SeattlePioneer

<< In the district, all Cub Scout activities except Day Camp and Webeloree are run by one person. And she tends to run people who want to help off. “New†district Cub Scout leadership will mean more people volunteering on the Cub Scout side in the long term. Short term may take some time for current Cub leader to volunteer on the district level because of the negative past expereinces with the present chair. But again long term I think it will work out fine. More activities for Cub Scouts to do beyond the pack level. Currently 2 district Cub Scout events, and a

Read your Machiavelli. Here's a link you can read the short version: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli

<<~~As SM, one of your first tasks will be to set this guy straight. Start by explaining your philosophy and how you intend to operate the troop. Specifically point out how the ideas he has espoused in the past are in conflict with your direction. Don't let him weasel away from it. Tell him square up that if he cannot support the SM, he has no function as an ASM. >> Ummm. Sometimes it's a mistake to take the bull by the horns, especially when it isn;t necessary to do so. If you don't want someone to be an ASM, rather than confront them give them a differen

Qwaze--- Excellent point: << ~~That said, here are some things we ask in scoutmaster conferences, and maybe you want to be sure someone goes over with your scout this month ... What is morality? Where do your sense of morals come from? Why would you want an award that affirms your "Duty to God"? What to you think of other scouts' pursuit of religion? How important is it to ensure another person's practice of religion as he/she sees fit? Do you ever look at everything around you as some kind of miracle? How important is it to you that the best explanati

<<~~I was born in Plains, GA during the Carter Administration and was held by Jimmy Carter when I was a baby. His presidency is often thought of as "ineffective" by so many but he was/is a good, honest man. And I would prefer if my elected officials were honest and didn't treat people poorly. But I'm a bleeding liberal, obvi... >> In 1954 the CIA undermined a Democratically elected government in iran that was committed to a radical political program. Instead, we had a pro US Sha of Iran until 1978, when a political cleric threatened to overthrow the Shah and impo

Monday we had two new boys at our Tiger Cub Den meeting and a third boy who had his dues paid by his parents for the year. At least one of the new boys was invited by his buddy who is in the Tiger Cub Den. THAT is especially promising! We decorated the stilts we made at the previous den meeting then the boys practiced walking around on their stilts. Our next activity was making simple catapults using a paint stirring stick and then shooting miniature marshmallows for distance and accuracy. Boys winning each shoot got a sticker for their catapult. Personally, I find stic

<<~~Good news that you found someone. I would have let the Troop try and operate without gear for a while until someone stepped up. Too bad those Life Scouts will never make Eagle, but it's their choice. >> \ Yes, the main method of Scouting is for boys to understand that actions have consequences. If they want to do an outing and the gear isn't ready to use, they would have to do the work of a QM before they leave on a trip. Sucking adults into doing the work of boys is one of the oldest of Scouting methods though --- for boys! Good luck though. I've

Several years ago the district chair questioned me about my religious beliefs: Q Are you a church member? A No. Q Do you believe in God? A Yes Q Would you like to join my church? A No. 'Nuff said, I'd say. <> Personally, I don;t think someone needs to declare that they are a "faithful" believer in some faith. Perhaps they have a variety of doubts about their faith. Seems like they are entitled to that. I've heard Catholic's say that the Pope is entitled to have his doubts about God. That seems honest and reasonable.

<> Courage, or foolishness? Was giving Richard Nixon a pass really worth electing Jimmy Carter and the other liberal excesses of the late 1970s? This kind of thing is why simply doing "the right thing" isn't an adequate basis for making political decisions for big jurisdictions.

At our Tiger Cub Den meeting two weeks ago, we made stilts from 2x2 stock four feet long with a piece of 2x4 nailed on. The boys decorated their stilts, practiced walking on them and took them home when done. That would probably make a good recruiting night activity to draw boys and families in. Last night we made simple catapults from paint stirring sticks and pieces of 1/2 plastic pipe boys cut using a pipe cutter. Then we spent time shooting miniature marshmallows, with boys getting stickers to put on their catapults when they won a contest. That would make a fun recruit

<> What's missing here is your plan to KEEP those new boys in the troop. There should be a well thought out plan to do that.

If you really want the job, go for it. But if you don't, this is the right approach: < Have you taken the training “Selecting quality Leaders� http://www.scouting.org/filestore/me...df/522-981.pdf Instead of waiting for someone to volunteer, follow this training and put together a short list of 3 or 4 people who you think would be a good Scoutmaster and ask them to take the position. They don’t even need to currently be in the Troop or even in Scouting.>> A search committee to identify the best person for the job should be formed and that

Ummm. In the Scout Troops I've been involved with (ten years ago or more) all the Eagle candidates came up with reasonable projects and did them in reasonably good style. I doubt there is much protection available against boys, parents and units with a mind to get the badge with a minimum of effort. Probably not worth the effort to try, I would guess. Scouting is about learning good character. Some people never learn.

<> Heh, heh! That was after a President running for reelection who was desperately ill with heart disease had a Navy doctor state that he was in good health. He died in office three months after being sworn in (FDR) It was also after a candidate for President who has several life threatening chronic illnesses such as Addison's disease and was filled with a variety of drugs daily proclaimed that he was in good health. (JFK) Woodrow Wilson was a helpless invalid for much of his last two months in office, --- the Presidency being run by his wife. Just mor

< >> Politics is a VERY high stakes activity. Politics is about compelling people to respect certain values --- at the point of a gun if need be. Becaquse politics is a high stakes activity, it always attracts players whjo will aim to appeal to the passionms and prejudices of their audience, and often to foment hatred of political opponents. That's NORMAL behavior in both political parties in the United States, and throughout history for that matter. Indeed, politics in the United states is still mostly a pillow fight. It's rare for either party to reso

Is it wrong to lie? For private individuals, it's usually a bad and disreputable practice. But it's very common among politicians. Why? Lots of reasons. Sometimes the truth just wont serve. Telling the truth may promote conflict. The truth about what is going on in politics is a valuable commodity. You think you should get it for free? Good luck! The stakes of what happens in government can be enormous. Telling lies might be seen as worthwhile to get desired policies. Just as an example --- In 1965 the United States revised immigration laws

<< We've had some success by first recruiting Spanish-speaking Adult Leaders in units where we want to recruit Hispanic families. It's a work in progress.>> After 3 years of trying, I found that this is likely the key to success as well. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a bilingual English-Spanish person to take charge of communicating with new Hispanic families. I may ask the Parish Knights of Columbus organization if they have someone who can help us get started with that.

<<My challenge to these individuals, especially the Eagles, would be for them to take a serious self-evaluation and consider whether they are truly living up to the tenets of the Scout Oath and Law. My personal perception is that the answer is mostly NO; but that is simply my opinion. And that applies to almost the entire membership of our Congress, as well as the Executive and Judicial branches too. Unfortunately, I do not see these comments, if they were even seen by the group, will have much effect. But, if even a small percentage takes it into consideration, it would be a plus.>

<<“We send our eighth-grade students out to businesses,†he said of a successful job shadowing program that gives students a look at various trades and careers. Do those employees need background checks? That’s not clear.>> The usual way to deal with issues like this is to ignore them until a negative incident occurs, and then to hang any person or organization available with liability after the fact. It's a great system!

Of course, all this begins with the news media trumpeting stories of "abuse," compelling institutions to take ever more stringent actions in response. In recent months, the news media has been trumpeting "studies" purporting to report that 40% or more of young women students on college campuses are subjected to sexual "abuse," loosely categorized. I'm expecting that the result of this will be for colleges to start requiring young students to live in sex segregated dorms, to adhere to curfews, prohibit alcohol at parties and so on. Basically, go back to the standards that p

So what group is the Chartered Organization and who is the Chartered Organization Rep? If you don;t know, you can call you District Executive and ask. The Committee Chair and COR can be the same person ----probably is in the situation you describe. In that case, a talk with the leader of the Chartered Organization abiout the issues you mention would be appropriate.

<> Actually, I thought it was smart of the bank to ask for a formal action of the "board" appointing a new Treasurer. While BSA doesn't require such an action before appointing a new Treasurer, I think it's smart for a unit to have an understood procedure for doing so. IF a treasurer starts falling down on the job for one reason or another, you need and should have an agreed upon procedure to appoint a replacement, in my view. Anyway, that's what I've done.

So how does your unit transfer the duties of the unit (Pack or Troop) Treasurer to a new person? As the current unit treasurer, I make it clear to the Pack Committee Chair that these duties can be transferred to a new person by a vote of the Pack Committee. (The bank wants to see a resolution voted on by the Committee to transfer authority over the checking account to a new person.) I propvide the checking account statement to the Pack Committee Chair each month, and a statement of revenues and expenses each quarter to the Pack Committee. Anyone is welcome to ask more questions

<< To remove her as a COR, we'll have to go to the Charter Organization directly. She's afraid to relinquish control of anything to the other leaders of the Pack.>> He/She who has the Recharter Packet defines the leadership --- along with the unit leader (Cubmaster or Scoutmaster). In our district, the District Executive pleads with units to send someone to be trained in how to do the recharter. Not many do. If you show up for that meeting, you can claim the recharter packet. With the packet, you can complete the recharter and appoint who is going to have what lea

Liberals are always APPALLED by hate language. Except their own, of course.