Fuzzy Bear

According to what I found, the SM and the BOR could have known after the fact. There would be no punishment involved but the Scouts would be expected to complete the requirements of the MB. No more, no less. That is not a punishment but is part of the initial agreement. Now if the Scouts lied to the SM and the BOR about not completing the requirements, then punishment should be considered for lying. Hopefully, the meddling parents are part of the TC and they have read what they are supposed to do which is to make sure the requirements have been met. FB

One of the problems I have seen on this Forum and with myself is that many times we tend to believe we are doing the right things when we simply did not bother to read the directions. At my work, we have an Operating Procedures Manual that is 50% loosely constructed and 50% restrictive. People tend to follow the loose construct more than the strictly written portions. Sometimes the outcomes don't fit the codes and therefore violates the intent and the person is found to be in error. Since we have monitors that visit, it is important to be knowledgeable. All a person has to do is read but that seldom happens. I have suggested that we write protocols for the 70% of the work that has some degree of regularity to quicken access/reference. This would clarify most of what we do. The other 30% would need to check by reading. All problems may not be eliminated but the really dumb ones would be reduced. It is easier to ask forgiveness when complexities are involved. This would cost little or nothing. The next idea was to have a computerized Help-Desk that can be accessed by key-word search and then any remaining questions would be forwarded to experienced employees on a rotating basis. This means little or no cost to anyone. Of course, our Administration had the "deer in the headlight look" when this was suggested. I suppose it is easier to count mistakes rather than to try and fix it. FB

Pack, I realize that you have already made your decision by your statements. So be it. I will still post because what you are doing wont stop me either. Your Council does go into to your community and does solicit donations. It is done through the Districts FOS program on a yearly basis. It is true they do not go to 100% of the businesses in your community but they try. This money indirectly Supports Your Program. Your District has several functions each and every year and they solicit donations from businesses. They do not go to 100% of the businesses in your area and they wont even try. These donations directly Supports Your Program. Your Pack can and has been asked to go into the community and sell popcorn. You are not just selling a product at an equitable price but you are asking people to Support Your Program. You can go to 100% of the community, businesses included if you like. You have a distinct advantage over the Council and your District. You have Cub Scouts that people like and many will hate to turn down. They can wear their uniforms and they can sell through parents that work at many of the businesses in your community. This is an arrangement that is generally understood and most are reluctant to make it a rule. This means it is an understanding with exceptions but changes should be done very conservatively out of respect for each other. Everyone wants the programs to remain. Now, for the last point, a dictum that should be observed with every financial decision and that is a Scout should learn to pay his own way. This is a lesson that has great value and that most of us agree on. FB

This decision makes me sit down and put on my thinking cap. As a preface: I realize and support the decision of the high courts and the Scouts. I also believe that the act of advertising is non-discriminatory but I question the method. Here is my reasoning. Let's say that company BB has a bright blue car for sale. To sell it, they believe that they must cast a long and wide net in a large circle to catch the few fish that might want to purchase one. They make their ads show how bright and blue the car is by showering it with light and putting it in front of a bright white background. It looks great! They say that it gets wonderful gas mileage and can carry 10 adults easily. Their engines and the entire undercarriage are made to last a lifetime and are guaranteed, no warrantees are needed. The only thing a person would need to do is buy new tires every 100,000 miles and perform regular maintenance along with refilling the gas tank. The price is not discussed until you enter the showroom, speak with a salesperson and go back into one of those small rooms where the deals are made. It is only then that you find out that the car costs $500,000. You instantly go into Sticker Shock. You get up and stumble to the doorway, the world is whirling around you and your color becomes ashen gray. You hope that nobody is smoking any kind of tobacco product because you know that you will instantly hurl. You dont fall down until you reach the seat of your humble SUV and then you collapse by gearing the seat all the way back. A few minutes later, you return home where you are met by a an understanding wife and children. Now, nobody has lead you astray and everyone is welcome to come in and look for themselves. If you have the $500,000 smackers, you can drive away in permanent Blue too. The company believes that most people would not come into the showroom if they knew the cost, so they keep the price hidden at all costs. To me, it would make more sense to let people know in the ads about the costs. Instead of letting the buyer beware, it is more important to inform the buyer because a great product will sell itself and most of that selling will be done by word of mouth. This was my challenge to the Scouts in the Troop that I was privileged to be the SM. If you like what you are doing and if you are proud of what you are doing, then you will tell your friends and bring your friends to let them see what you are doing. We had our own brochure that listed what we were to do for the new year. We never had a problem with growth. FB

It took me time to read and summarize, so here is what I found. BP felt that it was important to reward a Scout for mastering a skill. Advancement allows a Scout to move ahead and learn in his own way and speed. A Scout must be active in his unit to demonstrate leadership by learning and then teaching the skills mastered. Advancement is an orderly way that progressively challenges a Scout to become a better camper/hiker/Scout. Most information is built upon information that was learned earlier. The Scout learns a skill in an active, hands-on way. The Scout should learn and do what is written. The Scout is tested to show that he has mastered the skill and then the Scout is signed off on that skill. The Scout and the Scoutmaster conference about the skill(s), progress and goals of the Scout. This insight allows the SM to understand fully the resources the Scout brings to the unit. The Scout is reviewed (BOR), not retested, to make sure that he has met all of the requirements for that skill. They may suggest ways that the Scout can get more out of Scouting. The Scout is recognized. Unless someone has different books, then it looks like the Scout, MB Counselor, the SM, and the BOR are making sure that the requirements were completed. It appears that learning is important even in Scouting. FB

OK, I have read everything in this column and I am under the illusion that by doing so it gives me a right to enter a reply. I can do this because I am well versed on what everyone has said and I would like to plug a few holes. Well, I did skim some of the entries but focused on others because I already know what some will say and others can simply be discounted. No, let me back up, I read many of the entries and skimmed several. I didnt take any notes before I finished so my memory is a little sketchy. Well, no, I had my mind made up before I finished reading that I knew what I was going to write. There really isnt a rule that says that I cant just spout off, so here I go. FB

Chewing on an issue concerning morals and reducing it to the smallest morsel is important and something that people have pondered over for centuries. Let's assume that the Golden Rule is all of it in a nutshell. Now then, since it goes directly against human nature to act in someone else's behalf just as well as you would do for yourself, does that fix it? If it were so simple, then Mother Teresa would be just another face in the crowd of millions of Do Gooders. Here is another point that should not be overlooked about M.T. Sainthood had to be based on a miracle. It was discussed how one woman was cured of stomach cancer because M.T.'s picture was shown to her. The woman was healed. The husband said that it was medical intervention that healed his wife and then later recanted. I am totally mystified by this story because Sainthood should have had nothing to do with a picture miracle. The miracle was how she was able to live a life of continually giving to others instead of herself. I believe that somehow those decision makers in the Catholic Church have overlooked a crucial element of Sainthood and that is how a person lives their whole life should determine Sainthood. There would be fewer Saints. The question is still alive and well. How do we transfer a good set of morals to another person and obviously we then must learn how to recognize ourselves. FB

Thanks SSS. There is a problem with defining a good moral code. If a good moral code is based on subtly, then few will be able to understand the differences and few will follow. I suggest a simple principle of "do no harm" which allows people to understand that every choice is weighed in the light of the impact of their actions. We have discussed in the past if there is a difference between murder and killing, such as is done in a war. The idea is that if a person is protecting their family, country, and their God, then it is acceptable to kill. One example used is, if we had not stopped Hitler, then most of the world would have been murdered. Another example is the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan, if we had not dropped the bombs, then we would have lost thousands of our soldiers in trying to end the war. Most of what we do is not based on stopping a Hitler or ending a World War. We generally are confronted with how we are going to treat our neighbor or another person on this Forum. When it comes to ending a life for any reason then most of us put that on the end of a very long list of things not to do or to even think about, unless we are forced to figure it out. Jesus appeared to dismiss wars as the standard of human conduct but encouraged people to love one another, 'you have heard that you should love your neighbor and hate your enemy but I say, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you , do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you. This is done so that you may become sons of your father who is in heaven. Rewards are not heaped upon people that love only those that just love them. Jesus asked each person to do something that is entirely against their human nature. Few examples are to be found. FB(This message has been edited by Fuzzy Bear)

A word search will locate your statement. I am guessing that you hit the new topic instead of the reply button. FB

I took the old WB which is no longer a choice. I am glad they improved it. FB

SSS, Change your questions into statements and then share with us your moral code. FB

Pack, The Comparison is actually a contrast between CB's and MT as proposed by SScout. The idea is that all moral (systems) are not practical or ones that lead people in a suitable direction. It is imperative that each individual carefully weigh the practicality of how they make choices. There are those that might believe that Mother Theresa was irrational but then that argument might not be as acceptable to those she helped. The fact that she was held in high esteem throughout the world points to a different conclusion from irrationality. Sainthood does not come cheaply and if one believes that simply blowing themselves up achieves some kind of saintly distinction, then they have been lead to believe in a moral system that lacks a basic understanding of humanity. That type of religion should be labeled amoral. FB

What makes a difference in the morals as seen from either a car bomber or Mother Teresa? I am supposing that the car bomber is a religious fanatic rather than an irrational and deranged individual. Both have a deep faith in their own God and what their God has shown them to be true. Both have a set of morals of what they believe to be right. Both willingly give up their lives for moral rightness. Both may well be given Sainthood by their respective religions. The differences between the two sets of morals begin with identifying what works and what doesnt work. Compare I site one of the best examples of car bombing which has gone on since 1949 in Israel by the Palestinians. It is almost impossible to point to one gain achieved by the hundreds of sacrifices of car bombers in all of those years. The death toll both military and civilians of the entire conflict in 2000-2006 is estimated to be 3,651 Palestinians and 1007 Israelis. During the conflict from September 2000 to January 2004, 36.2% of Palestinians killed were non-combatants caught in crossfire, while 77.6% of Israelis killed were non-combatants who died in bombings or sniper fire. The death toll is basically it. To Mother Teresa of Calcutta founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950. Her work among the poverty-stricken made her one of the world's most famous people, and she was beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 2003. Hence, she may be properly called Blessed Teresa by Catholics. Besides many awards she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. When she received the award, she was asked, "What can we do to promote world peace?" Her answer was simple: "Go home and love your family." She helped the sick, those suffereing and in distress, the dying, the poor, lepers, and the unwanted. She founded new homes all over the globe and by her death, there were 610 homes in 123 countries of her Order. There were 4, 000 sisters and over 100,000 lay volunteers to assist. She began each day with the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen. In 1982, Mother Teresa persuaded Israelis and Palestinians, who were in the midst of a skirmish, to cease fire long enough to rescue 37 mentally handicapped patients from a besieged hospital in Beirut.

When a rational individual is confronted with any choice, their decision is based on moral principle. Everyone will be confronted with thousands of choices throughout their lifetime. Their decisions will be based in part on what they have learned or decided on as a Moral Code for themselves. Moral Codes can be lists, commands, edicts, laws, descriptions of rights, etc. Problems arise when a person is given a problem with subtleties or gray areas. This is when the moral code is tested for its depth or strength. The value of their Code is weighed in direct proportion to the Codes ability to withstand these pressures. A person using such a Code can without flinching use their Moral Compass to determine their direction and find their way in life. Ambiguous of faulty Codes will not allow for the gray areas and the person will remain lost. FB

Thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, material culture, common to a particular population or the traditions of a culture. A legend (Latin, legenda, "things to be read") is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale a basis of truth or possibility. They may include miracles that are perceived as actually having happened and within which it may be transformed over time, in order to keep it fresh and vital, and realistic. Cryptozoology is the study of animals that are rumored or suspected to exist, but for which conclusive proof is still missing; the term also includes the study of animals generally considered extinct, but which are still occasionally reported. Those who study or search for such animals are called cryptozoologists, while the hypothetical creatures involved are referred to by some as "cryptids", a term coined by John Wall in 1983. The Loch Ness Monster, sometimes called Nessie or Ness (Scottish Gaelic: Niseag) is a mysterious and unidentified animal or group of creatures said to inhabit Loch Ness, a large deep freshwater loch near the city of Inverness in northern Scotland. Nessie is usually categorized as a type of lake monster. Its disputed "scientific" name, as chosen by the late Sir Peter Scott, is Nessiteras rhombopteryx (which, coincidentally or not, is an anagram of "Monster Hoax by Sir Peter S.") Although no evidence exists to suggest the alleged creature's sex, the nickname "Nessie" sounds feminine, so the creature is often referred to as female. Rumours of a monster or animal living in the loch are claimed by believers to have been known for several centuries, though others have questioned the accuracy or relevance of such tales, which were generally unheard of before the early 1960s when a strong "wave of interest" in legitimizing Nessie's 1930s-based history began. Some have argued a history of "monster" sightings in the loch provides circumstantial evidence supporting the creature's existence. Note that the validity and origins of these stories have been challenged, along with any "history" predating the early 1930s. There have been around 10,000 such sightings, a third of which were reported in one form of media or another. A brief press release by LNPIB and associates touched on the sonar data and drew to a close the 1968 effort: The solution to the question of whether or not unusual phenomena exist in Loch Ness, Scotland, and if so, what their nature might be, was advanced a step forward during 1968, as a result of sonar experiments conducted by a team of scientists under the direction of D. Gordon Tucker... Professor Tucker reported that his fixed beam sonar made contact with large moving objects sometimes reaching speeds of at least 10 knots. He concluded that the objects are clearly animals and ruled out the possibility that they could be ordinary fish. He stated: "The high rate of ascent and descent makes it seem very unlikely [that they could be fish], and fishery biologists we have consulted cannot suggest what fish they might be. It is a temptation to suppose they might be the fabulous Loch Ness monsters, now observed for the first time in their underwater activities!" Several of the resulting photographs, despite their obviously murky quality, did indeed seem to show an animal quite resembling a plesiosaur in various positions and lightings. There was one of what looked like the head, neck and upper torso of a plesiosaur. Close examination would show a head shape and even an eye. Another showed a "gargoyle head". This was found to be a tree stump during Operation Deepscan. There has also been a little published photograph of 2 bodies. A few close-ups of what is alleged to be the creature's diamond-shaped fin were also taken, in different positions, indicating movement. The Dinsdale 16 mm film of 1960, which has also been criticized as having an interpretation that has been greatly expanded from the original In 1993 Discovery Communications made a documentary called Loch Ness Discovered. A computer expert the enhanced the 1960 Dinsdale film when he had noticed a shadow in the negative that wasn't very obvious in the positive. By enhancing and overlaying frames, he found what looked like the rear body, the rear flippers, and 2 additional humps of a plesiosaur. Even stranger is that it could look like two plesiosaurs with one behind another. The computer expert even said "Before I saw the film, I thought the Loch Ness Monster was a load of rubbish. Having done the enhancement, I'm not so sure". The documentary also pointed out that the number of fish in the loch is at least nine times more than originally thought and that the fish were feeding extensively on uncommon prey (not revealed) in the very deep waters of the loch. According to the Swedish naturalist and author Bengt Sjgren (1980), the present day belief in lake monsters in for example Loch Ness, is associated with the old legends of kelpies. Sjgren claims that the accounts of lake-monsters have changed during history. Older reports often talk about horse-like appearances, but more modern reports often have more reptile and dinosaur-like-appearances, and Bengt Sjgren concludes that the legends of kelpies evolved into the present day legends of lake-monsters where the monsters "changed the appearance" to a more "realistic" and "modern" version since the discovery of dinosaurs and giant aquatic reptiles from the horse-like water-kelpie to a dinosaur-like reptile, often a plesiosaur. So, it is both Folklore and a Legend. How about a skit with sitings that only the Actors can see. Include costumes, strange music, a sheet/curtain with a strong light source to make shadows. Each actor makes a siting using historical evidence. What fun!

I learned the hard way that water runs downhill, lightening is to be respected and that trees are not always to be trusted.

Pig sticking is fun and easy when compared to tricking our flies with spars and all. Me last experiment with a plastic fly to keep the rain off of me noggin' was several years ago during a big gully washer. I lay me down upon it and rolled meself into it like a burrito. Dry as a bone. FB

The "Short Way". (I don't recommend it.) 1. Shoot him. 2. Bury him near the Scout Hut. 3. Erect a monument over his grave but don't tell anyone that it is his grave. 4. Give a stirring speech about his greatness at the following Scout meeting. Make sure to include the Scoutmaster's Benediction. 5. Tell everyone that you will not be able to fill his shoes. (*mainly because he wont be taking them off.) 5. Go about your new job. If your conscience won't allow you do possibly "life" over such things, then you might consider the "Long Way". 1. Be patient. Waiting things out sometimes works real well. 2. Be stupid. Don't let on that you know anything about any of the "problems" to anyone. 3. Hang a plaque in his Honor in the Scout Hut. 4. Give a stirring speech about his greatness, include the SM's Benediction. 5. Tell everyone that you will not be able to fill his shoes (*because he will still be needing them.) 6. Send him off into retirement while promising to consult him at every turn. (Follow-up is not necessary.) 7. Always assume that the last SM was honest and like him you will be honest as well. 8. The boys will love making choices. 9. You find as much (Eagle) success as the last guy. 10. You will not go to jail, see the "Short Way". 11. You will be able to retire one day and with a clear conscience. FB

Pack, I get a few former motorpickle riders in my office with head injuries. Tell your wife it may be more than dental insurance that you need. The term bug juice takes on a whole new meaning in some instances. My first knowledge of one who loved his flight among the gravel and cement was a young man in graduate school. When I first met him he was wearing his sandals and torn blue jeans. A month later, he had on boots and a month later came a jacket and then it was finally a helmet, weather not withstanding. By the end of the year he was limping so badly that he had could barley make it down the hall. I suppose he is now flying high in the Wheelchair Olympics. Not to sound like your Mother but remember to put on your helmet, leather pants, knee high boots, flak jacket, and get yourself an automobile. Like your Mother, I dont expect you to listen either. Have fun. Maybe I will see you. I am pretty good in getting people retrained and/or back to work. Sometimes there are too many pieces and I dont do so well. FB

If you were doing your duties (as SM?), then the PLC would be the one's frustrated and they would be asking the question about change and action and how to keep people's attention. A well planned Scout meeting has many elements that should meet the criteria that the boys seek. What you expressed does not match what would be set-forth as a good example from any of the training. (*the short answer) FB

I had a crazy uncle that had five on the side. When his wife found out that ended his many nights about. If he had married the five his marriage may have survived. But had he thought for more than a moment He would have figured out One is really more than enough. Burma Shave

Seventh Day Adventists I am right-handed but I bat and golf left-handed. I do neither today, so I am right-handed.

Accor40, By being Left-handed, you have a type of disability that interferes with some types of work. This means that you have functional limitations that could interfere with the transmission of your job duties. If you wanted to apply for rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you could get reasonable accommodations from your employer. Lets say that you are working for the Army and the bullets from your gun are flying across your face and disrupting your aim and likewise reducing your vision and leaving you unprotected because you cannot see the enemy. You have the right to go to your employer, the Army, and tell them your problem. They would then be held liable to make changes in the release chamber of your gun, which would probably cost 10 billion dollars. Since cost is never an issue, they would then redesign, say 10% of their total number of guns for combat, thus giving you access to the proper accommodation. Now, if your employer is a small town police department and you request the same thing, they have the right to tell you that your accommodation is unreasonable because they do not have 10 billion dollars to redesign their uniforms and holsters. You could then apply for a desk job where if you do wear a gun, you should keep your bullet in your shirt pocket. I am being a little silly but my point is that most laws and most of what the APA does and says as well as the DSM are fairly practical and usable. I realize that some religions have decided to judge homosexuals in this life as well as the next. They are acting on what their God has told them to do, so for them it is true and right to act they way they do. The problem is we are all Americans living in a pluralistic society with others having differing views. Homosexuality does not in and of itself prevent a person from doing their job or from living. If a person has an adjustment disorder as well, then there may be problem when considering the functional limitations of their disability but it is not because they are homosexual. Seeking help for the adjustment problems should be the issue. When any person has any disability then the functional limitations should always be considered. There is an imaginary line that some people with disabilities cross that prevents them from living and working. The reason that it is imaginary is because two people can have the same disability and one will have limitations and the other will not. It is because people have varied IQs, aptitudes, abilities, preferences, and interests as well. What motivates one person totally disrupts another. When a persons disabilities interfere to the point that they are unable to live and work effectively in society, then institutionalization may be the only answer. In a Free society, freedom should be the key issue when attempting to make laws. Locking people up should always be the last issue. People with Pedophilia have shown to be resistant to most therapies and punishments. It is an abhorrent disability that interferes with a persons work and life. It is doubtful that a cure will be found in the near future. Until that time, the majority of those that represent the APA and those rewriting the DSM will find it difficult to make any changes regarding Pedophilia. I can without any reservation say the same for incest. To cast fear in the direction of those in the helping professions simply because they do not agree with ones religion makes for a dubious argument. It appears that it is a comparative misuse of information designed to belittle one and enlarge the other. The same arguments can be used against those people that are religious counselors that use the Bible for the basis of their reasoning in making decisions on how and who to treat. It is always healthy to have an interchange of information so that we question what we are doing which can and should bring growth. I dont believe that we have reached out to each other for that kind of exchange. I hope that we will. FB

I thought it was something I had said. FB

Stem cell research, abortion, drugs, pornography, it doesn't make any difference. We can outlaw all of it and some other country will make a profit both from the left and the right. Morals are impossible to legislate. The politicians have a great time posturing and acting like they are doing great things but they are simply ignoring the real problems. Real problems are not popular. FB What are the Real Problems Mr. Know it all?