NJCubScouter

Really? Wow, I really thought that was true. And it's not a new thing, it goes back probably 25 or 30 years. I guess it's a particularly persistent urban legend. Thanks for clearing that up. Especially interesting given that yours is a country that has an official religion. (Or is that an urban legend too? I don't think it is. I know that the Queen is considered the head of the Church of England, which sounds pretty official to me.)

The BSA will never be out of the morality definition business. The BSA has a moral code: Trustworthy loyal helpful friendly courteous kind obedient cheerful thrifty brave clean and reverent. Duty to God, country, others and self. Be clean in our outdoor manners, etc. Those are all moral values. One might even say, "Timeless Values." Some of the definitions within those basic precepts have changed. "Clean" does not necessarily mean what some people once thought it meant (and what the BSA told the U.S. Supreme Court it meant.) But I don't think we should let the 2 percent (my estimate) o

Sometimes being a moderator in this forum is like being Homer Simpson watching the nuclear reactor start to melt down, and he can't find the button to shut everything off. But I can see when the temperature is starting to rise to dangerous levels. One of the things that is sure to raise the temperature in here is questioning other posters' motivations, or appearing to do so - and that goes in both directions. It isn't against the "rules" to do so (in my interpretation of them at least), but it often leads to things that do violate the "rules." So could we please turn down the tempe

I'm not sure what the Jedi "religion" would be. There is the Force (which actually has been registered as an official religion in the UK, where they have official lists of religions, unlike here), but that can be used by both the good guys and the bad guys. So maybe the Jedi religion is a belief in the "positive use of The Force." But is that really a religion? In the religions I am aware of, everybody can join. You just have to profess the right belief, go through the right ritual (if applicable), and maybe other incidental things like paying some money. But membership in the Jedi is no

On the "gay issue," and considering both the decisions not to change the policy, and the decision to change the policy, I do not see any way that the BSA could have avoided the controversies that both caused and resulted from those decisions. The issue implicated strongly-held religious and/or moral beliefs on both sides. To a large degree the controversy mirrored the nationwide public debate that was going on at the same time regarding marriage equality. (I am not equating the two issuees, but I think they are parts of the same larger issue.) And then there were both the internal dynamics

I agree. I generally don’t point out typos on the Internet (unless they are really funny) but this not a forum message, email or text. It is a real document. Not to mention, if you’re going to change the name of something, it looks especially bad to get the new name wrong on the first day.

It reminds me of the time George W. Bush tried to say “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” It did not go well.

My friendly advice was ignored, so this thread is being locked. @RememberSchiff @John-in-KC @Sentinel947

Thank you. I don't know whether I had seen that. It doesn't fill me with great confidence that although the program will be "Scouts BSA," they couldn't even get through the introduction before calling it "Scout BSA," without an s.

That is fine with me, but if they do that, they should TELL us they are letting us sort it out troop by troop. As opposed to having rules that they don't intend to enforce. Actually, they are already doing part of it. It is clear that a CO that does "not want boys and girls to mix at all" does not have to take a charter for a girl's troop at all, so there will be no girls. If it is an area where everybody thinks girls should not in Scouts BSA, then there probably will not be any other organization that wants to be CO of a girls troop, either - and for the same reason, there may be little t

Gwaihir (who doesn't usually agree with me) correctly states what I meant. But it does bring up a point that I should clarify, which is that when I said we all need to get our terminology straight, I was including National. I have posted a number of times (maybe including in this thread) about various ways in which National was using vague and sometimes misleading terms, and sometimes using them in self-contradictory ways. The prime example in my opinion is the phrase "Family Scouting," which I have posted about several times. A close second is "linked troops." They need to come out with

I’ll bet you a dollar he never said “the BSA” is not going coed. The BSA has been coed for 45 years. In this time where program names are being changed, it’s especially important to get our terminology straight.

I carry around a tote bag, it was my “free gift” for joining the AARP.

At ease.

Ok, that’s it. No more negative remarks about other posters. No more ascribing motivations to other posters, who you don’t know. If people want to talk about Star Wars and the BSA, in a Scoutlike manner, go right ahead. Otherwise, this thread is going to be locked.

I am fairly certain that LatinScot is NOT a “liberal.” Not only have I read his posts, I never see him at any of the meetings.

A service activity? Is that anything like a service project?

Assuming that the Han Solo movie indeed flops, I'm going to throw out an alternative theory here on why that may be the case. It is based on not much more than the reaction I had when I first heard they were making a Han Solo movie, and my supposition that there are other people somewhere out there who had the same reaction. I'm going to go see it, just because it's a Star Wars movie (in fact, I thought of taking my wife to see it later today, but I think we'll wait until next weekend.) But as much as I like Star Wars, I want to see something new. I know that a movie that is part of a seri

That sounds like a useful thing to discover!

This forum being what it is, I feel compelled to say that the following is sarcasm: Sure, the next movie is going to have no female characters, just men. And no alien males either, because in the current political climate who wants to see them, so all human men. Unfortunately I'm not quite sure which human men are still alive, except the ex-stormtrooper and what's-his-name, Rey's new boyfriend, and maybe Lando. And whatever happened to Wedge Antilles. (Sorry, my "peak" as a Star Wars fan was sometime around the release of Episode VI, and I'm talking about the version with the force-gh

But what you probably were expecting was for me or someone else to say, NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition. What I will say instead, is: Imagine, a Jewish person being an Inquisitor. The shoe has certainly landed on the other foot.

(Emphasis added.) I realize I am about to commit heresy in the eyes of some, but I don't think the Lenni Lenape lore is "at the foundation" of the OA. What I think it "at the foundation" of the OA is service, camping, brotherhood (with a small b, but maybe it's going to be siblinghood now anyway), and perhaps other related attributes. The LL lore is the trappings - important ones, but still trappings. I think it is there to lend an aura of intrigue to the whole thing. And maybe a sense that these guys are in their own league. But take away the lore, the dancing, etc. and you still ha

That's a good idea. We have a couple of brats in the troop who I wouldn't mind selling off. Oh, not that kind of brat...

I am not excited about it. I am accepting of it, and if asked to be the advancement chair for a troop of girls as well as the current troop of boys (whether "linked" or otherwise), I will accept that too. It is starting to look like, if we have a sufficient number of girls in our town who are interested, we will probably end up with "linked" troops. Or a linked troop. A linked troops? They really need to get that terminology straightened out if they want me to use it correctly. Grammar aside, I view the whole thing with a mixture of curiosity and concern. Anyway, I was a Cub Sco

Did you actually receive the letter? Who was it from? (Sorry, when you post on a forum you never know when another member might be a lawyer and start cross-examining you. )