Trevorum

I say go for it. I know some troops still wear the red berets (gag).

First I've heard of the values. Strange, I thought aggressive bargaining was expected in those places...

Shocking only to our culture perhaps. Many hunter-gatherer peoples would use extended breast feeding as a birth control mechanism; lactation tends to suppress ovulation

Hooray for the Bully Pulpit!

I've been participating in these forums for about 10 years now, I think, and this Issue has regularly been discussed. Today, I am shocked, shocked I say, to realize that the tide finally seems to have turned, at least within the sample of Scouters present on this forum, and I am vastly encouraged. Go back and read some of those long ago threads. The hate was visceral. I do have faith that sometime in the near future BSA will end it's unjust and unjustified bigotry against this class of Americans.(This message has been edited by Trevorum)

"We are monkeys, after all." Speak for yourself packsaddle. Me, I'm a hominoid.

Happy birthday to the founder of our feast, Scouter Terry!

Hmmm... I'm starting to see a Venn diagram here, overlapping circles, BadenPowell, outdoors emphasis, inclusiveness...

Hmmm... I'm starting to see a Venn diagram here, overlapping circles, BadenPowell, outdoors emphasis, inclusiveness...

You nailed it right off; this is more PR than science. I'm not disputing the data or the findings, but the conclusions are self-serving.

I don't understand either. If Spiral Scouts and Scouting For All are both 'scouting programs', why not AHG?

Very interesting new report issued by Baylor University. http://scouting.org/filestore/pdf/210-045_WB.pdf

Welcome, white pine!

Mr. Romney stands an excellent chance, especially if he positions himself as a moderate and distances himself from the anti-woman issues that seem to be popular with some Republicans.

I've been requested to serve on staff in Relationships again. Guess I'll have to start saving my lunch money.

"... the City Dwellers don't understand killing animals for no other reason than you can." (emphasis added) ??? I'm not sure I understand, either ...

I don't consider that to be hunting. We don't generally eat varmints.

If you kill, you should eat it.

Welcome, JustaHuman

Good the see the UUSO listed, hot on the heels of Trout Unlimited. (This message has been edited by trevorum)

I think there is abundant evidence that young adults (say, 16-23 years old) tend to make different choices and different decisions than people older than this. That's not to say those decisions are right or wrong, just different. For one thing, people of that age tend not to comprehend as fully our own mortality and the fragility of our lives. They tend to take risks that older people tend to avoid. I remember making absolutely insane choices when I was that age, because I didn't know any better and because it was exciting. That's one of the chief reasons, of course, that cannon fodder has always consisted primarily of people of this age group. As long as there have been wars, most of the warriors who have been killed have been young. Most of the generals and kings of course have been old farts like us.

AHG is a fine organization and they do a great job of providing a quality program to young girls. Of course they are explicitly exclusionary on the basis of religion. Non-Christian families are not welcome. Christian families who do not want their daughters to be exposed to other ways of thinking may be more comfortable with AHG. On the other hand, GSUSA is also a fine organization and does an equally great - some would say even better - job of providing a quality character development program to young girls. Families who want to prepare their daughters to interact with a wide range of people as adults may find the GSUSA to be more nurturing.

Before leaving a campground, our troop always polices the area. As SM, I was incredulous that the fellows simply did not seem to see the trash right there on the ground! We'd have go go back over the area 2 and even 3 times. One time, the campout fell on International Talk Like A Pirate Day (Sep 19) and we had lots of fun with that. When it came time to break camp and police the area, I told the scalliwags to look out for the "golden doubloons". After we got past the part of, "What's a doubloon?", I realized the guys actually did scour the area better than usual, looking for that treasure. From then on, I took to scattering a few dimes in the area just before the policing. It's remarkable what a little incentive can do! From my profession I know that keen observation is a skill that can be taught. I have no doubt that the pirate exercise, created in jest, nonetheless served to teach them how to hone their observational skills. (This message has been edited by trevorum)

Thank you for the correction.

welcome, andysmom! we're glad you're here!