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So I have been given a lot of awards in scouting. More knots than allowed on a uniform, never thought much about them and kinda blew them off. Well tonight at our Bridge of Honor, I was awarded the Unit Leader Award of Merit. The thing that makes this stand out to me is that I was nominated and recommended for the award by my scouts. That makes it special to me.

This simply isn't true. First and foremost libel has to involve a false statement. If Johnny's father comes to a BSA official and says Scoutmaster X molested Johnny, BSA official can call the police and say, Johnny's father said Scoutmaster X molested Johnny. There can be no falsity in that statement. The BSA CANNOT be held liable for any defamation even if Johnny and/or his father were lying. Outside of reporting to the police, BSA never would have to publicly accuse anyone of anything. If they had any belief that a person might be a molester they simply had to remove him from the

I agree 100% with your judgement that BSA's response was above-average and generally legally correct, by the standards of the time. But please remember that the bankruptcy proceeding is not "the" lawsuit. At the end of 2019, the BSA was the defendant in dozens of lawsuits (mostly abuse, a handful of wrongful-death, and the GSUSA trademark suit). The Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding allows the debtor (BSA) to invite everyone who has a claim to come forward and be treated equally. It's sort of a reverse lawsuit, the debtor comes to the court and says "I know (or at least guess) that I owe all

I stand by what I said based upon my research on this subject matter. In the overwhelming majority of cases, BSA did everything they could legally do AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENTS (emphasis). Were some mistakes made? Yes. Was the system they had in place perfect? There is no such thing as a perfect system. The problem is that it appears to me that this lawsuit, with one case going as far back an circa 1939-1946, is using today's Mandatory Reporting Laws as the legal standard which did not come about until circa 1988/89 nationally.

You are applying today's rightful indignation to things that happened a long time ago. An era where the kids were doubted and blamed for accusing nice upstanding people. An era where people commonly drove drunk. Where men were understood to have certain rights over their wives. Where banks commonly denied based on race or religion. Where many things are viewed today as ghastly that back then were just things you deal with. Today is a different time. Period. Looking back, it's hard to know when police were called and not. In the pseudo case provided, the parent could have c

I'll take 4. All the above.

Noting the data withholding and cases is not to celebrate the pending cases, but to wonder why in the heck they aren't giving up the goods. It must be very significant to put the reorganization at risk. Personally, I don't believe the judge will overrule the TCC's desire to receive full disclosure, which appears to be the only thing that will keep the case on track and shelter the LC's and other entities. I could be wrong, of course. I think how she rules would depend on what the information is, how relevant she believes it to be in assessing the assets and whether the LC's have some legal rig

I am unsure what the Debtors and LC's are withholding in a death grip, but time is running out to turn it over to the TCC. Whatever it is/they are, the TCC is not playing. Fact.

There are approximately 860 cases pending in which at least one LC is a named defendant. These are locked and loaded if the Chapter 11 protective stay is not extended.

Good on ya, mate. The best awards are the ones you didn't know you were working to earn.

Gentlemen, didn’t Mama tell you it’s not polite to inquire of a lady’s age?

I am one of the dissertation writers for all the awards I nominate people for. I was once told the more eloquent, and fact filled a nomination is, the better chance the nomination will pass. This is especially important for those serving in a variety of roles in the background . Summer camp staff, lodge officers, ceremony team members, and American Indian Affair members, the ones who are the 'public face" of the OA are a lot easier to get Vigil. People remember them easier and can put a name to the face. Best example of that is the Vigil I nominated in which I used his legal name throughout t

This is also my favorite award for the same reason. Congratulations.

1. Bravo Zulu! 2. BEST. RECOGNITION. OF ALL!

That's a tremendous honor - to be recognized by your Scouts. Congratulations!

I do think they put more emphasis on Summer Camp than the Scouting Community. The whole purpose of the order is to have an outward impact on the Scouting program, not inward focus on building Scout Camps, which is what many of the lodges have done. There is a larger non-OA member scouting community out there that needs the Lodge service more now than ever before.

Actually BSA IS a victim. With very few exceptions, BSA did everything it could legally do at the time the bulk of the abuse took place. People are forgetting that mandatory reporting laws did not affect the BSA until the late 1980s/early 1990s, about the time Youth Protection Training came about. Prior to that time, if BSA accused anyone publicly of abuse, they could have been charged with libel. BSA encouraged parents to press charges, because their hands were tied.

In your nomination, describe how the candidate demonstrates leadership in service. "...who serves his fellows, is, of all his fellows, greatest!" In the Wimachtendienk, Amangiechsin

For my part, I offer two points: 1) I literally was looking at my dad and thought about telling him. I knew my dad would 'kill' my Scout Master so I said nothing. I did not want my dad to go to prison nor ruin the Troop I loved. There were 10 people in my family and we would't have survived without him, not to mention the pain it would have caused. I was 10 and never again thought of telling an adult, though it continued for 6 years; and 2) I became aware just a few years ago that other parents/adults, besides those complicit or tangentially involved none of whom had kids in Scouting

This is chicken and egg: 1) BSA is losing members, therefore rebrands. 2) The rebranding doesn't work, so they try another. The fact is that ALL such and similar youth programs are suffering for years. If this was JUST a BSA thing, then why is GSUSA membership in decline as well? Youth sports have been in freefall for years. Read Bowling Alone. Some of this is just simply outside BSA's control. It is society that is changing. Kids are slack and dormant.