John-in-KC

Read the whole thing here: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/obama-quits-his-church/?hp Brief Excerpt... The Caucus: New York Times Politics Blog May 31, 2008, 6:42 pm Obama Quits His Church By Jeff Zeleny WASHINGTON Senator Barack Obama is ending his membership at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, a congregation he has belonged to for about two decades and one that had become a lightning rod in his Democratic presidential bid. Mr. Obama informed his campaign advisers of his decision today, according to people familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the candidate. Mr. Obama is scheduled to explain his decision tonight in South Dakota. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AP reportage: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5isOFwdbq0tsqatW6vJpkDRTI1gMgD910V94O0 Obama quits Chicago church after long controversy By TOM RAUM 46 minutes ago ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) Barack Obama said Saturday he has resigned his 20-year membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago "with some sadness" in the aftermath of inflammatory remarks by his longtime pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and more recent fiery remarks at the church by another minister. "This is not a decision I come to lightly ... and it is one I make with some sadness," he said at a news conference after campaign officials released a letter of resignation sent to the church on Friday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The last time I checked with my Pastor, the first matter of deciding about a church to attend was its faithfulness to God's Word. Whether a pastor, priest, rabbi, or imam, I think all of them would say that's the 600lb criteria, and everything else is second fiddle. Oh, well, fuel for the political fire...

Not another source. The official source ... the Boy Scouts of America website Meritbadge.com had its day. I'll admit it, I used it, and gladly. If it wants to shift to providing Counselor resources, I'll be glad to support it again. For the requirements, a Counselor who is online (vice who uses hardcopy still), as well as a Scoutmaster who has tech savvy youth, should point the kids to the BSA website. Period.

Lisa, thanks for reminding me! Scoutingmama, you also want to contact area Troops. You want a total of 4 Den Chiefs. Explain to the Scoutmasters you're a start-up, and you want mature, reliable young men... not 1st year Tenderfeet. Your DLs need to get with these young men, and together, they need to take Den Chief's training. That way, each can understand the others needs and expectations. I'd say 3 hours a week for a direct contact leader is about right. If a DL has a Den Chief, that time might increase by 20 minutes a week (huddle time for them), but the rewards reaped in better meeting organization and presentation will be remarkable. Your Membership and Advancement person will be busy the first several months, building a membership database using one of the standard packages like PackMaster. (3 year initial license $60). You also want to get this person trained in BSA Internet Advancement, so he/she can input basic ranks and arrow points to ScoutNet. Then, it's a printout, a signature, and off to the Scout Shop. BTW, you want your Pack checking account to have no fewer than 3 signatures: CM, CC, and Treasurer, with 2 sigs required. That way, money is fairly easy to access.

Dawn, The biggest expense is not one of money, it's of time and love. Every leader in this Pack a-borning should take: - Youth Protection (can be done online) - Fast Start for their position (again, can be done online). You might ask, through your Unit Commissioner, (I assume your key leaders are amenable to gathering for an evening) to have the District Training Committee folks offer New Leader Essentials out of cycle. Definitely, consult the Council calendar to determine when BALOO will be, as also the Position Specific trainings. Finally, DLs, CM, and CC should all mark District Roundtable on their calendars. Much great information to share, many good ideas available! Finally, it's not too early to talk with a neighboring Pack to borrow their Pinewood Derby track for January...(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

Hint, I used meritbadge.com and .org for many years when National wouldn't put Requirements #33215 online. They have now. Here's the link, for yours and your Scouts reference ... http://www.scouting.org/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges.aspx Farm mechanics, within that list, is: http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/advancementandawards/meritbadges/mb-FARM.aspx

It seems like an eternity away, but the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November cometh, thank the Lord!

Welcome to the forums, ... and have fun staffing this course for other youth this summer. I would ask the manager of your Scout Shop to call his National Supply Division contacts. That's why they exist. If he/she says no, I'd ask your District Executive to ping his/her professional resources.

I have adobe acrobat reader v8 on a box. I just downloaded the NESA Eagle app. 58-728 (2008 edition) Got a warning bar that the fill-in data would not save out. Closed the file, then reopened. Indeed, Hint is right, the data still doesn't save.

While I agree with Lisa (fuel is pretty inelastic), the family income choices are more so. There's been a lot less time in the restaurants recently, fewer movies, pooling errands, and personal leisure travel is out the door.

What I did for our Troop, but it's the old form. Copied each page as a background to PowerPoint Made text boxes for each data field. Worked just fine.

I'd have a long cup of coffee with the CC. Let him/her know how you feel ... and why. After that, if you feel your time/talent/treasure is not put to best use in this Pack, thanks to other Scouters, you have the option to look for a new Pack to serve. If you choose that option, do the COR the courtesy of an exit interview. We are volunteers, after all... If you find out afterward, I would like to know what feedback your CC gives you...(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

Ed, Speculation, since Biblical times, has been part of the forces acting on the market. Is speculation rational economic behavior? Irrational? Certainly for some, at the moment, it's profitable and for many end user schmucks like us, not so profitable

Smartstick, Welcome to the Forums. Here are the points where the Scoutmaster has an approval/disapproval in the process: Eagle Leadership Service Project Workbook: - Approval of project concept before it goes to District/Council Advancement Committee for approval to begin. "Project plans were reviewed and approved by." (p9) - Certification "This project was planned, developed, and carried out by the candidate." (p13) Eagle Scout Application: - Unit approval, see ACP&P for your actions should you elect to "not recommend." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The supported agency has two signatures on the ELSP, and none on the Eagle Scout Application (though the candidate may list someone as a reference): - Before "Project plans were reviewed and approved by." (p9) - After "This project was planned, developed, and carried out by the candidate." (same as SM, p13) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Committee Chair has no signature on the ELSP. Any Member of the Committee may sign off. See p9 of the workbook, the sig line is clear "Unit Committee Member." He does have a signature on the Eagle app, below the Scoutmasters: Unit approval (personal signature required). You can consult the SM Handbook or ACP&P about procedures if the unit is unwilling to recommend a candidate for Eagle. There's a wizened old Scouter who sits EBORs in my District (we also do unit EBORs with District Guest representative). Before the young man is introduced, he asks the Board and the Scoutmaster "Will this Board conclude today with this young man earning Eagle, or not? Answer me honestly." I am told if the answer is "no Eagle," he tells the unit Scouters: "This is what I must tell the young man then: I will inform him of his or his parents rights to appeal. I will offer to assist him in drafting the appeal. The District Committee will check out the information he presents about your Chartered Organization, your Committee, and you Mr. Scoutmaster. If the appeal is substantiated, you and he will be informed that his advancement has been withdrawn from the unit, that he will have a new Scoutmaster Conference, and that the District will convene an independent Eagle Board of Review. Do you understand this?" All of that is in line with ACP&P as I read it. BOTTOM LINE: We Scouters have the responsibility to train, mentor, and evaluate young men serving their PORs. Shame on us, and we deserve what we get, if a young man gets to POR signoff by just "wearing the patch." We can shortstop that! It takes moral courage and genuine work on our part to coach the Scout to improve, and to encourage him to reject the quality of his own work before "tenure day."

I feel your pain Lisa. So much potential with MyScouting, so much vaporware too. [ Rant ] Of course, the idiots at National IT, who could enable the ability to report out ScoutNet for each of us in MyScouting, are blundering fools who cannot see common sense if it was given to them on a 24K gold platter. Can you imagine what a tool MyScouting would be for the individual Scouter if National IT enabled the ability to get all our info, including our various Trainings, WB, function attendance, FOS history, ad infinitum. Of course, that would take the National IT folks in Irving caring about the volunteers in the field. [ / Rant ](This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

One comment: In all my military leadership training, we discussed much about personal leadership at the first line level: 5-7 is right span. Above 9 you start seeing a new layer of leadership. An Army squad is 11: Squad leader, two fire team leaders, and 4 folk in each fire team. The ninth boy can be handled with Assistant Den Leaders and Den Chiefs, although they are designed to help keep the 8 manageable. The tenth boy is the point where you consider adding a den. That's my experience.

Trev, I understand your concern, but we're talking about: - Far West Texas... - An LDS Troop - Scattered across multiple towns 1-2 hours drive time between Patrols of the Troop. Depending on roads, that's 50-80 miles distance. I like FScouter's idea about if there are traditional BSA units available to take up the burden. That said, I think ACP&P #33088 now proscribes non-Scouters from BORs other than the EBOR. (Can someone check that??). That sort of forecloses his second path. I think part of the unit development process for this Troop, which will spin off multiple Troops in turn, is to get Scouters enrolled in each town. Again, though, we encounter the variants of how an LDS parish sets up its Scouting organizations. Normally, I'd want in-person BORs as well. I think in this circumstance, coupled with the current dear price of driving, we need to look at this Troop more as a scattering of Lone Scouts than as a traditional 15-50 young people on Monday night.

Thinking back to an incident a few years ago, remember to be very careful with fire, heat and flame. FWIW, I just drove through Utah/Wyoming last week. Most of the snow was gone, but above 6500' you'll start running into drift banks. This is more true on the east/north sides of hillfaces.

Lisa, Thanks. It's the problem of sorting spin and reality. I see reports of food banks seeing increased draws, ditto food stamps, then I see the folks who went and bought McMansions. More than a few of those folk are on their heads in their equity. Thanks for the sanity check

I think I agree with Beavah. Two Patrols. If you have a remaining older Scout, make him JASM, and let him be a tie-breaker if there must be one. Look at SPL at 3 patrols. Look at an ASPL at 4. Leadership has two functions: Train the boys to lead, and help make things happen. In a small troop, your time with the youth can be close, and you can mentor freely. As your troop grows, you'll have to make each SM conference and PLC encounter matter more.

There's another H word that is more customary with the colloquialism of "h to breakfast." Subsituting Heaven for the other H is just me being me. Diogenes, I'd be honored if you permanently borrowed the idea

This may be a blinding flash of the obvious, but no matter what the pundits say, times aren't easy for wage-earners and mortgage payers. I was at Family FOS call bank last night. Working the ScoutNet prospect sheets, I was calling people who had been reliable and decent donors. At least 3 times, I heard "I'm sorry, but I've lost my job, and I have to conserve. This donation is a luxury for me this year." I know good friends in field sales. Their incomes are not what they were... because their clients have stopped buying. What I'm not sure of is if the news folks are driving and hyping the cycle (pushing us towards an economic panic as part of the election cycle) or if the economic cycle is really bad, and we're seeing correct reporting? Your thoughts?

Alternate option is to see if K-12 schools have similar to what Gunny described. Another alternate is to see what US Dept of Ag extension service facilities are available. They sometimes have the capability now. (Gunny... where they are in West Texas maybe the home troop might have a .edu juco, the out-towns from what I remember almost certainly won't).

You are exceptionally late in the day in recruiting staff. Our Council had PDs locked in nine months ago, and area Directors and ADs locked in six months ago. What are the numbers? Who pays for National Camp School, including travel, since there are but limited choices left? Is there a staff scholarship program? You're seeking DIRECTORS. That's not an easy set of people to come by. You might want to publicize how far you're willing to go to get staff.

Lisa, Your son should be just about old enough to draw good benefit from attending youth leader training (NYLT). Have you broached that with him as an option? I think him having a talk with SM about responsibilities of ASPL might be a good thing. It might give him that next boost.

I'd have a discussion with your District Advancement Chair, but I personally think Ed has a good pragmatic idea. Webcams aren't expensive. Skype is free. You're scattered because your Chartered Partner has spread you out from Heaven to breakfast. Go for it.