Boy Scouts

Boy Scouts to require diversity and inclusion merit badge for rank of Eagle Scout

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced Monday it will implement a specific “diversity and inclusion merit badge” in support of the Black Lives Matter movement that will be required to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout going forward. In a letter to scouting families, the organization said it will also require diversity and inclusion training for all BSA employees starting on July 1, and a review of property names, events, and insignia, will be conducted “to build on and enhance the organization’s nearly 30-year ban on [the] use of the Confederate flag.” “The Boy Scouts of America stands with Black families and the Black community because we believe that Black Lives Matter,” the letter said. “This is not a political issue; it is a human rights issue and one we all have a duty to address.” The BSA used the term “murders” when discussing George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. Their deaths ignited recent protests against systemic racism and police brutality in the U.S. The organization said all those not named were are equally important, adding it hears “the anguish, feel[s] the heartbreak, and join[s] the country’s resolve to do better.” “As our country reckons with racial injustice, we all must consider our role and our failures and commit to meaningful action,” the BSA said. “There is no place for racism – not in Scouting and not in our communities. Racism will not be tolerated.” The organization said the new diversity and inclusion badge will build on components within existing merit badges that require Scouts to learn about and engage with other groups and cultures. To ensure diversity and inclusion are “engrained at every level” the BSA will also be reviewing “every element of our programs.” The changes come nearly four months after the BSA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Tuesday, halting the hundreds of lawsuits it faced after decades of sexual abuse claims within the 110-year-old organization over the years. Sexual abuse settlements had reportedly strained the Boy Scouts’ finances, with states passing laws last year so victims from long-ago abuse can sue for damages. On Monday, the BSA said it wasn’t as brave as it should have been in the past, but said, as scouts, “we must always stand for what is right.”

And the BSA continues it’s downward spiral…  Of COURSE there shouldn’t be any discrimination on the basis of race in the Boy Scouts.  That’s always been the case!   But, this over-the-top pandering to the latest politically correct racial trend is beyond ridiculous.  And a diversity brainwashing merit badge?!?!  Seriously?!?!?  Those things were for things like swimming, first aid, tying knots, etc.; NOT liberal social justice bs.  I was in Boy Scouts all the way from Cub Scouts, Webelos, and then Boy Scouts…was even in the (once upon a time) elite “Order of the Arrow.”  Just glad I was out LONG before all of this nonsense started.  If you’re looking for an alternative to the BSA, that’s more like it used to be before all of this politically correct bs destroyed it, try Trail Life.  https://www.traillifeusa.com/

Boy Scouts banned from planting American flags on veterans’ graves for Memorial Day due to coronavirus

A longtime Memorial Day weekend tradition to honor veterans is now canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but there are persisting calls to bring it back. For decades, the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other groups have devoted part of the holiday to place small American flags at the graves of veterans and those who have given the ultimate sacrifice as a way to honor our country’s war heroes. Yet this year the Department of Veteran’s Affairs has prohibited public events at the sites because of COVID-19. The Boy Scouts and other groups have been barred from carrying out the mass flag placements. On Long Island, N.Y., where more than 500,000 veterans are buried at two national military cemeteries, there are demands for the VA to reconsider and rescind the ban. “If we can’t figure out a way to make sure we are placing flags at their graves to honor them, then something is seriously wrong,” said Suffolk County executive Steve Bellone, whose county includes the sprawling Calverton and Long Island National Cemeteries, which hold more veterans than any other military cemetery in the nation, including Arlington National Cemetery. Bellone is confident that officials can carry out a plan that would keep the Scouts safe. “What we’re asking the VA to do is, rather than have a blanket policy across the country, allow the national cemeteries at the local level, to make this determination in conjunction with the local health department,” he said..

Fair enough, and agreed..  As a vet myself, I find this whole blanket policy ridiculous and offensive on oh so many levels.  Besides, c’mon..  Give the kids some masks, and have them wash their hands when they’re done, for crying out loud.  And, they’ll be outside getting that Vitamin D, which is what is helping kill this Wuhan nonsense anyway.  Hopefully the VA Secretary will fix this bs.  For more on this developing story, click on the text above.

Boy Scouts of America files for bankruptcy after sex abuse lawsuits

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Tuesday after decades of sexual abuse claims within one of the country’s largest youth organizations. The petition, filed in Delaware bankruptcy court, halts the hundreds of lawsuits the BSA is facing that allege sexual misconduct by people within the 110-year-old organization over the years. Sexual abuse settlements had reportedly strained the Boy Scouts’ finances, with states passing laws last year so victims from long-ago abuse can sue for damages. Mike Pfau, an attorney whose firm was representing 300 victims in New York as of last April, said the bankruptcy would be “bigger in scale than any other sex abuse bankruptcy.” “You’re talking about thousands of perpetrators,” Seattle-based lawyer Michael Pfau, who has represented more than 300 Boy Scout victims in 34 states, told the New York Daily News. “You’re talking about tens of thousands of victims. This will be the largest bankruptcy the country has ever seen, and likely one of the largest corporate bankruptcies.” The national organization said they made the move to fairly compensate victims harmed during their time in scouting and to keep the 100-year-old nonprofit running for years to come. A Victims Compensation Trust will reportedly be set up during the bankruptcy process, which the organization says will provide “equitable compensation to victims.” “The BSA cares deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologizes to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to harm innocent children,” said Roger Mosby, president and chief executive officer of the BSA. “While we know nothing can undo the tragic abuse that victims suffered, we believe the Chapter 11 process – with the proposed Trust structure – will provide equitable compensation to all victims while maintaining the BSA’s important mission,” he added. The BSA has issued an Open Letter to Victims, which can be read online, and will run as a full-page ad in USA Today on February 19. Scouting programs will continue during the BSA’s bankruptcy process and for many years to come, the organization says. Local councils are not filing for bankruptcy, as they are legally separate and distinct organizations. The bankruptcy petition reportedly listed the Boy Scouts’ assets as between $1 billion and $10 billion, and its liabilities at $500 million to $1 billion.

And the downfall of the BSA continues…  It all started when they made the insane decision to allow openly gay scoutmasters in their ranks.  That decision opened the floodgates for all sorts of issues.  And, boy did it adversely affect membership.  After all, how many parents would let their little boys go out on an overnight camping trip with an openly gay scoutmaster?  Yeah…exactly.  And their recent to decision to allow girls in was the last straw for many parents.  Up til then, the LDS/Mormon community was the largest membership within BSA.  But, no more.  They officially pulled out.  So, this is hardly a surprising development.  As a kid, I was a Cub Scout, then a Webelo, and then a Boy Scout.  I was even in their secretive  “Order of the Arrow.”  So, it was a big part of my youth, as it was for my older brother.  What has happened to the BSA over the last decade has been heartbreaking to all of us who were part of that formerly great organization.  For us, what the (lack of) leadership at BSA has done to destroy the culture and very fabric of that formerly great organization, we take personally.  BSA used to stand up against the gay mafia who would bully the BSA, and sue them in court.  The gay mafia would get backing from San Fran based Levi’s and other corporations intent on destroying the Boy Scouts.  When they finally caved in to the gay mafia, things started to fall apart.  And, here we are.  What a disappointment.  For those parents wanting an alternative to BSA, consider Trail Life USA.  Its what BSA used to be..

Boy Scouts organization inaugurates first all-girls troops

Washington, D.C., marked the end — and the beginning — of an era this weekend when the Boy Scouts of America established its first all-girl troops in the nation’s capital. Now known as Scouts BSA, the organization — which celebrates its 109th birthday on Friday — has begun welcoming girls in a rebranding effort amid dwindling membership, sex abuse scandals and criticism from the equally venerable Girl Scouts of the USA. In the District, nearly 30 troops with an estimated 200 girls took the Scout pledge on Saturday. Across the country, thousands of girls have entered the scouting program since Friday, becoming eligible to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout — a distinction that signifies years of participation and success in leadership, civic duty and self-reliance. “Our goal is to help families instill confidence and good judgment in these young girls,” said Craig Burkhardt, the scoutmaster for the District’s newly formed Scouts BSA Troop 248, which held its inauguration ceremony Saturday. For Caroline Hurley of the District, an inclusive Boy Scouts allows both of her 13-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, to be in the program, albeit in separate troops. It also provides weekend activities that her daughter lost when the local Girl Scout program disbanded.

This former Boy Scout, and member of the Order of the Arrow, is about to vomit.  If you really want to read the rest of this nauseating story, click on the text above.  I’m so thankful I was part of “BSA” before it bent over, grabbed it’s collective ankles, and sold out.  Lord Baden-Powell is surely rolling in his grave.  Awful..

Girl Scouts’ lawsuit accuses Boy Scouts of trademark infringement

The Girl Scouts filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Boy Scouts, accusing the latter group of violating trademarks as it now lets girls into its programs. In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) accused the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) of trademark infringement, unfair competition and dilution. The Girl Scouts noted in the suit that while the word “scouts” is used in both youth organizations’ trademarks, the two groups are “distinct, with one offering leadership programming developed for and aimed at girls, and the other offering programming developed for and aimed at boys.” “However, that core gender distinction between the two organizations and their use of the term SCOUTS and variations thereof has been altered by BSA’s recent decision to offer all of its services to both boys and girls of all ages for the first time in its long history,” the lawsuit said. “Indeed, even though GSUSA and BSA have congressional charters and separate grants of intellectual property rights that are specific to girls and boys, respectively, BSA is now using its trademarks in a manner that is both new and uniquely damaging to GSUSA, its trademarks and their underlying goodwill.” Following the move to allow girls into its programs, the Boy Scout organization has attempted to swing its “core brand identity” toward the simple designation “scouts.” By the Girl Scouts’ reckoning, the Boy Scout organization has no authority to do, according to the lawsuit. “BSA does not have the right under either federal or New York law to use terms like SCOUTS or SCOUTING by themselves in connection with services offered to girls, or to rebrand itself as ‘the Scouts’ and thereby falsely communicate to the American public that it is now the organization exclusively associated with leadership development services offered under that mark to girls. The change would spur public confusion, tarnish the Girl Scouts’ trademarks, erode the group’s persona and “marginalize” its “movement by causing the public to believe that GSUSA’s extraordinarily successful services are not true or official ‘scouting’ programs,” the lawsuit said. The lawsuit charged that misinformation has spread through parts of the country, including that the two organizations have joined forces and that the Girl Scouts have dissolved. Families have since “mistakenly” registered girls up for the new programs from the Boy Scouts. “BSA regional councils and troops have used the GIRL SCOUTS trademarks in their advertising and marketing materials since BSA’s announcement occurred,” the lawsuit said. “BSA is even using quotations from GSUSA’s founder, Juliette Gordon Low, about the value of GIRL SCOUTS programs to promote BSA’s newly launched services.” And despite the Girl Scouts efforts make the Boy Scouts aware of the “instances of actual confusion,” the lawsuit claimed that “the unauthorized uses of GSUSA’s intellectual property, they keep recurring.” “Only GSUSA has the right to use the GIRL SCOUTS and SCOUTS trademarks with leadership development services for girls,” the lawsuit said. “To the extent BSA wishes to open its programs to girls, it cannot do so using GSUSA’s intellectual property without authorization, in a manner that causes confusion among the public and harms the goodwill of the GIRL SCOUTS trademarks.”

Just when you thought you’d heard it all…  Kudos to the Girl Scouts for slapping the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) with this lawsuit.  That’s what they get for making that disastrous decision to allow girls in.  Thank God I was in Boy Scouts decades before it went to hell..

Mormons to end long association with Boy Scouts of America

The Mormon church announced Tuesday it will sever a more than century-old tie with the Boy Scouts of America and transfer its remaining 425,000 boys in the program into a gospel-focused youth group it is developing. The church’s announcement follows the Boy Scouts’ unprecedented decision in 2015 to allow gay troop leaders and last year, to allow girls in its ranks – both seemingly at odds with the conservative beliefs of the Mormon church. Last week the BSA announced it will drop the word “Boys” from its name to reflect the inclusion of girls. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints initially said it was “deeply troubled” by the Boy Scouts’ policy change on gays but stayed with the organization after receiving assurances it could appoint troop leaders in accordance with its own religious and moral values. After the official separaration, slated for Dec. 31, 2019, the Mormon church will create its own gospel-based youth program, FOX 13 reported. In a statement the church said its new youth program will “help all girls and boys, young women and young men discover their eternal identity, build character and resilience, develop life skills and fulfill their divine roles as daughters and sons of God.” The Boy Scouts of America in a statement thanked the thousands of Mormons who have served as scout leaders and wished the religion well on its new program. The organization said individual Mormons who wish to stay in Boy Scouts would be integrated into other troops. The church has long been the biggest sponsor of Boy Scout troops in the United States, constituting around 19 percent of the 2.3 million youth in the organization, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Following the Boy Scouts’ move to allow girls into the organization, nearly 4,000 girls have joined roughly 170 Cub Scout packs participating in the first phase of the new policy, and the pace is expected to intensify this summer under a nationwide multimedia recruitment campaign titled “Scout Me In.” Though the flagship program’s name is changing, the parent organization will remain the Boy Scouts of America, and the Cub Scouts — its program serving children from kindergarten through fifth grade — will keep its title, as well.

What a sad sign of the times..  My older brother and I both were in Boy Scouts, and both of us were elected into the BSA’s “Order of the Arrow” program, back when it really meant something.  What a disappointment this is..

Eagle Scout: RIP Boy Scouts of America. You were great for 100 years

We all knew this was coming. The Boy Scouts of America stood for over a century on its strong foundation of Judeo-Christian values, growing boys into young men, and young men into leaders. However, in recent years the BSA has allowed cracks to form in that foundation. From the lifting of the ban on openly gay boys from joining the organization, to the sanctioning of openly gay adult leaders, to the encouragement of so-called “transgendered” boys to join, the BSA’s moral foundation has been rapidly and steadily eroding into dust. As soon as the BSA changed the definition of the phrase “morally straight” in the generations-old Scout Oath back in 2013, allowing for homosexual membership, we all knew that this first compromise would not be the last. We all knew that it was only a matter of time before the BSA compromised itself into oblivion. That day has now arrived. From the BSA’s website: “Today, the Boy Scouts of America Board of Directors unanimously approved to welcome girls into its iconic Cub Scout program and to deliver a Scouting program for older girls that will enable them to advance and earn the highest rank of Eagle Scout.” This is incredibly disappointing news, but in light of the BSA’s changes over the last few years, it isn’t at all surprising. It does, however, mark a complete transformation for the organization. The Boy Scouts has always been exclusively for boys. As Ben Shapiro famously noted, it’s in the name. There are plenty of organizations out there for all different varieties of youth. The Boy Scouts even have several co-ed programs for both boys and girls. The girls already have the Girl Scouts. If the Girl Scouts isn’t working, why not work to fix that organization instead? There is absolutely no need for the Boy Scouts to change who they are to be “inclusive.” What now separates the Boy Scouts from any other youth organization? The BSA has now effectively rendered obsolete both the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts. If the Boy Scouts is a better youth organization for girls, why would any girl ever want to join the Girl Scouts? More incredibly, I have to wonder why any parent would want their young teenage girls camping in the woods with young teenage boys? Who exactly is okay with this? As an Eagle Scout myself, this is an incredibly difficult piece for me to write. My fondest memories from my youth come from my time in Boy Scouts. I learned a great deal about myself, about leadership, and about manhood in those years. The friendships I made with both adult leaders and fellow Scouts can never be replaced. Earning the rank of Eagle Scout in 2002 was the greatest achievement of my life at the time. Another honor was when my beloved Scout troop invited me back to town to participate in its centennial celebration earlier this year. My scouting experiences have guided me throughout my adulthood and will continue to do so. I now see I was lucky to have been a Boy Scout at that time instead of today. Those experiences would not have been the same had the BSA not been so strict on its membership policies. It is important for boys and young men to grow together free from the distraction of girls. I suspect the Almighty Dollar now motivates BSA more than the Almighty. Membership (and revenue) has been declining steadily for years. Suddenly membership eligibility is now opened to a whole new demographic. Draw your own conclusions there. This is what the Left does best: target and destroy everything good in America. They cannot compete with us on ideas, so they have to eliminate everything that makes us who we are. If they were truly motivated to provide girls, homosexuals, and “transgenders,” with the same experiences Boy Scouts provides, then they would form their own youth organization. But it isn’t really about that, is it? Rest in Peace Boy Scouts. You will be dearly missed.

That touching op/ed was written by Eagle Scout, Russell Patten.  I too was a Scout; went all the way from Cub Scout to Webelos, to Boy Scouts…and made “Life” Scout.  I turned 18 before I could go through the Eagle program, although my “project” did receive initial approval.  So, that was a disappointment.  And, I was inducted into the Order of the Arrow (OA) program of the BSA.  Russell is spot on here..  It was inevitable what happened.   But, its heartbreaking all the same.  Glad I was a Boy Scout back in the day.  Shame on BSA for taking this special program specifically for young boys, away from them.  Awful…

 

In historic change, Boy Scouts to let girls in some programs

In a historic change, the Boy Scouts are announcing plans to admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting next year and to establish a new program for older girls using the same curriculum as the Boy Scouts. Under the plan announced Wednesday, Cub Scout dens — the smallest unit — will be single-gender, either all-boys or all-girls. The larger Cub Scout packs will have the option to welcome both genders if they choose. The program for older girls is expected to start in 2019 and will enable girls to earn the coveted rank of Eagle Scout. Boy Scout leaders say the change is needed to provide more options for parents. The Girl Scouts organization has criticized the initiative, saying it strains the century-old bond between the two groups.

Wow..  You really can’t make this stuff up, folks.  Glad I was a scout, before it all went to hell.  Lord Baden-Powell is rolling in his grave, I’m sure…

Boy Scout leaders vote to end ban on adult homosexuals

A key Boy Scouts of America panel has approved lifting the ban on “open or avowed homosexuals” as BSA leaders and volunteers, and the final formal decision is expected before the end of the month. The BSA announced Monday on its website that its National Executive Committee had unanimously adopted a resolution that would let adults lead Boy Scout troops without regard “to sexual orientation” if the local chartering organizations wish. The BSA National Executive Board, a broader body than the executive committee, is widely expected to ratify the change at a July 27 meeting and have it take effect immediately. The revised policy will both end the ban while respecting “the right of religious chartered organizations to continue to choose adult leaders whose beliefs are consistent with their own,” the BSA said. BSA National President Robert Gates virtually spelled out the change in a speech in May, saying that “rapid changes in society” and “increasing legal challenges” made the BSA’s adult membership policy unsustainable.

Wow.. No wonder Trail Life USA and other similar alternative scouting organizations are seeing a surge in their membership. Parents all across America are taking their boys out of the BSA. I was a Boy Scout. Was even in the Order of the Arrow. How things change…

Homeowners group drops opposition to Boy Scout’s American flag project

Homeowners group drops opposition to Boy Scout’s American flag project

Glad to see this HOA back off its original refusal to allow this.  Of course it was done under pressure, and it should NEVER have come to this point.  But, they made the right decision, ultimately.  And, good for this kid for pushing this idea and getting his Eagle Scout project approved.  Excellent!!   🙂