TAHAWK

Brother, you may only hate change, rather than "progress." 100 yeasrs ago, and today, if you had/have a "telephone" hoked up to copper wires and the power in the entire area went out, the telephone worked. It had and has it's own power suppy - humongous wet cell batteries backed up by generators. We had a power outage and lost telephone service for over a week December, 2020., due to our "modern," "advanced, "voice-over-internet digital service." Moreover, Spectrum, the only supplier in our area, only takes a service call when your telephone works. YES! They lold me, when I called from t

I was told last year by the Director of the IRS Frenso Center that they use the first operating software post key-punch cards - the 1959 version of COBOL - in 1960's computers. Explains why they are the best part of two years behind - that and funding being cut 30% over the last ten years. "And then the camel died."

"committed" = thinking about it for some undetermined time in the future; a possibility E.g. putting insignia and uniform rules on line - BSA "committed" to that some years ago. I was curious back thenwhen I was teaching the "Uniforming" course at more than one "University fo Scouting." I gave up waiting after eleven years had passed. I even volunteered several professional writers to help, an offer not acknowledged in any way. 😐

A gift is not income. "Income" is a very important concept and there is lots of law defining it. A true gift is not it. Gifts are taxable to the giver by the Gift Tax to the extent that, for each of 2019 and 2020, he or she gave more than $15,000 to a single recipient. A recipient can receive any total amount as gifts from multiple givers and have no tax liability. But these have to be real gifts, not earned compensation. No wink, wink, nod, nod stuff. The reciepient cannot be required to do anything as a condition on receving the gift. If you gave $15,000 to A's spouse,

"What happens, legally speaking, when a group of people get together and decide to perform some task without filing any legal paperwork or establishing any formal legal structure? Whether they know it or not, they have formed an unincorporated association. “Unincorporated association" means an unincorporated group of two or more persons joined by mutual consent for a common lawful purpose, whether organized for profit or not. Now, if the lawful purpose they’ve joined together to accomplish includes earning a profit, their association is automatically a partnership or joint venture fo

Our Area does training annually (probably not this Spring), including all "basic" and a wide range of "other" training. Any Scouter is free to attend, but publicity could be better.

When I gave my FOS pitches, I always took our DE with me. Most of the parents only saw a pleasant - appearing young man but aso saw the Commissioned Scouters present smiling at him (reflecting their positive experiences). That gave maning to my report on the hours he put in, units he helped form, and units he had helped survivie times of crisis. We led the council all three yeasr in FOS donations, exceeding our "goal" each year.

PICTURE POSTED FROM IMGUR. [img]https://i.imgur.com/3up0W1K.png[/img]

Then it is well that volunteers plan and run program, and the closer they are to the untis, the more likely the program will serve unti needs. And the youth sould be planning and leading, not council employees. Adult planned and run program is like teaching a kid to ride a bike by having the kid to only sit in a chair and watch an adult ride the bike. Scouting is allegedly "experiential learning" - includong the expoerience of leadership - no emphasized by being made a sprarate "AIM" of Scouting, rather than being a part of Citizenship. "Guide" "Enable" DAD, T

BAed on my experience in fourt councils over fifty years: Professionals rarely train volunteers, except than one junior staffer on each WB course is typically an employee; professionals rarely see that training takes place - the job of the Council Training Chair, and the Distict Training Chaor, when the "professionls" have not eliminated ditricts alltogether; our current SE eliminated the majority of training time for volunteers even befor COVID; "profesionals" do not run any program other than Summer Camp; "professionals" do run recruiting events. In my principal council, they primailr

We have gone from the partrol focus to the trrop focus to the council focus? Youth learns leadership, self-reliance, democracy, and responsibility how? Is program an objective or a tool?

And every different garment visible from some feet away: no "uniform."

patrol medallion position patch ? troop numerals rank patch event patch (temprary insignia) shulder loops? council patch international patch possibly plus 2-3 more patches BLING!

Reminds me of: "We learn from experience, and not all experience is good."

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, as is BSA entitled to its contary opinion. Some opinions are, of course, hard to believe. I wonder if the public schools will require adult "presence" for the student's daily"front country" hikes - to and from school throyugh rea far more dangerous than the "back country." They REQUIRE the children to attend. FBI statistcs indicate the children are safer going to and from school than they are once at home. Most child molestation is by "family." Were "bangers" up and about earlier in the day, those statistics might change.

WOOD BAge claims to "Model" the Patrol Method. 😝

"7. Have a representative attend at least three patrol leaders' council meetings." Where the Supreme Master tells you what you will be doing in future?

He had taken no training" "All you need is to like kids." Every Scout who stayed to 18 got Eagle. That was his promise to the parents (I heard it made three times.) - even if that meant the SM signing him off for half a dozen Merit Bages the last day and Let's pretend holding POR. I must say, he seemed to be enjoying himself. 😐

The "simple" (if complicated) rule was embodied in: "with the Scoutmaster's approval." Now, officially, the Scoutmaster is not trusted with the discretion

There are JTE points for having patrols and having PLC meeting, but no points for patrols doing anything as patrols, for patrol leaders making any decisions, for the leaders - Scouts - being elected, or for the bulk of time in Scouting being in a patrol context - as required by Scouting - even said to this day in Scoutmaster Training materials to be required. How to bring JTE back to Scouting: I posted suggestions, apparently in the wrong place, 1ST: measure the things that BSA no longer cares about enough to actually do anything to promote them - esp, but not exclusively,

I can only try. The experience of, let us say "some," is that the presence of adults tends to foster a reduction in youth taking, or being allowed to take, responsibility. This is a reduction in the amount of Scouting taking place. Hence, for the first 80+ years of the BSA version of Scouting, a patrol of Scouts could go on a hike, preappreoved by the SM, to be sure, without any adults being "present." I have not knowingly witnessed adult presence causing "anxiety," but I miss things. (There was the drunken father at Summer Camp, but that was unrelated to numbers of adults present

1ST: measure the things that BSA no longer cares about enough to actually do anything to promote them -"Scouting," esp, but not exclusively, the two most important official BSA "methods" long neglected: Patrol Method; outdoor program. 2nd: have any competent person(s) assign points to things that should be measured to reflect progress to adequacy, which is a distant goal at present. Opinions may legitimately differ as to alocation pf points The following are not asigned points in JTE: but should be: - patrol and troop leaders democratically elected by the Scouts; - signi

It does give points for fund-raising camping at a council summer camp. Just not for any other outdoor activity. Hike? Nah! Bacjpack? Nope. Weekend camp - in the out-of-doors? Unnecessary for the "journey" to "excellence." They are just not very good at their jobs.

JTE "metrics" fail to give any points for actualluy using the Patrol Method - not a decision or any leadershipo by Scouts is required. Morteover, it does not give points for election of Scout leaders, so the adult-run troop method is AOK with "JTE." It does not necessarily require a single actual outdoor activity, defining indoor activities as "camping" in the official Q&A. So no poutdoor program whatsoever is AOK with "JTE." Wretched at best.

I have a hard time defining "adequate adult supervision" foir all situations without more details. Then there's BSA's definityion, set out above - two registered Scouters, 21 or older per "scout activity: White water rafting? Council camp? "Lock in" to watch videos, as suggested by Journey to Mediocrity? Those objecting may, of course, assume that their opinion is the requirement. Instances of Joe's Scouting are hardly unique. We have a curent thread where one unit is adding significantly to reequirements for Eagle.