Actually I was never a scout. My dad's idea of roughing it was staying in the Holiday Inn rather than the Hilton. Don't ask me where I got the bug for the outdoors. Look at what the others in this thread have said and the actions of these two scout leaders. The common theme I see, not only here but from other sources, in an un-enjoyable scouting experience are the adult leaders who are in it for their own selfish reasons. These adult leaders chose to put their own "touch" on the scouting program, thinking they know what is best. What results is not a better experience but a disaster. Want a good scouting program? Just listen to what Baden Powell was all about and how the program is supposed to be. Follow the scouting method and you can't fuck up. That is the entire reason why I am now actively involved, to keep the dipshits at bay, to make sure that the kids are having fun and learning, to prevent the social engineering or reliving of a childhood dream. A good scouting program offers so much that kids won't and can't get elsewhere. The way you make a good program and kids wanting to stay in it is to make sure the boys come first. More and more I find myself saying that I love scouting and think its a great program if only the adults could shut the fuck up and do nothing more than their job. Oh and my son just made Life and is working towards his eagle, plus he just got selected to attend NYLT. That brings up another exhaustion fueled thought. We have, despite all our other dysfunctions, have one golden rule that we scrupulously follow (which I insisted on): A Scout's parent, especially if they are a leader, should never intervene or intercede on their own son's behalf. The parent will abide with the decision of the other adults or they will be removed from the program.
No, I mean the parks themselves. There's a lot of pressure by businesses and states to delist areas, and to actively mine up to the limits (which are very narrowly defined, especially in the quasi-park National Monuments). I know Utah been pushing for this, and they got into a storm of controversy over the Alton Coal Mine outside of Bryce Canyon National Park. In a semi-related fact: every adult American has the right to claim an acre of public domain for exploration and extraction of minerals for $5.
I'd like to know where you got that $5 figure from, because it doesn't appear anywhere in MINING LAW OF 1872 or FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1976 .
I did as well. That said, there are big problems with the national organization especially with discrimination against gays.
