Mr. Boyce

I say this as a political moderate, and I refuse to be categorized as an extremist of some evil or dangerous type simply because I feel a deep moral concern for human life. Rather, organizations such as Amnesty International, the ACLU and others should be condemning the killing of human life.

I agree with scoutldr. Abortion funding has to be specifically outlawed. An amazing, whopping 71% of us don't want federal money going to pay for abortions: that's the real public mandate on this issue. It's been painful, educational, and even morbidly interesting to watch Mr. Obama dissemble so much on this. A great majority of Americans want restrictions on abortion, but our self-described "centrist" president is doing anything but.

They should have dropped the goofy-loops from the shoulders. The bellows pockets aren't something I can use, unless I'm shotgun shooting. Good to have up-to-date materials. Would be nice to have a collarless, neckerchief-friendly version: the necker is a good thing.

You hear again and over that the scouts were officially racist (some accounts are more kind, and say scouting was in practice racist). Is this true? I take this to be an urban legend: it's something that's been said (people perhaps getting the notion from old photos) and repeated to the point where it's turned into fact.

Sorry, I just caught up to this. Thank you!

Given the plethora of pants options, what do you think is the best way to go? What's the best new pants? And it looks as if there are shirt options, as well, bellows vs. non-bellows.

. . . I just don't see how blasphemy = progress. I can appreciate that there are many individuals who get an adrenaline rush and/or deep satisfaction from poking at whatever is sacred to others. Most of this sort of poking is sophomoric, but a small bit can have value. Overall, God is God and the source of our being. "In the end, the Good Guys win."

The value of knee-length socks is because the wearer can get the cooling benefits of shorts while not getting his legs hacked up by weeds and underbrush. They work well.

I agree with Vol Scouter, although at one time I held a very lax view on the illegals. I read a book by a policy analyst (was it Luttwack?) who pointed out that illegals dampen the earning power of current American minorities. . . in an evolutionary way, they usurp the bottom economic rung, and their numbers lower the economic leverage that, say, blacks could exert. This isn't news to Capitalist USA. For generations, large employers have shipped in workers from southern Europe, etc., to replace basic laborers with those they can pay less. I pity Mexico in all this: her youth is being forced out; similar to a brain drain of sorts.

One problem with the "Frightened by Life" Philosophy is that the age limit tends to creep up. First we're fearful for the ten year-olds. Then the 12 year-olds. Then the 18 year-olds, then the 22 year-olds, then we want to wrap the whole world in packing materials and rubber guardrails.

. . . I meant to say NOT the military. I think some folks get overboard with uniform exactitude.

I think on something like this a good amount of leeway is fine. The Boy Scouts are the military. Best to keep it tasteful and something Mom can see.

Dan, you are so very dismissive of this subject that you are frightening me! Here are sources: National Coalitions of Antiviolence Programs Knight-Ridder Journal of Men's Studies International Journal of Epidemiology University of Chicago research Centers for Disease Control Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes Midwest AIDS Prevention Project British Journal of Psychiatry I would say that these many sources should strongly suggest that we take a serious look into this topic, and not wave it off, even if it makes us uncomfortable due to our political sympathies. I think the whole area continues to need research. In light of this, the BSA policy makes even more sense than perhaps the BSA recognizes. I'm a circumspect guy, so I tend to not care for either the political left wing or right wing. But in this one area, I think prudence suggests careful policies on the part of an organization which is so greatly liable to have abuse take place. . . and subsequent expensive litigation.

It's fascinating to me to ponder the fact that in 2009, after how many years and how many hundred millions of dollars, homosexuals are STILL operating at the same rate of promiscuous unprotected sex that they did at the time that AIDS first appeared. If you truly believe homosexuality is equivalent to hetereosexuality, you are ignoring great differences here: much more promiscuity, much more abuse and mistreatment and exploitation. You may feel you are noble in ignoring these differences, or pooh-poohing them, but you really do truth a disservice. . . in the interest of some political goals you have. I wish it weren't so, but it is. And with respect to religion, the Bible is quite clearly prohibitive of homosexuality. (Yes, I know there are modern convoluted readings which take black and turn it white, but we all know, at the end of the day, that the reason this is done is simply because we're tired of the pressure from the homosexual groups and tired of the venom.)

Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac was known to wear a scout shirt or two. Last year Glenn Frey of the Eagles posed. . . on the cover of Rolling Stone. . . in a vintage shirt! I think these things help make scouting look less frightening to the average kid, more acceptable. The band is a British pop band. I tend to agree with Hal above. Can you imagine what would happen to Girl Scout enrollment if Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus wore a uniform for a few shows?

I am a decided political moderate but it IS disturbing to see the tendency among liberals of simply running away from facts. Or pooh-poohing them. Study this issue further, and you'll be surprised at the amount of slant, cant and studied ignorance of facts by our media outlets: they always feel happier selling a "let whatever happen" view. http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache%3AT9T7F-bbmGsJ%3Awww.traditionalvalues.org%2Fpdf_files%2Fstatistics_on_homosexual_lifestyle.pdf+dangers+of+homosexual+lifestyle&hl=en&gl=us&pli=1

I'm looking forward to seeing this. The last one had TOO MANY pictures/illustrations/images---this sucked up valuable page space, knocking out real content. I know we live in a world of images, but the handbook really IS a reference book, at the end of the day. Binding was bad, too tight; there wasn't enough page margin and text seemed to run right into the binding. Needs the requirements for at least the required MBs in there, too, IMHO.

Here's a link to my new favorite rock group, Scouting for Girls. They're pretty funny.

I think as a society we're so polarized that we're getting used to being polarized and oppositional. There's a lot to be said for the old adage of not talking about religion and politics when in company. There's a lot to be said for maintaining conversation at a polite and respectful level. Amity is a nice thing to have among people.

Good point Joe. I have a story to tell as well about a twisted leader. I hate the obstacles the youth protection seems to make, but the context of everything is so open to problems that YP makes good sense. I wonder if there's MORE molestation in this world, in 2009, than there was a generation or two ago. In terms of quantity, likely there's more simply because there are more people. But is the percentage relatively higher? I don't know. I do think we're more aware of what goes on in "kidnapping" cases. I dislike the suspicion and mistrust the whole issue generates. You know, this kind of stuff (and rape cases) makes me wish we had old fashioned posses of guys who would just rough up offenders out in the alley, knock them senseless.

It would be disingenuous to downplay the differences between heterosexuals and homosexuals. This includes much more risky sexual behaviors, more drug abuse, more crime and violence. Simply because we live in an era in which homosexuality has become a divisive issue does not give us the right to wash away the truths involved here in the interest of peaceful feelings.

Vigiliance is right! I've never understood this kind of perversity.

Here's an interesting item. http://www.narth.com/docs/pieces.html If you want to attack it, attack the argument being made, not the author. In my book, this is very new, very unexplored psychological (as well as political) territory, and the BSA's policy is a very temperate one, given all the uncertainties and dangers. I'd chip in, too, that there is a value for boys in learning to form adult relationships with non-family men---you can ignore what your Dad tells you (he views you as a kid and treats you like a kid), but it's a real learning experience when you're treated more equally. I think also that men old enough to be coaches or scoutmasters are also at a point in their lives in which they want to give back, and also a point in which their expertise as an area begins to naturally develop into a teaching mode.

Just to be a thorn on the rose, I would ask whether libertarianism really is a kind of renunciation of one's moral responsibility---by opting to prefer mere consensus over the hard choices. Is this also an intellectually bankrupt approach--let's not use our minds, but just hold hands? There's much to be said for social comity, but I have a hard time with having moral choices---and more quiescence---forced on me. Or even voted upon.

DanKroh: A couple of thoughts to share. (1) You never showed that Cameron is the author of the study. You have tried to prove that Cameron is discredited by his peers, but this doesn't matter beans if Cameron is not the fellow cited in the Ziegler book. I just don't know. So your note lacks sting. (2) I'm a skeptic about psychological associations (as well as a number of religious denominational votes). Situations which get highly politicized sometimes result in bad science, wrong judgments and manipulated votes. Many lawyers refuse to join the American Bar Association for this reason. And we all know how worked-over and threatening the situation was for the American Psychological Association was at the time the vote was taken to "normalize" homosexuality. Votes made under compulsion just smell bad. Furthermore, as a field, psychology is sadly prone to abrupt shifts and changes, as well as politicized research. . . all of which lessens the field's scientific integrity. I'm over with this topic. Signing out.