fgoodwin

I find it odd that those who take it upon themselves to modify BSA's uniform to suit their own views, would never think of modifying a military uniform . . .

Imagine my surprise, when I was shopping at the local grocery store, to see copies of "Boys' Life" on the magazine rack! Heretofore, the only places I'd ever seen "Boys' Life" (outside my own home) was at a Scout shop or office, or at the public library. I hope this is an example of BSA trying to re-establish itself in the public eye. -- National Episcopal Scouters Association http://www.nationalepiscopalscouting.com/

Scouting is not soldiering. BSA is not the US Army. So can someone please explain to me why certain folks are so h*ll-bent on applying military practices to BSA's uniform?

Why is it that we worry so much about things we can't change, and in this case, isn't even a reality yet? Until I see something in writing, these "rumors" are just that: rumors. Until its a reality, why in the world does anyone waste even a thought about it?

The Insignia Guide says what it says -- it is unclear only to those who don't like what it says.

Gunny, thanx -- and Happy Veterans Day to you and your fellow veterans.

Gunny, you're thinking of RAs: Royal Ambassadors. As far as I know, RRs has always been an AG youth program. When I was a young boy, many of the guys in my Cub Scout den were also RAs at the local Baptist church I attended.

SF: MOUNTAIN VIEW DAD LOSES NAME DISPUTE WITH BOY SCOUTS http://cbs5.com/localwire/22.0.html?type=bcn&item=SCOUTS-NAME-DISPUTE-baglm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:15 SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) A Mountain View father lost a bid in federal court in San Francisco today to use the name "Youthscouts" for a youth activities group he founded for his daughter. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White ruled that the Boy Scouts of America has a trademark right to exclusive use of the word "scouts" in an organizational name. White also said the Boy Scouts, founded in 1910, had additional protection from a special charter passed by Congress in 1916 giving the group rights over the word. Gregory Wrenn, a Silicon Valley attorney, founded Youthscouts in 2002 after his daughter Emma was asked to stop attending meetings of her twin brother's Cub Scouts pack. Youthscouts was intended to be nondiscriminatory and open to all members and staff regardless of gender, sexual orientation or religion. Wrenn, who sued the Boy Scouts in 2003 after the organization initiated trademark enforcement proceedings, argued that the terms "scouts" and "scouting" were generic and should not be subject to trademark protection. But White wrote in a 15-page ruling that the terms as used by the Boy Scouts "have achieved and been accorded significant conceptual and commercial strength." He said there was a likelihood of public confusion between the Boy Scouts and Youthscouts. Wrenn and Boy Scouts of America were not immediately available for comment on the decision, which could be appealed. In several other cases during the past decade, the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts have ruled that Boy Scouts of America is entitled to exclude girls, homosexuals and atheists because it is a private organization.

Before launching into a wild goose chase, I'd ask: where did your uncle get his information?

Boy Scouts of Americas Centennial Commemorative Coin Receives Presidential Approval http://www.scouting.org/Media/PressReleases/2008/20081020.aspx Scouting Activities in Underserved Areas to Benefit from Share of Proceeds DALLAS, October 16, 2008President Bush recently signed into law the Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act (H.R. 5872) which authorizes the minting of 350,000 silver dollar coins in recognition of BSAs 100th Anniversary in 2010. Only two commemorative coins are selected for U.S. Mint production each year, and minting of the coins for 2010 will occur between February 8, 2010 and January 1, 2011. For each coin sold, there is a $10 surcharge representing a $3,500,000 donation that will be made available to local councils in the form of grants for the extension of Scouting in hard to serve areas. It is a great honor for the Scouts to be recognized with this Centennial Commemorative coin. We thank the President, the House and the Senate, especially Congressman Sessions and Senator Sessions for their support, said Bob Mazzuca, Chief Scout Executive, Boy Scouts of America. This is a treasured moment in the history of our organization and we are grateful for the millions of Scouts and volunteers who have served as the foundation of our success for nearly 100 years. The act received strong bipartisan support from both the House and the Senate. Introduced earlier this year to Congress by Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX), an Eagle Scout with four generations of Boy Scouts in his family, the act received overwhelming approval with 403 Members of Congress voting for it. Boy Scouts are a significant part of American culture, shaping the values, citizenship, and skills of millions of young men, Congressman Pete Sessions stated. From conservation to character building, the Boy Scouts 100th Anniversary celebrates the highest Scouting ideals of helping others and making communities stronger. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who also is an Eagle Scout, was the Senate sponsor of this legislation, which passed by unanimous consent on September 27, 2008. I am pleased that the Senate has approved this legislation to mint a commemorative coin celebrating an important mark in the Boy Scouts history. Scouting has been a positive influence on millions of young men across the country, said Senator Sessions. H.R. 5872 legislation states that the commemorative coin must be emblematic of the 100 years of the largest youth organization in the United States, the Boy Scouts of America. The act also outlines other design mandates of the silver dollar including that it must show its designated value, the year 2010 and have inscriptions of the words Liberty, In God We Trust, and E Pluribus Unum. The coin will weigh 26.73 grams, have a diameter of 1.5 inches and contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. The design will be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury after consultation with Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazucca and the Commission of Fine Arts. The selected coin design will also be reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

Non-Profits: Stopping School Handouts Would Hurt http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6371.cfm?Id=0,74986 10/13/2008 Ben Dunsmoor Backpacks in Sioux Falls may be a little lighter if the school board decides to pass a new policy. The Sioux Falls School Board is considering a policy that would tighten the restrictions on the handouts that go home with students. The board started to review it's policy on handouts after students took home a school directory produced by The Sioux Falls Shopping News that contained an ad for the Alpha Center which read, "Abortion Hurts Women." The new policy would allow only handouts from the school, government agencies, or partners involved with school programs. The School Board will take public input for one month before it makes a decision on the new policy. One group that is giving it's input on this new policy is the Sioux Council of the Boy Scouts, because when the Sioux Falls School Board suspended the policy that allows organizations to send home fliers with students a month ago they saw an immediate impact. [excerpted]

Judge scouts answer to infringement case http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/10/BA5O13F2TR.DTL Friday, October 10, 2008 Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer (10-10) 17:12 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge offered sympathy but little encouragement today to a Bay Area man who faces a claim of trademark infringement from the Boy Scouts for founding the Youthscouts after his daughter was excluded from her twin brother's troop outings. What Gregory Wrenn and his daughter are trying to do is "very laudable," promoting "different values, more of an open door, less discriminatory" than the Boy Scouts, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White told Wrenn's lawyer at the close of a hearing in San Francisco. The case isn't over, as the judge, who had tentatively ruled against Wrenn before the hearing, said he would issue his final decision in writing. But he seemed to agree with the Boy Scouts that a charter Congress granted in 1916 gave the organization the exclusive right to use "scouts" and related terms in naming youth groups. [excerpted]

Has anybody read "Night of the Howling Dogs" by Graham Salisbury? Its apparently based on an actual incident in Hawaii that involved Scouts. It got good reviews on Amazon. -- National Episcopal Scouters Association http://www.nationalepiscopalscouting.com/

"A History of Wood Badge in the United States", published by the Boy Scouts of America in 1988 (publication no. 3164) is available online in two PDF files at: http://www.scatacook.org/WB/WB-Book-Part1.pdf (61 pages, 4.1MB) http://www.scatacook.org/WB/WB-Book-Appendix.pdf (59 pages, 2.4MB) -- "I used to be an Owl", SR-552 "I used to be a Staffer", SR-772

Not sure about an explanation for the colors, but I've never seen anything saying a certain pin had to go with a specific color. All the Webelos I've ever known (including my son) pinned them on randomly. I suggest you not sweat it . . .

It was a prep school in the UK: Certainly a nice gesture, but I wonder why they couldn't do the same at a public school here in the good ole U.S. of A.?

scoutldr, sounds like we're roughly the same age (I was born in Nov of 1954). I wish I had stayed with Scouting but as I got closer to middle school, football began to take up more of my time. And now I have two bad knees to show for it!

meteu: I appreciate and understand your opinion, but you could use "boy-led" to ignore every rule in the book. Suppose your "boy-led" troop started a new "tradition" that a project wasn't necessary for Eagle -- what would such a candidate Scout tell the EBOR who turns him down? Sorry, we may differ on what the uniform and insignia rules mean, but we can't pick and choose which ones we'll follow or ignore.

"Speaker Bureau"?? I have no idea -- you should probably ask the seller, assuming he knows . . .

jmwalston, I thought the same thing. I joined Cub Scouts as a third grader in 1963; I earned the Lion badge as a fifth grader sometime in the '65-'66 school year, but dropped out before earning my Webelos (equivalent to the AOL now). I had always heard the Lion was discontinued shortly after that. Even if the guy earned the Lion in 1975 (highly doubtful), since National does not track ranks other than Eagle, how could he possibly know that his was the very last? I'm sure the boys had fun earning all those patches, but the leadership leaves me baffled.

Ya know, Cub Scouts is a fun program, as written. There's really no need to embellish it or change it (or worse yet, run a completely different program cloaked as Cub Scouting). I'd really like to talk to the council folks who encouraged this.

With so many uniform and program errors to choose from, its hard to know where to start. First of all, boys don't "re-earn" ranks they did not earn the first time. This isn't Boy Scouts, where every new boy starts with Scout and Tenderfoot. Cub Scouts earn the Bobcat, then the rank appropriate for their age. Third graders work on Bear -- they don't "catch-up" by earning Tiger & Wolf. MB sashes are for MBs, not as a place to show a hodge-podge of temporary patches, obsolete rank patches and arrow points. Arrow points and CSP go on the uniform; temp patches go on the red vest. Subject to check, I think the denner cord is worn only during the term of office, it isn't a permanent award. Cub Scout patches are for boys -- I'm sorry, I don't care how helpful the young lady was, it isn't appropriate to have her wear an ADL patch and other Cub Scout ranks and patches. Since proper uniforming apparently isn't an issue for the adults in this den (or pack), one wonders why they took care to keep the Lion badge off the uniform? Where is the UC in all this? And what was the district and council thinking that authorized all of this?

I thought this was a simple issue, but like many "simple" things in BSA, it can be made complex by those who don't like the obvious answers: (1) Sashes are never worn over a belt -- those who do will have a hard time finding anything official and in writing that authorizes this. (2) MB and OA sashes are never worn at the same time -- ditto my comment above. (3) OA sashes are worn only at OA functions and other functions when the member is rendering service in an OA role, not to show "pride" or membership in OA. This website isn't official, but its a pretty good summary nonetheless: http://www.citilink.com/~blkeagle/sashes.htm

Re: the old switchbacks, you could take fabric from the middle of the pants legs to make them shorter. Still, I never did (I just wore them as shorts and never wore the legs because they were too long). I really like the new pants -- the fabric is much heavier and my guess is, will be much more resistant to "pilling".

By brother was a Huey crew chief when he was in W. Germany back in the 80s; he's an FAA inspector now.