Gone

Yes, for doing the CDT, also for a few special treks in Europe and Alaska. We used these guys.

Yup. Asked, they said maintain the current policy until told otherwise. But that is not what the parents want to hear when they are signing up. They want to know that they're not joining now only to have to change in a few months.

ROFL...we need a guide for this? Only in America.

Majority of what? Of the populace nationally? Various polls show the country split on the issue. Of BSA members? They ran the straw poll in 2013 before the last vote and the majority were against it, but one can argue the sample size and methodology (as you can with any poll really). What we can take from either the national polls or the membership pole is that the issue his pretty equally divided, and no where near the 70+% with which the BSA board passed this policy change. That is what I suspect @@Stosh is referring to in part -- the board's vote does not reflect the parity on this issu

To be honest, we're not saying anything. That's the problem. We don't have time to give parents accurate info they want and we will lose potential members either way. Thanks BSA. But since the CO has not given any direction yet the original policy still holds until it is changed.

I knew the Scots were retentive, but that's a bit much. Had a similar experience in Austria. We came up with innovative ways to melt the tundra up on the mountain side. Who knew a JetBoil could thaw a six inch hole in 5 mins?

So please enlighten me if you know more.

I'm not going to tell parents anything. That's not my decision. I serve at the pleasure of my CO. They own the charter. They set the standards. If they do or don't want gay leaders then that's THEIR decision, not mine. I am not going to get in to a political situation. I am paid to enforce the rules of the BSA, who now says my CO says who can/can't be members. Until that ruling comes down I have to tell parents that we currently do not allow gay leaders per BSA policy until as such a time as my CO tells me otherwise.

...or maybe it is when a minority votes in a controlled environment that make them the majority and force that upon the true majority. BSA should have let all registered members vote up or down on the issue. Then we'd have the answer as to who had the majority. Given this issue is split nationally, I find it VERY odd that BSA's board voted over 70% to allow this when not even that many of their own members, let alone the national, feel that way.

There were no conservative groups ramming it down your throat. There were no groups outside BSA pressuring BSA to keep their policies. There were no lawsuits forcing BSA to keep an anti-gay policy. There were no sponsors of which I am award who threatened to leave if BSA allowed gays. Even if there were they paled in comparison to the attack on conservatives and religious organizations over the last 8+ years. Remove all of that on both sides and let's start fresh. You STILL have groups on the left saying they're not done with BSA. They now want ALL religious COs to stop discriminating. The

Camp Daniel Boone has a concrete shower and doodie block, private rooms, etc. Very nice. I'm talking the stuff that is made to break up faster, no dyes or perfumes, etc.

When the poll was taken of selected members about allowing gay scouts the majority voted against it, yet a bear majority of the council members voted for it...against what the straw poll of membership voted. Yes, a majority of the board voted for allowing gay leaders, but I think @@Stosh point is that the board's majority does not reflect how the BSA membership, nor how the 70% of the religious CO's feel.

This is good advice. Our district does ask for total career service hours as well as total Eagle project hours. I know other districts that don't. Best to find out what your district wants to conform.

Excellent point. What do units tell perspective parents when the question comes up, "Does your unit allow gay leaders?" Whether you are for or against this policy change, I suspect both sides what to know what type of unit they are joining. Making this decision now does not give any time for the COs to find out from their national/regional organizations how they will be allowed to function. Few are changing policy without such a directive from on high, so many are in limbo. For an organization driven by membership, again we see the short-sightedness of the timing of this decision. Better p

Problem is, when political correctness reared its head during the Clinton years, that genie can't be put back in the bottle. If Hillary gets elected it will only get worse. The people who follow that creed have no desire to live and let live. They want to jam their ideals down the throats of those that oppose them. That was my point elsewhere about their intolerance of others. They will never be satisfied.

Just heard three units in council are disbanding. Their CO (church of Christ) has dropped them. Leaders have no time to find a new CO so they are sending those interested in continuing to other units. Their reported % going to the other units? 30%. DEs running around trying to put their finger in the dyke.

Sorry, I live LNT but there are ways to do you duty and make sure it does not harm the environment. I draw the line at packing out my duty. A good cat hole and biodegradable paper will do the trick. Better that than a plastic bag rotting out over five years in some land fill. In the end (no pun intended), the poo ends up somewhere on planet Earth.

I suspect in the temporary patch area on the right side of the uniform or on the back of the sash.

One last thing our scribe does, he keeps a running list of ideas and events we don't use. We use it as the baseline for the next year's planning session.

@@NJCubScouter nailed it. The leaders make accommodations for such scouts. The fac the kid has stuck with it so long shows great leadership in my opinion. Look to his Downs peers and see how they look at him. Don't use non-Downs kids as a comparison. Use the GTA section quoted above. Best guidance. In short they should be helping him to succeed.

The Catholic Church is not very pleased with GSUSA for many reasons, so they took the opportunity to include them at the bottom as a concluding (and separate thought) when address overall alternatives to the scouting movement. It's not Thomas Aquinas, but the reader could understand the train of thought.

But that's the point, isn't it? These are the groups active in tightening the screws on BSA. They are the one leading the charge to influence BSA, and the (spineless) leaders of BSA are merely falling over themselves to either accommodate or get out of the way of these people. Lately, it appears that BSA is influenced by these groups, so yeah, I'm very interested in what these groups say. If they said, "Great, live and let live...let the local option apply" I'd be okay. But they are not satisfied with the local option, so I am very interested in what they have to say. I am also interested to s

Yup. So not only is local option not satisfactory to them but once they change that they want to "fix us" by changing the scouting culture. Lovely.

When you hear groups advocating the end to the gay ban continue to call for "cultural change" within BSA, that says to me they are not satisfied with what has happened. What do you think they mean? They have the ban lifted, what more do they want? [What do you mean "fictional character"? Are you implying something? ]

Given that organizations like this one are not satisfied with the end of the ban on gays, now they say they need to change the entire culture of Boy Scouts. It has no end. They will not be satisfied until BSA resemble something THEY want. I don't think you can save BSA. If these groups are going to continue to bash BSA until it resembles what they want it to, there won't be enough people around to make being in BSA worthwhile.