Eagledad

>>And I still want to know why those guys were on stage at a political rally wearing their Boy Scout uniforms! Isn't there a specific rule against that?

The decision wasn't pandering for the liberal womens votes, it was an effort for the conservatives who are not energized by McCain. As for her experience, well I guess three years in the Senate might trump that. Barry

I think this situation became very complicated by the reaction of the father. There is something strange about all to me. So with only the information provided to us, this is where I ask the would scout if he really thinks he is ready to be an Eagle. I have done this many times, I first ask the scout to define the kind of person worthy of this position (in this case the Eagle) and we discuss that. Then I ask him if he is that person and up to role modeling that person. Then I leave it there for the scout to mill over. 99% if the time the scout makes the right decision and in most cases, they s

>>"But god or gods or goddesses are incorruptible and their word is eternal." This is actually a fairly recent notion. Throughout history, most gods that people have worshipped have been selfish, cruel, and deceitful. (Just like people, go figure...)

>>and if people decide to take the country in that direction I want them to embrace it AND the outcomes explicitly.

>>Without a basis (rules or guidelines) there is nothing to base ethical decisions on. How would you know if something is ethical if you have no basis?

When time washes away the slanted emotional gobbledygook of politics, history will record Bush as a good president. From a world view point, there is more stability in the Middle East than before 2000 and the Iraq war will be viewed as a major catalyst toward the peace with Israel. Since 9/11, there have been 40% fewer world wide terrorist attacks and zero attacks on U.S. property. The economy didnt take a dump after the national disasters of 9/11 or Katrina as was predicted and the unemployment remained stable considering those events. Bush will also get quiet credit for the stability in the

Lisabob is right, offically it is "non-member". But I would like to see what the computer does. Barry

>>I don't know where to go from here. Dad doesn't understand what's appropriate and what's not. Now I see where the son gets it.

>>Debating this issue based on safety is a red herring. It is not a safety issue and no amount of safety will alter the policy.

I have had to work with and cooperated with police because of my experience of working with such boys who gave threats at the Virginia Tech level. Real problem kids don't just pop out of nowhere. Just like the Virginia Tech shooter, boys like that have a track record. Typically the SM is very acquainted with these boys and their past, which is why police like to work with them. I would have expected gcook to mention a past if the boy had one. A Scoutmaster Conference is in order and that is about it unless the boys response warrants something more. I would also talk with the parents, but I usu

>>First of all, NO, you are NOT overreacting. This is how Columbine and Virginia Tech started.

Yes, you are right BW, it is discrimination. Still, Ga is basing his discriminating decision from a series of experiences. Fair or not, the culture is the problem because it develops the habits that lead us to make our educated decisions. Sometimes the decision is wrong, but more often than not it is right. Barry

>>Thats a bit predjudiced isn't it Ga?

Don't get stuck in the mud Bob, I got that statistic from a leadership course a long time ago and they used the words "World Poplation". Actually we were taught 3.5%, I shouldn't have rounded off. After my life experience, I agree with it. Even with scouts, you see it in those boys who at age 11 have the gift. My youngest SPL at age 13 had such a gift. Also, it really doesn't matter what age, experience or training folks have, the statistic represents those folks who have the natural ability to sway people to follow. That doesn't mean they lead in the right direction and even have good le

Ive told this before and it has been awhile, so the numbers may be a little off, but I used to poll troop level folks at Wood Badge. I found about 20% (give or take) of adults owned a Scoutmaster Handbook, 5% had read half of it and about 2% had read the whole thing. These were adults who were taking Wood Badge, most of whom where not entry level scouters. Im impressed with your observation GAHillbilly. I agree with your observations, but I think every new adult leader, no matter their experience starts off at concept three and works their way through concept two as they get experience an

>>With all the legalese that flies around about if and or how in the heck can we expect a teenager to work through that on his own without a lot of frustration and wasted time by a lot of people?

>>It seems with an Eagle coordinator, these important steps are relegated to an adult thereby lessening the responsibility on the Scout.

I know this is not supposed to be about me, but our troop has seen many such blessings and its kind of fun to remember back on them. The first year of our troop when money was really tight, we were doing a car wash fundraiser. A guy in a truck pulled up to one of the scouts, handed him $50 and told him he didn't have time to wash the truck, but he wanted to support the scouts. We are were on our way home from summer camp in Colorado passing through the Texas panhandle. It was kind of late about 8:00 Pm because we spent day doing white water rafting. Our boys were dead tired and not i

>>As a unit commissioner, I am in a difficult possition,

I have been involved in several unit rivalry situations where they recruit from the same source. I learned quickly that when you handle one situation, you automatically become the District expert. I imagine Beavaher understands what Im talking about. Anyway, there are two factors that seem to heat these things up. One is the idea that a unit is competing against all the other units for new scouts and needs to grab all they can. The other is these units dont know how to sit down together and discuss the problem. The first thing I do is bring the unit leaders together and explain the l

Yes, I think the adults in your ship encourage advancement and do a good job with it. I don't think that is typical of most crews and ships, at least not around here. Barry

>>Anyone who has dealt with this at a crew or ship level understands what a non-issue this is.

Hi Acco Neil explained the advancement pretty good. You deal with the scouts who advance in the troop program, the Venture leaders deal with the scouts who advance in their program. I also very much agree with Neils comment: It might get a bit tricky if the relationship were somewhat hostile and he wanted to use three months as a Troop Officer and three months as a Crew Officer but even that would, in my opinion, meet the requirement. It would need to be worked out in a courteous, friendly and kind manner. I have watch the Venture crews and Venturing Patrol programs in our council pr

>>Uhh, without quotes, italics, or "he says", "my response", it's hard to tell who is saying what here. Too easy to blow through to the bottom and move on to the next topic.