BadenP

You know pack, calico and oge you all play right into merlyns little games and the sad part you all are just too dumb to realize you are all being used just like a bunch of tools, lmao. So have fun and I will continue to watch you being played for the fools you are, and pack, yes I am making fun of all of you, ha ha.

Pack, Congratulations you have won your very own "I LOVE MERLYN" t-shirt for your total lack of grasping the issues at hand, and I bet you still wonder why the south lost the Civil War, lol.

To answer your question Calico the city of LA like the rest of California is flat broke and neither the police or fire departments have the money in their budgets, and neither does the city to fund these programs , SO THE YOUTH LOSE. Shortridge a scout is supposed to be honest(trustworthy) and that is my honest evaluation of Merlyn Leroy.

"Time for the BSA to become more inclusive" That may be so la voyageur but how many kids have to lose access to programs that would help them become better people and make a better life for themselves in the process? Early on I worked with the inner city kids of LA I know firsthand the conditions they live under and the obstacles they face on a daily basis, most of us adults could not deal with them. I helped start a scouting program with these kids along with other programs to help them have a chance to break free from this drugs and gangs way of life. So yeah I get really hacked off when I hear people like Merlyn spout off their dribble while kids are being shot, selling and using drugs, and joining gangs just so they can survive in those inner city cesspools. If you talk to those kids they will tell you that they feel that nobody gives a damn about them. These programs allowed the police and fire departments to interact with these kids on a one to one basis, to show them alternatives, and give them a chance to break this vicious and violent poverty cycle. Now those programs are gone, and don't kid yourself will never be back due to the politics and no money to fund them. A legal loophole is gong to result in hundreds and hundreds of kids giving up and winding up who knows where. So yes I am angry about this issue, and if there is a law that allows this tragedy to happen then it is time to change that law. Merlyn, your statement that you are going to "cut the BSA off from the government for their discriminatory practices" is nothing more than a pathetic smokescreen that will have serious consequences in this case for the city and the youth of LA. Speaking for myself, I think you are a loathsome human being.

nolesrule, all religious belief is some form of mysticism that began long before there were writing or books. Humans have always tried to find explainations for those things beyond our capability to truly and completely understand, and all religions tries to explain these phenomena, unfortunately in a rather simplistic and incomplete way, so that our brains can try to comprehend them. So we have to very careful when we condemn any group because no religion or person has all the answers, not even the Brights.

Not in this case Leroy, your analogy is out of date and irrelevant as is this case where you get to push your personal, and others of your ilk, agenda once again and at the expense of the youth that really needed these programs. So what was really won here Leroy? Your arrogance really does disgust me.

Well said Jersey Scout. It is also a shame that the inner city kids of LA where drugs and gang violence is among the highest in the country will now be deprived of the opportunity to associate with police and firefighters in these programs where they learn how to help improve the neighborhood instead of tearing it down. Thanks to one petty little politician in LA the city will suffer as well as the youth. What a great legal system we have, and the saying, "Justice is blind", has never been truer thanks to people like Leroy.

Trev By the BOOK I assume you are talking about the Bible, other than mentioning some names places and events the Bible shares little with the Koran or the Jewish Kabbalah,which are much older than the Bible, even the Jewish version of the Old Testament called the Tanakh is very different from the others in their interpretations of these events mentioned in each of them. Their interpretations of who the Supreme God is, heaven and hell is not the same. So I guess Trev without getting into a drawn out theological discussion I think your analysis is much too simplistic and inaccurate in its conclusions.

Trev The Muslim God is very different from the God of the Christians or the Jews, just read the Koran, you can find some similiarities in the texts but thats where it ends . What about all the other faiths in the world, are they invalid because their vision of God is so different from yours? You cannot simplify this so easily, religious intolerance has been the main cause of war and conflict from the beginning of time to the present. From the start of the BSA Catholics and Jews were not really welcomed, and priests and rabbis spoke against any of their members from joining. In the late 1960's my priest told me it was wrong for me to be a boy scout since "they were mostly Protestant heretics that would drive me away from the only true Church." I know of priests today who still believe this to be true. My point is before we pass judgement on how any group chooses to view GOD we need to remove our own faith based and learned religious prejudices. The DRP will always be a major stumbling block preventing the BSA from realizing its true full potential.

True Eamonn, but the fact is that many districts have few to zero UC's in this day and age and the RT is the method that many districts use to distribute charters. In my district the DE brings the charters to those units who do not make it to RT.

Pack then it becomes how do you define GOD? Is the true God the Christian one, the Jewish or Muslim one, leaving out the individual denomination definitions, which are mostly imperfect human attempts to put God into some kind of box or context we can deal with. God is in reality a higher power, creative source beyond all human understanding and definition, even the Bible confirms that, and this leaves the DRP definition rather simplistic and theologically innaccurate. Jesus himself states in the Bible, that God's kingdom is not of this world, so how can God be the ruling power of this world? Rather he gave humanity this world "to have dominion over it", and look how we have screwed it up. That is only the Christian idea of God, what about all the other faiths in the world. You see what a slippery slope this argument is, because there is no one correct definition and God transcends all human knowledge and comprehension. So the DRP by its very definition needs to either be broadened in its scope or eliminated entirely.

OGE as a moderator on this forum you are expected to interact with much more decorum than you have as of late. You chastise others for being too critical or insulting yet you do the same and worse yourself. If you can not maintain the neutrality a moderator should maybe you should resign your position, IMHO. I agree with ED on his remark made to you. This is not an issue of who is right and who is wrong rather it is test of just how legalistic our society has become and in many cases to the detriment of our society as a whole. In this case it is nothing more than a LA politician looking to make a name for himself in order to be re-elected, no matter what legalize you want to add to the argument. With the LA police and fire department budgets cut to the bone it is highly unlikely that these explorer units will ever be brought back, cuz there is NO money in spite of what the LA city attorney says. So once again the teens of LA lose out and so does the city because of a legal loophole and Leroy and OGE can feel proud because justice was done, so sad.

Well I admit it is a little unusual but it does contain elements of both the Buddist and Shinto religions which views a "creator essence" within the elements of nature, and since both of these religious traditions are accepted by the BSA then Kahuna is correct as to what grounds are you using to reject them? The BSA requires a belief in a higher power which is not necessarily a Godhead, so ntro & scoutldr definitions are not necessarily correct.

One more time for you twinkies who like to twist words, what I meant by that statement was that just about everyone in this forum has formed their own opinions as to what they think about Merlyn and his motives in this forum. It amazes me that people who volunteer in scouting defends this guy who is just waiting for the time the BSA goes under. To directly quote old Leroy, "The BSA is basically a dishonest organization."which he posted in this thread. So Lisa and others by this implication he is saying you all are basically dishonest because of your association with the BSA, is that the guy you want to defend than be my guest but all you are doing is taking his bait to validate and push his own agenda against the BSA. OGE because someone agrees on one point with a person they detest doesn't mean they support the rest of his dribble, you should know better than that.

Mer, just because 3 other people here can't seem to comprehend or differentiate what you say I said versus what I truly said is not my problem. I am glad you have your little fan club but you still are nothing but a troll.

Lisa, scoutldr, NW I NEVER SAID THAT I SPEAK FOR ANY OF YOU IN ANY OF MY POSTS, LEARN TO READ YOU PEOPLE, GEESH.

Wow Lexington you barely have a crew left do you. First you need to do a recruitment night, have your active members recruit/invite their friends and their friends friends to your meeting, put up flyers, etc. Have some ideas of some great activities the crew can get organized quickly, and suggest some long term ones to plan. At this meeting have plenty of food and fun planned, then have the crew lead the discussion to pinpoint the interests of the group. You also need to have a serious talk with your officers before this meeting about their responsibilities to the crew, if they won't step up then it is time for new officers. Lastly make sure the crew gets at least three big activities in the planning stages right away, in the meantime do a night bowling, mini golf, movie, whatever to get this group bonding ASAP. It may take a lot of work but you will have a stronger crew as a result, Good Luck.

Leroy, Waa waa waaa, methinks thou doth protest too much, lol.

Leroy, I never said I spoke for anyone else just that all of us know what you are and why you like to troll these forums, it must be sad to have no friends Mer, lol. And yes you truly are a troll by any definition of the word.

Hey Brent my friend any way you choose to spin it it still sounds like you EXPECT or that your troop OWES you something just for being scoutmaster, but that is just not the way scouting works by any stretch of your imagination. It sounds like you run your troop as a dictatorship, rule by intimidation rather than letting it be boy run as it is SUPPOSED to be. (for your edification I capitalized the key words for you so you do not misread my post once again, lol)

Say what you will Leroy but I and everyone in this forum view you as nothing more than an invasive nuisance that obviously has an axe to grind against scouting. I am sure if we could investigate you we would find a plethora of faults with you, but since we can not you continue to fan the flames which makes you like a parasite and in this forum an outlandish TROLL. So attack if you will but that doesn't change the fact you are indeed a pitiful little troll.

Merlyn this whole topic further proves to me you are nothing but a glorified TROLL, fanning the flames trying to get people to bite, you really are a sad, desperate, and unfullfilled individual.

Brent the expectation of a fully uniformed scout based on the amount of time you contribute. Well all I can say is that you chose to volunteer those hours, no one forced you, you are always free to resign, so your quid pro quo philosophy/rationale is invalid here. Your troop is not a corporation and you are not the CEO so your logic is as faulty as your expectations.

Jamboree is an exception to the rule as a full uniform is a requirement in order to even go, so taking out those 40,000 leaves 190 in Dunwoody, GA and I am willing to bet if you did a weekly troop meeting uniform check you would find at least half not in full uniform on a weekly basis. Requiring and then enforcing the rule are two very different things, even though a scout might even own a complete uniform but wearing it to every meeting does not generally happen, based on my years of experience, and many other fellow SM's with a troop. How many times have you seen a kid running in from a practice or other activity throw on their uniform shirt as they come in. IMHO, at least the boy is there and is interested in the program and I am not going to send him home because of no scout pants. Brent, scout spirit means a lot more to me than a pair of pants any day of the week.(This message has been edited by BadenP)

Not to split hairs here but 26 boys is hardly an overwhelming endorsement for wearing the full uniform, sorry Brent. It would be nice to see more scouts in full uniform and maybe if National priced the uniform more reasonably and improved the quality of workmanship and materials maybe we would. However Beavah's points about the changes in our society are equally as valid.