TAHAWK

What will it cost? (There must be additional or different language. The language quoted above applies to parents. No deliveries -- or at least nursing the baby -- without completed check?)

Forget analogies for a moment, please. If a judge belongs to a religion that says those who do not belong to her religion will burn in Hell for all eternity will she be perceived to be unfair to those of those different sets of beliefs - or no belief in the supernatural at all? If a judge is an atheist and one litigant is the same and the other litigant is Roman Catholic, can that judge be perceived to be unfair to the Roman Catholic? (AKA "irrational, delusional, crazy person") Should an atheist or gay be a judge in a case involving someone active in the BSA - or BSA itself? Should a gay judge try a case of a gay litigant vs. say a Southern Baptist litigant? All people who have X characteristic cannot be fair to anyone who is not-X? It is going to be even tougher to find fair competent judges.

Here's a thought. If you think Boy Scouting is all about advancement, you earn more advancement bling. If you think there is more to it than advancement, you could do all the other stuff.

Another possibility is that BSA believes we can use the Internet. First safety warning - 2001 9th safety warning regarding 15-passenger vans - 2013

Richard, while I agree with your reasoning about the value of the forms whenever Scouts (or Cubs) come together, BSA might say as much - in so many words. I, and others, looked and looked, and cannot find one place where meetings are mentioned -- except in your post (which few will see). The examples given are always (or so it seems to us) non-meetings. I asked at our Service Center today (02/18,2015) and was told that the forms were not required for meetings., "just for activities.."

Working on the subject matter of MBs at patrol and troop meetings seems OK to me. (According to BSA, training is supposed to primarily be in a patrol setting, not a troop setting.) The Scout who wants the MB then takes care of contacting the Counselor and arranging meetings (a good life skill)/. I do not regard it as a problem to suggest a meeting place if the Scout does not. We have a public library ​If I did not enjoy being a MBC, I would not be an MBC The first requirement is a high level of interest in the topic. If you find an MBC who only wants to do "it" once a year, look elsewhere for someone with an interest in the topic. ​I don't mind communicating with parents. But, then, communicating was my profession, in one form or another, for over forty years. ​Communicating with the candidates is part of the designed BSA process. It is to me encouraged, not minimized. Scouts are to earn MBs because they are interested, not because anyone else is interested. That, again, is the designed BSA process. ​Adults driving more MBs quicker is not part of the designed process. The Scout's interest is supposed to drive the process. Advancement is not a goal; it is a tool. It's pull, not push. It is useful if adults know some things about Boy Scouting. BSA provides a syllabus for parent training.

Right foot Left Foot Hokey Pokey ! As one called a "fascist" when in the History Department and "Commie" in Law School, I have found that name-calling (I will not dignify it as "Hate Speech") is hardly a monopoly of one extreme of the other. It is, rather, what defines the extremes. And the extremes get coverage because that coverage gets ratings and sells soap.

That's what it's all about !

Hmm. No Hokey Pokey where you grew up?

To heck with the rest of the team is likely to produce change. 0___0

debb, the troop I help now collects the forms annually, usually when signing folks up for summer camp. Those who join thereafter complete the forms. It is done because it makes sense. QUOTE=scoutergipper;n424946]"Any and all" seems pretty self-explanatory. I would be interested in the thinking behind describing something that isn't part of "all." No one should question whether a Troop Meeting is a "Scout activity." Any time Scouts get together for a meeting that is "official" it's a Scout activity. Lawyerly parsing of word definitions is not going to save anyone once we get into Court. You might have better luck with "participant," but not much. I would also be interested to know why there is a "desperate" need to have a definition of this simple paragraph. If someone is refusing to submit a simple medical form, they are trouble and not the kind of people you want in your Pack/Troop/Crew. First, I see no reason why Part A and Part B should not be completed for meetings. Critical health history can be as needed at a meeting as at an activity. A game on the church lawn can result in an insect sting and anaphylactic shock. I would like to know about that risk and other critical health information in advance. debb's story simply reinforces possibility with reality. The issue is whether, by use of the words "any and all Scouting activities" the BSA means any and all Scout functions, such as troop and patrol meetings. That is, is the form required for meetings? The "thinking" would be that some apples are not included in the words "any and all animals." A "meeting" has never been classified as an "activity" If BSA means to have the form required for meetings (as I think is should): 1. it should stop using language such as: "All participants in all Scouting activities such as local tours and weekend camping trips." [With specific reference to the form] "basic Scouting activities such as local tours and weekend camping trips...." It is a rule of construction that express examples preclude matters not specified unless accompanied by language such as "including but not limited to." (That maxim comes in Latin, but has no greater force than in English.) 2. BSA had a slight burden to list the most common of all Scout functions - the meeting - if that is what BSA means us to understand. 3. Webelos could have an Activity Badge for attending meetings. 4. "Activities"suggested by BSA should include meetings. http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/Youth/Activities.aspx http://scoutingmagazine.org/category/boy-scouts/boy-scout-activities/ BSA is not very good at being clear. That may be a pity as it has access to world-class talent for free. In some cases, the lack of clarity may be deliberate. (See "God")

It has been my experience that meetings are not called "activities." BSA's website has language that strongly supports qwazse's interpretation:

Might someone be offended by being accused of "hypocrisy"? It is really hard to always avoid unintentionally giving offense, but trying to avoid that result is worth the effort. The generally successful effort to avoid unintentionally giving offense is said to be the mark of a gentleman. Hence "count to ten." Sometimes, counting to 100 is not enough. 0___0

Active Patrols. Great ! Varient http://stayontargetstayontarget.blogspot.com/2012/05/how-to-play-human-hungry-hungry-hippos.html

It's how they pay the bills. They don't create irrational, dehumanizing prejudgment. They pander to it. As BP says, it's been around awhile -- - and all over the World.

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I thought you wanted to be called "Stosh." 0___0

Great advice. I would present advancement in its context as one of the eight BSA "methods." (I work with a SM who thinks Scouting is only about advancement,) Try to leave time for Q&A. Some of the best learning comes out of discussion as LeCaster suggests. (If neither you nor a participant has the "A," don't be afraid to say you don't know but will get back to them.)

If he is very interested in Scouting, it is possible that the adult with most influence in his life at present is one of the adults in the Scout troop. That adult might also have useful insights into the boy's situation.

Form patrols. Have them meet and have other activities. Have the troop in which the patrols are registered meet once a month.

Leave No Trace. Patrol Method Average "troop" in our district is < 10 active Scouts.

Bushcrafters, or so they tell me, aim to be comfortable with a minimum of equipment. They make things - mainly spoons it seems. ^___^ I was a "blanket" camper as a Scout. Only the rich kids had down bags. The rest had wool blankets in one form or another, usually marked "U.S." Polyester sleeping bags or polyester fleece blankets hadn't been invented yet. I for one am thankful that they have been invented, along with Thermorests. One needed good fire skills in that era since a fire was needed about 4:30 AM to stop the hypothermia. Not much romance there., but you did come back with a "woodsy" smell. Anyone campaigning to bring back "hip holes" to replace mattresses? 0___0

Use of the apx 109,000,000 acres of federally-designated "wilderness" and "primitive" camping and hiking areas areas increased six-fold between 1964 and 1996 and twelve-fold from 1956-1996.. Maybe we are just not getting our "share."

Very valid point, Rick. The point on "Obedient" seems to make it very black and white, but did the authors think of situations like the German racial laws? Dr. King got the Nobel Prize for leading a campaign of civil disobedience. However, he was willing to "do the time" and he wanted African Americans to be able to buy a sandwich like other customers, not take it without payment. For me, at least, that is a distinction.