Stosh

The world changed on 9/11 and now after 10+ years we are seeing the repercussions. How does Britain, Sweden, Germany, France, the Netherlands all feel about what's happening and why wouldn't the US take steps to protect itself? Both Obama and Trump addressed the issues, however, the political agendas involved have affected the effectiveness of the efforts. At the present time, the US does not have No Go zones as there are in the European countries, but does that mean it won't happen here? What about Canada? Who's exempt from such quiet invasions? If one thinks turning people away at the borders, it's just a matter of time before governments move into these enclaves and put a halt so such antics. I can easily imagine the National Guard being called up. Incidents like Waco, Green River, etc. may become the norm for our country as well and then everyone will be sitting around wondering why we allowed such situations in the first place. Immigrants of the past assimilated themselves into the American (and other European) cultures, not everyone today accepts that as a basis for immigration. While I may not like the strategies taken, I think the intent for such actions are warranted.

There's more danger out there than just candy from strangers.

For the past couple of days I have had a message box pop up when I come to this forum site. It repeatedly pops up every time I go from page to page. ...virteq,com is requesting your username and password. WARNING: Your password will not be sent to the website you are currently visiting! Am I the only one getting this? I was able to circumvent it and log in (which I never logged out of) and am able to post. If no one else has this issue, then I know it's my machine. Otherwise, has there been a login procedure change? This looks suspicious, but it only pops up with this website.

I would think it up to the journalist/editorialist to do the research. One of the reasons the media is taking a beating today is the fact that they don't. I would love to be able to trust the media, but as one can see from the original post, no reference is explicitly stated this gentleman is a UK citizen. A red flag goes up and I commented as such. It is not my job to vet these people, there are those that are supposed to be doing it. Like any other average citizen, we must rely on our people in authority doing their jobs correctly and that includes media with slated agendas. When they don't the only ones that suffer are those reading the trade rags posting as legitimate journalists. I seriously believe in our country, those people no longer exist. Read everything carefully and be aware that there is always major spin involved.

Totally agree! We have US citizens committing acts of terrorism. Until this issue is resolved, I think everyone is trying to err on the side of caution. It isn't a perfect system and maybe a little patience and understanding might be useful. But until then everyone has the jitters..... which is exactly what the terrorists want!

Yep, this appears to be totally inappropriate if all the information is correct. I can't apologize on behalf of the American people, but someone should!

As safety consultant Hap Pigsley notes, that out of every 330 times someone does something of questionable safety, they can get away with it 300 times. But 29 times out of 330 there will be injury, and according to the odds, 1 time will result in death. At the seminar he taught he then handed out of large jar of what looked like Tootsie Rolls. He said, "There are 330 pieces in that jar. 300 are really Tootsie rolls, 29 are going to make someone really sick, and one piece in there will actually kill you. Help yourself if you wish." He then went on to say in all the years of doing safety seminars, he has never had anyone take a piece out of the jar. Best of luck on the program.

I'm a bit confused, but I did read the article 3 times to make sure. Nowhere in the article does it say this gentleman is a British citizen. If I were in Norway teaching "English as a Second Language" I would be a Norwegian school teacher, but a US citizen. He had a "valid" visa is all it says, and the protectorate ban cancelled those visas so it was no longer valid. I can surmise from the op-ed piece that this gentleman was a passport carrying citizen from one of the 7 nations mentioned in the ban, working in Great Britain that got caught up in the political mess caused by the terrorist movement. We need to view these issues from all sides using all the information rather than the information cherry picked to promote a political agenda. I don't see myself as a bigot against anyone, BUT on a dark street, a small group of "people" are coming down the street all wearing hoodies. I can't tell if they are male or female, white or black, young or old, Muslim or Christian, And I guess it wouldn't make much difference if they were wearing ski masks, hoodies, or scarves, their identity is hidden. Well, like 99% of the people in this country, at least, when someone wishes to hide their identity they are most likely involved in an agenda. Everyone has a fear of the unknown, one cannot be blamed for that, it's the hallmark of self-preservation. Young kids wear hoodies..... I have a hoodie too. Does that make me up to something nefarious? One doesn't know and that invokes fear and a fearful reaction. It's only natural. Unless it's necessary, It would be nice to know the whole story of this school teacher, but for some reason, all the facts are not exposed in the article which would indicates something is being purposefully left out or hidden from the reader. Are we not back full circle to fear of the unknown?

Hmmmm, boy led? Never get caught holding the bag. If the COH is boring, talk to the boys, they can fix it. Not my problem.

Gee, now we have a travel warning to America? Careful, when one gets to the border one may get turned away. On the other hand, Americans traveling to foreign countries are allowed in, but have major travel restrictions such as getting shot at or robbed. It's unfortunate that it has come to this, but getting turned back is not that big of a deal. Be prepared, are all the travel visas approved? Everyone has their passport? All medical issues cleared up? Any problems with non-Canadian travelers with the group? If not, check with customs before getting in the car....or even before planning an American visit. All these things could have, and should have, been taken care of before leaving. It's called planning and is part of any scout activity. If one gets to the border and has problems, the leaders have not done their homework and should be pointing fingers at themselves for not being prepared. That is like showing up at the border without appropriate authority to cross and then complaining about being tagged a criminal.

I guess I just define yell more as a yell one would give to get someone's attention than a cheer to excite others. It would be interesting which is the preferred definition from early Scouting. From my research it is more to catch another's attention without disturbing the rest of nature. If one gave a wolf call or a bird call or some animal call as a yell to alert others in the patrol, it might not scare off the nature that the scout wishes to point out.

If one were truly concerned about this issue they could simply change their plans and do something else with the girls. Instead it has turned into some huge political posturing agenda with the girls being used as pawns as has been stated. Sure inclusiveness and diversity is important, but the Girl Guides do not make any reference to any of the girls being "left behind". Maybe they would maybe the wouldn't, no need to make a big stink about a what may come about. One has no case until the crime is committed. If people were to get locked up for what MIGHT happen, we could all spend a few nights behind bars. Political grandstanding with no foundation. Kinda detracts a bit from the credibility of the group. If one wants to run with the big dogs in the political arena, don't go in as a Chihuahua.

I guess I, too, would not count the previous projects hours into the new project. How would one know if the 100 yours indicated meant that he put 95 of those hours into the first project and only 5 in the new project? Mark up the first project as the learning necessary to knock the second project out of the park! Hours are not counted towards the project anyway. The boy may put in 10 hours or 100 hours, it is irrelevant. In order to get my boys "ready" for their Eagle projects, they do multiple service projects before hand. The number of those projects is irrelevant. The hours they put into them is irrelevant, but when the time comes to step up to the plate, they may in fact put 10 hours in on the project whereas someone with no experience would need to do 100. Explained to the Eagle candidate in these terms will allow him the insight into doing better than average on his second project. He needs to be focusing in on doing a good job of leadership on his project and not worrying about how many hours it took him to do it. After all, showing leadership is the goal, not racking up hours.

I, too, think the BL articles are fantastic. Very inspirational for our boys. But what about the adults? A nice article in the hometown newspaper does wonders for the parents who see what scouting can do for their boys! It's the next logical step in promoting BSA in today's society. No one seems to be upset about their kid getting Student of the Month, or a picture showing the local Show Choir at their latest competition, or the Friday night football highlights. Why not Scouts!

The problem is that unless it is a specific BSA recognition, how is anyone to know that the fireman who rescued the small child in a recent fire is also a SM. Or the police officer who was recognized as doing something heroic in the line of duty is also his son's DL? Now those things may not qualify for the award of merit, but what about the volunteer EMT working for the local volunteer fire department? Do those qualify? Oh, no, it's their job even if they don't get paid for it. So what happens is by the time it boils down to some scout or scouter who just happens to be at the right time and the right place does something special it is put on the back burner and ignored. Why? because everyone will simply say, he's just did his job. So the reason this award is no big deal is because unlike the Eagle rank, there's really no true Oooh, aaaah connected to it and it's nothing more than bling. There are thousands of scouts and scouters out there every day doing these things and no one thinks twice about it. It's their job, it's what they were trained to do. That's what Scouts do. So where's the incentive to be recognized by BSA? They fill out applications and go through some secret vetting process to make sure this is a for real qualified situation and then they sparingly give out the award after months of deliberation as if it's some really big deal. I had a boy earn the award as a Cub Scout. He and his buddy were on a fishing dock with others present. His buddy fell in the drink. The Cub Scouter reached down and grabbed his shirt and hauled him over to the ladder where he climbed back on the dock. Neither could swim, so the award was given as at grave danger to the rescuer. These awards need to be photo ops in the local community, not secret deliberations of national worth.

I'm not at all suggesting one not follow the rules, but if the adults aren't following the rules, it might behoove another adult to apply problem solving leadership to keep the others from being hurt in the process. There's nothing in the rules that one has to stay with a sinking ship. Register in a valid unit and keep the integrity of the boy's advancement in tact. That's not breaking any rules and is fair to everyone involved. Just remember, the box is often bigger than what we think it is.

Personal humility and humbleness aside, there needs to be more of this recognition put before the public. We spend a lot of time teaching our boys to be prepared when situations like this arise, it would be unfortunate if we let these example of scouts in action go unnoticed. If the leaders or scouts refuse, my first effort would be to convince these people that such public recognition is not just for them, but as an example of inspiration for other scouts to step up and prove that all the classroom, boring, and often times never to be used skills are being taught so that some day someone's life may be saved. The first time I took CPR classes, it was not all that personally enriching, but after doing CPR on someone trying to save their life allows me the satisfaction that I was able to do all I could to give them a chance at life. Knowing there exists a femoral artery and that someone can bleed out in a matter of minutes, pinching it off and holding it for 45 minutes as we raced to the hospital not only saved a young girl's life, but the medical staff was able to save her leg as well. That's the story I want to remember, not me standing around watching her bleed out and die right in front of me. I have had to counsel people who didn't know what to do and unfortunately that was their only choice and it was something they would regret forever if it happened to be a loved one. It's not always for public recognition, it's for the well-being of not only the one being helped, but the one that steps forward and knows what it takes to save a life.

I don't think it is appropriate to penalize the boys because of the actions of the adults. I would honor any "advancement" done during the period while the adults get their act together and/or quickly register the boys in a neighboring troop/pack and then for $1 transfer them back once the paperwork gets done. It might be a little bit of extra work, but as the unit leader, I would do everything in my power to make sure the boys are not harmed by the mistakes of the adults. Even a DL can register his boys in a neighboring pack until the smoke clears. One does what one has to for the boys. After all this is what the program is all about and a good leadership lesson for the boys is the example set by the caring adults.

I have worked as head of a faith-based organization, I have worked as head of a community based organization, and I have worked as head of multiple BSA unit organizations from Cubbing through Venturing including Exploring. Never have I ever come across a situation where a volunteer was ever fired. They might get "shuffled off to Buffalo", but unless National pulls their registration for whatever reason they deem fit, a volunteer can't be fired.

The only way one can "Fire" volunteers is to have the "Ready" and "Aim" in front of it.

BSA is protected because they offer YPT. Youth are protected because they are under the program. Registered adults are protected because they have taken the program. Non-registered adults can be protected because they have taken the program Other adults are on their own. No, the program offers no protection from abuse, just like any other program ever created, but it does provide the caveat, "You've been warned."

First of all, welcome to the forum. Here's the #1 concern I have for YPT trained people in the unit. The title sounds as if it is for the protection of the Youth, but I can assure everyone it is more for the safety of the Adults! One kid having a bad day says something about "being touched" and one's future of ever working with and around kids is over. It's not just scouts, but school events, church events, social events, you name it it's gone. Not enough seat belts is another issue. That's state law and a major breech of safety for all concerned. If this were my son in the pack, I would insist on always driving my son and his friends, to an event and never let him be in another's car. If I couldn't go to that activity, neither would my son. These are just a couple of the red flags that may crop up with this unit. There may be more that one finds along the way. If this program is important to your son, I would get involved with the leadership and register. If the unit isn't going to take responsibility for your child's safety and security, then you may have to.

Did you write this in computer code or did your computer go on the fritz?

I hope it will fit all the boys who earn it or it would be a bit embarrassing.

Awwwww, there's always one in the crowd that throws the monkey wrench into the gears. There's nothing wrong with a scout wearing a historical uniform, but if they do they need to have the proper rank on it. For example, a Second Class (earned rank) scout cannot put a First Class rank patch on any uniform, modern or historical. I would go with some other sort of designation to indicate the "heart" of the scout. I used a lanyard system when I was working as an ASM in charge of Scout Spirit/Leadership Development. I went to the craft shop and bought 5 different colors of plastic lanyard and cut them into 8" strips. Whenever I saw the boys doing something along the lines of recognizable SS or Leadership, I would loop the piece of lanyard through the button hole on the temporary patch pocket. The colors were ranked: 1) Gold 2) Silver 3) Blue 4) Red 5) White For all the hard-nosed SM's out there they will be happy to note that these colors could go both up AND DOWN. A boy at Gold could find himself loosing the lanyard and have to start all over again if the infraction was bad enough. However, I made sure the colors went up as often as possible. I held out a bit on the Gold, but some of my hot-shot TF's would skyrocket to the Gold and stay there for some time. They turned out over time to be the better scouts. The incentive was to show show Scout Spirit and Leadership especially when it was "not expected of them!" It was also a way of expressing disappointment in a scout that screwed up big time without having to do a haranguing lecture where the adult spends too much time telling the boy he screwed up and he knows it already. The perks of the lanyards? "10:00 pm, boys, head to bed. Blue or higher can stay at the campfire for an extra half hour if they wish." or SM offers to help the Silver Scout clean Dutch ovens and does a friendly chat of encouragement/appreciation with him to make the job easier. I found it a quick way to change the culture and focus of the unit. No rules, nothing written down, just a way of letting the boys know they are doing (or not doing) a good job of Scouting. The only one besides the SM/ASM that could change the colors were the PL's. As far as being fair? PL docks the boy because he was goofing off Friday night not helping set up camp with the new boys. He complains to the SM, SM then asks him what he's going to do to get the color back before the end of the weekend. In most cases, they always did. No blaming, no punishments, just opportunities to learn to put Scout Spirit and Leadership into practice.