Stosh

I have no idea what school of economics one goes to in order to think deficit spending and the subsequent interest expense is a good thing. If the government hadn't borrowed in the first place, all that interest expense would be going to helping people and not the lenders. With $16 trillion in debt, I'm thinking the interest portion of the budget could be funding a lot of food stamps, insurance and other direct assistance to the citizens instead of lining the pockets of rich lenders. People today are in debt to big business/investment/banking companies and don't have money for food, clothing and shelter. The interest they pay could be buying things like, say, food, clothing and shelter. I own two homes, four cars and don't owe a penny to anyone. ALL my paycheck is available to buy whatever I can afford. I learned a long time ago, the government doesn't lead by example. If I owed $16 trillion in debt, I'd be in jail. There might just be a lesson in all of that. Stosh

KDD, I was about 65# when I started scouts and entered high school after beefing up to 98#'s. I know what your son is facing. First of all look at my thread on balancing the load. If his legs can take the weight, counter balance the load either side-to-side or front-to-back. Don't load everything into the backpack! Secondly, don't accept the pace of the group. Have your boy find his own pace and stick with it. At Philmont I was 50 years-old. The boys would take off down the trail and I would keep my pace. After 45 minutes they needed a break, and would rest for 15 minutes. I would then catch up just as they were getting ready to head out. Not a problem, I wasn't tired, I had my pace and it was working well for me. I needed a break of 15 minutes after 3 hours of hiking, that was about 8 miles. Usually we only covered about 10 miles a day so if I had to I didn't really need to stop, but my pace dropped off even more. After 9 days I didn't have any blisters, I was tired, but I definitely saw more scenery and enjoyed the trip more than the boys did. We had 4 adults on the trek and they would argue over who got to fall back with me. They drew straws every morning and the winner would fall back. None of the adults except the SM wanted the faster pace. Remember, long-distance marathon runners run at a pace and stick with it. None of them take a break during the 26 miles. Backpacking is a learning process with physical demands, training coming in second. Everyone does it differently. There is no such thing as one-size-fits-all. Have your boy repack his daily trek to school and even over time add a few more books. Work on balancing load and trying different things until he finds what is comfortable to him and then gradually add weight once he figures out what system works best for him. 4 plastic stakes, 4' of parachute cord and a military poncho was all the tentage I had on many backpack hikes. It worked great and added very little weight. I needed raingear anyway and poncho worked best with the pack. If you don't want to carry the stakes, make them when you get there, a small pocket knife will do the trick and the 4' of cord can be used to lash on gear to the pack. Think outside the box and it can be done even for the smallest of boys. Stosh

The point being, one does enough long day hikes, the backpacking hikes are a bit easier. Why do "shakedown" hikes when hikes could be a regular part of the program? I carried about 10# of equipment with food, canteen, day pack, etc. I don't remember it being all that difficult. Back then we didn't have packs with hip belts and all the lightweight nylon we have today. It was a double, unpadded web strap, canvass Yucca Pack and it carried me all through my youth career, including summer camp. For weekend outings, backpack or not, I still use the same pack. I did use an external frame for Philmont's 9 day trek. For reenacting 4 day events, I carry about 20-25# in a canvass pack. Since I'm now an officer, it was nice to dump the 11# gun for a 3# sword and 2# pistol that I can carry on a belt instead of in my hands. Civil War backpacks do not have waist belts, either. Everything hangs on the shoulders. I have learned that gear on cross belts carry easier than backpack straps because of the weight distribution. It's like the double duffle carry, but instead of forward backward weight distribution, it's a side-to-side distribution. Canteen over one shoulder and haversack of 7-10# on the other is better for the new guys than the 10# pulling down on their backs. A tump strap goes a long way to help even more than a waist belt. I'm not saying dumping 11 year-olds with a 20-mile hike right out of the box is a good idea, but some extensive training needs to be done before one even takes the first step of a hike. 11 year-olds carrying a pack is good training, but not right out of the blocks. One has to build that up and one does that a bit at a time. 10 mile hikes is only for the legs, the packs of +10# comes with time. I have had some of my newbie scouts struggle with 10-mile hikes with no packs. The 120# double duffles or 85# canoe on BWCA portages is strictly for the older boys. Even a 3-mile portage can be brutal. Stosh

I'm for change if it benefits the boys. If not, change for the sake of change, is pretty much a waste of time and energy and causes a lot of hard feelings. Stosh

Back in the 50's Lions were the now first year Webelos. They did have a Webelos program back then Wolf, Bears, Lions, and Webelos. Stosh

Vindictive Alert: Not only is Mt. Rushmore shut down, they are closing the shoulders along public highways with traffic cones to make sure no one can pull over and take pictures. One has to wonder how far such political hatred can go. http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/10/now-govt-trying-to-block-people-from-looking-at-mt-rushmore-seriously/ Stosh

Sometimes that just isn't enough.

Lincoln did it.

Prohibition was ruled Constitutional, but the people repealed it. I can't change history. It's a fact and it was before my time so I didn't have anything to do with it, and Bush wasn't born yet, so he didn't either. Stosh

There may be a reason why one can't find a source for them. But maybe start asking custom patch companies what they can offer. Stosh

My first BSA activity as a youth (still wearing my cub scout uniform) was a 10 mile hike. Five miles out, make a fire, cook a meal and hike back to town. But back then we didn't have computers and X-Boxes, but we were all addicted to black/white TV. Stosh

I remember the day when camp and activity neckers were as popular as t-shirts. Oh, how times have changed. Now it's like pulling teeth to wear a necker, let alone scout pants. Stosh

The President is elected by the Electoral College. Abraham Lincoln was elected with 39% of the popular vote. It works for good and for bad. But the People don't elect a president, they elect members of the Electoral College. Only the senators and representatives are elected by the people. To draw the senate different than the house is simply incorrect. Stosh

Bush? Ancient history. What Bush may have pushed, Obama made a career out of. Our children would have suffered for years with the debt of Bush's administration, but it's going to take generations to fix it now with the current administration... and they're asking for even MORE! There's got to be some way of stopping this slippery slope. The Tea Party may be adamant about it, but they're the only one's calling for a halt in such insanity. Stosh

"It's the law of the land!" This phrase has been a bit overused. It was a keystone in the propaganda of certain institutions, but I don't want to say which one because it would automatically write me off according to the Godwin Law of debate. Just because something is the law of the land today, doesn't mean it is locked in stone forever. There have been a lot of laws that were repealed because of the demands of people, even some Constitutional amendments. Stosh

National does surveys all over the place for everything else. Why not, as a stupid suggestion, just survey the current venturers and ASK THEM WHAT THEY want out of the program. Then make up the rules. If they don't want awards, then drop them. If they do, what do THEY think they should be, etc. I know such a suggestion will never get any traction, but I would think it would be a good start. Stosh

My POR's were never locked into any time limit/term. If a boy gets selected to be PL, if he doesn't do his job, the patrol does not need to suffer for 6 months while the PL garners enough time for advancement. He's out and someone who wants to work is in. If a boy chooses to advance, he has to have 6 months experience in any POR position to get credit for it. It might mean one month as PL, one as TG, one as Instructor, one as Scribe, etc. They all need to add up to 6 months experience. He can sort out is inability to hold POR in any one job when he gets to his BOR. This 6 month election cycle is not on my radar, nor is it required for advancement. If I have a FC scout that is a dynamite PL, he can hold that job until he's 18 years old if his patrol buddies want that. I don't interfere in the operations of the Patrols. Micromanaging is not why I'm there. Stosh

I never said the problem was 100% of the boys needed to attend. I never expected 100% of my boys showing up for anything. But if the root cause is because there are other things out there that are more fun/interesting, it means that 1) your boys can't think up events that are more fun/interesting than what some other program has or 2) the events are not what the boys want in the first place, so they are seeking out more fun/interesting events elsewhere. Brew, I agree that expecting 100% is unrealistic, but I am also a firm believer that low attendance is not always because something else in their life is more important. I'm a firm believer that if given a good program, designed by the boys themselves, will get the boys who sit on the fence to show up. Hmmmm, hang out with my scout buddies vs. hang out with my X-Box friends? Heck, I can X-Box anytime, but the event on Saturday sounds better, at least for this weekend. Okay, you have one win. Now start working on the next. When there is not a compelling reason to not attend a Scout event, why are they choosing to miss? Stosh

The House creates a budget. Senate approves. That's how it works. Okay House submits a budget, the Senate denies it. The House submits another, the Senate denies it. Where's the negotiations on either party? The Senate makes demands, the House ignores them. And while all this goes on, they run out of time. Heck, they ran out of time 10 years ago. Congress hasn't approved a budget for so long, most members can't remember how to do it anymore. For the rest of my life, I'm no longer a Rep or Dem, I'm going to vote against incumbents until Congress starts function again. Some idiot nobody off the streets has as much chance in the US Congress today getting something done than those currently in office. Stosh

KDD - it was, that's where I got the idea from. It sounded really good at the time which is why it didn't go anywhere. Stosh

Ahem, Teabagger is a derogatory term. I think the proper label is Tea Party member. Of course if one is into it, one could always use the term Jackasses for one of the parties as well. If one did, they would probably get a visit rather quickly. Ever notice how one side ignores the tauntings, but the other always seems to fly off the handle

Like the WWII vets in DC were all that worried about the extra guards at the WWII Memorial? Once more people stand up to the bullies, they will back down, they always do. With more and more people into Conceal Carry, it could get ugly really fast. If one person walks through a barricade, they will start something. If 50 walk through a barricade, they'll stand there, smile and say, "Have a nice day." The WWII vets went up against hundreds of thousands Germans and Japanese. A lone guard at the barricade at the Memorial? Yeah, right, that's going to stop them. Stosh

The president promised you'd keep your plan and doctors. Now, with that being said, how many political and/or campaign promises have ever been kept? So, once you calm down and accept that premise, then remember YOUR COMPANY made no such promises. If it's cheaper to dump you on the government, guess what! Yep, in a heartbeat, if you still have one. Stosh

I think it's important that everyone have insurance. Those that can't get it because of a pre-existing condition or finances should get help. I don't even have a problem with that. But that's a simple fix that ACA doesn't address. They are going for a huge piece of the pie and EVERYONE gets ripped and no one gets helped. That's the normal solution when the feds get their fingers in the pot. Stosh

It was my understanding that 13% of the American population was without insurance for one reason or another. Solution? Force private insurance companies to accept pre-existing conditions and provide insurance assistance like they do with food. That way 87% of the people wouldn't even notice any changes, the 13% would get help and life would go on without any debates whatsoever. People would not now be unemployed and the price of healthcare would not have skyrocketed as it has. I know it sounds simplistic, but this mess could have been totally avoided had not certain members of congress been dead bent on promoting some political agenda and signing a Bill that they hadn't even read, let alone understood. Welcome to the 29 hour work week and no insurance. Stosh