Eagledad

>>A firearm is a weapon regardless of the use to which it is currently being put, just like a Steak knife, Pocket knife, Camp Axe, Ice pick, CD case or even a pencil...

Hi Pete Basically you lay some foil on the ground. drive a stake in the ground and set the turky one the stake. Cover with a trash can and put hot coals on top and around the can. Works really well. Do a Google search and you will find some pictures. Barry

>>er, ah, Barry, nothing quite like the gender stereotyping there in your last paragraph, hmm?

>>would vote for Firearm safety. More PC correct.

>>Right now this is just an idea, nothing more, but if we are going to pursue it over the next couple of years, I want to see it done right.

>>Her behavior? You know how & why she had a child? You seem to be judging without all the facts. Maybe she was artificially inseminated. Maybe she was raped. Do you know? No.

>>Jesus loved people regardless of their situation.

This was one of my jobs back when I was both a SM and the District membership Chair. There are a couple things that should be mentioned. At least in our area, 90% of those Webelos who didn't crossover didn't have a good Cub experience while they were Webelos. My research and observations found that most of these scouts didn't have a good adult leader. There are a host of reasons, but it all comes to the same conclusion, it wasn't fun, so why move on? It has got to appear FUN first if you are to bring them for a look-see. I'm not one to plan an activity specifically for recruiting because

righteous? I believe that comes under name calling. We all have our bad days, but one of the ways I worked with the PLC was teaching them to not react instantly to their emotions. Name calling is a sure sign of inmaturity or uncontrolled emotions, or both. Instead they should create some kind of time out until they can instead respond in a mature manner where they talk about the behavior and not attack the person or take words out of context. That does require some degree of patience, maturity, grit and courage, but it draws respect instead of anger or disdain. It also requires practice.

>>The reason I find the second scenario "morally correct" is that the potential bad example I see here is irresponsibility.

>>Barry, sure, there are times when judging is actually important and valuable as a social or moral tool. But when done with extremely limited information, it can lead to false judgments too.

Wow Beav, your post is really good. I saw a similar discussion like this come up when a pack committee found that a CM was also a stripper. I was astonished that some folks felt it was none of the parents business that she strutted around naked every night to entertain men. I have many times explained that young teens are highly influenced by the behaviors of those they respect. A SM is usually one of those persons by default. From a boys perspective, that person wouldnt be a SM if the community didnt think they were a good leader. Influenced? You bet. Of course judging seems to b

I think it's kind of like saying that no 13 year old boy can be a good leader or have the qualities of an Eagle. There are some exceptional young men out there that are better than the adults that are trying to develop them. I had one 17 year old SPL that ran for the position again because he wanted to make some changes to improve the troop. He was so good that I had to give him some of my SM duties to challeng him. He is now 22 and would make a fantastic SM. I hope he is thinking about it. On the other side, I had some ASMs in their 30's and 40's that would be terrible scoutmasters. I don't t

Hi All In my opinion a SM only needs dedicated to Scouting ideals and a humble heart. The BSA mission is to make moral decision makers using the Scout Law. That basically requires a SM who understands how use the ideals to develop successful moral decision making adults. Humility is important to prevent the SMs self-gratification and self-servingness from restricting the program and allow others to to bring skills the SM may lack for a quality program. Barry

If its not guilt one way, it can be the other way. We had a couple similar situations, one being with an adult. He lost his temper and hit a scout with a nalgene bottle on the Philmont trail. Scout wasnt physically hurt, but it scared the crew enough to report it. We followed the book and gave our reports. Our SE did his job and reported the incident and the guy got fired from his job. I didnt want that, I only wanted him away from our scouts. Maybe I shouldnt care, but family security is one of our most important responsibilities and I was involved in taking it away from one family. Its

I guess Im not sure what you are asking. I must admit when I read your question, I felt that you don't quite get the campfire. When you suggest team building, I wonder what you did during the day up to the campfire. Instead of trying to understand your question, let me just give a little explination of what I feel about the campfire. The skills to perform a well done campfire are not juvenile and require practice, heart, creativity and showmen professionalism. I think our scouts finally understood that when they got a standing ovation by other troops at summer camp once. From beginning t

Well said Packsaddle. Barry

>>Articles like this are nothin' more than policy "spin" by people who stand to benefit personally or professionally from a particular public policy position.

New findings indicate today's greenhouse gas levels not unusual By Dr. Tim Ball and Tom Harris http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/global-warming051407.htm Hi all, I found this quite by accident while scanning todays news. It is from the Canadian Free Press. At the very least the article is one more contradiction to confuse folks about the new Global Warming crisis. I gave the source so anyone can read it, but one quote goes like this: Clearly, the federal government must immediately convene open, unbiased hearings into the science of climate change, something that has neve

>>Finally, be sure you share enough with the DE so that a determination can be made about whether the man should remain registered with the BSA (to potentially serve as a leader in another unit).>How do you two handle the 18 y/o's that want to stay in your respective troops? Do you just assign them as ASM's? Do you place them under the wing of an experienced ASM for a certain time period? Just curious how you do it?

Hi Oak Tree We were at exactly where you are at, we started with 15 scouts and got 50 new scout in two years. We looked at all the options you mentioned. We visited and interviewed several troops to find the best way to limit the troop and I wrote an essay on our experience a few years ago. After several years of watching units from the District and Council level, I feel this essay is pretty accurate. By the way, when I left as the SM about five years after I wrote this essay, our troop had 90 scouts. We were very boy run and 40% of our scouts were 14 or older. Barry Troop size

>>So if da structure is gettin' in the way, why don't yeh change it? Forget havin' separate committees for this and that. Have just one "Unit Support" committee and then break out into subcommittees as needed. That way commishes can talk to membership and to program, etc. So many times I see council's and districts locked into a dysfunctional structure because they think they "have to do it that way." Bah. Service first. Everything else is negotiable.

>>Does your Council have an "SPL2B" program?

We pay our guys to go, but our troop invest a lot in leadership development. We also pay for the summer camp fees of our SPL because he works so hard that many times he doesnt have time for a MB class. Now I personally dont think the scouts come back all that different from NYLT, but the course is a tremendous confidence builder for taking on more responsibilities in your troop, which is usually a boys biggest hurdle. Also, our guys plan, train and lead our Troop JLTs, so confidence and maturity are important. To me, the real BIG benefit a troop gains from a scout going to NYLT is

>>The important part, IMO,