OldGreyEagle

Not that what follows makes it right, but I challenge anyone to walk into an LLBean store and find a shirt made in the USA Again doesnt make the BSA right, but they are following the industry

here you go http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=cubs+shot+glasses&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=13468089778802787594&ei=T8oHTIW2IoSclgf26tydDw&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=image&resnum=3&ved=0CDMQ8gIwAg# buy as many as you need

I don't know how many of you have coached in youth leagues, I did Soccer a few years and baseball once. (BTW if you think a mother going after her son's Eagle is bad, wait till you meet the father of the next Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, etc) but I digress Each year there was an all day (well 6 hours) seminar on the Leagues rules and sportsmanship et al. You took it every year, I don't remember any Sturm und Drang about attending, it's what you did

check http://cgi.ebay.com/Unusual-CUB-SCOUTS-Large-SHOT-GLASS-Vase-VERY-COOL-/150442797867 and don't look toooooo closely...(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

I wouldnt say sarcastic, more on the lines of " I wonder what he is trying to say", I mean Frankenstein is a story with many themes, the re-animation of dead tissue, a creator who abandons his creation, the need to be loved, I didn't get the gist of your point. Now, then, as the same often (!) happens to me, don't worry about it

Nick,if the BSA's membership was on a full-speed gallop going higher and higher I am not sure we would be having this conversation, but the BSA's membership is shrinking and with shrinking membership comes talk of change Females in other Scouting Countries cannot earn Eagle, then again, neither can the males as the Eagle is a BSA thing. Then again, a Boy Scout cannot become a Queen's Scout either (England)but we do what we can. I agree that just because the rest of the world does something is not a good argument for us to do it, but it does give us reason to be sure we are correct. Don't look for the GSUSA and the BSA to merge anytime soon, the Oath, Law and membership standards are certainly stumbling blocks that will not change anytime soon. Now, the BSA going Co-Ed, that could be interesting... (totally Co-Ed, yes I know about Venturing and Exploring ::Shudder:: I know those "Frankenstein" programs exist)

In this case, I think Merlyn is correct, its the perception that counts in most circumstances. How many different stories do we see covered dfference way by the media according to the media bias. (Feel free to insert best example to your way of thinking here. By American standards George Washington has the reputation of the Father of Our Country, one that I agree with. According to the Court of George III, George Washington was a murderous traitorous rogue for whom hanging by the neck til dead would have been too good John Elway in Denver is the most skilled Quarterback who ever lived, in Cleveland, victims of "the drive" and "The fumble" John Elway is luckiest man ever

Lets take a look at the way the BSA defines an "Active Scout", my intention is not to discuss the definition as much as to make a point: 1.He is registered in his unit (registration fees are current). 2.He has not been dismissed from his unit for disciplinary reasons. 3.He is engaged by his unit leadership on a regular basis (Scoutmaster conference, informs the Scout of upcoming unit activities, through personal contact, and so on). Number three has more text, but that is not important here. Number two is, 2.He has not been dismissed from his unit for disciplinary reasons. If you have a scout who steals, starts fights, instigates and brings along prohibited items, then a stern talking to is warranted, then after that doesnt work, its time to set behavioral expectations with clear consequences for not meeting them. That has to include exlusion from the Troop. We cannot say that the BSA gives us no recourse to scout behaving badly and we "have" to advance them. We have no right to complain that the scouts do not take responsibility for their actions when the Troop is not accountable to the program

Ed, Merlyn Merlyn, Ed Please stop

Hey now, you be careful on how you speak of Wladziu Valentino Liberace, he was a good Polish boy who was very nice to his mother (a fact often told to me by my mother) and besides, he never claimed to be Gay, denied it every time the issue came up

Who knew this thread would propagate so many new threads... Yes, so the young man posted in the internet therefore we can assume he wants the whole world to know... right? Back quite a few years now, I was doing an Eagle Board of Review, based on a conversation with my son I knew just a smattering of "MySpace". I asked the first Eagle Candidate if he had a MySpace page and he said yes, then I asked if I went on it, would I know he was a Boy Scout. The poor guy turned red, green and a few other pastels. Apparently he had never thought of "old guys" knowing about MySpace or using it or anything like that. Made for some lively questions ever since And now we have Facebook. The COuncil Camp the troop attends has a Facebook page and I guess the staff all think its quite the hoot to be a "friend" of as many of the scoutmasters as they can find. So, after I joined Facebook to trade family photos I was inundated with Friend requests from Summer Camp staff, the only issue has been that some do not always do a god job of keeping their language or activities "secret". Ok, I do not care to know how much you love your girlfriend nor do I think most of the scoutmasters care to read how hot she looks in whatever it is she looks hot in. One summer camp staff member joined a group that was named "XXXX School" and it was not that he liked school at all. I have told staff members that I in no way wish to tell them what they can or can't post, but if they do wish to continue, to just take me off their list, I am whittling things down as well. I realize I may be seen as an old fuddy duddy and not hip, but then again, I am ok with that. I wouldnt let them speak that way around me, why do I have to read it?

I spun this off, as it deserved to be this is the quote that started this thread "OGE, Problem is that even if you do have issues with someone who is not living up to the Oath and Law, if they appeal the BOR's decision, they usually win." So, scouts who don't "Pass" a Board of Review for First Class appeal and win? For Star? For Life? How many appeals occur at your troop? And for what ranks? When do we start "really looking at" the scouts charactor? DO they get a pass until Life and then they have to start acting like Eagle Material, whatever that is? Early intervention, in anything, whether behavior or health issues is always preferable, is it not? How many times do we get comments that the scout just skated through by the "skin of their Teeth" but now that they are Life and closing in on Eagle by God, they have to start being serious... And the adults recoil in horror at the youth's inability to accept responsibility when lack of it has never been an issue until that point. As a District Advancement Committee member I have done several perhaps hundreds of Eagle Boards of Review. A couple comments from the Troops stick in my mind. They are along the lines of "We can't beleive you gave that guy Eagle, he is such a loser" Excuse me, you the troop certified he met all the requirements from Scout to Life and how does such a loser do that? Its the District's job to weed out in 30-45 minutes the losers? Making sure the scout lives the Oath and Law is something for all scouts, not just the ones close to Eagle

I am sorry if this is off topic, but I feel it must be mentioned. The topic of the thread is what to do with this scout now that he has been awarded Eagle, yes his scoutmaster posted: "The boy has major maturity issues and believes that as long as you don't get caught it's okay. I don't feel comfortable having him set any examples for the other boys, that's all. Has nothing to do with his sexuality, but he's using that issue to go public." We keep arguing if he's gay, what if he's gay and other attributes related to his "gayness" To me the real issue is how did this guy, having major maturity issues and believing that as long as you don't get caught it's okay ever get in a position to be awarded Eagle in the first place? Someone who isn't a good role model for other boys in the Troop is an Eagle? We may need to dump the gay talk and talk about how a program founded in charactor and honor can have one as described reach this top honor I don't care if he is a raving heterosexual, he should not be an Eagle(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

Hey, this is the National Meeting time, happening right now... Anybody there? Anything that can be passed along?

I always thought Vigil sought the person out, the person cannot seek Vigil

It takes at least 17 months for a scout to become Eagle under the very best of circumstances. One month to First Class, then 4 months to Star, 6 months to Life and 6 months to Eagle. This is absolutely the fastest is can be done and has to have several people working at it making sure activities are scheduled, Boards of Review are done and Positions of Authority performed. So, the "average" kid in an Average Troop? It takes longer, how much longer? That is up to the scout

Kewl, Mon...

I am not sure I understand everything at play here. The scout acknowledges he is gay, but there is nothing to indicate he has ever had sex with anyone. We may assume most of the scouts we serve are heterosexual, but that doesnt mean they have ever had "straight" sex with females. The young lad may feel drawn to homosexuality, but that doesnt mean he has had sex with boys. We know young men as they go through puberty start to have sexual thoughts, but just because a scout thinks warmly of a cute girl in his class, it doesnt mean he is having sex with her or is plotting to have sex with her. I guess that's what I mean by treating scouts as asexual, we are not concerned with their sex life because there should not be any sex life to concern ourselves with. If there is a sex life (outside marriage) known to you, whether its a gay or straight relationship, there is much fodder for conversations about living the Scout Oath and Law. We know this boy seems to be gay, but what is known about him specifically?

Welcome back Ed, you have been away for awhile (This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

Nick, I would not welcome an extreme over the top heterosexual in the Troop I serve anymore than I would want an extreme over the top homosexual as well If the scout law is being followed, hetero or Gay shouldnt be a real issue

I have always found it amusing that some males lock up in terror at the prospect of having to talk to a girl to ask them out on a date and then at the same time, think of every gay guy as being after them for their "Body", what makes these guys think they must be repulsive to females while being absolutely itrrestible to gays everywhere?

Personally I am begining to doubt the "Lone Wolf" status of our Good Buddy Stosh... being chosen to be a scoutmaster at the National Jamboree fairly reeks of the Good Old Boy Network, you don't get suchpositions (leastwise in my Council) unless you are "plugged in" (Not there is anything wrong with that) So, Stosh, have a great time with the Troop, it should be a lot of fun melding them together (The preceding post has a lot of hyperbole in it and I have nothing but the upmost respect for Stosh, aka jblake47)

I heard they are going to a newer "tech" material although tecnically speaking, its still material and the change wil be made this week at the National Meeting. The color and design wont change or so I have been told...

it was meant as a hyperbolictical statement, sorry it didnt come off that way

Dan, take a deep breathe, my comments were made long before the link to the newspaper was placed. I was commenting based on the available information at the time I read the line "...he has since made the newspaper touting his orientation " and that was the basis for my comment "one marketing his homosexual adventures." The newspaper article is not near as incendiary as I was first lead to beleive(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)