Eamonn

I have one that I don't use very much or all that often. It's down with my training equipment, I can't remember the brand. I'll check and post it later. The cost of these has come down a lot. I bought two one for me and one I donated to the Council when I was un-happy about how the SE was mismanaging the funds. They were about $1200.00 each. I've used mine for WB and all the staff development weekends, other Scout Training's and the Trainings I do for work and work I do for Hostage Negotiations. So far I've never had to buy a new bulb. Have seen them in stores like Best Buy for a few hundred bucks. So I'm thinking if the bulb was too much it might be just as cheap to buy a new one. Have to admit that I don't lend this thing out unless I'm going with it. I'd be upset if it got broken and I wasn't around. I think it's an Acer. Ea.

This is truly a shame. A shame for the kid and a shame for the BSA. I seen this on line yesterday. There were over 2000 comments. While I didn't read all of them. For the most part the people commenting were in support of the Lad, not the BSA. I don't know the Lad, so maybe it's wrong of me to talk about him. I'm not sure what the litmus test is for being gay? Many young boys as they go through puberty experiment with other boys. This doesn't make them homosexual. While I'm sure that by the time I was 17 I kinda sorta knew that I was more interested in girls than boys. Still at 17 I was a virgin, I hadn't had sex with anyone. So who knows maybe if I'd met a guy who swept me off my feet and we started having sex, I might be gay? There are many young Lads who are scared to death of girls and maybe being denied by girls and might well take what's normal male experimentation as a real sign of being homosexual. Also when it comes to a believe in God? There are some young people who decide from a very early age that they do not believe in any type or form of a God. But most of the young people I meet are going through a rebellion where they are more sure about not wanting to belong to an organized religion than sure about there not being a God. All in all, everything about this is just sad. Ea.

I always used to bring my small radio. Normally tuned into the BBC World Service. Late at night they have a bedtime story. A lot of the Scouts would hang out with me around the dying embers of the camp fire and listen to the stories. Kind of a nice way to end the day. Ea.

Thanks for some very good thoughts and ideas. Having served as a Council Training Chair, I know first hand about the problem of finding people who are good at presenting training material. Trying to bring new people on board so it doesn't become an old codgers group sometimes makes this really hard. I've experienced having people that I thought would do a good job, fail big time and leave me feeling that we have failed the participants big time. The local council could hire professional contract instructors to teach a set BSA syllabus, with the cost divided among the participants" I have never taken or presented the Powder Horn training, but I thought that this was set up along these lines? While I'm very much for people learning to do the "Big Stuff". My fear however is that if we go too big we run the risk of scaring people off. I do feel we need to ensure that everyone can walk and then allow those who want to run and take the next step the opportunity to do so. The idea has a lot of merit and maybe if presented to the District and Council Training Chairs, might get legs? As for cost? We don't seem to have that big a problem getting people to pay for Wood Badge? In our area the course is running about $200.00 People seem willing to pay the cost and devote the time. My main worry /concern would be finding a staff who have both the skills and the time. Without wishing to blow my own horn. I think that I have the skills but just don't have or am unwilling to devote the time. Sadly things have got so bad in the area where I live, when I look at the 100 or so Troops in the Council (Yes Council, not District.) I think that I could count on one hand the number of people that I'd call proficient with the skills. Maybe something along the lines of 2 weekends one in the spring and one in the fall where the material is presented and then participants are assigned someone to work with that will ensure that they have really mastered the skills, kinda like a WB Counselor? While changing the program to make it more outdoor oriented sounds great and many of us might agree that it is what's needed. The fact is if we don't have leaders (Adults) Who have the skills, we are just going to get more cheating and more people looking for loop holes and short cuts. If having some kind of bead, knot or feather! Is going to help get more people improve their outdoor skills? I'll use that carrot every time! Along them lines, I think that we need to pay more attention to Trainer's. The time has come for every District to have a team of Trainer's who work together at improving the way training's are run and presented. Training needs to be a line item on every Councils budget. Maybe thinking long term we might see some Venturing Crews have the presentation of training as a theme? -They young people should be able to do presentations that the young leaders will see as not coming from the dark ages? Some summer camps are offering skill training for leaders. I don't think that it should be overly hard to look at who is in camp that week and see that Joe Blow is there. Joe is an expert in something. So we ask Joe if he'd be willing to do four or five one hour sessions and invite the other adults to attend. Ea.

"Outdoor Skills training for adults that can be passed on to our youth could start the revitalization" I like this a lot! Ea.

This idea of a Brand? Is kinda new for me. Up until a couple of years back when the CSE used the term in a speech, I'd never heard it or thought about it. Some years back I was tasked with asking some very wealthy people to donate very large sums of money. One problem that I ran into was that I took it for granted that everyone knew what the BSA did and was all about. This just wasn't so. A good many of the people I met with really had no idea. They kinda sorta knew about Scouts doing good turns and that they went camping. Other than that they knew nothing. I tend to think that before a Brand can be damaged that people have to know what it is. While maybe us who are active and have been around for a while might be able to look back and say that things are not what they once were. I'm not so sure how much the parent of a Lad who is wanting to join a unit really knows or doesn't know? As for the product? I don't like the idea of the youth being a product. So I'll go with the idea that the program offered to the youth is the product. Much as we might want to moan and groan about how much National, the Council or the District does or doesn't do, at the end of the day what is offered lies in the hands of the adults in charge of the unit at the local level. My point is that if we can find a way to ensure that these guys have the skills to pass on to their Scouts, what is offered (The Product?) Is far better. I used to think that in order to attract more youth we needed National to spend a lot of money on ads and the like. I now think that because Scouts and Scouting is so very local marketing has to be done at the local level. This means that we are very much in a catch 22 situation. Success breeds success. I watched a Pack over the years. It had been around for a long time. Year in and year out it had about 20 or so youth members. Then a new leader came along, rebooted the program. Parents seen what was happening and along with wanting their kid to join, they also signed up. Within five years the membership was over 100 Cub Scouts. Sadly the Leader moved on and the decline set in. It took a while but three CM's later the pack fell apart. The demand was set by the parents who seen that their kid was if he joined going to get something good out of this Pack. As for price? This is a hard one. There will always be some who for what ever reasons will say that Scouts and Scouting is too expensive. I really do believe that parents will pay for what they see as being a quality program. My son wanted and was selected to go on the Philmont OA trail crew. It was a very good deal. But he needed two more pair of Scout shorts. The shorts were then $38.00 a pair. I can afford $76.00. But I have to admit that it irked me to pay that much when I knew that I might be able to buy shorts of the same or better quality for half the price. Still because it was such a good program and because he wanted to go I paid the price. Parents are willing to pay for what they see as as being worth while. I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean by "HIGH BARRIERS TO EXIT" - You might want to explain that one for me? Oak Tree I'm happy to hear that things in the area where you live are better than they are in my neck of the woods. I have a hard time accepting that some of the Scouts I had back in England now have kids that are driving and some are soon to be Grandparents. While I do like to think that I haven't been one to bury my head in the sand, I also have to accept that these (Both my ex-scouts and their kids.) Think differently than I did and do. They very well may see the world and things in a different light than I do? We do need new blood, new ideas and us (Me!) Old codgers need to be able to accept that we are never going to be able to turn the clock back. Still we need to find some common ground. The $64,000 question has to be: What is Scouting all about? And how do we get there? If we are willing to accept that the aims, the mission and the methods are still relevant? Then we need to look at the delivery. If you really believe that the uniform should be for formal occasions? Then I see no reason why you don't just go with that. I don't care if a Lad learns to tie a bowline and knots from his i-pad or smart phone. I do care that when it comes to him repelling down a rock face that he knows how to tie it correctly and more importantly the guy who is allowing him can inspect the knot and know if it's tied right or not. While maybe there is some challenge in learning how to tie the knot? But to my mind the real fun, the real challenge and excitement comes from doing the repelling and then saying "I did that." The tightening up of requirements is tough. Seems to me that we live in great fear of allowing anyone to ever fail. This seems to be happening a lot, not just in Scouting. Kids are allowed to move up to the next grade, even when people know that they are not ready. We don't keep score in kids games and so the list goes on. It is hard when your faced with a Lad who is really trying to master something and he just isn't getting it. - There is a great temptation to find "Reasons" why you should or maybe even ought just sign the darn book and move on. This then sets the standard. Which is not a good thing. I feel very sure that the people who do this really do have the best of intentions. Still they are short changing the Scout. If someone has to fail surely it's better that he fails in the safe environment of a Scout Troop where he knows people care about him? Then of course there are people signing off on requirement when if the truth be told they have no idea what they are doing. Can we really expect someone who has never used a map and a compass to teach a Scout how to? It would be wonderful if there were a recipe for a successful Scouting unit (Pack, Troop or Crew.) -If I had one, I'd be happy to share it. Some things that are common in a lot of successful units are. That the adults get along and play fair. - I think that the Wood Badge course we have now does help with this. The guy or girl at the top knows how to listen. The adults share the skills that they have. The adults remember that while it's OK to remember what it's like to be a kid, they are adults and need to act like adults. There are times and places for them to let their hair down. They also need to remember that they are serving the kids in their unit, not anyone else. Not the District, not the Council. Hopefully by serving these kids they also meet the needs of the CO. If what is offered isn't fun, isn't challenging and isn't exciting then the kids will leave. Ea.

While I admit to having not looked at the latest membership numbers. I tend to think that we are not doing as well as we once did. Trends are strange things and maybe what's happening in the area where I live? Isn't the same as what's happening in the area where you live. Here where I live the truth is that Scouting is on the way out. Units are failing and closing, Districts are being merged because there aren't enough units that merit there being a District. A council that counted members in thousands will in the not so distant future be counting members in the hundreds. Seems to me that somewhere along the way we lost our way. While maybe if people were leaving the area or it was true that total number of available kids had gone down, this might not be so bad? But to the best of my knowledge this isn't the case. I've been wondering where or if we went wrong? There is a lot of talk about improving the way our kids are educated and the answer seems to be that we need to come up with better teachers. With this in mind, I can't help but wonder if what's happening in Scouting might be stopped if we had better trained leaders? Again here in the area where I live we don't seem to have a problem having parents sign on as leaders. The problem as I see it is that many of these parents only hang around till their kid makes Eagle Scout and then they are gone. Troops have placed their Scouts on the fast track to Eagle and before you know it both the parent and the Scout are gone. The quality of the program offered is so tied into advancement and at times is lacking people who lack the basic skills to pass on what is needed that we end up with some kind of boring extra school activity. One where the Scout is happy when it's over and done with and the parent is happy to return to things being what they once were. For the longest time I have been very much against mandatory training. My thinking being that the word mandatory isn't a good fit within a volunteer organization. I do think that there has to be a way that we can get the adults who sign on to want to acquire the skills needed to be able to present a program that will retain the Scouts who join. The training's we offer must be able to ensure that when someone has completed them they leave with the skills not having just attended. I know this is a very tall order. There are things that leaders can't learn at training's. But I'd hope that any and everyone would master the basic skills and be competent to be able to teach them at a high standard. Eamonn.

Back in 2005 a parent of a Scout who was in the Jambo Troop I was SM of cornered me, she went on and on about how happy she was that the BSA was taking a stand and not bowing to public opinion. While I didn't know the family that well, but because the son was in the same Troop as my kid, I knew of them. They were deeply religious and when I talked with the Lad, he knew at 15 years old that he wanted to be a preacher. As a rule when I don't know someone that well and they start giving me their opinion, I just allow them to run with it and act more or less like a sounding board. The church they attend isn't far from where I live. I have never been inside and really don't know that much about it, other than when our then DE went to talk to them about starting a Scout unit, they said no. Telling her about the wonderful youth programs that they already had in place. In 2007 I shook my head and thought about this woman when the youth minister was arrested and then convicted of molesting little boys. There is a point to this somewhere, as yet I'm just not sure where. In my book everyone in entitled to their own opinion. Ea.

I'm not on Face Book. I admit that I don't understand much about it. One of my main reasons for not being a member or whatever people who are on are called? Is that I fear that an inmate might be able to find me and send his pals around for a visit. Were that to happen? I think that it wouldn't be for tea and crumpets. Both my son and HWMBO are members. HWMBO mainly plays games, but joined because my sister in the UK said it was a good way to see photos of the grandkids. My son posts just about any and everything. About a year back, him and his then girl friend split. I didn't see it all but it seems they both posted blow by blow accounts of what was going on and both were out to score points by trying to hurt the other as much as they could. Both were upset, both were hurt but this public display is something that I don't understand and refuse to have any part of. I like to say that I'm frugal. Others have said that I'm cheap. -I disagree. I will and do spend money on what at the time I think and what I believe is quality. Very often waiting till what I want goes on sale or if it is out of my reach? Waiting till I can afford it. This of course isn't the big problem that it once was. My big fear now is that I'm going to out live my money and will end up standing in line waiting for some nice kind person to hand me an orange or some other food stuff that I feel I can no longer afford. Many of my friends have been hit very hard by what has happened in the markets over the past few years. I'm lucky that I invested in property and while the market is very slow here in the area where I live we didn't see the boom that other areas seen but we have not as yet seen the bust either. Talking with good friends that are about my age. I'm surprised how few are worried or even thinking about retirement. They are spending a lot and seem to be living from pay check to pay check. Not so long back I thought that a million dollars was a lot of money. I don't any more. Even with my long term Nursing Insurance policy, when the time comes that HWMBO and self are in our 80's things are going to be both tough and expensive. Sometimes, much as I try it is hard not to judge others. HWMBO works in our local hospital ER. Over the past couple of years there has been a lot of medical centers open these are good and useful. Most are open seven days a week from about 9 till 9. You don't need an appointment and it's a lot faster than waiting for an appointment to see your GP. They charge the same co-pay as a specialist which is about half what the co-pay is for the ER. They cater to people with good health insurance. This means that more and more the people using the ER are people on welfare. Lord knows that I'm very much for helping anyone who needs a hand and I believe that welfare is a good thing. Still seeing these people standing around outside the ER smoking (In a very clearly marked no smoking area) Talking on their cell phones and hearing that some of these people visit the ER several times a month for trivial things is kinda of upsetting. I don't expect everyone to be as frugal as I might be. I tend to think that everyone is free to spend their hard earned money as they please. I learned a long time ago that the fastest way to lose a friend is to lend them any money. I'm not sure why? I think that I'm a nice enough fellow, but for some reason that I don't know people don't ask me to borrow them any money. Which is good as saying no would be hard. Ea.

I spent a lot of time volunteering as a member of the District Committee and as a Council volunteer. The time spent as District Training Chair and later as Council Training Chair, were for me the most enjoyable. I really enjoy working with new leaders and at that time had a great group of people who worked well together and went out of their way to get the job done. I tried to ensure that we recruited and brought in new faces and used these new faces in meaningful and worthwhile positions. Training's are fun and the groups I worked with went to great lengths to ensure that everyone felt included. I spent ten years as a member of the District Key 3. As District Commissioner, I tried to attend every event a unit invited me to. This of course meant that in Feb. I ate a lot of chicken. Looking back, I'm not sure how good I was? I inherited the Commissioner staff and over the time I served I only managed to recruit about five new U/C's. This might be because I was unwilling to ask a unit Scouter to join the staff? When I first took the job, the District Chair. was a guy who was and still is my best friend. A truly wonderful guy who puts the kids first but has a real understanding of the program but more has a unbelievable grasp of how to get things done. He was and still is one of the most popular and respected Scouter's in the area. Sadly after about a year he moved on to serve at the Council level as Vice Chair for program and was replaced with a fellow who I liked and still like. But if anything this fellow was maybe guilty of over thinking things. He seen the District as being our District and the Council as being "Them." He didn't like the SE and make no bones about showing it and letting everyone know that he didn't like him. Him and the SE had a big falling out over FOS goals and he ended up swearing at the SE telling him where to go. With him going unexpectedly. I ended up as District Chair. As District Commissioner I look back and see that I spent most of my time acting as some sort of ambassador. I never missed a R/T meeting was always ready to jump in and lead a song or offer kind words or advise. At times I knew this didn't sit well with the then Chair. But I didn't care. We got a new DE. She came on board knowing next to nothing about Scouting or the workings of a Council. Her only experience having been that her son was /is an Eagle Scout. Her son was a member of a unit that if ever there was a one man show? This was it. The SM was also the CM. He hand picked the Committee (They used the same committee for both the Pack and the Troop.)This guy was great with the kids, knew the practical stuff, had a great band of hard working ASM's that were mainly parents and ex-parents of Scouts. But for some unknown reason this guy hated the District and the Council. You can imagine how with having seen all of this and then coming on board with a District Chair who was all the time fighting with the Council, this poor woman was left thinking what the heck had she got herself into? From her very first day both her and I took it for granted that we had to get along and work together. Over time this kinda changed and we became the very best of friends. The District was at first not sure about her. To start with she had a black mark against her because she was a female. We'd never had a female DE in the Council. Then there was her lack of experience. She somehow managed to use both the fact that she was a woman and didn't know the workings of the system to her advantage. She was a very hard worker and always kept her word. She was always willing to work behind the scenes, was always there but kept out of the way. It didn't take long before the volunteers fell in love with her. She somehow managed to never lose the "Them and Us" Feeling about the Council. I lost count of the times when she would be coming home after a staff meeting and call me on her cell phone with steam coming out of my end of the phone. She would be ranting about something that "They" Wanted or some silly goal that "They" Had come up with. By this time I knew enough to know that fighting with them wasn't such a good idea but I also knew how things worked/ Very often by the time she arrived home in her car we had come up with a plan of how to make things work but more importantly how to make them work without upsetting too many of the guys in the District. While I say that of all the positions that I've held District Chair. Was the one I disliked the most. I look back and see that I did a great job! (Nothing like self praise!!) I think some of this was due to understanding some very basic things. 1/ "They" Don't care. 2/ All "They" See are the goals. 3/ Get these out of the way and everything else is easy. Councils, SE's and the people who work in the service centers don't know the unit leaders, don't know the parents or the kids. They see and read reports. They have goals that most (Not all) Of the time have to do with membership and money. I didn't like the idea of "Us" Pushing the people who volunteer and do so much already to give till it hurts. Sure not asking in a nice way would be a big mistake, but getting "Them" To see that we could meet one total goal (One lump sum.) Rather than messing around with lots of silly goals which might not be met? Took a little doing, but in the end they seen the light. This meant that the DE and myself could put more time into working the community and less (Read no.) Time hounding the volunteers. Selling membership goals is different. The first step is having everyone understand that a unit that isn't growing is in fact dying. Most of our units have been around for a long time and the idea that they were /are dying doesn't sit well. Then having everyone think that membership isn't all about goals and is about bringing more happy smiling faces into Scouting to have fun and enjoy themselves is very important and also allows the idea that we need to do everything possible that will help strengthen what we offer. Things like training and even selling popcorn! There are and always will be people who for their own reasons will do nothing but moan and complain about any and every thing. Trying to bring these guys on board is hard, it can sometimes be done, but I'm not sure if it's always worth the effort? Districts work well when the guys on the committees know that they really there to serve the volunteers and the units. When they ask nicely and never make demands. They need to remember that units can tell the Council and the District to take a hike at any time. So being friendly even to the units that want no part in what's going on is a must. There is of course reasons why anything and everything that is offered should be the best that it can be. For the most part it's a sales job. Ea.

While I have to admit that maybe if a letter arrived asking me to join a club /association and all that was needed was a couple of hundred dollars that I thought was going to benefit our end users. I would more than lightly write the check and hope that would all I have to do. I enjoy the company of other Scouter's and have spend way too much time sitting around telling war stories and teasing the guys that I have worked with. I don't enjoy meetings that drag me out of my nice warm comfortable home and waste my time. There are people involved in Scouting who because they are involved in so many different organizations and sit on so many committees do bring a lot to the table. I remember back when I was being presented with my SB, sitting next to this elderly guy. The first thing that struck me was that I had no idea who the heck he was. Which was odd. I'd been around for a while sat on all sort of boards and committees and thought that I knew just about everyone. I didn't know this guy. Turned out that he had a PhD and when they started to read all the things, organizations and the like that he was involved with. I thought that we'd still be there for breakfast. I suppose I should have been impressed. But rather than being impressed, I couldn't help but think that there was no way anyone who was involved in so many different organizations is really ever doing anything or getting anything done. I'm now a little older and don't put in the time that I once did. There are a few committees that rarely meet and when they do I rarely attend, still my name is listed as being part of whatever comes out of these meetings. I don't think that I deserve anything from these meeting or these committees. I sure as heck would never list them as being something that I accomplished. Of course there is a very good chance the elderly guy didn't write all the stuff that was said about him and the people who pushed for him to get the SB listed any and everything? I don't know if this guy is still alive or not? But I'd guess (I don't know.) That were the invite to join a SB association arrive in his letter box, like me he'd write the check. Thinking about it. I tend to think that were the SE or Council President to suggest that our Council form such an association, I could name the the guys who would jump at the idea of forming it and getting it up and running. While the guys I'm thinking of all have their heart in the right place, they are not a group that out of choice I would hang out with or go for a drink with. I might be being unfair but the term "Brown nose" Comes to my mind. We more than lightly can agree that Councils need money. We more than lightly could spend hours talking about the best way to spend any money that comes in? Finding ways to get more money coming in, isn't always a bad thing. The SB Club? isn't a bad idea. But why not a Left Handed Scouter's Association? I'm sorry but I value my SB. Surely it means more than just saying that I have been elected to a group that can be hit up for yet another donation? If in some way this association is going to lay a guilt trip on me saying: Hey Eamonn, we were nice enough to present you with a SB, now it's time for you to repay us for being so nice to you! Than maybe the Beaver doesn't mean and doesn't stand for what I thought it did? Eamonn

packsaddle Seems to me that for the longest time, I was the only Forum Member who dared to admit that he was left of center. Have to admit to finding a lot of pleasure in the pain that your feeling. (No! I take that back. You know I wish you nothing but very best.) Your man Romney reminds me of what used to be my idea of an insurance salesman then of course I hear that cute little chap who sounds a lot like me. There's a lot to be said for being cute. Maybe Romney needs to try working with the Muppet's? But after upsetting everyone in the UK, He'd better not try anything with a cute English accent. Thinking about it, I'd love to have a bomber sticker with the headlines that appeared in the UK "Mitt The Twit". But I'm not going to for fear of having my car covered in teabags. Ea.

Intel has never been a company that I've spent a lot of time thinking about. I kinda know what they do but unlike a brand of cereal or ketchup when I go to the store I have never put having Intel installed as a make or break point of me buying something or not. Some years back Sony bought a big plant in our area after VW moved out. They were lured in with the promise of reduced taxes and other promises. It seems that once all the advantages run out Sony went as well. Sony had grants available but the paper work and hoops that had to be jumped through made it that it next to imposable for any local organization to benefit. Over all the years they were here our local Council received a donation of a TV. It sounds like Intel might have been easier to work with. I have charities and causes that I donate to. While I've never had a written list of charities and causes that I'd never support. I do have groups that for whatever reason are more than lightly never going to receive a penny from me. Some because in the past they have not done such a great job of using the funds that they have received. Some that are about groups or things that I have no interest in. (I like dogs but am not a great cat lover.) For a number of years I was upset with the SE of the Council I'm in and rather than donate to FOS I bought equipment that could be used for training and donated the equipment. Strange thing was that this upset a lot of people. The bottom line is that my thinking is and always will be that it's my money and I'm going to do with it whatever I want. So why should a company be any different? Then of course there is the BSA. Does anyone really think that the BSA doesn't know that as an organization it discriminates? Surely what has happened in the past with other companies pulling financial support has prepared them for situations like this and taken away any shock value that there might have been? While Intel not supporting the local Scouts is a shame. However at the end of the day it comes down to rights. The BSA has the right to not allow groups in and Intel has the right to support or not support groups. Sad as all of this might be? I can't but help think that this just isn't news any more. Ea.

packsaddle While I really don't want your man Romney to win.(And I don't think that he will.) I think one reason your fellow Republicans didn't step up to the plate and left you hanging in the wind was /is that the Romney campaign has not done such a great job of telling people who he really is. Maybe I'm wrong but I also think most people know that he is a very wealthy man. He served as Governor. (From what I've read he was very middle of the road.) If you believe the negative ads that bash him? He made some very tough business decisions that resulted in the closing of several companies. He is also a Mormon. It seems a little strange to me that we live in an age of political correctness, where it just isn't right to bring up the fact that the President is black and the Governor is a Mormon. -But that's what it is. Some people might think that I'm out of order to even mention the fact? But there is another side to Governor Romney. A side I think that his religion plays a big part in. He is a nice guy who has helped a lot of people, mainly people who have worked for him or are members of his church. The guy that I see running for president, a lot of the time looks like an actor who was pushed into the leading role when the leading man came down with a broken leg. He is not very personable (Where like him or not Obama is.) He doesn't seem to have a very clear message, other than he wants to beat Obama. Maybe because the Republican party is so divided with the tea-party on one side and the not so nutty Republicans on the other, he is trying to hard not to upset either side? In my view the big problem lies in that we just don't know him and the guys who are running his campaign have not done a good job of selling the "Nice Guy Romney". I have not seen the entire tape of the 47% speech. I doubt many people have? I tend to think that there is more in it than the parts that the media have jumped on. Still it has harmed him a lot and made him look like not such a nice fellow. Last night on PBS there was the weekly Meet the press show or whatever it's called? And listening to the guys on it, they made it seem that the election is already lost for Governor Romney, that the Republicans are scrambling to repackage, re-message and re-present the entire campaign. Even with so many polls showing that the race is a dead heat Romney is falling behind in the must win states. Oh well. Not that he needs the money, but I'm sure the Fox News network will find space for him, next year. (I hope so!) Ea.

"What about the local convicted child molester, murderer, or other convicted felon? They have kids, do we allow them because they may be a parent?" I don't care if a convicted child molester is the local child molester or not! I kinda, sorta think that you know that going this far doesn't make sense and does little to promote the side of the argument. Of course we all want the kids we serve to be safe and free from harm. I work with a fair number of convicted child molesters (Some local some not.) Nearly all but I'd be wrong to try and say all that I've had dealings with tend to be married, white middle aged men. (I did spend most of my day yesterday with an older African-American guy who molested a seven year old boy.) Sexual molestation has very little to do with sex and is more about power than anything else. Maybe there are gay child molesters? But so far I have yet to meet a child molester that has said he is gay. Maybe it's a good thing that I don't rule the BSA? My list of people not allowed to be leaders would include convicted drunk drivers, dead beat dads and anyone who sings rap songs. (I don't like rap!) Eamonn

I'm very much with NJCubScouter. Maybe it's just a little bit too easy for me to adopt the idea that I'm OK and this doesn't effect me, attitude? While the BSA is a private organization and does have every right under the law to say who can and who can't be leaders in the organization. At the end of the day discrimination is just that discrimination. I happen to think that this just isn't right. I'm not gay and can't say what I'd do if I were. But if the BSA were to say that Roman Catholics were not allowed to serve as leaders. I'm sure that my kid would never have been a Scout. I'm also left handed, not an American citizen and have an English accent. While the BSA might have every lawful right to say that it only allows right handed Americans who talk with a southern drawl to serve as leaders. Again I'm sure I'd say that this is just wrong. I do think that one day things will change. To be honest I don't see it happening any day soon. As parents we allow our kids to participate and join organizations that reflect our own values. I think that telling a gay parent that they need to set their values to one side so that their son can become "what he really needs to become a real man." Just doesn't hold water. Ea.

"Are we as adults making good on the implied promises of outdoor adventure and fun associated with Scouting?" I wish that I could say that I was sure that we are and this is happening. I'm happy that in a lot of units this is the case and the kids are receiving end of everything that Scouting has to offer. All to often as I read what has been posted here in this Forum I can't help but think that we the adults are making something that really ought not be that hard or that difficult into something that's more complicated than it need be. Some people seem to want to point the finger and blame the District, the Council and National for all the things that they aren't doing. So while maybe there are a few things that get in the way and there are hurdles? My thinking is that we the adults are able to do everything that is needed and is required to be able to provide an age appropriate program for the Scouts that we serve. If the Scouts are not on the receiving end of this? Before we start pointing fingers we need to take a long hard look at what we are doing and what we are offering. Sure they might well be times when the best thing to do with the stuff that is happening at the Council and District level is to take no notice and be willing to stand up and tell the District and Council types to go and pound salt. At the end of the day as unit leaders we are in the business of serving the Scouts in our units and not the Councils and Districts. - In fact if the Districts and Councils are not serving our needs and the needs of the kids that we serve. What good are they? Kids join to have fun. We can work on all the other good stuff while they are having fun. But if the fun isn't there the kids will vote with their feet and just walk away, then any of the good stuff will all be lost. Ea.

Many if not most of my co-workers are die hard Republicans. A tour of the parking lot at work results in more NRA bumper stickers than anything else. I live out in the sticks and my property has a very long frontage. I get very annoyed when the local elections come around with people who think that it's OK to place signs on my property without my permission. As a rule I take them down and pile them in a neat pile. What annoys me more is that very few bother to pick them up after the election. Yet another peeve that I can add to my ever growing pet peeve list! I don't do any sort of stickers on my cars mainly because they are so hard to remove. But maybe also because I'd feel like a real twit if the guy who was riding around on my bumper were to lose. I don't enjoy the nasty negative ads that both parties are running on the TV. Thankfully it kinda looks like the Republicans see that spending money in Pennsylvania is a waste of time and the number of these has slowed down a lot. While I don't know nd have no way of proving it. I think that there are a lot of people who see the millions upon millions being spent on these campaigns as a real turn off and a reason not to support anyone and a reason not to vote. As for the social media? While maybe it works in the Middle East, where it results in tens of thousands turning out for a demonstration? Here in the USA other than managing to get a few dancers together for a Flash Dance? For the most part the impact it has is if you ask me way over rated. But I'm not in my twenties anymore. I'm not sure if we are still in "The Information Age" Or not? Maybe we moved on one day when I was sleeping through the negative TV ads? But I kinda think that getting the word out is hard. While finding ways of delivering the message isn't as hard as it used to be. The big problem lies in getting the word out and not annoying the heck out of people. So far this year I haven't had to suffer through as many phone calls that I had in the past. The ones that always came when I was home alone and had just got comfortable on the throne and resulted in me being super annoyed and having sticky cheeks! (That might go to the top of my pet peeve list!) Then of course there is the message. While depending on which party you support you can blame the other side, but the truth is that the stale mate in Washington D.C has resulted in very little being done. The Republican message seems to be what little has been done is all wrong and we don't have to worry, when they win they will undo it all. The Democrats message is that they are going after anyone who earns over a certain amount and these guys will all move out and set up shop in the Cayman Islands. As I see it the only people who are doing well out of this election are the elderly people who are being paid to look sad and down trodden in political ads that blame the other side for taking away their health care. I'm very much looking forward to the debates. I think that Ryan is going to wipe the floor with poor old Joe Biden. But, maybe it's just me? Romney never looks at ease it's almost like he is an aged Ken who has lost Barbie. Someone needs to let him know that wearing blue jeans and no tie just makes him look silly and if there ever was a talking head he fits that role to a tee. My money is on Obama. -Even though I wasn't that impressed by the speech that he gave at the DNC. Ea.

I have been around for a little while. During this time I have crossed swords with a few Forum Members. Looking back there were times where even today I in my heart of hearts know I was right and there are times when I was way off the mark and I'm not proud of myself for that! As a moderator there have been a time or two when I've over stepped things and been a real prig. Again I'm not proud of that. Over the years in the Forum there has been some on going clashes. Two people who no matter what would never in a million years admit that the other was right. At times these were funny and entertaining but after a while it just got really old and very boring. Along with being old and boring it didn't do much to show that we as Scouter's are playing our part to live up to the Oath and Law that we hold so dear. Some of the topics that have come up over the past few months have been hard to discus. At least I can say they are hard for me as I find that a lot of the times I have a foot in each camp. Hard because I see both sides of the argument and I'm left sitting on the fence. I have only met a couple of Forum members face to face and I know that I'm guilty of having some Members who maybe I value more than others. All too often people who most of the time agree with me and I with them. Still I really do believe that there isn't a person who posts in this Forum who ever would want to see any kid hurt or harmed. I do think that the BSA has made mistakes and I also believe that they and us will learn from them. - Please God, let's hope so! I do value my dear pal packsaddle. I don't always agree with him and think at times he is very misguided. -But I think most Republicans are! Every now and then a thread that calls what the moderators have done pops up. As a rule the moderators as a group stand up and say that they are sticking together and as a group say what was done was the right move. To be honest I wasn't really following the thread in question. But when it comes to allowing people free speech and standing up for free speech, what I know of packsaddle? He gets my vote. I find it sad when no matter what the reason no matter how right or how wrong someone is that the discussion falls into calling the other guy or group of guys names or just being rude. Yes I know that I've been party to this and I'm not free from my share of sins. I think maybe we should all be able to accept that packsaddle did and acted on what he thought was for the best. If we really know that someone is upsetting us? Just ignore him or her. You can of course whisper anything you like in the comforts of wherever it is when you read what's going on. Even if you can't find it in you to respect the other person maybe we might all try just being nice? Ea.

Great stuff! It would be great if the BSA were to go co-ed. Eamonn.

Wood Badge can be different things for different people. Kinda like Eagle Scout rank? People attend for different reasons and get different things from the course. I have over the years been the Ticket Counselor for a fair number of people. Back in the day it used to be that the Scoutmaster approved the tickets, this changed with the 21st Century course now the Guide is there and will hopefully help the participant work on coming up with the list of worth while goals. Rightly or wrongly?? I have tried to where possible help participants come up with goals that will stretch them a little (No they aren't any taller!!) As others have posted you can't really look at what someone else is doing or not doing as a guide. What might be easy for me, might be really hard for a Den Leader who is a single mother with two or three kids. Sure there will be or might be the few that just want to put that much into it. But these few are the people who aren't going to get that much out of it. At the end of the day who are they cheating? - Only themselves. There are some who will say that "Easy Tickets" Is all due and all because of the newer course. That's not true. For what it's worth I think you should attend the course, go and have a good time. It really can be and should be a lot of fun. Maybe when it comes down to thinking and writing your ticket, think about the things you want to do that will provide the Scouts you work with in whatever position you hold? More fun, more of a challenge and more exciting. Maybe bringing in more kids to enjoy the program isn't a bad idea also? Welcome to the forum. There are a good many wise and careful thinkers here who have a real passion for what they do. They all have different ways of doing things but they will help get your little gray cells working. Eamonn.

I was a very young Lad in the UK when the Advanced Party Report came along and changed everything! The area that seems to have seen the most changes is adult training's both in how it is delivered and content. What always strikes me as odd is our Council summer camp. It seems to have remained very much the same since I first worked there back in 1977. The big change there is that it's not opened for as many weeks and there are less Scouts enjoying the programs. Ea.

Hi and welcome. I kinda think that some of the forum members are not going to be happy with the idea that members of the PLC are appointed and not elected. I think that it's great that you are still helping with the Troop. I do have a couple of questions. What size Troop are we talking about? How old are you? Ea.

Where I lived in London I was able to be at professional Soccer game in less than 15 minutes. Back then nearly all the games were played on Saturday afternoons. Fulham and Chelsea played at home on opposite weekends. I never really bothered with Queens Park Rangers. While I was never what might be termed a die hard fan. I suppose I followed Chelsea more than Fulham. Still if I was free on a Saturday afternoon and Fulham was at home I'd go and watch a game. The nice thing about Fulham was that at half time I could turn around and watch our inter pack district soccer games. The little guys playing in Bishop's Park. When I moved across the pond it didn't make sense to me that so many people claimed to be Steelers fans but had never ever attended a game. Then I found out how hard and how expensive it was to get tickets. In 28 years I've only been once, back in the old Three Rivers Stadium. Some of my co-workers have season tickets and sell of the tickets for games that they can't make. I seen a notice on a board that someone was selling two tickets for this last pre-season game for $200.00 each. I don't know but if the tickets for the coliseum were two hundred bucks each I kinda think the Romans might just pay a baby sitter? Ea.

I seen this thread yesterday then noticed that HWMBO's Face Book page was open. On the page was a picture of a good looking Golden Retriever. I'm a real softy when it comes to Goldie's! The caption read: I want to become as good a person as my dog thinks I already am. Many if not not most of the kids we deal with in Scouting come from families where they have some sort of a frame work. They have values and have had the example that their parents have set, followed the rules that their parents have in place. Without wishing to start any sort of a argument, maybe the most we as Scouter's do is tweak the values they already have and help them shine? At the jail where I work before an inmate can be paroled he has to submit a "Home Plan". A written plan saying where he is going to live and what he hopes to be doing. Some of the younger guys will come and ask me to help them with this. I admit that I feel pleased and privileged when they ask. Some of these guys are about the same age as my son (Now 24!!). They have got their GED while in jail, never had a real job other then selling drugs and because of the vast amounts of money that drug dealers can make are used to having this income, buying expensive toys while at the same time not accepting any real responsibilities. At times I try and explain what life is like in what I see as the Real World, while admitting that my Real World may not be the same as the world they are returning to. Still just selling them on the idea that no matter where they live they are going to have to accept responsibility and do things that maybe they have never done before is hard. Often I will point out the things that they have failed to do while an inmate and highlight that in the Real World they are just not going to be able to get away with that sort of thing. Of course each and every one of these guys tell me that they are never ever coming back. I really do hope deep in my heart that they never do. Still I know that when they do get out things are going to be tough and while some have a clear idea of what they want to do and where they are going in life. One of the biggest obstacles they face is that they don't really know who is the person they want to be, without knowing that? When becomes almost a mute point. Ea.