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Showing content with the highest reputation on 09/28/21 in all areas

  1. Allow me to share a recent experience... I had avoided being an adult leader for many years, despite my natural tendency to answer the call. I really wanted to be a Scouter, but I wanted my kids to get the same benefits of Scouting that I did - namely the opportunity to interact with peers and adults outside my parent's eyes. When I finally volunteered recently it was like the floodgates opened. I'm slated to be the founding Scoutmaster for a Girl's troop that is linked to an established Boy's troop. But on top of that, I wanted to do everything that wasn't currently being done, be
    5 points
  2. TCC presses on how the FCR came up with his numbers. So the BSA just agreed that the FCR's number of $5 Billion is 21% of a larger number. My rough math makes that $24 Billion! Thanks BSA for pointing out how low your settlements are to this point!
    3 points
  3. I person like the 1952 to 1965 stent where you found your own path outside the first 10. In addition you can make sure there is a diverse skill set earned and only some merit badges qualify in those groups. I feel the system is broken, the current list is boring for many scouts and it emphasizes classrooms vs activities. Im not saying the below is perfect (from 1952) but it is much closer to where we should go vs where we are today Camping, Cooking, Firemanship, First Aid, Life Saving, Nature, Personal Fitness, Public Health, Safety, Swimming, one from the Outdoor Sport
    3 points
  4. Hi! I am a volunteer mom of a Star scout. I am here to learn, to be more informed, and to seek answers for questions I have about scouting. I must admit, I've already learned so much more here than elsewhere, thank you very much! I am going to read through as much of the topics and threads here as I can and I am truly grateful to everyone who contribute and share their perspectives and knowledge.
    2 points
  5. Judge allows the $3500 box to stay on the ballot so the court will know who voted. HUGE win for the TCC!
    2 points
  6. Best line ... I wasn't prepared to talk and then went on reading a paper for 10 minutes. Stang is destroying him right now.
    2 points
  7. The TCC contracted with three real estate appraisal firms who do this on a national scale. The appraisals ran from fairly simple to deep-dives into trust and restriction issues. It took a long time. Who paid? The BSA because it was a professional fee charged to the BSA as the debtor in this case because the debtor hadn't done it themselves.
    2 points
  8. Eh.. I have to wonder what kind of an "appraisal" was really done on that kind of scale. A true appraisal for a specialty property like a summer camp would run $5,000-$7500 minimum here in Michigan and I'm sure it would be higher on the coasts. (not to mention taking 6-8 weeks) Did some attorney or the TCC actually front 5 or 6 million dollars for 850 appraisals to be run? Or more importantly: Is 15% of all LCs a greater amount than 30%-50% of just the LCs that are in open window states? I think the other assumption is that LC finances look the same as a for-profit bus
    2 points
  9. My "if I was in charge..." statement would not exist in a vacuum. There would be a complete overhaul of the system. I think in terms of "systems" not in specific items. I understand acutely the interaction between nodes and thus how the different nodes should be defined and utilized for maximum benefit within and outside the system. Often I forget that most others are thinking about the individual nodes in the system and not how one change impacts others. My statement was unfortunately triggering due to not referencing the multitude of other system wide changes. Since I am "not in charge" nor
    2 points
  10. I went with a Skurka Adventures group for a 5 day mostly off trail backpacking trip in Inyo National Forest. It was touch and go as smoke from a fire over 100 miles away threatened the trip, but we only had a little smoke parts of 2 days. We climbed a glacier, slid on our butts down a permanent snow field and had a great time. Some of this trip was beyond what would be appropriate for scouts. It was an amazing time and very physically challenging.
    1 point
  11. To work in Scouting muzzleloading, you must hold the NRA Muzzleloading Instructor Certification. Some of you got it at camp school but I bet my last dollar on my dying breath you did not get the education you really need to be effective. A group of us black powder competition shooters have gotten the certification. We've seen "instructors" who were shake n baked at camp school. To have a truly effective, fun and safe program, the instructor must be extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subject and that's probably not happening in a day at camp school. So our group is organized not
    1 point
  12. 1 point
  13. Confirmation hearing is January 24. Parties are to cooperate to meet that and agree to scheduling and document production.
    1 point
  14. Yep. And Stang noted he read from a script. So much for not prepared to talk.
    1 point
  15. Stang: Tier 1 sexual abuse (I won't say what he said the type of abuse) in a open state = $57,000. $34,600 in the next lowest state (Gray 3?). "This is a race to the bottom."
    1 point
  16. This is just wow. The Coalition is outright attaching the TCC. Rothweiler of Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C. (the third lawfirm that made up AIS) is trashing the TCC. Paraphrase: The TCC needs to focus on helping survivors, not putting up roadblocks. This the first time I've seen claimants attorneys trashing the TCC or each other. Zalkin at least was respectful in disagreeing when he did with the TCC on some points. But Rothweiler just outright trashed Stang and the TCC.
    1 point
  17. CBRE, JLL and Keen Summit are the three valuation firms. The TCC engaged CBRE and Keen, while BSA engaged JLL. TCC analyses used valuation data provided by all three firms. BSA’s valuation analysis also uses information from all three. Let's hope the BSA does the right thing and allows this data and all the TCC dashboard data to be available to the public. Breath not being held. Transparency isn't a skill the BSA seems to have learned thus far.
    1 point
  18. This is that Ohio federal case https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/education/2021/09/22/strauss-abuse-federal-judge-dismisses-strauss-abuse-victims-cases-against-osu-citing-statue-limitati/5819599001/
    1 point
  19. I have been involved in a few larger lawsuits. In all cases, I was given information on what my specific settlement would be if the deal was agreed to. Some cases they were mass tort and my payout was a small coupon. In one case, it was a complex pension case where each individual had a specific unique settlement number (the final actually came in a bit higher than what we voted on). This was in the range of $40K and while I wasn't physically abused, it was a serious case where I wanted to ensure the settlement was fair. I do not understand how claimants could be asked to vote on a deal
    1 point
  20. Amen, brother. It’s right on par with Coalition client recruitment and I think it’s reprehensible. It’s not factual. The ‘sin of omission’ is clearly meant to manipulate thinking/voting toward their conclusion. Manipulating is not informing. There is stating an opinion based on analysis and there is stating half truths to lure one into the ‘trap’. I caught a bunch of rabbits in my handmade traps. “Fresh garden vegetables! Come and get it! See? It’s just a wee box and you can obviously get out because you can clearly get in. Oops. The box closes when you snatch the snack? Oh, that’s right. Gues
    1 point
  21. In my combining for news, I found this a good piece. It focuses on religious organization COs. https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/september/boy-scouts-church-lawsuit-abuse-bankrupcy-liability.html
    1 point
  22. Well, that one wasn't my pic, of course, since I'm in it.
    1 point
  23. Which course are you offering? I'm going through the process in getting NRA instructor certified in shotgun, but as I understand it, there's a total of 30 hours of training between Discipline Basic, Instructor Basic, and Discipline Instructor. How long is your course? Just thinking out loud... would you have better luck recruiting black powder enthusiasts to become instructor certified than you would have with recruiting Scouters to become black powder instructors?
    1 point
  24. ... and ... you (I assume) have a spouse and a job. You need to save time and energy for both. Be careful. Don't let scouting cost you a promotion or a marriage. Seriously.
    1 point
  25. It is too much. I would never ask a parent to take on more than one leadership position at a time. You have been a parent long enough to know that you can't help with all of your kids' activities. They know it too. This clinches it. Dogs should be treated like royalty.
    1 point
  26. I don't believe there's ever been as many required as now either. There is no reason they couldn't go the other way have an unprecedented low number of required.
    1 point
  27. Well....here's the bait and switch from the Coalition and FCR below. Note thatthey use the "CLAIM VALUE" of the plan to show a figure to 2.7 million. This is an arbitrary plan number that is the best estimate of attorneys for valuation. They "will be valued" but that does NOT, I repeat NOT, mean that any survivor can expect to see that amount. That little tidbit of information is conveniently left out. Survivors should hope that the judge allows for both sides to make their cases in letters to go in the voting packet and doesn't restrict the TCC from calling BS on this suggestion that peo
    1 point
  28. Great photos. Glad there were no problems on trail or with photo upload.
    1 point
  29. I’m mostly referring to the Mass Tort Claimant Cottage Industry, as my friend calls it. Comb the papers for the latest action and file away. “Penalties for fraud? Jail time and fines? Pah. They won’t enforce that.” I’m not saying it is the case, but there are 5000 pro se claimants, a couple of us included who are NOT such humans. Also, if you have a decent pool of claimant clients, do the math. $3500 adds up quickly especially if you didn’t do a lot of legwork on the front end. I am NOT saying this is rampant, but cipher it out. $3500 x 1000? 2000? At 40%+...?
    1 point
  30. Nor done their homework. Archdiocese of Portland, 32 months Diocese of Tucson, 4 months Diocese of Spokane, 28 months Diocese of Davenport, 19 months Diocese of San Diego, 9 months Diocese of Fairbanks, 23 months Oregon Province, Society of Jesus, 29 months Diocese of Wilmington, 21 months Archdiocese of Milwaukee, 58 months Christian Brothers of Ireland, 33 months Diocese of Gallup, 31 months Diocese of Stockton, 36 months Diocese of Helena, 14 months Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, 44 months Di
    1 point
  31. I can think of two reasons: 1) “I want closure”. The prospect of months if not years before the settlement trustee reaches decisions in many of these cases may not be palatable. 2) “I want privacy/I was told this would be anonymous”: there are a lot of victims who were told or expected that all they had to do was file a claim “anonymously” one time last year and never have to do anything else. If they want more than $3500 then at the very least there will be a second round questionnaire that will be used by the trustee along with likely interviews. Victims may not want to subject the
    1 point
  32. @SiouxRanger- As someone who has provided tax and financial advice to attorneys who regularly work on a contingency-fee basis, I can say that many find it difficult to strike a balance between enjoying the fruits of their success and building a war chest for the next case. Those who can master delayed gratification end up with the most successful careers, because they can take on bigger, more complex cases an hold out to get better settlements. I've seen such attorneys get sucked into cases that they underestimated and were unable to bankroll. It's not a pretty sight. It's worse when they
    1 point
  33. 1 point
  34. They said they are cutting one of the electives. I agree, too much book/classroom MBs. As a nerd, it was great/fine with me. But that isn't the program. The more Scouts is like school, the less Scouts we will have. They get enough school at school.
    1 point
  35. While unjamming some window weights today, my recollection of that diagram of a window-sash in that merit badge pamphlet borrowed from the troop library umpteen years ago came in handy.
    1 point
  36. This a bloody mess. (I use "bloody" as used in the Commonwealth.)
    1 point
  37. You really are. You are asking someone to become a registered scout leader and go through an intrusive application process. Some people simply don't want to do that. Others know they wouldn't be acceptable to BSA as scout leaders, and don't want to embarrass themselves, or their children, by admitting it to strangers. Not everybody is qualified to be a scout leader. We shouldn't pry into the personal lives of the parents. If someone politely declines our invitation to be a scout leader, we should just let it be. Those scouts whose parents do not meet the qualifications to be a regis
    1 point
  38. Rothweiler tries to make people feel bad for HIM because everyone is against the poor mass tort attorneys and he has invested so much into this and its taken its toll. His comments go on and on and the judge has lost control of her courtroom. So the judge lets Rothweiler speak until he's done and now lets Stand speak but cautions him about time. Unbelievable.
    0 points
  39. Wouldn't it be sadly ironic if we all turned down the $3500 and THAT turned out to be a better deal?
    0 points
  40. Except that as was brought up in court this morning, the COs did not have "tangential contact or involvement". They signed EVERY adult application. Since at least 1920, the COs and the Institutional Heads of the COs signed documents (the annual charters) that indicated the COs were taking responsibility for the scouting leaders. It was the COs and their IHs that signed every single adult leader application (or its earlier iteration). So the abuse took place on the COs watch. ThAT they were asleep at the switch or allowed the abuse to happen in the first place (again, we are NOT talki
    -1 points
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