qwazse

Although I oppose abandoning the term, denigrating those scouters who would make such a proposal is wholly inappropriate (and unproductive). They may be incorrect, but they are not immature (at least not any more than the rest of us).

Don’t count on Summit improving their food. At World Jamboree pre-pandemic, the food was lackluster. If not for patrol cooking and contingents importing their spices it would have been hyper bland. The whole time I kept thinking of the surrounding valleys ripe with sweet corn that we weren’t sharing with the world. (We take this staple for granted, but nothing else says “America” like corn on the cob. Or cornbread! Son #2 brought an English friend for dinner, and he was thoroughly astounded by the stuff!) This seems to be a national camp school strategy. Load ‘em up on cheep calories, run them hard, and they won’t miss flavor or presentation.

If you are looking to say "always" or "never" then the important thing is to teach the scouts to be observant. And since your assumption (a good one) is that they will have some rope, use it to work in some real outdoor ethics. When they tie off to a tree teach them to ask: Is it alive? Is my rope harming it? What can I do to reduce that harm? Generally, there will be nothing to do if they are hanging a tarp. Otherwise they may need to loosen their knot, open their loop and slip sticks between the rope and bark. It could mean swapping out Kevlar, if they have it. It's more important to teach them to "always" inspect their work and "never" hesitate to make necessary adjustments.

It depends on the weight of the tarp. If you are sheltering a single person (e.g. covering a hammock) and the ridge line is a reasonably thick rope with a bit of play, probably not. If you are sheltering a large party, then even if you used straps, they could dig in, so you might find yourself putting something under the ropes to anchor the strap.

Well, a plan to spread out on the field is standard operating procedure for lightning but convincing folks to part with the lawn chairs would be rough! Emailing everyone vespers might be a good way to end the evening.

Well, I have son and daughter 20-something at home who treat me like I’m 16. No comment on how much I act like it.

If it doesn’t walk like a duck or talk like a duck, it ain’t a duck. If the SMs and ASMs aren’t willing to resign their posts over this, however, There’s not much you can do.

I forget where your son is in the program, but as long as he’s doing lots of good elsewhere, then you’re right not to press the issue. Enjoy hiking and camping with him.

Instead of testing out, the first course in scoutmastership should have as a prerequisite mastery of all 1st class rank skills, signed off by your troop’s SPL/JASM. The opening line of the syllabus should read, “Now that you demonstrated that you are a first class scout ... this weekend will give you the tools, as well as the fellowship of other scouters, that will help you excel as a scoutmaster. ...”

I think the fee-based structure simply will consume a lot of time doing calculus that National Management Team is not prepared to do. The problem isn’t so much dividing the year in to months or weeks, but figuring out the price points. Just think about it. How much more expensive can you make a night out with hotdogs and s’mores before participants realize that for the extra expense they can have the same night out with brats and tiramisu?

So, the majority of kids did not attend BSA summer camps (which ubiquitously sleep two per tent, not 20 per cabin as in the camp recently studied) and the pandemic “is as bad now as it’s ever been ...”

And this is why our scouts should be encouraged to meet directly with BLM and LEO to provide venues for orderly discussions. Nothing ruins a propaganda machine more than kids asking tough questions. Patrol, verb: observe and report.

Oh, sure ... publicly pushing kids into the known highest risk for abuse scenario ... the one that has zero accountability. If you thought the lawsuit ads are bad now, just imagine how bad they’ll be three decades from for anyone who oversells family scouting today?

Maybe they can write it off as a donation to BSA and GS/USA ...

So, once an Imam tried to call me out for saying "Peace Be With You ..." in Arabic because I was a Christian. I cracked open my Arabic New Testament and showed him the verse where the Angel Gabriel gives Mary the same greeting. He tried to claim that my scripture was corrupted. I asked him to show me where in his scripture it says that mine is corrupted (spoiler: it doesn't). I then asked him where in his scripture does it say that non-Muslims couldn't use the standard greeting (spoiler: nowhere). Of the hundreds of Muslims from beggars to sheikhs who I've met since then, none has objected to appropriating this little bit of Islamic culture (and I have told scholars about my encounter with this one Imam). In fact most were very pleased when non-Muslims made the effort. Should I avoid honoring the hundreds for the sake of the one? It's a big country. Nobody even in a single clan (let alone tribe) is going to approach this with the same sentiment. That's why I rate each of these articles on how often tribal elders get quoted. They have a long view and offer insights. I could be wrong, but I suspect that the Mic-O-Say folks have done more homework than the bloggers.

Yeah, my uncles and aunts would throw their weight around as well. As individuals, even though they were fully dressed, it was not a great look, but ensemble ... truly beautiful. (Yes, even a conservative family who would never bare midriffs learned a few moves.) Love the Shriners! So, in town they had a clubhouse called the Syria Mosque. (Look it up sometime.) Classic 19th century brick, some of which was fired in relief with Arabic script around the eves. Folks always had a laugh explaining it to the devout looking for Friday prayers! They relocated and built a larger building, albeit with a less ornate exterior. But, they sold the old building by getting two divisions of the same company in a bidding war. I still imagine those guys in their go carts weaving down 5th Avenue all the way to the bank! The old building was demolished and turned into a parking lot. The decorative brick was sold and can be found in various private gardens. I never met an Arab who, learning about the Shriners, was offended by them using Arabic/Turkish history and culture to do good work.

Which protestors? and under whose authority? As an Arab American, I might encourage you all to appropriate my culture. There's a mom in my troop who is a belly dance instructor. She can bring you all up to speed. But if another Syrian (say Bashar al-Assad) protests, it's him versus me and that scout mom. Whose wishes would you regard?

Lazy tweet-trolling disguised as journalism. The author didn't even bother to call a local tribal elder for his/her take on the matter.

@yknot and I clearly disagree about the risk to children from camps. I believe he overestimates the inherent risk of camps -- especially relative to the risks youth face in their respective neighborhoods. He obviously believes I underestimate it. Having gone to camp myself, I observed more benefit than risk. The national risk of many camps closing their session involves: Youth and leaders from high-transmission areas traveled longer distances to the few camps that were open. Would-have-been campers missed out on practicing the discipline of safe hygiene, social distancing, and self-monitoring. Institutions who could have provided insight into contact-tracing were dormant. We are bearing the brunt of it now as teachers, lacking evidence to help them negotiate this fall, are stressed by the unknown.

@skeptic, I feel your pain.

That’s patently absurd on its face. One could be doing charitable work, but also be compelled to, and need a separate funding stream to lobby for public policy. These days, charities that don’t have sufficiently strong lobbying arms might find themselves victims of laws being changed to, say, increase statutes of limitations for legal actions against them.

Some things ... Churches and schools have libraries that need catalogued. Historical societies have articles that need scanned and clipped. Nursing home residents who need someone to call them, or a talented scout to record a song and personal greeting to them.

@thebigJLT3546, welcome to the forums. You sounded like one of the ‘cool’ adults. I already replied on the scoutbook forums and won’t pile on here. Except to add: look for ideas in the Boy Scout Fieldbook.

What ‘severe consequences’? Will someone be wrongfully imprisoned? Lose their home? Forced to wear some scarlet letter? What on earth kind of suffering can maligned scouters dole out? Really?

I’ve heard mixed opinions from gun owners over the years. The scholarships for youth camp’s ammo education, etc ... are nice. But a lot of folks are thinking they could get more to the kids without it funneling through an administrative behemoth. Sound familiar? That’s not to say the NY AG is free of agendas. But it has a long tradition punishing any false claims made in its jurisdiction. (A friend learned that the hard way when he posted a Times classified as a practical joke on another friend.)