David CO

Bankruptcies are about money. Period.

A well managed nonprofit? After everything that has happened, you can still call BSA a well managed nonprofit? That is ridiculous! People need to take their heads out of the sand. Many thousands of kids were molested. BSA is in bankruptcy. BSA is not, and never has been, a well managed nonprofit!

Of course the Executive Board is a sham. That's why my COR never attended council meetings. He refused to waste his valuable time participating in a sham. There was plenty of productive work for him to do with the troop. I blame board members for much of the problems that caused this bankruptcy. By accepting these positions, and participating in this sham, they gave parents the false impression that BSA is a safe, well-managed organization with proper volunteer oversight. Nothing could be further from the truth. Parents should have been told the truth. Those prominent volunteers who participated in creating and perpetuating this façade are at least partly responsible for the situation that lead up to the bankruptcy.

Do they have names? I always thought the national council typically used numbers to identify themselves, like SPECTRE in the James Bond novels.

It is even better than painless for the guys at the top. This bankruptcy is their dream come true. When BSA comes out of this bankruptcy, the big shots will have more power than ever.

A diocese doesn't exactly "answer" to an archdiocese, but they do both exist in the same province. The Archbishop and bishops of a province will often meet together and decide on issues in unison. An example of this would be policies on Catholic schools. All of the schools in my province accept the common core standards and share a common curriculum. It is not at all unusual for the archbishop and bishops of a province to act together on an issue that effects them all. It is a real possibility that a province might choose to act jointly on a decision about chartering BSA units. At the very least, I should think that they would all discuss it together before any one of them would make a decision.

BSA has not been walking a fine course. It has been moving decidedly and steadily to the left. BSA is now a left-wing organization.

I don't think BSA believes it needs or wants the religious CO's. They have not lost their minds. They have made a calculated decision. They have long wanted to secularize scouting. The bankruptcy has given them the means to do it.

I have no problem with that. I have seen a lot of kids who were mistreated by the system and needed a good lawyer to protect them.

I don't know. The juvenile justice system is a mystery. I was asked to write out a statement. Then I never heard anything about it after that. The whole process is very secret.

Nope. Not a nickel.

If you text inside the blue box, I can't quote you. I am not trying to compare injuries. I don't believe anyone has the right to take justice into his own hands. Not me. Not you. Not anyone.

I was physically assaulted by a student, leaving me with a very painful permanent disability. I haven't had a pain free day in the last 30 years. It forced me to quit coaching (which I loved). I also had to step down as Scoutmaster of the troop I founded. Since I was the only teacher in the school for my subject, I had to teach that kid for a semester. I hated it. The kid never raised his hand or spoke to me. I never spoke to him. At the end of the semester, I gave him a fair grade. Is that professional enough for you?

You're not off base. I am taking a broader view of the question. How do I feel about having criminals living in my community? Pretty much the same way I have always felt about it. I'm not comfortable with it, but it is the unhappy reality I have to live with. We do have criminals living amongst us. I don't believe in vigilante justice. I am not going to join the frantic mob with torches and pitchforks. I am not going to take the law into my own hands. I work within the law. Always have. I have had students in my classroom who were vicious criminals. Gang members. Arsonists. Rapists. Thieves. As a teacher, I have had to treat those kids with the same courtesy as I did any other student in my school. It takes a lot of self-discipline and professionalism to do that. But I did it. It was my job.

Yes. That is the great unknown. My guess is there will be a continuous stream of unending lawsuits until BSA finally gives up the ghost.

Good idea using modern-day saltines. It might not be able to penetrate hardtack.

Don't know if Stosh is still lurking about. I believe he was into Civil War reenactments. Must know a thing or two about black powder muskets. Do scouts use round shot or Minie balls? I like the Hall rifle. unusual weapon. Sort of a cross between a breach loader and a muzzle loader.

My teacher retirement plan.

Sometimes the needs of the community outweigh the needs of the individual. I think mandatory reporting is a prime example of this. The community needs mandatory reporting, even if the victim and/or the victim's family objects.

I wish they were losers. Losers are much easier to get rid of. The BSA board members and executives are very effective at protecting their own interests over the well-being of everyone else. They rarely lose.

I could never take a limo to camp. It would be humiliating. But times have changed. I would feel like Marty Markham showing up to camp in a chauffeured limousine. Oh the shame of it! Even after 3 seasons, the Triple R boys never let him forget about it.

Would they then need to balance it again by letting a cute little cub scout get up and tearfully expound on how the bankruptcy will negatively effect his participation in scouting?

I wouldn't be at all surprised. It is possible because the volunteers have no control over BSA.

That would be a first.

Please stop putting words into my mouth.