AZMike

Romney says he personally thinks they should be allowed, but feels that the BSA should be able to make its own choice in the matter. Fair enough.

Well, Ryan speaks to Scout groups (in person, not on TV). That link I posted from BSA HQ states he was a Scout, and he was such an over-achiever as a youth it seems likely that he was. Why? Do you think there is some sort of conspiracy? http://www.reinhartlaw.com/Events/Pages/BoyScoutsofAmericaPotawatomiAreaCouncil2012LeadershipLunch.aspx

"One of my daughter's favorite memories of Girl Scouts was not teas, or dances, it was (aside from the regular camping/hiking/horseback riding/canoeing) of the summer she teamed up with her Leader/Dad to do a series of space themed council camps. She still has photos of her dad, and other leader dads (note - Men CAN be GSUSA leaders), saving the Girl Scout camp from Klingons. " That sounds like the GSA activity that only a "Dad" could come up with!

Aaawwww! How could anyone NOT want to be a Founder Scout?

I should have said that President Obama is currently an honorary member, but was not a BSA member as a kid. He did, however, find time to be a member of the Choom Gang. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/the-choom-gang-president-obamas-pot-smoking-high-school-days-detailed-in-maraniss-book/2012/05/25/gJQAwFqEqU_blog.html

VP Candidate Paul Ryan was an actual Boy Scout, in addition to being a conservative Catholic. It will be interesting to see what he says. http://www.scouting.org/About/FactSheets/Congress.aspx From what I can find on the net (and we know how accurate that is), Obama was never a member of the BSA, but was a Boy Scout in Djakarta. (BSD?) I'm not sure about Biden, but it would be likely given the time and place he grew up in. Despite Obama making a statement in support of allowing openly homosexual men and boys in the BSA, it apparently isn't enough for some gay activists, who want

Here's some articles from Scouter Mag that you may find useful: http://scoutingmagazine.org/2012/04/ideas-for-teaching-stem-subject-merit-badges/ http://scoutingmagazine.org/2012/04/former-astronaut-shares-how-to-get-scouts-hooked-on-stem-subjects/

Those Eagles who have taken the step of turning in their badge will be pleased to know they have achieved the honorary status of "Pathfinder" and the title of "Founder" (the equivalent of Eagle Scout) of the non-discriminatory Spiral Scouts. So they got that going for them: From the Desk of SpiralScouts International, and the Aquarian Tabernacle Church We would like to extend our admiration for those who have stood boldly in light of the recent events surrounding the Boy Scouts of Americas decision to uphold their policies regarding gay leaders, and scouts. SpiralScouts Internat

I've seen so many copies of the current edition with the most important, high-use pages (advancement sign-offs) falling out. A lot of scouts wind-up stapling a detached page onto another page, then that page onto another page, and so forth. I always tell them to photocopy the advancement pages regularly in case they lose a page (or the whole book.) I know trade paperback books can be bound so they lie open and flat, which makes the pages less likely to detach. Probably more expensive as well, but they get a lot of use. Those pocket-size notebooks are designed as a "temporary" place to no

"Well, hopefully, you are surprised by that, since most discriminatory practices have some origin in religion...or more specifically, perturbations of religions by factions or sub-leaders with their own power agendas." But of course. The Tuskeegee Syphilis Experiments against unsuspecting African American citizens, the sterilization of "defectives" in the United States under the progressive "Eugenics" movement of the 1920s and 1930s, Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger's desire to abort African-American babies to reduce the "underclass," the genocide of the Kulaks under the Bolshev

Faith - that is, the personal extension of belief based on a variety of forms of necessarily incomplete evidence, and the change of one's behavior based on the results of that belief, is based on reason, by definition. Certainly, the mountain of scientific evidence that shows the positive psychological, emotional, and medical benefits of religious belief (and the corresponding deleterious psychological, emotional, and medical effects of disbelief) demonstrates that religious faith is by no means a bad thing. The enormous majority of reasonable, rational people throughout history, up

basementdweller: "The flaw in your recruiting latino families is cost....There is no way they can afford 4 kids in scouting programs..." Yikes. Just Yikes...

For that matter, how would a Hindu or a Taoist or a non-Christian Native American, or possibly a Buddhist, feel about reciting the Philmont Grace, which is widely used as a prayer before meals at camps, high adventure bases, etc.? I like it and feel it's appropriate in interfaith groups, but could see where some people of faith who do not recognize a single "Lord" might not. (I've never heard any complaints, though) The nature of belief is so diverse that it's probably not possible to include everyone. At least not without sounding a little ridiculous. ("We thank God, or the gods, or the

johnponz's corporate analogy seems pretty accurate.

"Anyone remember Branded, a post Rifleman show starring Chuck Connors.? (Bit of trivia - Connors was a Los Angeles Dodger, Boston Celtic and Chicago Bear)." I remember it very well. The theme song was so popular around the playground when I was a kid ("Branded! Scorned as the one who ran / What do you do when you're branded / And you know you're a man? / To prove you're a man, you must fight when you can / To prove....You're a man!") that I remember an unauthorized version that was often sung at Cub Scout gatherings: ("Stranded! Stranded on the toilet bowl! / What do you do when you're st

"AZMike: To the obscure question: I think it might be Kato (of Green Hornet fame), but I'm a bit unsure because Keye Luke played Kato in the 1940's serials, then voiced a villain that was defeated by Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, and of course Bruce Lee played Kato in the television series. The reason I'm unsure is that Keye Luke didn't voice Kato in the radio version. Raymond Toyo (Tokutaro Hayashi), Rollon Parker and Michael Tolan (in that order) voiced Kato on radio." My bad, I muffed writing the question. Keye Luke played Kato (the Green Hornet's assistant, not the Kato who was O.

I think you meant William Conrad - Robert Conrad was James West on the original "Wild Wild West" (a show I loved, especially Artemus Gordon and Dr. Miguelito Loveless.)

You're right, I forgot them. Jesse Ventura is so out there I don't think either side claims him, though. Weird to think that "Predator" starred two men who later became Governors, and a third who I think almost did (Sonny Lantham). Googling it, I also found congressmen George Murphy (Republican), Bob Dornan (Republican), and Fred Gandy ("Gopher" on the Love Boat), (Republican). But: Ben Jones (Cooter in the Dukes of Hazzard) was a Democratic congressman for Georgia, and Will Rogers Jr. was a Congressman for California for a short time (which he spent much of trying to save European

Or a really obscure one: What side-kick character on radio was voiced by an actor who would later voice a villain in a movie who was beaten by an actor who played the same side-kick character as the first actor, but on TV (for twenty points...)?????(This message has been edited by AZMike)

While we're playing radio trivia, do you know who the Lone Ranger's grand-nephew was?

Wasn't it the guy who played Cannon and on Jake and the Fat Man? William Conrad?

It's weird, but most of the actors and entertainers who transition to political office tend to be conservative - Reagan, Sonny Bono, Helen Gahagan, Shirley Temple, Schwarzenegger. I can think of Al Franken on the left, but not many more.

"Merlyn, how do you explain how the existence of UU, Pagan, Wiccan, Buddhist, Hindu, Sihk, and Scientology Scouters?" Sikhs are monotheists, BTW.

"I'm still looking for a call for any kind of organized boycott." Oi, welcome to 2012, Grandpa! That's like asking which organization called for the Occupy Wall Street movement, or which organization called for the G12 Summit riots. Do you think the SDS is still out there printing underground newspapers and flyers on the college English Department's mimeograph machine? The nature of social protest in the 21st century is that of decentralized movements based on Facebook, Twitter and flashmobs. The use of individuals in loosely affiliated affinity groups coordinating action th

" I don't think married people should get discounts on taxes. There are too many children in the world already. Please stop making more." As the American population falls below the replacement rate (and which can't be restarted quickly - it takes a few generations to catch up) and there are fewer new Americans to pay taxes and pay for your entitlements, I will remind you of that. I happen to think more children is a good thing. Every new kid born is another chance to get it right. If anything, I should get an additional vote for each kid I have, until they reach the age of majo