walk in the woods

I think if I was Rick Perry I'd be holding a news conference every day around 10am, play the videos, then spend 10 - 15 minutes talking about status of the court case, how liberal elites expect special treatment and when they don't get it they generate a phony court case in a democratic county in order to smear his name. I'd finish by highlighting how I was protecting the people of TX from corrupt public officials. Every frickin' day.

I never let my boys count OA Ordeal hours for advancement because they were getting benefit (membership) from it. From where I sit the OA is something outside of the advancement chain once the membership requirements are met.

I believe at one time this was a true statement, but I'm not sure it is any more. In the thread about the Pride Parade in NY CalicoPenn posted this: "~~No matter what, though - it all still boils down to the same solution - local choice - don't want your Scouts participating in a pride parade? Then don't participate - but why should you care of the Troop down the block decides to participate? Do you think you should have any say at all in the activities it does?" I think the "local option" idea is being expanded to include not just membership but activities in general. That belief lead to my post about BSA being a National Brand and how the actions in one corner of the US will have an effect on other corners. Curious times.

I'm not convinced local option is the panacea that folks think it is. If local option means scouts can march in Pride parades does it not necessarily imply then that scouts participating in decorating Confederate headstones on Decoration Day is also just as local of a decision? The challenge with local option is the BSA brand is a national brand. The actions of units in one area of the country do affect the perceptions of folks in other areas of the country.

I think your definition of community is a bit too narrow. Merriam-Webster defines community as follows: : a group of people who live in the same area (such as a city, town, or neighborhood) : a group of people who have the same interests, religion, race, etc. : a group of nations One of the Eagles in my unit did a project with Operation Gratitude. He had to coordinate getting the materials, people to do the sewing, assembly of the scarves and shipment to the sponsor. A good project done in benefit of the troops deployed in OEF/OIF. The "community" in this case was the community of veterans who include his father and active duty military which included his brother at the time. My son's project was with the Autism Society of Illinois. He did fundraising to acquire tablet computers and adaptive communication software. He managed a build day to configure and install the software. Once delivered to ASI the tables were given to the families of non-verbal autistic kids. The community connection in this instance is that my son is also autistic. Frankly, we need more projects like this and fewer landscaping/bench building projects. Making a lasting impact on lives is much more Eagle worthy than making a new scar on the land IMNSHO.

I'm not looking for an answer, just trying to understand where your thought process are coming from. We disagree, nothing more. I think there is absolutely a place and time for separating the genders. I don't hang with my wife and her girlfriends when they go out. My buddies wives don't attend our Boy's Nights Out. We all need that time apart. I think it's socially healthy. I'm not convinced that a full homogenizing of society is the right answer.

Or maybe both (turned the other cheek and shaken the dust from his sandals) I suppose. In hind sight, and that's where we're all operating from, I hope I would have also pulled the application. No need to put myself or the scouts in front of a politician with an agenda to take a beating about something I have no control over. And worse, on a public street where some member of the public could berate them after the city council member was a jerk. I suppose the "correct" answer, as Pack suggested, would have been to perform the clean up anyway, trustworthy and brave. However, I think my next step would have been to attend the next city council meeting and let them know that in the future my unit would no longer participate as their clean crew as we decided to pursue other service opportunities. Then I'd put the committee to work planning a fundraiser for the next year the weekend before the city celebration !

I suppose the easy answer is no, there should not be an expectation of payback. That said, part of building character in boys is making sure they also understand they don't have to allow themselves to be taken advantage of. That line, in the real world, is much harder to draw than the hypothetical line your question poses. It's when the ideals are in conflict that the character of the person is forged.

That depends upon who you ask I guess.

TR at some place in France I think, the Sarbonne or something like that I think.

Because being a boy is politically incorrect, or at least puts you automatically on the wrong side of PC today.

Read the article before you poo-poo it because it comes from a Catholic website. It gives some good thought to dress codes and this very discussion.

Nope, I'm saying if you're going to bring up Koch Industries you need to bring up Unions and Sorros and Bloomberg as well just to be balanced. Folks on the left throw around the Koch name without putting any context around their comments or pointing out the money sloshing around both ends of the political spectrum. For example, the woman sitting in Jesse Jackson Jr.'s former house seat was paid for with Bloomberg money.

another report. The evil Koch brothers are only 59th on the campaign donor list behind multiple unions including the public sector type.

Sorry KDD, gotta call you out on that one. Check out the top contributors at the link. You'll find plenty of big money, none of it named Koch, and most of it headed left. Lots of good info here.

As for the original question, the OA won't get much scrutiny until either 1) the other cultural issues surrounding the BSA fall or 2) somebody decides weapon-ize it to play in conjunction with the other cultural issues. If the Washington Football Club changes their name it might move more quickly. I have to say I'm not convinced that the Native American symbolism is that big of a draw for today's youth. We have a number of youth that are part of a separate drum team crew but they are struggling for membership. Maybe we should switch to cowboys....

I think sometimes we get a little mixed up about "promoting camping" and "promoting camp." I do think it is the lodge's responsibility to promote camping. Running camporees, you bet. Putting together "where to camp" kits, yes. Helping with day-camps and Webelos overnighters, absolutely. I don't believe it is the lodge's responsibility to promote the council summer camp. Sending kids who may or may not have ever actually attended to council's summer camp to show a video about stuff they no nothing about and deflect questions they can't actually answer, not so much. That's a job for the council camping committee.

I suppose it's all about how you prioritize the weight you're going to carry and how long you are going to be out. If I turn off everything except the GPS on my phone it gets pretty good battery life. It only has to be running the GPS when I'm moving, not when I'm in camp drying my socks or cooking supper or breakfast so we're really only talking about a few hours a day of run time. I have a mophi battery pack that can recharge my Samsung 1.5 times for just a few extra ounces in the pack. The solar panels add a few more ounces to recharge either. Together they are about a pound. The only real question is if the application is worth the extra weight. I can get the same information (track and elevation) from my hand-held GPSr. It gets me about 18 hours on two AA batteries, so maybe two days of hiking time at the most. An additional set of AAs is fairly light. Both together are probably lighter than the mophi and goalzero. That said I suspect most folks aren't going to purchase a GPSr when they can get the same functionality from their phone which they are carrying anyway. I've carried my GPSr and extra batteries in the BWCAW and GSMNP just for that functionality. I enjoy being able to look back at the track, see the elevation changes and see how it affected my travel speed. Sometimes I use it in conjunction with a HRM to check my health as well. It helps me plan for my next adventure. I guess that makes me a pinhead.

No, but I don't believe that's what they are suggesting. Rather, I suspect the initiative is suggesting something like the following is on par: "I'm tired." (I'm incredibly sad and depressed, it's a struggle to get up and get going every day and to put on the show. I'll probably commit suicide in the next 3 weeks if I don't get help.)" At some level we've been doing this for years, no? I'd argue that counseling a homesick scout is a form of mental health first aid, maybe akin to treating a scape or sunburn if we want to extend the analogy.

The camp we attend provides an 8x10 "proof" with the unit name printed on the photo. Now it's a simple print on photo paper not a professional kind of thing but nice none-the-less. We have the option to purchase additional copies. I always gave the proof to the CO who put it in a frame under our charter and our Eagle plaque. I see no harm in opting out but it's only a 10-minute stop along the check-in path and I never saw a need to disrupt the staff's process because of one unit's desires.

yeah, every story has two sides. As OA Chapter Advisor I can tell you stories about scoutmasters refusing to return phone calls and emails, waiting until the last minute to schedule an election then complaining because the chapter can't meet their arbitrary deadline, thinking they can hold their own elections without the chapter's involvement, arguing about results, etc., etc., etc. typically also the home of all the sash-and-dashers.

@KDD. In my neck of the woods most major church denominations have camps available for rent. The church camps I've visited have facilities and pricing comparable to most BSA camps I've visited. There is at least 1 4H camp in my area with excellent facilities. The state parks and forest preserves in my area only care if you are a "youth group" not if you are a "scout" group. So all the same discounts would apply to Trail Life. I'm guessing the National Parks are the same way. In my council the ground camping fees for in-council camps are the same as the state parks and they don't get you access to any of the facilities besides the dirt. In 10 years I can count on one hand the number of times we used BSA facilities outside of BSA events and if you chopped those fingers off I'd still be able to type . I don't see lack of access to BSA facilities as a program detriment. In fact I suspect many folks might argue it's a program benefit for Trail Life.