Right-Wing, Fox & Friends Warn Girl Scouts Promote ‘Liberal Agenda’

[greenfrog78]

Right-Wing, Fox & Friends Warn Girl Scouts Promote ‘Liberal Agenda’

The controversy is over a section in the Girl Scouts’ media guide that advises readers to use sites like snopes.com and MediaMatters to fact-check what they read on the Internet.

Oh my, apparently teaching kids to check facts is a bad thing and a part of the 'liberal agenda'

[fitz1980]

If you were Fox News wouldn't you say that too? Their whole organization is basically built on lies and misinformation; teaching kids to fact check is detrimental to their success down the road.

[Lainie]

Some conservative Christians founded an alternative to Girl Scouts, American Heritage Girls.

[greenfrog78]

That's a good point fitz, I hadn't thought of it that way! Makes more sense now

[WildaBeast]

Originally Posted by greenfrog78

Oh my, apparently teaching kids to check facts is a bad thing and a part of the 'liberal agenda'

Is is when you advise them to use a left-leaning George Soros funded site like this one.

[GenYus234]

"Reality has a well-known liberal bias."

[E. Q. Taft]

I can sort of see their point with respect to Media Matters, which never made a particular secret of its mission to watchdog the right-wing media, and these days, Fox News in particular.

It really doesn't take that much skimming of snopes (the site, not the message boards, which I have to say I think do tend to lean left of center in the general consensus of views expressed) to show that it debunks both conservative and liberal myths -- and confirms them when they happen to be true. (And corrects itself when new facts come to light, something much of the media doesn't much bother with.) That in itself doesn't prove a lack of bias, but I think proving an actual bias would be pretty damned difficult.

Not that that bothers anyone who only wants to see information that confirms their own biases.

[wanderwoman]

Girl Scout Launches Cookie Boycott Campaign After Organization's Inclusion Of Transgender Child

A California-based teen is hoping to spearhead a national boycott of Girl Scout cookies after the organization's controversial decision to admit a 7-year-old transgender child to a Colorado troop this past fall.

I haven't bought cookies in awhile because of my finances and the need to avoid eating a whole box before I realize it, but I'm going to have to buy them and give them away if necessary, or find some other way to show my support. I think it's a worthwhile organization and it seems to be under heavy assault right now.

[chillas]

I agree, wanderwoman. This is the year we buy ALL the cookies!

[ToadMagnet]

“For eight years we were in Girl Scouts and we didn’t realize that Girl Scouts was promoting such a liberal ideology,” she added.

Sounds to me like Girl Scouts aren't doing a very good job of it, if it took eight years to even notice.

[ULTRAGOTHA]

Originally Posted by wanderwoman

I haven't bought cookies in awhile because of my finances and the need to avoid eating a whole box before I realize it, but I'm going to have to buy them and give them away if necessary, or find some other way to show my support. I think it's a worthwhile organization and it seems to be under heavy assault right now.

Originally Posted by chillas

I agree, wanderwoman. This is the year we buy ALL the cookies!

The troup selling the cookies only keeps a small percentage of the amount spent on each box of cookies.

If you want to help but don't want to eat the cookies, just give a couple of dollars instead of buying a box. It's cheaper for you, and the troup gets more than they would if you bought a box.

[snapdragonfly]

But, the Girl Scouts do cookie sales to raise funds not just to raise the funds, but because the work of the cookie sales is a great teaching tool and opportunity for the girls. They could, I'm sure, find ways to make more money with less effort, but the girls learn marketing, customer service, money management, responsibility, goal setting...having been a co leader of my daughter's troop for five or six years, I learned why they go through so much bother.

So donate money if you prefer to, (we never minded cash donations in the least!!!) but don't feel bad about "cheating" the girls in any way if you want to buy cookies. Our council always had a "troop to troop" program where people could buy cookies and a local sponsor would pay to have them shipped to our troops, and our understanding is that those troops LOVED getting those Girl Scout cookies. A man in our church used to buy 12 dozen boxes from my daughter to take to the Veteran's center. If you don't want those tempting delicious cookies around you, there are plenty of places that would be glad to accept donations.

And way to go, Girl Scouts...why are they going in such opposite direction from the Boy Scouts, I wonder...

[Esprise Me]

Originally Posted by ULTRAGOTHA

The troup selling the cookies only keeps a small percentage of the amount spent on each box of cookies.

According to their website, the Girl Scouts get 70% on each box, with the remaining 30% going to the cookie makers. I wouldn't call that a small percentage.
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs...sp#money_where

[Tabbyclaw]

Originally Posted by Esprise Me

According to their website, the Girl Scouts get 70% on each box, with the remaining 30% going to the cookie makers. I wouldn't call that a small percentage.
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs...sp#money_where

70% goes to the local council. The actual troop only gets about 10-20%.

-Tabby
the princess with claws

[Esprise Me]

I don't see why that distinction would create a problem for people who wish to support the organization. Did the local council oppose the inclusion of the transgendered child? Does the money only do any good if it goes directly to the troop?

[ULTRAGOTHA]

Originally Posted by snapdragonfly

donate money if you prefer to, (we never minded cash donations in the least!!!) but don't feel bad about "cheating" the girls in any way if you want to buy cookies. Our council always had a "troop to troop" program where people could buy cookies and a local sponsor would pay to have them shipped to our troops, and our understanding is that those troops LOVED getting those Girl Scout cookies. A man in our church used to buy 12 dozen boxes from my daughter to take to the Veteran's center. If you don't want those tempting delicious cookies around you, there are plenty of places that would be glad to accept donations.

My post wasn't meant to imply one is cheating the GS if one buys a box of cookies. I meant that if you don't want the cookies, you can donate less than the cost of the box and both save yourself money *and* give the troop more than they'd get if you bought a box outright.

ULTRA "Don't tempt me at work!"GOTHA

[Aureal]

Originally Posted by snapdragonfly

But, the Girl Scouts do cookie sales to raise funds not just to raise the funds, but because the work of the cookie sales is a great teaching tool and opportunity for the girls. They could, I'm sure, find ways to make more money with less effort, but the girls learn marketing, customer service, money management, responsibility, goal setting...having been a co leader of my daughter's troop for five or six years, I learned why they go through so much bother.

And as someone who was a Girl Scout for years, all I think I learned from cookie sales is that I really hate standing out in front of a store and asking strangers to buy things. Oh, I suppose I also learned that I really hate pestering non-strangers to buy things, too.

[snapdragonfly]

Originally Posted by Tabbyclaw

70% goes to the local council. The actual troop only gets about 10-20%.

-Tabby
the princess with claws

And, the council uses the money for things directly supporting and benefitting the troops, including all the administrative stuff that is simply an unavoidable requirement of any organization. Plus a council can't sell the cookies as it's own entity; the troops have to sell them. So, giving a cash donation to the troop is going to benefit the troop only, which is not necessarily bad or good either way, but without the councils, they wouldn't be able to continue being officially "Girl Scouts," so it's not like the girls aren't getting something out of it when you support the council.

[snapdragonfly]

Originally Posted by Aureal

And as someone who was a Girl Scout for years, all I think I learned from cookie sales is that I really hate standing out in front of a store and asking strangers to buy things. Oh, I suppose I also learned that I really hate pestering non-strangers to buy things, too.

Well, we did the whole cookie sales prep routine every year and I did make my daughter do her own sales and she had to sort and label the orders and collect and keep track of the money so I would say that she did learn some useful skills that are definitely transferable to other endeavors. Much of it is simply responsibility and seeing a commitment through to the end, even if you would rather take a BEATING than stand outside on a street corner in beautiful March weather (or crappy March weather) pimping cookies for 3 weekends in a row. Which, I have to say, after doing it for 7 or 8 years myself, I STILL to this day, every spring, think to myself on March weekends: "I DON'T HAVE TO DO GIRL SCOUT COOKIE TODAY!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!"

I HATED cookie sales. URRAARRRRGGGGG I hated them with a passion. Actually, making the sale itself was the only NOT unpleasant part of it. Girl Scout cookies, unlike overpriced knives, vacuum cleaners, cookware, or used cars, pretty much sell themselves, all the girls have to do is present people with a winsome smile, a pen and an order form, and actually the smile isn't even mandatory, though it's part of the training to teach them how to do this kind of crap well. Which - life is often about doing crap like this well. Even if you hate it, but sometimes you end up having to do stuff you hate, even if it's just for a while. Character building, I guess. I'd hella rather sell cookies than that sad overprice Boy Scout popcorn. My son was in scouts too and they just hated having to sell that popcorn, they really only get pity/obligation sales. My son used to say it wasn't fair that she got to sell cookies that everyone wanted and he had to sell that stupid popcorn that not even Mom wanted to buy. (though she did.) But the vast majority of people buy GS cookies cause they LOVE them some girl scout cookies. So that part, she didn't mind so much, and I would take an order sheet with me as I went about my weekly doings and didn't mind that part either. Lots of times people were really excited, especially if they didn't have an inundation of school age girls in their normal routine and hadn't had a regular cookie connection for a while.

But I do think my daughter got a lot out of the experience even if we hated the follow up and booth sales. She had a really good troop with really good leaders, though. In girl scouts, it makes a huge difference who the troop leader is. It can be a big disorganized frivolous waste of time, or it can be a really fun and valuable personal growth and leadership experience. Just depends on the leader and the other girls in the troop.

[crocoduck_hunter]

Originally Posted by Aureal

And as someone who was a Girl Scout for years, all I think I learned from cookie sales is that I really hate standing out in front of a store and asking strangers to buy things. Oh, I suppose I also learned that I really hate pestering non-strangers to buy things, too.

Sitting in front of a store selling boxes of delicious Thin Mints has got to be better than all the fundraisers I did in high school. It mostly involved canvasing the neighborhood and braving bad tempered dogs to offer people some overpriced junk from a catalog that I already knew they were only buying as a way of apologizing for their dog almost biting me.

People actually like Girl Scout cookies.