qwazse

Jesus told a parable of a judge who feared neither God nor man. If He thought highly enough of the fella to use him as a simile for the Almighty, I should be in no position to split hairs. Of course, if he had ever been a member of the BSA ... might have to think twice.

The military chaplains that I've known were a breed apart ... working really hard to be all things to all people. Pluralism breaks down on the battlefield. If a Catholic is at death's door with whatever chaplain happens to be in the room, that Chaplain better be prepared to offer last rites, whatever his background. Yes, I would expect an athiest chaplain to pray over my sorry soul. I really don't care what he believes. *I* believe that the Almighty would regard his prayer in spite of his barrel full of doubt. Fact is you never know exactly where a preacher stands with his theology any given day of the week. They're like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. Of course there are times when the lines aren't so blurred. And that's when a chaplain with a less religious bent might come in handy. If a soldier knows there's this guy on base that isn't going to guilt him about not going to church, he might approach him about getting the help he needs.

A question like this was brought up while I was teaching venturing leader specific training. My bottom line: when adults aren't courteous and kind to one another scouts don't want to be there. I repeated, "When adults argue, youth will leave." Your scouters need to apologize to the boys. If they don't do it on the same night because they can't stand to be in the room with one another, Clearly being unreconciled Is hurting them too.

I think it is insulting to some athiests to suggest their opinion about the lack of existence of spirituality constitutes a spiritual belief. I might use it in an apologetic or debate, but it is just plain rude to insist someone give ascent to something beyond mind and body when they are convinced it doesn't exist.

If the bar foresees a number of cases coming before it related to the issues of the day, I can understand the concern that judges seem above repute and free of bias. On the BSA's side, I can see where a judge with no perceived bias would help any ruling in their favor remain on solid ground. I don't see these ethics code revisions doing that. A judge might not be a member, but one of his family could have been aided by a group of scouts. (Or, on the other hand, a group of folks whose membership policy is more conforming to whatever the standard of the day is.) I'd suspect that would be more likely to bias that judge more than any membership card in his/her wallet. I can't speak for CA, but round these parts, unbridled enthusiasm for scouting tends to come from citizens who are not members of the organization!

Not picking on TT, specifically, but after six post just like this, I gotta say .. ARE YOU PEOPLE NUTS??? Send my crew your $2K. For 1/4 of that, they'll make one out of scrap (metal or lumber, what's the difference?), store it at our CO and ship it to you a week before the race. Heck, some of them would probably deliver, assemble, and train local scouts judge heats and run brackets on a will-work-for-food basis. You can trust them to put the remaining $1.5k to good use. 'Fraid your committee will look at you funny when you tell 'em someone on the internet is giving you the deal of a lifetime? Fine, make that offer to any troop or crew in your area. There's bound to be someone who would see the benefit of doing something like this.

As soon as I find a youth looking for some service hours.

I think we should petition change.org to post a link to the local BSA FOS collection site so that users can have the option of signing a petition or making a contribution to The boys, or both!

It's not about the shopping. (Although with my youth during soccer season, those four days can be pretty full.) It's about the boys knowing who might be "on the fence" about a particular activity and having time to prepare accordingly. Over time, boys come into the patrol meetings ready to either prepare themselves for the next event, our help their buddies prepare. Then they are going home and checking the family schedule and actually taking some responsibility to keep the calendar clear there as well.

Don't worry, you wouldn't have needed to tell him that for much longer anyway. After 8 months they stop asking! I'm sure he'll do a fine job!

You are the expert on your boys (and their parents). There is nothing on paper that says you shouldn't do this.

Sounds like why gamblers don't tell their significant others about their addiction! Full disclosure is the best path to healing. Nobody needs to name names. Parents just need to know that they had been benefiting from donations that aren't there any more. Now, it's their turn to take action. Honestly, I know everyone thinks that it's a sin if boys don't get their bling. But the world won't fall apart if little Johnny finds out that he needs to generate some capital for him and his buddies to be recognized with patches and pins.

Wait, what? Nobody trained for it taught me pioneering! I got the MB pamphlet read it, and started building tripods. Then went to camp and kept at it. I think you just made baggss point. That said, for the things I need to maintain certification (BSA Guard, Wilderness First Aid) plus things I'm told I need (YPT, Risk Zone, etc ...) I need to commit about 30 hours a year. So ... if ILSC does not get done, I'm not gonna worry about it.

My venturer's parents aren't nagging me to help their precious ones earn Silver or Ranger before they head off to college, so if they set scouting as a low priority, I don't mind as long as the kids aren't robbing liquor stores to buy drugs. But ... The boy scout's parents want plenty of advancement opportunities. Even the ones who are polite about it want to be sure that Eagle is available for lil' junior if he ever decides to work for it. Well, if they want our CO to keep the lights on and door unlocked, they'd better make their family schedule fit the life of the troop. On the flip side, I find myself in the midst of helping families through some very rough times. Every thing is a two-way street.

Oh, and a letter to National telling them that registration fees are bankrupting your pack and you may have to disband as a result would be appropriate.

This happens ... your committee has to team up and ... 1. Come clean with the parents. Say at this time the pack has zero $ to finish the year, so although boys will be recognized for their accomplishments, you could not purchase any awards for them. Report that for a couple of months a generous donor has paid for awards, but it is unfair to ask the same person for another donation. In fact you feel that the pack should eventually return some of it because the donor is already in an unfair situation. 2. Call your council HQ and ask where that fundraising application is. 3. Make a budget, so that you all have clear goals about what money has to come in for the year. 4. Plan less expensive activities until ends meet.

In no particular order, 1. Abbot and Costello, (search "Who's on first") 2. Mel Brooks, (search "2000 year old man"), 3. Bill Cosby (search "Hey Hey Hey"), 4. Jackie Gleason, 5. Richd Little, 6. Redd Foxx (search "Sanford and Sons"), 7. Lucille Ball (search "Hello Lucy"), 8. Beatrice Parker (search "Maude"). Any contemporary US comics worth listening to take their cues from these gentlemen and ladies. But, yes, I found that the toughest part of Brits and Yanks living together was learning when the other was joking vs. being downright mean.

Sometimes those of us in stable marriages feel like we are picking up the pieces for those who aren't. That's pretty arrogant of us because really I see single parents doing double-shifts to make things work out, and anything the Mrs. and I might do counts for a drop in a bucket. My parents argued incessantly during their waking hours, but never took to separate beds. For all the grief, at the end of their days they had each other and that was something. I don't think it would have been worth "the peace" had they split up. (Shoot, if they broke up before they turned 40, I wouldn't have been here to type this!) So, that "long view" is what I took into this marriage. Still I'm pretty sure that Mrs. Q's willingness to put up with me has more to do with her good graces than any significant amount of work on my part! So, while I do believe there is a point where kids might benefit from parents who aren't constantly on the brink of violence, I think many of us -- even at our worst -- are better sticking together for the sake of the kids. Most of us, however, have no clue what we can put up with or what we can afford to change so that our spouse can put up with us. I guess this is where community comes in.

Time to read the riot act. "The cubmaster must step down; therefore, this Pack will disband at the end of the year if his replacement is not found by the end of next month." Come July, if nobody steps up, start talking to other packs about taking on your transfers.

Sorry, I thought since I didn't have first-hand knowledge of such a position, you'd get better feedback from others. I've never seen any one position for this activity, but folks have done for our council ... Invited a group of talented scouts from Israel to make our council a stop on their tour of the US. Recruited contingent(s) for World Jamboree. Set up International Camp Staff Exchange. Make sure imformation about international opportunities are part of basic trainings. I'm sorry your SE doesn't have a particular vision, it means you will have to assemble a coalition of the willing to make one or two things happen.

Here's another one to consider: we have an all night climbing event 9pm to 6am at the cope course. No tents are pitched. If they sleep, it's usually by the fire or on a basketball court for an hour or so. Under the stars but not sleeping. Does it count?

Just for the sake of muddy waters, everyone ... What if the boys did set up a tent, but ran an extension cord from an outlet in a nearby pavilion so they could finish playing that video game that was interrupted because they had to get out of the car and set up camp?

Unless those are tarp roofs that the boys set up, they don't count.

At roundtable, I suggested developing youth instructors for SM basic (IOLSC). Talk about an idea being shouted down faster than I could speak it! Evidently since the syllabus requires complete "Train-the-Trainer" for all instructors. Seasoned instructors please comment ...