Fuzzy Bear

"Because da "supervisor" or "superior" is responsible for supervision, eh? They shouldn't need to be "made aware," they should be makin' themselves aware. Dat's the legal doctrine." Beavah The more I thought about this statement the more I disagreed. My question is how can anyone make themselves aware of a crime when there is nobody speaking and it is being done on the sly? The BSA, short of wiretapping or spying on their leaders, would never know until it was too late. Since this method is illegal and the background check is the best that the BSA can do, then they must rely on past events. If the individual has never been jailed for child molestation, then there is no other way of knowing. There isn't a test that would give the perpetrator away. With 2 million, or whatever the number was/is of Scouts and or leaders, it would be impossible to follow this group around to find out what they are doing. Where is the BSA's responsibility here except for supplying "deep pockets" for a lawyer that needs to blame anyone other than the person that did this horrendous act? Blaming the person responsible would mean there wouldn't be money for finding guilt which means, only receiving the lawyer's fees and that would only allow for a lawyer to live modestly which would be the real crime here.

In spite of how people choose to live in different ways and even though there is a general acceptance of those arrangements and even if the unconventional relationship is based on love, joy and rich fulfillment, the BSA is not as accepting. I find that answering this question stretches the limits way beyond rational thought, logic, and convention, so it is easier to separate the men and the women and just go camp. FB

The BSA's defense should simply center on the lack of reasons involving their responsibility in these covert acts of destructive behaviors. These acts were done by a sick person that nobody spoke about for 20 years. Signing a piece of paper does not ensure that a person will do good things. Putting on a uniform doesnt mean that a person will follow the Scout Law and that children in their charge will be safe. The kinds of sick people that engage in these acts are generally only caught afterwards and nobody could have predicted that they intentionally would harm children. The BSA, unlike the Catholic Church, did not harbor this individual after they found out. The BSA acted. The BSA may be a gatekeeper but there is not a method to prevent this from happening. It would be paramount to saying that the government is responsible for terrorist acts because it is their job to ensure the peace and when something happens, everybody should sue them. It is neither reasonable nor rational to do so. Justice that makes everyone else responsible for the lawless acts of others is not just. FB

The Backpacking rule: Bringing the kitchen sink shortens the hike. FB(This message has been edited by Fuzzy Bear)

When the only defense left is to blame a 12 year old, then they have rightly concluded that no defense is left for such an act.

My hope is that someone will hug each one of these kids and tell them that they are loved by their Mother every single day and that nothing in this life can ever prevent that love from reaching them. Love has no borders. FB

I work with lots of young people in my job, at our Church and in Scouts. I like the majority of them and I have even found some with the most problems to make me think the most. Some take longer to get used to than others but patience pays in those difficult circumstances. I hear a little profanity and some put-downs from almost any of them but they generally curb it with a look. I think some want to push the limits or define the limits or some want to express their growth rings or some want to be nourished through discipline, I am never quite sure but my reaction is generally always the same. I first call their name and ask them to back off. Secondly, I take them aside and remind them that we all have voluntarily chosen to come to this place and to reach for the goals that have been set before us. Nobody is making us do it and I don't want to be their quasi-parent to enforce it. I need their assistance and I value their input so being at odds won't make it any better. If none of that works, then it is time to make a decision as to what direction that they value most in life and help them redirect their efforts. Although I seldom arrive at number three, any that have reached that high-water mark has chosen future displays to be behind my back and out of ear-shot. I don't know that I have been a success in changing things but it makes for a less dramatic and more pleasant atmosphere. FB

Giving out fliers is an easy method to attract an audience and get numbers. It is more difficult to develop a quality program and to advertise one boy and parent at a time but it works. Here was my challenge to our Scouts, "It is your program, you have developed it, if you like what you are doing, if you are proud of it, then you will bring your friends." and they did. FB

Planning: Prior preparation prevents poor performance. Someone once said that they loved acting because the other person generally knew what they were supposed to do and when. Scouting is not acting but the same type of preparation applies. People are generally on the same page because to do otherwise will not only ruin the show but will make problems that won't go away. Make sure that you have two-deep leadership, at the very least two. You never want to be doing Scouting alone for many different reasons and this is one of the biggest. Make sure that you have filed your camping/tour permit and that you have planned according to the Safe Swim Defense and Safety Afloat. Make sure that you know the area, hospitals, towns and emergency numbers. Make sure that you have your book of cell phone numbers, telephone numbers, and priority people to contact, including the D.E. and the S.E. (*unless the S.E. states otherwise and then there will be an alternative given) Your Committee Chairman should also be on your list because you need somebody that is not directly involved to make the important calls for you. Important people are not in the office on Saturdays but they know and understand emergencies and you will get access when necessary. You can also be sure that once you make contact with that CC that contact will be made to the right people and they will appear. The CC will most likely not only make the call but go to the D.E. and pick him/her up and bring them. When you contact the emergency people they need to know who should be notified in your organization. They are also there to help and they are generally the best at communicating. You should have a Troop contact person for getting the word out to parents when there is an emergency and plans have changed. Parents may not be willing to help on a regular basis but they will be there when there is an emergency. Remember, that if you require that you will only work within a group then the group is responsible to help. Let them help in the small things and when it comes to doing the big things, THEY will get it done. I hope that this stuff is something that everyone is already doing. FB

I have held several leadership positions over the years in Scouting. So, I have a few rules of the road. I require that we follow the program, book, and/or outline. It keeps us legal and out of trouble. Cub Scouting is for parents and Scouts, so I require that for every Scout that one parent volunteers to do take one position, one event, one meeting, and/or something every month. I also point out that we are required to work in pairs at all times and that one or the other person cannot always be there so we need to make everyone available to help. I require that everyone completes the Resource Survey and be ready to be called on for help when needed. I require that we have a calendar for a year's worth of great activities so we can plug in as many parents into every activity as possible to make it even better. I always have or rely on a committee because people will not help one person that is drowning in their leadership position. They understand how easy it is to become the second victim plus they know it will not be fun. Joining a group insures that cookies will be available and that the work is easier when done in groups. And yes, you can have a quasi-committee/group to help you run a den. Let everyone know that you will not do it alone under no circumstances and that you refuse to get into some kind of legal bind for doing so. I require that one person always documents every event and that we play it back to recognize what fun looks like and who is doing it. I require that we recognize everyone that helped us have fun and what they did to make it so. I require that we advertise as much as possible to let others know what fun looks like. FB

Always contact the Scout Executive first and then get further instructions on what to do.

The purposes of the (*quite expensive) Boy Scout Uniform are to Set the Example and to level class distinctions. When it is inspected by the SPL, Troop Commissioner, the Troop Committee, the Patrol Leaders, etc. it is to make sure that the (*many fairly expensive) patches are in all of the right places. This allows the Scout that has not followed the fairly difficult directions of patch placement to remove the patches and to begin anew. Patch attachment procedures are a column all their own and includes an array of needle work, glue and anything else that gets the job done. Of course, the taking off patch procedures are generally as difficult as the attaching and also makes for problems resulting from the original attaching procedures, meaning glue spots and other associated difficulties. Another column is the (re)purchasing of the uniform for those in the lower income classes that find it difficult to come up with the amounts necessary to Set a good Example and also in hopes of easing the class distinction strain. Several ways of making money can be found in the back of Boys' Life Magazine, Scouting Magazine, etc. all of which may take one a Scouting career to arrive with enough money to cover the cost. Closely connected to this whole procedure is the development of character in the form of patience and reverence and then there are the fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, etc. that is another outcome and column. So, the Uniform Inspection finds itself as a part of the quilt-work or fabric of Scouting. Determining who is in charge of doing the inspection means that they need to also be able to come up with a few more answers than pointing out that a patch is in the wrong place but that is a start. FB

Doing good at any cost!

hold it, hold it, hold it, hold the dadgum presses, Santa Claus is not real?

Listen Dollface, with all of the gin joints in all of the world why did you have to show up in mine?

I will talk in X's and O's. Rule X is a bad rule and I am an American with the freedom of speech so I can say that rule X is wrong. The BSA says that they are charted by the Congress of the U.S. but they are also a private club and people do not have the freedom of speech in their private club, so out the door I go for violating the sanctity of their private club by condeming Rule X. This appears to me to be a contradiction in principle. But let's say that the BSA has been prosecuted because something about pre-Rule X allowed a bad element into the movement and kids were hurt. The BSA was sued because they had not taken preventive steps to stop the results of pre-Rule X, so the BSA passes Rule X knowing that it is a wooden rule, one that doesn't prevent all of the bad results but wants to show good faith. They also know that many people will question Rule X because it appears to be wooden and not truly a good rule. They ask people to bear with them but people persist. The BSA knows they can't remove Rule X so they ask everyone to blindly accept it because they really don't know what else to do. People continue ranting about how bad Rule X is, so they just tell everyone, we are doing our best so shut up or get out. Their actions would then be less a violation of free speech and more of an organization trying to defend itself and maintain in a complex and difficult world. Somebody has to run an organization and maybe they are doing their best. That's all they are asking of me. My next tact is to say that Rule X violates my Religion. The BSA is an organization that asks us to be reverent but Rule X clearly violates my religious doctrine. If I am a strict believer, then I must leave the BSA or I must reslove the problem. Also, I could do what the BSA asks me which is to practice my religion in my own way but not to the exclusion of others or to the detriment of others. So just because I am in the BSA and I do not personally believe in Rule X, I am asked to be quiet about it while I am in the BSA. Anytime an organization gathers together groups of religions, the only way to find unity is through silence or a very good rule. But let's say that Rule X sticks in my crawl and no matter what, I have got to work on it. I am still an Amercian and I have the freedom of speech. I can help to change society so one day things can be different and so will the BSA. It is possible that I can lead the movement that will help the BSA find a better rule by showing the world a better way. There are many examples of this in the world and in our nation of people changing X-laws. Also, Rule O, a good rule, one easy to accept and it is noted as being reasonable and practicle. As I remember what we disagree most about in this forum are very few things, so my assumption is that the glass is more than half-full. I would venture that the BSA has an outstanding record for good rules. They bring many people together from all walks of life and somehow they are brought into agreement. I am sure the BSA finds it difficult at times and there is bickering but it is resolved we all move on. That is how a democracy works; it's messy. FB (This message has been edited by Fuzzy Bear)

These are hard words to write. Yes Virginia, there is a jar of real camp ashes taken from the very first Boy Scout fire on the very first night of the birth of Boy Scouting; a little sand is yet seen in the bottom, probably from Brown Sea Island. Nobody in today's BSA world is asked to hand over their Scout badge anymore for Whoppering or much of anything else. 'Everyone loves a good story. It can be instructive, inspiritual or just entertaining. Storytelling is a great opportunity to get close to your audience. It is the favorite part of a campfire and it will have lasting effects. Read the story several times and then add details and drama but not overly so. -a few notes from Creative Campfires FB

Build a strong program with solid supports, then speak to one set of parents at a time about how their son would benefit from such a program and how they can help to make it even better. Document each program and advertise those achievements with the sponsoring organization with a yearly spectualar. After the yealy program has been approved by the Committee, make a calendar and hand it out to everyone in the unit and use it as an advertisement to those that show an interest. Try to use Program Helps as an instructional base for the program elelments that way Boys Life magazine and Scouting Magazine will reflect some of what the Scouts are doing. Integrate Distrcit and Council events into the program to fill it out even more. Make sure that the boys have input from the top to the bottom bu t the deciding factor is what the Committee can effectively support. Make sure that you have a bead program to immediately recognize Scouts who participate in the program. Have a yearly recognition dinner where everyone that has done anything in the unit, boys and parents, are recognized. The basis to strong support is one boy, one parent with that parent taking on some role or event in the unit. FB

I don't believe that anyone read this correctly. It says that the BSA should return their library book or be fined a nickle for every day that it is overdue. We should have looked at the due date. I suppose it is time for the whole lot of librians to be up in arms over such a breech. In the future, we must be more careful. I respect their stand though. Overdue books make other customers wait, especially for the kind that the BSA checks out. Doesn't anyone ever attack other organizations for their slipshod ways?

I used the word visitor along with the phrase, by silent agreement. Many illegals are here in this country because people will hire them with or without proper papers. It makes little difference what the laws are if those governed will knowingly break the law to pay reduced wages and line their own pockets with the proceeds. These actions are widespread and silent. If Amercians were in agreement on this issue, the illegals would respect our borders with or without 15 foot fences. Employers are not prosecuted when found out and they pay minimal fines when nabbed. Illeagals openly stand out on the street corneers and wait to be picked up by people needing day labors. The police drive by and look the other way while employers reap the harvest. Other problems happen when this occurs. People that are not skilled are hired to do skilled labor and those that did the skilled labor before are then put out of a job. Just watch for the long-term benefits of this saving to pay it's dividends. So yes, they are visitors as long as people will hire them and not abide by the existing laws. The confusion will only grow and make for a more difficult situation that someone else will have to pay for later. FB

My boys are too young to be given full responsibility to do most jobs right now or to be in Scouting. They do ask to help and when they ask it slows the progress. It makes me nervous and I get impatient. I try to include them on my projects but find it difficult because some make for safety hazards for them and myself. I still take them with me every opportunity. My oldest son copies things I do which is both funny and interesting. I try to show them that things are fun to do and that it doesn't take a long time to do most. My wife is much better. We decided to live more economically, so she doesn't work outside the home. She keeps them and she has projects for them every day. They grow things, build things, and play. They sit in Church with us and are quiet. We tend to them even though it takes away from our friendships and reduces interaction with others. I talk to them about Scouting and hope that they will be interested once they reach that age. I grew up in Scouting, sports, and Church. I also worked beginning in the Summer of my sixth grade year and forward. I worked with my Dad and my brother in our family business. It was hard hot dirty work that I did but never liked. I wasn't very good at it and knew that I would never do it as an adult. When I got old enough to leave it, I did. The thing that I didn't know was that my experience with them would later help me get a couple of jobs that propelled me forward into what I am doing today. I am amazed at how instrumental and critical that early experience was. What do we want for our boys? We want them to be Scouts, to know right from wrong, to leave illegal drugs alone and to respect those that are legal. We want them to find joy in the things that they do in life and to achieve in and out of school to the point that it allows them to fulfill their dreams. We want them to help others, respect their God, and to tend to their own needs. We want them to learn love through being loved. They will work with me in the shop and I will tell them about their Grandfather and about some of the tools that are now mine and how I learned to use them when I was their age. They will learn to use the mower, to rake leaves and make dirt from those leaves; we compost. They will learn to garden and eat fresh produce. We already eat fresh fruit and have few sugar snacks. They will learn the computer in spite of me but I hope to teach them conservation of their time and to balance it carefully. As a youth, I was given jobs around the house also. I wasn't very good at them because I was not given a time limit or a specific time to complete the jobs. I would wait to the last minute which was a skill that never paid off. As an adult and since Woodbadge and having to give up a job I loved; we lost the funding, I have learned to plan more effectively and to get things done on time. I hope to impart those skills to my boys. My boys are a priority and I am investing time in their future. I have a manifest of goals that I hope to achieve with them. Most of the goals are general because it involves them and their decisions as they grow. Some are specific so that they can learn skills that will always be useful. I really want to do my best from the depths of my heart. FB

The Irish immigrants 100 years ago crossed over to stay and most never returned. Today many in the Hispanic communities in the U.S. are visitors by a silent agreement. They don't define themselves as Americans because their families live below the American border and their culture and their friends are there. They see us as a friendly neighbor that has invited them here to work in our factories, fields and households in jobs that nobody else wants. So they silently accept what is offered them. For many, the border patrols and fences are barriers that stand in the way of their surrvival making it all a mixed message. The nature of our country (*meaning, to accept others) and our attitudes (*meaning, to not accept others) sends mixed messages. We should not be surprised when we receive an equally mixed message. Even if everyone spoke English, it would still be confusing. FB

Tobacco contains the alkaloid nicotine, a powerful neurotoxin (a nerve poison) that is particularly harmful to insects. All means of consuming tobacco result in the absorption of nicotine in varying amounts into the user's bloodstream, and over time the development of tolerance and dependence. Absorption quantity, frequency and speed seem to have a direct relationship with how strong a dependence and tolerance, if any, might be created. In lower concentrations, the substance is a stimulant and is one of the main factors leading to the habit-forming qualities of tobacco smoking. In higher quantities it produces a depressant effect. A lethal dose of nicotine is contained in as little as one half of a cigar or three cigarettes; however, only a fraction of the nicotine contained in these products is actually released into the smoke, and most clinically significant cases of nicotine poisoning are the result of concentrated forms of the compound used as insecticides. Other active alkaloids in tobacco include harmala ( an hallucinogenic chemical used mainly in South America). A chemical dependency is when a substance becomes necessary to function properly. The need of a substance is developed from abusing it, which leads to a requirement of the substance for survival, like the need for food or water. Tolerance occurs when an organism builds up a resistance to the effects of a substance after repeated exposure, so that larger doses are required to achieve the same effect. Since it is both a toxin and a drug, you both are right! FB

In the History of the World, Moses arrives at the foot of the mountain with three stone tablets. He announces as he tries to hold them up that he has, "fifteen Laws" but he drops and breaks one tablet so he pauses briefly before he says, "Ten Laws". The first such Biblical incident that cursing would have been employed but was avoided by quick and effective thinking.

I have a quart jar of ashes that I use. I make up a story that fits the occasion and throw them on the fire. Each time the story is different, having a linage or characters and adventures from the time and place they were derived. It gets pretty funny, especially for the boys that have already heard two or three before. Ashes give credence and authenticity to a story unlike anything else. Search the internet and you will find hundreds of sites to back me up. Even now as I write, I am sprinkling ashes onto the keyboard. These came from a place that did not have computers and now ughgt awgggha dfskjsdlj