83Eagle

The OP doesn't state what his position is in the Pack, which has some bearing on "what can be done." If you are a CM or similar, I might ask the DL what he thinks the boys would say if asked if they feel they are receiving "enough awards" or if they would like a token of their progress? Second, what do the parents say? They are reading the books and seeing the info about the beads as well. Since the Tiger Cubs are supposed to be a parent-run program, the parents should have an involvement in this decision. Also, ideally the TDL should come from the parent ranks as well so I'm curious why

Why is it that if you give your kids money before you die, its taxed. But if you die and they inherit it, it shouldn't be taxed? Good point...so then let's make both the gift tax and death tax threshhold the same--$10k or whatever it is these days. Of course that would never fly because then nearly everyone would be impacted when grandma takes the aforementioned "dirt nap" and leaves her meager estate worth only a few $Ks in real dollars but tremendous amount in sentimental value. So instead, we set some arbitrary threshhold--2 mil or 5 mil or whatever we arbitrarily degree sh

I know this is off the original topic, but since it was brought up: >>We had one kid who got dropped off at the meeting, and because of some weird disfunctional family situation, he was there on his own. Should they have just kicked him out because his parent wasn't there? If it was one particular meeting where Tiger Cub showed up without his parent, I would keep him there, then talk to the parents when they showed up to let them know this is unacceptable. The application form, which parents agree to when they sign, lay out the "parent agreement" including to "participate

If the death tax truly makes sense, then we ought to tax it from dollar one. Grandma passes you down her wedding ring worth $1000 that you'd like to keep to give to your kids someday? Sorry, you gotta pay $350 or 450 or whatever to uncle sam just to keep it. The death tax makes NO sense and the only reason the government gets away with it is by casting in it class warfare terms of "the rich."

Cub Scouts is probably the leading reason why most boys (and parents) never consider Boy Scouts. I can see this...our 4th and 5th grade Webelos dens are run by moms who are, to put it mildly, not the outdoor type. They've lost scouts over the years and have small dens comprised of doted-over boys. In contrast as a DL I always focused on putting the OUTING in Scouting even as Tigers; in retrospect probably doing some things that weren't completely kosher with the G2SS. However, the size of what is now the Bear Den has doubled over the last two years as word has gotten out. One o

Careful, or some might think you're serious...it's hard to tell in this electronic venue.

If you have a bit more budget you might want to try some of the Garmin touch screen units, which are more intuitive for the texting generation. We use the Oregon which is easy to use and very durable. The 500 comes with rechargable batteries, or at least did when we bought it. The Colorado is the same platform I believe.

Just a follow up. Did this at the Pack meeting last night and it came off without a hitch. Scouts spent 10 minutes making forts out of old cardboard appliance boxes. I stressed we were out to have fun, not bean anybody (though at 10 yards or so apart, you barely noticed getting plunked by a sock ball no matter how hard it was originally thrown). I had scouts of similar ages tossing against each other (Tigers and 1st grade siblings vs. Wolf scouts and 2nd grade sibs; Bears vs. 4th and 5th Webelos). And we kept parents behind the fort walls to monitor for any problems, of which there none.

Congratulations!

Yeah, my rubber playground example probably wasn't the best one. After all we didn't have bike helmets (or common usage of seat belts) when I was a kid either but now I wouldn't think about going out without one. My thinking was just that we try to wrap kids in bubble wrap before they leave the house rather than letting them suffer some bumps and bruises and actually learn consequences of poor decisions. Anyhoo, about the bus situation, out here in rural flyover country the bus slows down a bit but if there isn't anyone at the end of the driveway--or running frantically down it--ZO

Just look at any rubber-coated playground, indoors or out. A little different than the olden days, eh?

Holy cow, this would not fly with me! As CM I'd be thrilled if two dens got together to do something cooperatively. Tell the CC "show me da rule...."

Regulate and tax it? We love smokers in this country--well, as taxpayers, not as people. I'm guessing we could tax it like cigarattes and it would still be cheaper than on the black market. Lotsa new agricultural jobs too rather than planting it in the middle of clear cuts in state forests. Just sayin....

No I didn't.

Hey, this newbie just discovered the "ignore user" feature. Well, that makes things a lot more enjoyable to read and cuts down on the sarcastic drivel one has to wade through. You also see how many other users are ignoring a user that you ignore. Kinda interestin'...!

SeattlePioneer, what are you getting at your spring recruiting in terms of grades/ranks? Are you doing any "prerecruiting" for graduating kindergarteners? I know of another Pack that does the second so I'm trying to meld a couple of ideas here. sasha: I agree that this message board is quick to jump on people and can feel very negative. Yeah, I learned that fast and the hard way. I do have thick skin, but I don't care much for online bullying. Also, there's all kinds of formatting for emphasis that can be used here, no special keyboard controls required, just a little effort.

I guess we're just a bunch of nattering nabobs of negativism. In all seriousness, from a "newbie" perspective, I do see a LOT of negativism in here. (Dangit, there I go shouting again.) For instance, I see this topic come up, and my first thought is, "Gee, that's interesting! I had considered spring recruiting but others I talked to had problems with it. Well, you say this works well for your Pack. I wonder how that works for you? Maybe this is something we can use too!" Whereas the attitude of others seems to be, "Hey, we've been around here a while, so let me tell you why thi

I know the value of feedback. However, in my experience when I'm soliciting feedback from someone I usually start with a statement along the lines of, "What do you guys think of this idea?" I would encourage everyone who has posted here to look at the thread above and try to be objective. The OP gives some info about a recruiting practice that s/he is "quite happy with." Then...POUNCE! "you are denying them the chance to try and earn their rank award" "having a Bobcat den is not a good idea" "it might add to confusion about how cub scouting really works" "I think the better wa

Yep, another smarta$$ comment from the king of all caps....

Why is it that when someone tells about something that works, there are a half dozen people ready to pounce and say why it's wrong or won't work? Not real scout like folks...

Yep, Scooter was prosecuted for a process crime. Lesson learned, plead the fifth or testify "I can't recall." Of course the truth behind Plame didn't fit the template, and probably 90 percent of people assume Scooter leaked her name.........

When do you do spring recruiting compared to moving them into the "regular" den? Also, you're dealing with mixed ages in the den, then? How does that work? This is an interesting idea because we've discussed the idea of spring recruiting, but other packs I've talked to that have done it have had mixed success with keeping kids engaged in the program over the summer. Even if the pack is a Summertime Pack (like ours is), it takes being part of a Den to make them feel most like part of the gang, and most Dens don't ramp back up until fall. So this is an interesting idea, albeit "unoffic

The only problem with the Valerie Plame analogy is that Richard Armitage was never prosecuted for the leak.

83Eagle: I don't see the government as taxing productivity in as much as they are appropriating wealth. If a farmer plants a 10-cent seed in the ground and it produces $1 worth of produce he has generated 90-cents worth of wealth that didn't exist anywhere before. Same for the manufacturer that takes basic raw materials and produces a product to be consumed by others. There are those who through other efforts produce wealth, i.e. the burger flipper at Micky D's who through his own efforts produces services for others to consume. Same may apply to the factory line-worker who puts parts together

This country does not tax wealth, or even just "the rich." We tax productivity. As of 2007, the top 1% of INCOME EARNERS paid 40% of federal income tax, a percentage that had increased from under 20% in 1980. Likewise, the top 25% of income earners saw their share of taxes increase from about 72% to over 85%. Over the same period, the percentage paid by the bottom 50% of income earners dropped from around 8 percent to just 3%. In other words, since Ronald Reagan took office, people earning higher incomes have paid a greater percentage of taxes nearly every year. Those incomes come fr