Stosh

30 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

It is very tempting. Part of me feel obligated to my Scouts to keep pushing though.

They just keep coming, you'll always feel that way whether it be today or 10 years from now.

Walking away from poorly run programs is an easy task to do.

@WisconsinMomma, this is all normal crap that creates adult drama in the scout units.  This is the reason I quit a lot of activities over the years.  Church politics.?.. yep after 15 years, just walked away even though I had spent 4 years training.  Reenacting?,....  It took me 13 years to work my way up from private  to captain/president of the group and it was time to leave.  Venturing Crew?  Advisor for 13 years until the CC decided he wanted to be in charge.  Walked away, no regrets.  15 years as ASM trying  to turn an adult led program into what it's supposed to be?  Time to move on.  I have had many things in life I have regretted.  Walking away from a no-win political fiasco has never been one of them.  BSA is on the horizon.

Well, a lot of people would take umbrage at that.  Why have an honorary title if it isn't used.  Colonel Sanders did it for years and no one laughed.

I think in this day and age of sue-happy helicopter parents it's better to resort back to the playground tattling than the more effective punch. 

I taught my son to really pound his punches, if you're going to get sued, might as well get your money's worth out of it.

If society has pushed back the true age of adolescents to 30 something, why would it not follow that 10 year old level of activity isn't going to get pushed back to .... say 18?  It's now going to be Webelos III+ that they call "boy" scouts

32 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

"In the end, it's just a PWD. " Amen. I remember one ugly parent shouting because his his kid's car beat a Bear Cub. I thought "Congratulations you beat an 8 year old".

Some of the boys REALLY got into their design cars. The younger guys would glue all sorts of little bears, army men, legos on them and were so thrilled they could just race.

Now, now, @Tampa Turtle, PWD is now a family thingy.  Let's not be thinking the boys are the only thing in the program. 

Say that three times real fast without gagging.

5 hours ago, WisconsinMomma said:

I think that's cool.  3d printing is cool.   The Scout will learn different manufacturing techniques and that's OK!   Maybe the car will run well, maybe it won't, but it will be a memorable experience for the kid making that car.

Unless the Pack has specific rules against it, why  not?  Why not let the kid have some freedom? 

 

BSA is notorious for the double speak.  Pinewood I guess no longer has anything to do with pine wood.

It holds the same title as PHD in anything else.  Usually the honorary PHD is in some obscure discipline like Humanities.  Then a PHD in Liberal Arts is just about the same.

My official title is Rev., but anyone who gets a certificate off the internet can use that title as well.  It took me four years of post-graduate work, not just a few clicks of the mouse. 

Buyer beware, one gets what they paid for.  Check the fine print.  Your mileage may vary.... probably does in many situations.

And when all the dust settles, BSA National can do anything it wishes to do and we all know how smoothly that plays out in the program.

Honorary degrees are just as valid as earned degrees.  They are only issued on a PR basis to promote the institutions that give them out.  This "precedent" is as American as apple pie.  Never underestimate the workings of an organized committee of any size or nature.

Since retiring I have taken on a "part time job" with a non-profit that pays nothing but does cover all training and expenses.  That perk alone has moved me from one-on-one with the clients in the office to chapter leadership, regional leadership and district leadership positions.  All in two years.  As one can easily tell, it's not Scouting.

Venturing is going to go away except for maybe college town units.  There really isn't much call for post-high school groups that treat the members like children and need to be monitored with adult supervision at an expense to the members.

It would be my best guess to say that to return to the original 1965 requirement today would be a dumbing down of the requirement.  But the dumbing up of the requirement of today is just as disheartening.

I see a lawsuit coming down the road on that.  It's just a matter of time.  Hypocrisy isn't protected by law.

2 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

What is this thing called Social Security?

Agreed. Social Security will never pay me what I have and will continue to pay into it. And companies can change pension plans, like the BSA, in a heartbeat.

 

The really sad part about Social Security is that if I was by law required to invest the SS amount deducted from my pay, I would have 3-4 times as much money as I do now.  I could have had a high priced financial consultant working my money and do better than some overpaid SS office flunky and the politicians making the decisions. 

Nuff said.

I wonder how many would get Eagle today if one of the requirements were changed to not being able to schedule the EBOR until after the scout has reached the age of 17 years, 6 months?  I'm sure it would quickly separate the wheat from the chaff.

I interviewed for a position in our local council, was offered the position of DE and in the mean time I was offered a job in the business sector for twice the pay.  I took a pass on the Scouting job.

Sure,  my family has both in-laws and out-laws.  You'd fit right in.

It would be interesting to see the project expectations placed upon the Eagle candidate when they were first introduced.  I suspect it would not be any different than the 2 page federal income tax form I filled out as a kid and what I have to fill out now.  

Requirement #101, design and implement a project and document it as to how you showed your leadership skills.  Provide two references, one from your patrol leader and one from your scoutmaster as to how well this was accomplished.

That would be enough for me to determine whether or not the boy showed leadership.  After all isn't that what the project is supposed to do.  Now it is more of how well he can fill out paperwork expectations and he doesn't need to be a leader to do that.

Even today's society doesn't have a clear definition of "family".  It's a generic term that means absolutely nothing.

One doesn't need to learn life lessons if adults are always going to be there to bail them out.  It works until they get out on their own and have no idea how rough things can be when they're walking the tight rope with no net.

Changes used to be caused by warfare, rebellions, and revolutions....  Today we have silent coups.  Like the frog in cold water on the stove, one day the world is different and most never saw it coming.

So does that mean transgender girls go in which Cub den?  And by the way, does a homosexual male scout leader go under the male or female category when identifying the 2-deep leadership?  It's one thing to step in a meadow muffin and yet another thing to clean up afterwards.

Pandora's Box is opened, have fun with that.

Don't stay a stranger, I'm considering the exact same thing.

I worked all my life and never qualified for any pension plans.  I did my own 401k and investments on my own and was forced to do Social Security.  My paltry SS benefit for what I put in is a sham.  My 401k and investments, however, allowed me to retire quite comfortably as I wanted to.  

I am 5 years older than my wife.  I turned 65 and retired and I didn't want to spend the first five years of my retirement with the wife working.  I took all my finances down to a financial investment service and had them crunch the numbers and determine when the wife could retire.  After a week I get a call that says she can retire yesterday.  I made her quit the job she hated and we do just fine.

Don't rely on your employers, don't rely on the government, do your own retirement plan and pay cash for everything.  I hate the idea of paying interest expense on any thing.  I put that money into investment instead.  I never earned more than $45,000/per year in my whole life and retired a millionaire.  I have a zero credit rating.  I own 5 cars, 3 of which have more than 100,000 miles, 2 of which are over 200,000 miles.  It's a life lesson I learned form my Dad who lived through the Great Depression.  It works. People who worry about such things should be taking the Personal Finance MB!