming. (And thanks for the info. Probably not all hidden cameras emit RF if not broadcasting images in real time but merely stor

Well, yes, in a fashion. The books keep keeping getting smaller, length and width, but thicker. The print shrinks and getting hard to read.

I think with the cameras situation, it is another item to add to the list of items to be aware of. Electronic sweeping and such are virtually impossible to do effectively at a price anyone is willing to pay. I'll never look at a towel dispenser the same ever again. And, I'll do a quick look around in restrooms and showers. I don't know anything about the technology, but a rudimentary course is going to be necessary. It is sad the damage that a few bad actors do. My guess is that packages over 13 ounces have to be mailed at the Post Office, if not metering the postage, courtesy of the Unabomb

And what, we shun the apostates? Good luck.

Does anyone have any insight into the likely method and manner of a claimant's "testimony" in the claim evaluation process? A more detailed questionnaire than the proof of claim questionnaire, a narrative description (that is, a letter), phone interview, zoom (or equivalent) interview, or open administrative hearing with testimony in person? I am assuming that claimants will not be providing "testimony" of any sort in the bankruptcy proceeding proper but only as part of the settlement fund claim evaluation process. Perhaps I am wrong. Last I checked, Perry Mason is defunct, and with