boy scouts of america

Chris Knight's avatar

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 administrators enough to bring Christie back to his regular school. And Whalen has been assured by West Point Military Academy that his situation will not be a mark against him when he applies for admission (something he has dreamed of since first grade).

It’s “zero tolerance” craziness like this that has contributed a lot to a loss of faith in America’s public education system. What the hell is going ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

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 been there now.

To our friends and brothers in the Mid-America Council and their families who are going through this right now, please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you, from here in the Old North State Council and beyond....

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Chris Knight's avatar


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. Board Chairwoman Elaine McCollum had already shared some very wonderful words about Gene Saunders, and I felt led to talk about Gene too since I had been one of his students. But for the past few months I’d already had it in mind to come to this particular meeting so that I could honor someone else. It just so happened that instead of one person who made a tremendous impact on my life, I wound up going to the podium and talking about two.

After ...

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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, haven’t you heard of archiving stuff?! Anyhoo here it is for permanent record (and with proper citation, which I always do anyway)…

THE INCOMPLETE BUT ENTIRELY FACTUAL
ACCOUNT OF THE RON PRICE LAWSUIT DEPOSITIONS

D-DAY NOVEMBER 15, 2007. It wasn’t exactly the allies storming the beach at Normandy, but it was a bloody, painful assault on one witness. I am talking about Deposition Day in the Ron Price defamation lawsuit against my wife ...

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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 to remove it from their shelves immediately. We are requesting anyone who may have purchased the item to remove the Cub Scout Recognition totem badge from their children’s possession and, until further instructions are received, keep it in a safe place where only adults will have access to them. Our highest priority is the safety of our youth members and their families. Boy Scouts of America apologizes for any concern this matter causes parents. BSA is doing everything we can to ensure the health and safety

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