gwd-scouter
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Stupidity goes both ways: Obama yard signs seem to disappear overnight around here.(This message has been edited by gwd-scouter)
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Whomever you choose, please remember to go out and vote tomorrow.
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NY Times Blogs Online: Obama Quits His Church
gwd-scouter replied to John-in-KC's topic in Issues & Politics
As I see it, the justices that may retire in the next few years are on the liberal side (Stevens, Ginsberg, Souter?). If Obama is elected and appoints liberal justices as most people fear, it won't change the balance on the court. On the other hand, if McCain is elected, the balance would change dramatically. -
Welcome to the forum, ClemsonScout. I feel I know you from somewhere....
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NY Times Blogs Online: Obama Quits His Church
gwd-scouter replied to John-in-KC's topic in Issues & Politics
Regarding responsibility of Christians to speak the truth no matter what: recent letter from James Dobson, among other things, states that if Obama is President in four years the Boy Scouts will no longer exist because of the chance Obama will have to select Supreme Court members. "The Boy Scouts no longer exist as an organization. They chose to disband rather than be forced to obey the Supreme Court decision that they would have to hire homosexual scoutmasters and allow them to sleep in tents with young boys." Talk about your fear mongering... -
Our Troop went to a Arrow of Light ceremony last night for a group of Webelos getting ready to cross over to our Troop. Their Pack is going on the Yorktown trip in May. Selling popcorn was their biggest source of funding for this trip - the Pack sold $14,000 worth! Small Pack, too.
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Ah yes, the OGE we've come to know and love. Don't we all join Scouts because we don't want to grow up? Or, do we join Scouts because we ARE NOT grown up?
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Wonderful. Congratulations, OGE!
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Den chief Award with Venturing uniform
gwd-scouter replied to CNYScouter's topic in Venturing Program
Did similar research for my older son. Never could find anything that said no. He wears it on his Venturing Uniform while working on Camp Staff at summer camp. He says it is the award he is most proud of and wants to wear it forever - even now that he is an adult. I'm sure someone on this forum will find the correct regulations on this.(This message has been edited by gwd-scouter) -
Hi all. Lost a bunch of weight over the last year, so I bought the new uniform last week. Fantastic. I just love the pants. Finally bought a female sized shirt which has shorter shirt-tails. Ladies - the bellows pockets are not as bad as I thought they'd be for us gals. Also fantastic. I preferred the cotton material rather than the thinner (supplex?). Long-sleeved shirt that I can roll the sleeves in warmer weather - terrific. New belts are a great improvement over the old. Really like the new socks too, but with a drawer full of the red-tops I couldn't justify the expense of buying new. Only a couple of downsides so far. One is that crazy tech pocket (at least that's what my sons call it). Decided to glue on the SM patch rather than trying to sew it. The other is the American Flag. Pretty cheep I think. Not sure how it will hold up through repeated washings. Wait and see, I guess. Could always sew on the embroidered flag patch.
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I think I am getting tired of politics
gwd-scouter replied to gwd-scouter's topic in Issues & Politics
It's like watching a car wreck - you just can't turn away. Home alone this weekend and unfortunately suffering a lupus flair so limited in what I can do. I did wash the dog, take her for a good long, although slow, walk. Tidied up the kitchen. Did some laundry. Took several long naps. Read the Scouter forum. Watched a few Daily Show reruns. Enjoyed a couple of old movies - The Picture of Dorian Gray - I just love that one! With the exception of the Daily Show reruns, yesterday was a politics-free day. A nice day. A thin blue layer of not 'real America' blue surrounded by a sea of Red - heh, heh, I like that. Being a Democrat in South Carolina, especially in my small town, is a bit lonely. McCain-Palin yard signs everywhere. I've only seen two Obama-Biden signs. Back in the day when I vociferously argued against invading Iraq, my Bush-supporting friends came right out and accused me of being un-American. Back then, if I mentioned I was voting Democrat, I was accused of being anti-religion and pro-abortion. That last one really upset me - as if I was standing out in front of a clinic yelling "get your abortions here, line up, two for one, bring a friend." Nice. You're right Pack, most of those Bush folks that were in my face in 2000 and 2004 have been unusually silent through this election season. There are a few that question my support of Obama, but their arguments are simply against him (inexperienced, socialism, a terrorist, a Muslim, etc.), nothing said strongly in favor of McCain except he's got experience. My hope is that these folks are not representative of the country's population as a whole. I still (perhaps naively) believe that Americans make up a more purple map, rather than red and blue - us against you. On a different issue - I was actually thrilled when the gas prices kept rising last summer. I thought we would finally get serious about a sustainable energy plan. Now, the prices are coming down. Will we do what we did in the 70s? We had an opportunity then to get real about energy, but gas got plentiful and cheap so the highway speed limit was raised and our cars got bigger. Whichever candidate becomes President, I seriously doubt he will be able to do much to improve our situation in four years. Maybe stop the bleeding and stabilize things. I just can't see how either could reduce the deficit or balance the budget in four years without raising taxes, or at least not reducing them, and cutting entitlement programs. In essence, Americans are going to have to suffer and pay some stiff prices now and I just don't think we're willing to do that. Americans will cheer when they hear "we have to cut spending and reduce entitlement programs," but don't touch their social security or medicare. That will leave us with another election in four years that quite possibly could be even more divisive than this has been. Oh my, such doom and gloom - and I am usually a glass half full type of gal. [she reaches up and slaps her face and says 'get over it' girl.] Ah, now I feel better. -
As far as training dates go, check out your Council's website. Can't speak for all Councils, but ours shows dates and locations for all District and Council trainings. DE not going to roundtable? Shouldn't really be a big deal if your District Commissioner and Roundtable Commissioner are doing their jobs. Also, your District should have a training chairperson who schedules the dates for New Leader Essentials, Youth Protection, and other District training. New Leader Essentials is offered by Districts for all new Cub Scout and Boy Scout Leaders and is usually offered several times in the Fall, especially because of new recruitment in Cub Scouts. SM Essentials, Troop Committee training, and Outdoor Leadership Skills are Council run training events. Both are held twice a year in our Council.
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For sure, I've been a political news junkie. CSPAN every morning listening to Washington Journal. Flip around from CSPAN to CNN to occasional viewings of Fox News for a different perspective. I watched all the debates during the primaries, the VP debate and the three Presidential debates. This year's season has been quite exciting. But, it is getting tedious. I know Sarah Palin has only been on the scene for a short time, but just how many more times do we have to hear about trooper-gate, her glasses, her wardrobe, hockey moms and mavericks? Joe six-pack and Joe the Plumber have had their 15 minutes of fame. Ayers, Revered Wright, ACORN, socialism, yawn. From the campaign rhetoric on both sides, you'd think that the middle class were the only people living in the United States. Obama is going to be tested. McCain has already been tested. Obama is an elitist, McCain cares about the average 'Joe'. Obama lacks experience, Palin has the experience to be the next President if necessary. Obama shows poor judgement, McCain is erratic. Obama is ahead in the polls, in swing states and even some typically red states. McCain is the original comeback kid and will pull out a victory. I live in the very red state of South Carolina, but watching TV the past few evenings I've seen a barrage of outrageous 527 ads against Obama. I can only imagine the ads running (for both sides) in the closely contested states. Fortunately I am secure in my house, no worries there, but my 401K has lost half it's value. I am lucky that I have fantastic health insurance, but because I've actually had to use it the past couple of years I now realize how hard it must be on those that don't. My older son received full scholarship to college, but younger son probably won't, the tuition will be much higher three years from now, and his scholarship fund is suffering losses. Our economy is in the dumper. Gas prices may be coming down, but food prices haven't. We're losing jobs every month, we're fighting two wars, we've lost the respect of nations around the world. We have an energy crisis and a climate problem. Our infrastructure is in desperate need of attention. We have populations of poor, homeless, seniors and veterans that need help. Our educational system needs an overhaul. Illegal immigration increases every year. And on and on and on. I've been listening to CNN all evening. Haven't heard mention of any of those things. On the plus side, I did just hear on Larry King that Sarah Palin criticized using fruit flies in medical research. Oh good, I was hoping I wouldn't miss hearing her stand on that issue. Eleven days to go.
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I know of a Troop that has themed campouts with the purpose of completing merit badges. I've wondered at times how they managed to complete all the requirements for some of them in a single weekend, but it is not my Troop. Our District has at times held camporees that were merit badge themed: aviation, animal science, geology, shotgun shooting. Our Council offers merit badge university, but our guys have never gone to that. It is on their plans for this year, though. Our guys have proposed and planned to work on merit badges as a group, but not very often. Citizenship in the Community was one which started them off by attending a City Council meeting. Then some time during a couple of regular meetings was spent on other requirements. Most of the boys have completed their presentation of a community service organization and have done the service hours to go with it. Of course, this was all done individually. We did pulp and paper about a year ago as a Troop. That was a lot of fun. We did spend a weekend a couple of years ago on motor boating and waterskiing. Everyone completed motor boating, but only two were able to finish the skill requirement for waterskiing. Of course, in our situation, we are a small troop (a patrol really) and it has been fairly easy to work on a merit badge as a group. These days though, our boys range in age from 11 to 17 and we are about to get a bunch of Webelos. Our older guys are talking about pioneering, wilderness survival, taking a cycling trek for camping merit badge and other more adventurous stuff, whereas the younger guys are concerned about their T-1st class requirements and some of the fun-sounding merit badges (art, sculpture, music, etc.). I agree with you Beavah, that the biggest hurdle in conducting a group merit badge is making sure that we don't fudge on the requirements to measure each Scout individually in his completion of the badge, especially those requirements that state things like: explain, discuss, prepare, etc.
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Wonderful post! Thank you for posting your thoughts that so many of us share.
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As a Scoutmaster, if I were to receive such a going away gift when I step down, I would most appreciate a scrapbook of photos, short stories written by the boys and other adults, snippets with memorable moments and quotes, etc. That would be a treasure.
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Yep, our guys did the Monty Python bit. We also had Hawaiian day where we all wore flowered shirts, hat paper umbrellas in our drinks in the dining hall and gave out flower leis during lunch assembly to all the staff. We had day when we all wore our troop T-shirts, long black ties and black sunglasses to assembly. No real name for that one, guys just thought it would be fun. Saturday morning is the last day and we wear goofy pajamas and carry pillows and teddy bears to morning assembly and breakfast. Next year they are already planning Indiana Jones day complete with a boulder they will roll down from our campsite into the assembly area. I had to get them started on this - gave them the first idea a couple of years ago. Since then, it's something they look forward to planning every year. A lot of fun and builds spirit.
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Elyria - our guys did that at summer camp this past summer. Came down the hill from our campsite to assembly with the "rider" in front and the other guys clapping coconuts behind. What a hoot!
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I really like the idea of getting Scouts involved in the planning of Camporees. Have the SPL of each Troop attend the planning meetings. We stress so much that the Scouts plan their outings within the Troop, shouldn't they be a part of planning district events, too?
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Pack212 is correct. Your Scouts may wear the Bobcat badge. Once the Webelos badge is earned (the oval shaped) the Bobcat is removed. Are the diamond-shaped Webelos badges still available? I thought they were going to be phased out.
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LisaBob, I understand your post. In many ways, our Troop was there a few years ago. When I stepped up as SM, we had four guys at Life rank and one at Star that and I seriously questioned how they attained their rank. Rarely seen at meetings, let alone outings. When they were at meetings, the gathered in a corner together and paid little attention to what was going on. They were openly defiant about the changes the other leaders and I were making in the Troop, especially changing the PORs to be more than a patch on the sleeve for six months. None had the POR signed off for Eagle, so each was required to hold a position. Varying degrees of interest and success there. I realized I wasn't going to make much of an impact on these guys and needed to focus on the younger guys to turn the Troop around. Of those five guys, three made it to Eagle, one each over the course of three years. I wouldn't say they were the model Eagle Scout or what most people envision when they think of an Eagle Scout, but they did complete the printed requirements. This past summer I was honored to award the Eagle Scout rank to a fellow that benefited from the changes we made in the Troop. His Eagle COH was one day before he left for college. This Scout is the very example of what we think of when we say Eagle Scout. I am dismayed at parents' and Scouts' attempts to see advancement as nothing more than a check mark in a book. It is one area that I focus on and try to help them understand what advancement truly is. I work to get them to understand that advancement is a result of our program, not the mechanism that drives it. From Tenderfoot on up, I talk to the boys about their role in the Troop, about those intangible and subjective areas such as Scout Spirit and what it means to them. Leadership starts early in our Troop, not necessarily as a POR, but with a guy helping another guy learn how to do something. It is an expected characteristic of our Troop. If a new guy needs help with something, he learns very early on that he can ask any other Scout to help him regardless of rank or POR. When it's my turn to speak at Scout meetings or at Courts of Honor, I talk about those intangibles. I bring up examples I've seen of the guys working together, helping each other, showing leadership, etc. At meetings it is a way to reinforce the importance of character growth to the boys, at COHs it reinforces it to the parents. Your comment about your son wondering about the value of rank hits the problem dead on. The boys more than the adults know when something isn't fair, when someone is being passed along. They know when there is a difficult parent in the crowd (I am dealing with one right now). Her complaint is that her son has been in the Troop for a year and hasn't reached first class yet. What she isn't willing to see is that her son has missed several campouts during which important advancement opportunities were available. Or, if he was at a meeting or outing, he's the guy that is always holding the flashlight for the others while they are working setting things up. She sees it as him being left out by the others, the others see that he will always find a way to get out of work. Heck, it took him six months to finish the fitness requirement for Tenderfoot. Why? Whenever it came time to do the show improvement part he either didn't show up for that particular meeting or had a reason for why he couldn't do the run. We've all had guys like this in our Troops. What is important in my view is not that he learns to tie knots with his eyes closed or becomes an expert camp chef, but that he becomes part of the team, a functioning member of his patrol, a Scout that learns to take pride in working hard for his accomplishments, a guy who eventually younger Scouts will look to for guidance and leadership. I did notice signs of growth in this lad at our recent Camporee. We have a new Scout that joined just before the Camporee. This new Scout has autism and the fellow I've been talking about buddied up with him for the weekend and worked with him to learn how to do things. Scout was most proud of himself for helping this new Scout. It's a good sign. All I can say is we as adult leaders in Boy Scouting owe it to the boys to set and communicate a very clear vision and expectations for advancement for all ranks and stick to it.
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I know in my heart what she meant. That is to say, what my gut reaction was when I heard the comment. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. I dare say I've made some dunder-headed comments myself. Things said innocently enough, but inferred by others to mean something other than what I meant. We are probably all guilty of that. But, while I'm willing to give her the benefit of doubt, I cannot say that my republican friends have been willing to give Michelle Obama the same benefit in regards to her comments about being really proud of America. I know what she meant when she said that - others, not so much.
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Congratulations to your boys. Love that spirit award!
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So, in other words and along the lines of what Gov. Palin was saying, real Americans live in pro-American parts of the nation, (i.e., Joe the Plumber from small town Ohio).