NJCubScouter

Packsaddle says: It is my understanding that the degree of difficulty for the religious award is also dependent on age group. Cubs may not be held to as rigorous requirements as Boy Scouts or older children. Actually, in looking around the Internet a bit, many of the religions have different awards depending on age group. "God and Country" is actually four different awards with eligibility determined by grade level (1-3, 4-5, 6-8 and 9-12, which follows the major divisions of the Scouting program except that a brand new Boy Scout who has not finished fifth grade would still go for t

Packsaddle, as for Jerry Lewis, I used to watch some of his movies when I was a kid and thought they were funny -- "Way Way Out" is one I remember and I remember seeing some of the Martin/Lewis movies though their names escape me) -- but when I see them now, they really aren't. They just don't hold up in my opinion. And this is someone who is the only celebrity (to my knowledge) to go to the same elementary school that I did, and who (family legend has it) used to visit the house I lived in in that town, because it was owned by his aunt and uncle. (Hmmmm; if that isn't clear: Supposedl

Bob, if the UU award did not "count" toward the the requirement (which it does, according to dsteele), what you're basically saying is that as long as there is an option, it's ok. I don't think so. You would be saying to boys that if you're this religion you get to choose, but if you're that religion you don't. You don't see a problem with that? How is that "non-sectarian"?

Well, dsteele, obviously that is not the answer I was expecting. I apologize for my assumption. But it does raise another issue, that of fairness and, I guess, "quality control." What if a local church decides it is going to have its own religious award and the requirements are "Attend church 5 times in a year." Unless I am mistaken, the requirements for the "recognized" relgious awards are all much, much more rigorous than that. I never earned one, nor has my son, but parents of boys who have earned them have described the work the boys had to put into them. They are real achievem

I was going to respond to TwoCubDad, but OGE has said basically everything I was going to say. There is a big distinction between the government allowing use of its facilities on an even-handed basis, and actually "owning" a unit by being the CO. I don't see how a military unit (which is just a subdivision of the government) can own a sub-organization that is required by its own national rules to discriminate on the basis of religion. I think that eventually, this issue will be decided against the government. Note, not "against the BSA," which is really just a bystander on this issue, tho

BobWhite says: The scout did no less a worthy deed for not being able to put someone elses award on the BSA's uniform, nor is his participation in the scouting program altered by one iota. I have a question about this. Both the Bear and Webelos ranks have requirements that say: "Earn the religious emblem of your faith." Can a boy satisfy these requirements by earning the UU religious emblem? And, if the answer is no, doesn't that affect the boy's participation in the Scouting program, by more than just an iota? Now, I realize that each of these requirements does have a match

My son's troop has been around for more than 75 years, and has the "75 year" bar built into the special troop numeral patches they had made up. (The name of the town is in there (in tiny letters) too, I think that is good because I miss the old community strips.) I think some of the boys, especially the older ones, do take notice of the "75 years" and take some pride in it. Not a big thing, just a small aspect of "troop spirit." When they have an Eagle COH they make a big thing about the boy adding his name-plate to the board that has the name of all 80-something Eagles the troop has had,

Merlyn, as I recall, a number of prominent Jewish supporters of the ACLU didn't get the joke either, because they withdrew their financial support over the ACLU's position in the Skokie case. I also happened to have known some members of the Jewish Defense League at the time, who were making travel plans to go to Skokie and "greet" the Nazis if they marched there. (Ideology, like politics, makes strange bedfellows.) Although I generally agree with the ACLU's positions, I had some trouble with this one as well. A group of Nazis marching through a community where most of the residents ha

Acco, I know you asked BobWhite, but I'm pretty sure I know this answer. The Council President is a volunteer (unlike all the other positions listed, which are professional positions) who is the head of the Council Executive Committee, which oversees the operations of the council. He/she is part of the Council "Key 3" which also includes the Scout Executive and Council Commissioner.

BobWhite says: No leader has ever been removed or exiled for expressing an opinion or idea to the BSA in a scout-like manner. You may be right, but I personally have decided not to take the chance that you may be wrong. I have thought about writing letters to the SE or to national on this issue. But then I have thought about the statements on the BSA web site to the effect that homosexuality violates traditional moral values, and have thought, how can can I really be sure that someone won't decide that if I think homosexuality is not immoral, then I must be immoral too. And then h

Not to worry, Acco, all the boys in your den (and mine) paid den dues. You (and I) set the dues rate at zero, which all the boys paid. So, at least on that score, they were all active.

Another failed attempt at editing a post. BobWhite (welcome back) replies to Acco as follows: Acco, you can express your views to your local council president, scout executive, or any member of the national council board in your area (you can get their names from the council office). Or, contact the Relationships division at the National Council Office in Irving, TX. They will welcome your input. Yeah, sure. What they probably will welcome is putting your name on a list... if not putting your name and address on a termination letter.

Acco, thank you for asking that question, I'll be interested in seeing the answer myself.

Rooster says: Look at the BSAs mission. OK, let's. This is right off the BSA's web site, though I had to reformat it a bit. Hopefully the formatting will be correct: Mission Statement The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. Scout Oath On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake

Focusing only on Webelos here: I see they have made Outdoorsman activity badge "required" for Arrow of Light, which seems like a good thing. And at the same time they have made clear that the outdoor activity for Outdoorsman does not count for the outdoor activity requirement for Arrow of Light. They also seem to have changed the Outdoorsman requirements, and if I am reading this correctly, one MUST spend at least one night camping (as opposed to an "outdoor activity" that could be a day hike) to get Arrow of Light, and more camping and other outdoor activities are encouraged. This is

But dsteele, I never enganged in any inflammatory extemporation on this issue (nor do I on any issue, at least not outside the Issues and Politics board), and I'm curious about it too. Can't I have some of your theories and knowledge about why the name Venturing was chosen, instead of leaving the "traditional" programs with the Explorer label and renaming what was left as part of LFL? I suppose not. But it's worth a try.

I hate to be the self-appointed thread monitor here, but hey guys, this is Open Discussion and not Issue and Politics. People who don't want to read about controversial issues are watching. The question was what movies you think are funny, not which movie production companies, directors and sponsors you find to be politically incorrect, and why. Packsaddle, thank you for mentioning Galaxy Quest, I forgot about that one, it is very funny. I have it on tape and watch it now and then. But if we are going to talk about space movies, how about the Star Trek movie that (gently) spoofed Star

FatOldGuy, in the absence of someone here actually knowing the official answer to your question, I think a good theory would be this. The BSA may have thought that the volunteers who serve as sponsors and advisers to "career" Explorer Posts -- the highest-profile of which are the Police Explorers -- might get ticked off if they changed the name to something else. I don't know if any of them would have gone so far as to give up the program over a name change, but maybe they would have been less enthusiastic. Maybe the BSA didn't want to have to explain it to anybody. So instead they renamed

The mention of Michael Keaton (Mr. Mom) made me think of sort of a lesser comedy, "Night Shift" (with him, Henry Winkler, and Shelley Long), but also what I think is the funniest movie he was ever in, "The Dream Team" with him, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Boyle and Steven Furst as patients in a psychiatric hospital who are accidentally let loose on the streets of New York City. My favorite part was with Peter Boyle, whose character thinks he is Jesus Christ, and one of the hospital people who is trying to recapture him says that Jesus wouldn't do (whatever Peter Boyle is doing) and Peter Boyle s

And imagine MY surprise, opening a thread about Venturing that had 6 posts in it, and thinking that I was actually going to learn something about Venturing...

Um, The Green Berets is a comedy? Not that I have ever actually seen it, but it is not a comedy! It has been about 10 years since I saw Harold and Maude, but I would not have listed it as a comedy. The Internet Movie Database does list it as a comedy/romance/drama, but it does not fit easily into any category, because it is such a strange movie. But I guess since comedy is in there somewhere, it meets the requirements of the thread. The Green Berets, though... What's next, Platoon? By the way, the IMDB lists one of my choices, Mister Roberts, as comedy/drama/war, which certa

LeVoy, I was just referring to the comment you made about getting in trouble in this forum. I love Victor/Victoria also, I have probably seen the whole thing 5 times or so in the movies or on tape, and probably parts of it a dozen more times on tv. Along the same lines of getting in trouble in this forum, one of the funniest movies I have ever seen is The Birdcage. Someone mentioned something animated before, so if we are counting that, Monsters, Inc. has to be put on the list, and not as a kids' movie. It ranks up there with the funniest movies. And on a more kid-oriented level

Just on a humorous note, and not to "start" anything in the Open Discussion topic, but I can't help but notice that most of the first few movies named take an interesting approach to, shall we say, moral role-modeling. Don't get me wrong, I love all of these movies with the exception of the two I have never gotten around to seeing, "Dumb and Dumber" and "Happy Gilmore." But here, for example, we have "Some Like It Hot," starring two men dressed as women, and "Victor Victoria" (which I realize LeVoy named mainly to be "cute," in which a majority (or close to it) of the characters seen onscree

In discussing his belief that gay men pose a danger of improper advances toward boys, Rooster says: There is nothing special about homosexual men other than their perversion. I find that to be an interesting statement. It means that if one does not not think that a gay person necessarilty has a "perversion," then there is nothing "special" about gay people at all. The idea that being gay is a "perversion" is something that is shared by fewer and fewer people as time goes on. There is no longer a consensus in our society that it is a "perversion," or immoral. The idea that it is

What about a Boy Scout camp with a "GE Science Building" with a GE logo on it? The building at the camp my son just attended had sign saying either that exactly, or maybe it said "Science Building courtesy of GE" with the logo. Either way, the deal was clear: You give us the $ for this building, you get the sign with your name and logo on it in front of the building. I did not get to go into the building, so I do not know whether the boys can see a GE logo and references how we bring good things to light in every direction or not. The sign is probably more for the parents' consumption, an