RememberSchiff Posted December 20, 2016 Author Share Posted December 20, 2016 (edited) I would point out (in agreement with the College Board Testing Corp.) that the only prediction of future behavior/activities is past behavior/activities. And that is not always accurate, yes? Yes, not always. As Spock reminded us, "Only Nixon could go to China." As OP, my intent was not to find faults of our Presidents, but to discuss our relationship possibilities (Spock again?) with the incoming Trump Administration. With the number of Eagle Scouts in his potential Cabinet, I am hopeful for positive change. Edited December 20, 2016 by RememberSchiff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJCubScouter Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 As OP, my intent was not to find faults of our Presidents, but to discuss our relationship possibilities (Spock again?) with the incoming Trump Administration. With the number of Eagle Scouts in his potential Cabinet, I am hopeful for positive change. Without wanting to get into a whole political discussion (which, if we were going to have it in this forum, probably would have been better to have BEFORE the election), I will just say this: Obviously there are a lot of people in this country who are very concerned about what is going to happen in this country and in the world as a result of this election, and that includes some people in this forum. It certainly includes me. That being the case, the impact of the incoming administration on the BSA is maybe 80th on my list of things to be concerned about. I am more concerned that our next president is a person who I believe to be mentally unstable, and who is so starved for attention and affection that many bad things are possible if someone offers him the "right" deal. And that's before I even get to any actual issues. So if you can think about the incoming administration and opportunities for the BSA in the same sentence, I envy you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RememberSchiff Posted December 21, 2016 Author Share Posted December 21, 2016 I can appreciate there are greater concerns than this topic. I had similar concerns about Nixon in '72. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker67 Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 As OP, my intent was not to find faults of our Presidents, but to discuss our relationship possibilities (Spock again?) with the incoming Trump Administration. With the number of Eagle Scouts in his potential Cabinet, I am hopeful for positive change. The presence of Eagle Scouts in the administration is positive, but the question is whether or not the President will actually value and consider their advice. Some Presidents seek input from others and factor it into their decision making -- others do not. The latter tend to seek individuals who are highly qualified in carrying out Presidential directives, rather than being advisers. I now think that the chances of the new President appearing at the Jamboree may be low. In the Bryan on Scouting blog post on Rex Tillerson's appointment, no mention of the US presidency or Trump was made: http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2016/12/13/distinguished-eagle-scout-rex-tillerson-nominated-as-secretary-of-state/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David CO Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Without wanting to get into a whole political discussion (which, if we were going to have it in this forum, probably would have been better to have BEFORE the election), I will just say this: Obviously there are a lot of people in this country who are very concerned about what is going to happen in this country and in the world as a result of this election, and that includes some people in this forum. It certainly includes me. That being the case, the impact of the incoming administration on the BSA is maybe 80th on my list of things to be concerned about. I am more concerned that our next president is a person who I believe to be mentally unstable, and who is so starved for attention and affection that many bad things are possible if someone offers him the "right" deal. And that's before I even get to any actual issues. So if you can think about the incoming administration and opportunities for the BSA in the same sentence, I envy you. Obviously, a lot of people in this country supported the winning candidate, and that includes some people on this forum. The impact of the incoming administration on scouting is about 80th on my list of things to be happy about, but since this is a scouter forum, it is what I talk about here. Thank you for the envy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Give or take a few votes, one could always conclude for the most part our society is pretty much evenly polarized. It always has been, but how both sides adjust makes the difference. In the 1860's they had a difficult time accepting a president that only garnered 39% of the popular vote. For those who have forgotten their history lessons from school, it's going to be a difficult lesson to re-learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwaihir Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Give or take a few votes, one could always conclude for the most part our society is pretty much evenly polarized. It always has been, but how both sides adjust makes the difference. In the 1860's they had a difficult time accepting a president that only garnered 39% of the popular vote. For those who have forgotten their history lessons from school, it's going to be a difficult lesson to re-learn. let's just pray the subsequent years don't repeat themselves as well. I just wanted to pop in and focus on them laughing at the Boy Scout influence. I do not believe for a second they were laughing because they find Trump to be in conflict with the ideals of scouting, and more they were laughing because Boy Scouts are quaint and "uncool". It's rather disappointing. Anyway, back on topic. Carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeptic Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Once more I will attempt to add my concern in regard to the Scouting element and its tenets in general. We call, on the unit level, living up to the tenets as best we can, living the Scout Spirit. My observations in general over the past few years is that these politicians and "important players" that like to note their Scouting connections, including having earned Eagle, too often do not demonstrate Scout Spirit. Unfortunately, that seems to fit the general pattern of success for most of them, if stepping on others and taking advantage is termed success. And, as far as Scouting is concerned, the records of many of these same individuals seems to show less than serious concern for the environment and the outdoor pillars of Scouting. Just my own opinion of course, but one developed over decades. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walk in the woods Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Without wanting to get into a whole political discussion (which, if we were going to have it in this forum, probably would have been better to have BEFORE the election), I will just say this: Obviously there are a lot of people in this country who are very concerned about what is going to happen in this country and in the world as a result of this election, and that includes some people in this forum. It certainly includes me. That being the case, the impact of the incoming administration on the BSA is maybe 80th on my list of things to be concerned about. I am more concerned that our next president is a person who I believe to be mentally unstable, and who is so starved for attention and affection that many bad things are possible if someone offers him the "right" deal. And that's before I even get to any actual issues. So if you can think about the incoming administration and opportunities for the BSA in the same sentence, I envy you. The RCA shows the problem isn't the person in the Presidency, it's the ridiculous amount of power our spineless congresspersons have abandon to the Executive Branch and the President specifically, and the leviathan monster our federal government has become. Write your congressperson and demand they take back the power of the Legislative Branch. Roll back the unaccountable beige bureaucrats sitting in nondescript DC office building writing tens of thousands of pages of law (regulation) every year. Tell them to roll back the AUMF and use the power of the purse to set the agenda. Then there's the American electorate, many of whom look to the President to be their savior and/or lawgiver, when given the choice between a politician willing to be bought, an outsider willing to buy politicians, and several other candidates, voted for the lesser of two evils because "those other guys can't win." If you vote for evil, you get evil.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSScout Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 "Follow the money" How much do YOU owe of the National Debt? How much did YOU OK? How much will your Grandchildren (Great Grandchildren?) be paying? Consider... http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2015/04/24/national-debt-tops-18-trillion-guess-how-much-you-owe/2/#17b065dc698e Mr. Trump's fortune was created in real estate, which has as a credo, "use OPM as much as possible". Other Peoples Money. The NatDebt is money that went from us to somebody else. Who are these Somebodies? They ain't me. Who is they, to be ungrammatical? It looks more and more that we average americans have become the Other People whose money "they" have learned to use. Public works? National Defense? A new F35? Retired Social Security folks? The interest paid on the Natdebt is more than many nations GNP. This is what will defeat us. Weimar Republic, anyone? Oh, I'm sorry, we were talking about Scout connections in the new incoming administration, weren't we?. Well, how to encourage (remind?) those good people to live by the Scout Law and Promise, "...stick to your Scout promise always – even after you have ceased to be a boy – and God help you to do it."" As I remember it...... Perhaps that is what we , who hold Scouting as the ideal, should do. Remind those "Eagles" what they learned oh, so many many years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 In 1929 the economy of the world collapsed because everyone was using OPM. Debt was rampant and it could not sustain itself. People don't learn from OPM's (other peoples' mistakes). What people don't understand is that what they pay in interest every month is a ridiculous amount of their wealth. Ever consider that over the course of a 30 year mortgage, one pay's for the house 2 if not 3 or 4 times over depending on the interest rate? Oh, you just paid off your mortgage? That's a $1000+/month raise and one doesn't even need to talk to the boss. This is the American Way and we all do it, so blaming the government for doing it is nothing more than self incrimination. People who know better can retire with a net worth of 7 digits and never make over $35,000/year with a post-high school education of 8 years. A scout is Thrifty and that's a Scout Law that gets abused all the way up to the top regardless of whether there's any Eagles in the mix or not. Go into the bank/credit union and ask for a 5 year mortgage with a credit score of 0 (ZERO). You have no debt, you have no score. They will look at you as if you just grew a third eye. They are always relieved when it gets paid off in less than 3 years. Your grandchildren and their children will totally understand the Trillions of dollars worth of debt they are facing and think nothing of it. They'll probably add to it without batting an eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJCubScouter Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Obviously, a lot of people in this country supported the winning candidate... I didn't want to get into this, but I cannot help myself. A lot of people supported the "winning" candidate, but more supported the "losing" candidate. There's been a lot of talk about this being the "fault" of the outdated presidential selection system we have inherited from the 18th century, but actually the electoral college system would be mostly ok if it were not for the "winner take all" system. The electors should be allocated proportionally by state, which each state could do if they wanted. (And if anyone is wondering, I just looked for calculations of how this change would have affected the election, and yes, it would have made a difference, by a few votes.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJCubScouter Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Write your congressperson and demand they take back the power of the Legislative Branch. Writing to my congressman on any subject would be a waste of time. I don't think he makes his own decisions on what to vote for, on anything. I do have to give him credit for once attending an ECOH in my troop, but I got a chance to speak with him for a few minutes and was no more impressed than I had been from afar. He's an empty suit who got organizational support for his rise through the political ranks because his father was a prominent state legislator in the 1940's-60's. If you vote for evil, you get evil.... Not me, almost everybody I voted for this year lost. Actually only one candidate I voted for won, and that was for school board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Awwww c'mon, A. Lincoln won with a 39% popular vote and very few people today would say he didn't do okay for our country. Once we get over the idea of what's best FOR ME (JFK said it best) and start looking at what's best for the country (being polarized is not what's best), then maybe things can be less contentious. Otherwise maybe 2% of the people need die again to make it happen like it did before. In today's numbers that's 6 million deaths. Of course, those injured or suffered because of it was far greater. I don't think people understand the power of their ideologies when it comes to destroying other people. If they do, this isn't going to end well for anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RememberSchiff Posted December 22, 2016 Author Share Posted December 22, 2016 (edited) Meanwhile scoutingmagazine.org reports the renewal the National Park Service/BSA agreement. http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2016/12/21/bsa-renews-alliance-national-park-service/ To summarize, same old same old - the NPS will continue to do with the BSA what it does with everyone else and the BSA will advertise the agreement. That said, IMO a deeper examination of the resources and needs of both the NPS and BSA should be done. - The NPS "Scout Ranger Resource Stewardship" is geared towards grade school youth; they need not be scouts. And that seems fine for that age group. Here the BSA should approach NPS, "we have this Hornaday Award and this merit badge and... that might be just the thing to incorporate with your NPS Youth Conservation Corps for teens. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/youthprograms/ycc.htm - Why not allow NPS Rangers to sign-off on related environmental/citizenship merit badges? They have had federal background checks. Save them from the becoming a MBC song and dance. The BSA should do this with other professions - medical, teachers, Fire/EMT, police that have the knowledge and existing background checks in place. KISS and get the community more involved in Scouting. - Entrance fees. Scouts working with NPS, should get the Educational Fee Waiver instead of the Non-Commercial Group Fee. - Realize NPS internships are mostly for undergrad and grad students. Hopefully the incoming Secretary of Interior, an Eagle Scout, will help step up the NPS/BSA relationship. Another $0.02, Edited December 22, 2016 by RememberSchiff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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