Boy Scouts of America: 1910 - 2024

 Those are the words that I first spoke as an eleven-year-old in the fall of 1985.  And I have done my very best to live up to them, every day since.That is how I choose to remember what it is to be a Boy Scout.  They are the words that I made a lifetime commitment to uphold.As of today the Boy Scouts of America is no more.  It is now "Scouting America". ...

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One day, this will be mine (I hope!)

See this?  It's an enlargement.  The originals are about the size of modern printed currency... I first saw this at a Boy Scout camporee in September of 1985.  I was a brand new full Boy Scout.  They were handing out life-size copies of this: A ten shilling note used during the Siege of Mafeking during the Boer War in South Africa.It dates back...

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The closest person I had to a grandfather

 A few nights ago I was propped up in bed, just randomly looking up things with my iPad.  And I came upon something truly, truly special.  It is for me anyway...It's on the website for the Order of the Arrow lodge of the Boy Scout council that I was in.  This photo dates to 1954.  The man on the right, in the light uniform shirt, is Allan "Doc" Lewis. ...

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This is my Eagle Scout card

I received it during my Eagle Scout ceremony at Fairview Baptist Church in Reidsville, North Carolina on August 16th, 1992. It immediately went into my wallet. I have carried my Eagle Scout card with me ever since.  It has been with me through college, across the ocean, through some very dark times and into some very wonderful times. I've never been without it. ...

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Bullying from Boy Scout big-wigs?! Executives manipulating data?! Gay policy under fire from on high?!

If true... IF this is at all true... this represents the most insane turn of events that I have ever seen coming out of the Boy Scouts of America in my thirty-some years affiliated with the organization. The honor of a Boy Scout, painting by Norman Rockwell First, I wish to direct your attention to an article by Austin Ruse on the website for Catholic publication Crisis...

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Why the Boy Scouts can NEVER be compatible with homosexuality

The Boy Scouts of America has been a part of my life since I was eight years old, in the fall of 1982.  That was more than thirty years ago. I started in the Cub Scouts.  I earned my Bobcat, Wolf and Bear ranks.  In fifth grade I graduated to the Webelos Scouts and earned the Arrow of Light.  A few months later I became a full-fledged Boy Scout. ...

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Greetings to all of y'all at the 2010 National Boy Scout Jamboree!

Tonight I'm sitting in Reidsville... but my heart is at Fort A.P. Hill.Here's bidding a hearty "hello" to all 45,000 or so of my friends who are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts in style this week ...

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Cub Scouts to offer award for video gaming

I hope these kids understand that emergency first aid in the real world is kinda hard to do while running around the landscape looking for medpacks.The Boy Scouts of America is now offering a Video Games merit award for its younger members: those who are part of the Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts and Webelos Scouts. There are actually two awards: the Video Games belt loop (one of...

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The Boy Scouts of America is 100 years old today!

On February 8th, 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was founded by William D. Boyce, Edward S. Stewart and Stanley D. Willis. It had been Boyce who first discovered the Boy Scouts in Great Britain during a trip there in 1909, and thought that it would be a good thing for the youth of the United States as well.A hundred years later, more than 110 million Americans have taken...

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Boy Scouts under assault from insane zero-tolerance policies

Matthew Whalen is an Eagle Scout from upstate New York. He got suspended for a month from school for having a pocketknife in his car while it was parked on his school's campus.Zachary Christie is a six-year old Cub Scout from Delaware who was sentenced to 45 days in reform school. His "crime"? Bringing a spork (combination spoon and fork) to school so that he could use it to eat his pudding.Fortunately however, the ensuing public uproar embarrassed...

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Thoughts and prayers for fellow Boy Scouts in Iowa

As you might have heard by now, four Boy Scouts were killed yesterday when a tornado tore through the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in Iowa.When I did the Boy Scout camp thing years ago, at Cherokee Scout Reservation, we had a tornado alarm. I think that I only heard it used once during a drill. I don't think any of us ever expected that there'd be a reason why it would be used for real.I've come to have a whole new appreciation for that alarm having...

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James Allan "Doc" Lewis was born 100 years ago today

Portrait of "Doc" Lewis that hangs in the Order of the Arrow Lodge Building (which is dedicated to Doc) at Cherokee Scout Reservation in Caswell County, North Carolina(picture courtesy of the Old North State Council's article at Wikipedia)This past Monday night at the meeting of the Rockingham County Board of Education, I spoke during the public comments portion of the evening....

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Richard Moore's account of the Ron Price lawsuit deposition

Here's Richard Moore's write-up about what happened during deposition in the Ron Price lawsuit against Richard and his wife Debbie. There are two big reasons why I'm posting it here too: one, because Richard gives his perspective on what happened when Doug Hux interrogated me. And two, because Richard Moore, although he's not the lousy blogger like Ron Price is, is a man who just can't leave stuff consistent on his Political Soup website. Richard,...

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Is "Globalization" a merit badge? Lead-laden Chinese products now plague Boy Scouts

Yesterday the following item landed in my e-mail:Attention Scouters and Parents,We received notification on Oct. 3 relating to defects in the Cub Scout Immediate Recognition Kit (Item # 01804). It may contain lead levels in excess of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission standards in the paint on the totem badge.The Boy Scouts of America has directed all of its Scout Shops...

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