packsaddle

Oh well, so much for the thread topic. I guess this is just another example of evolution, lol.

Been there, done that in both cases. If those worry you then the woods are going to be your worst nightmare, lol, what with allergies and all, not to mention biting insects, or lack of reality television or....Oprah. Radon, yep. We tested and yes, the basement if confined long enough has radon. We have the 'right' geology. Solution: ventilation. Followup test, no problem. Tiles? Those are a Category 1 non-friable form of asbestos. It's easy to fix. Or just cover it with new carpet or more tiles. Rants are optional. Both of those things are a far cry from a superfund site...and far easier to deal with. Bad comparisons, both. But the drama was fun. OTOH, tobacco is an addiction and I see no reason to cut a nicotine addict any more slack than I would a cocaine addict. Moreover, I don't HAVE to cut any slack so I don't. If the addict doesn't like it, the addict has a perfect solution: quit. Otherwise they should expect to live with the withdrawal symptoms for the duration of the event. I'll be glad to supply moral support for them to get the monkey off their back, cold turkey.

This is an incredibly good 'teaching moment' kind of issue and Scoutergipper's experience is an example. It is a microcosm of so many 'citizenship' lessons. Start with the story of the 'Tragedy of the Commons' as a great way to describe the basic conflict between individual and collective interests, then work your way as far as you want into contemporary concepts such as charity, welfare, taxation, social justice, discrimination...and on and on. What a great opportunity!

I'm asking this mostly to get this thread back on topic but....is AHG really dying on the vine? How can we even detect something like that?

Is there such a thing as a 'gay cootie'? Seems like cooties shouldn't be able to detect a difference. Or maybe 'spiritually contaminated' is the better term. They must know that there isn't a place on this planet, including their own organization, that isn't 'contaminated'.

Oh joy! Another chance to repeat that quote, "The purpose of religion isn't to bring people together." So true, so true.

Donate it to the local pantry charity kitchen or start a 'mini-scouting for food' to occur after each camping trip.

Most of the time, I watch new topics for things that look suspicious. A few times I've had to repeatedly delete topics (the record was over 20 deletions of the same attempt). I have never noticed a member's account being 'hijacked' and used by a third party but I admit that it may be possible...I just don't know how it would be done though. I haven't eaten spam in many years, decades actually. I had enough of it as a child that all the receptor sites are still saturated and I have no such cravings. Now, ice cream on the other hand......

LeCastor, I'm not sure what to think about this fractured thread but it still has a title and I think the topic of that title is a good one. So to all readers I ask, what do you think the public perception is of BSA and why do you think that?

Backing off a bit...the security issue is a serious one. But the SSN isn't just about stealing account balances. It's identity theft and in some ways that's worse than stealing a few tens of thousands of $. For me it's academic. My own state government allowed every SSN, millions of them, along with every other personal info thing about its citizens to be stolen a few years ago and having that happen is like being infected by HIV. Once that info is gone to the black market, you're never cured. I'd like to dismiss every d*** politician who was in office at the time but that would do nothing to fix things. There is no fixing it. So I've frozen my credit and will have to monitor all of my accounts carefully from now on. The state provided free monitoring but we all know that will come to an end and we the people will have to foot that bill for ourselves. So I don't sweat the council incompetents having my SSN. Not when there's the like of the political incompetents like we have in our state. Just sayin'

Many colleges have abandoned that stupid practice...years ago. I'm not sure this college ever did use the SSN as the ID number. Bank account number on checks? DUH!!! DL on checks? That's your choice. I don't. My SSN has never been my drivers license number going back to my first license in the mid '60s. Many stores in this area don't card if you obviously are older than 30 years. Most of the time they don't card if you're obviously in your late 20s. That policy is left up to the store. The ONLY thing they check is your DOB. Debit card users should be aware of the risks. I don't use them...ever. Given the less-than-stellar way they've been able to keep accurate advancement records, I wouldn't trust the council any more than I would trust the paper delivery person. I respect the concerns of parents who are cautious about these things. I suggest that they take the advice that Polaris just gave if their concerns are too great. If they object to giving their SSN to the council, then there's not much else they can do. The council is completely free to ask for the SSN. What's worse is that once the SSN has been given to the council, there are few restrictions as to what they can do with the SSN outside of criminal activity. If a parent expects complete privacy and security, they should not apply. Edit: I looked into the college ID thing and FERPA (dating back to 1994) restricts the use of SSN info for any college that receives federal funding. This means that the SSN cannot be used as the ID number. If the college is a public college there are other restrictions dating back to 1974. If the college is private, students are allowed to request an ID number that is not their SSN.

Just saw this. There are different types of personnel working for these agencies. You need to make sure you get someone who is in wildlife management or research rather than enforcement. The fisheries guys or the 'fur and feather' guys usually have lots of props to help with these kinds of public venues. Invite the parents to attend as well. The researchers will also have a slightly different approach but they're full of little-known facts and will have the ability to answer all kinds of off-the-wall questions and settle all sorts wildlife-related 'urban myths'. Lots of fun for everyone. Some of the parents may be surprised to learn that raccoons DON'T breed through the nose (one of those incomprehensible urban myths).

Yeah, I'll have to step aside and defer to your exalted place at the top of the heap for NOT sugar-coating what you think, lol. I wish I could find a way to present opposing evidence. I just can't. You may be close to the truth. The greatest contribution of a merger may be to decrease the number of administrators.

Yes, Welcome to the Forums, makotara! Torchwood, my daughter was also bored to tears and desperately wanted to do the same things my son was doing (and she could 'out-scout' most of the boys as well). So we did stuff outside of any program and what she missed was the camaraderie and the advancement. But she and I grew even closer as a result...she's the only person I consider if I'm going to invite a companion for backpacking. Heck, in some skills she can 'out-scout' me for that matter.

Anyone who wants some 'pointers' on cheating should consult the athletics program at UNC.

Well, I'm not sure what THAT was all about.

Sentinel, I read that as the impersonal form of 'you'. Or else he was thinking about me since I'm the one who restarted this thread. In that case let me assure st0ut717 that this unit would welcome the boy and his parents without hesitation.

And in another year or so, even the Catholic Church is beginning to move away from their previous rigid stand. I wanted to note that while a majority of states now have legal same-sex marriage, a lawsuit in this state poses an interesting challenge to the current ban. I read this morning that the two women who are suing the state have a set of twins for their children. One of the women actually gave birth to the twins and here's the interesting part: the other woman was the genetic contributor of the ova - and even though SHE is the genetic mother of both children, the state will not recognize this fact for any legal question. This is an interesting conundrum because if the state successfully defends the ban, they are essentially arguing that a genetic mother no longer necessarily has any legal standing. Interesting. I suspect even this state is going to have legal same sex marriage soon.

JoeBob is right about the DE. Numbers are really important so he'll do what he can to make sure no harm is done. When I checked the council records for some boys who were approaching Eagle, I found one of them with the wrong year for his birthdate. The council thought he was a year younger than he was. So I brought a copy of his birth certificate to the council and it took almost no time to make the correction. I think NJ is correct that someone should raise this topic with the SM. I like the idea to offer to help with the corrections.

jblake47, There's not much an individual can do to prevent a superfund site that's already happened. But not only is a cigarette something that is 'right now', it's something that can be addressed effectively, one person at a time. The comparison is flawed. KDD, yes, smoke is going to remain - addicts don't give up their addictions easily. But that's like the reality of traffic laws: someone is going to break them from time to time. That doesn't mean we shouldn't have traffic laws.

Roundtable can be helpful if the district pays serious attention to the Cub Scouting program. But remember that Roundtable can also present itself as a sort of good-ol'-boy club and cost you in time. You'll only know the difference by taking the plunge. And when it all seems so overbearing and burdensome, just step back and watch those boys learning and playing and having fun doing things. That will make it all worth it. The cubs are the best part of BSA.

I agree regarding the drop in membership. If the numbers go low enough, we can shed ourselves of a bunch of overpaid so-called 'professionals' because there won't be enough 'green' in the game to attract people whose motivation is a fat salary. I'm all for splitting into even more 'splinter' organizations. Won't hurt a thing and it will rid us of a bunch of 'percentage parasites'.

I'd hope for some actual evidence of 'trolling' before I tossed that term at someone. Just because someone didn't include enough info doesn't make them a bad person. Give the OP a chance to reply with the info and keep the name-calling tucked away somewhere out of sight.

Sentinel, those campuses are changing: "As of October 1, 2014,there are at least 1,477 100% smokefree campuses. Of these, 975 are 100% tobacco-free, and 291 prohibit the use of e-cigarettes anywhere on campus." http://no-smoke.org/goingsmokefree.php?id=447 Our campus is in the process of making this switch as well and this one and others are in 'tobacco country'. Things are changing quickly. Qwazse, me too, several family members. I tend to agree with SSF with regard to the BSA tobacco policy. Anyone should be able to go a few days without hammering in some more coffin nails.

KDD, it's only pain. When you're in pain, you know you're still alive.