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• Scouts Into Drinking, Drugs, and Sex

  Who knew the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides were such a bad-ass group? According to a recent survey of 2,500 European scouts between the ages of 16 and 22, scouts are totally down with drinking, drugs, pre-marital sex, and infidelity. There’s nothing too shocking in the fact that 80 percent of scouts engage in drinking, half would smoke pot if offered, and nine out of ten support pre-marital sex. But I must admit I was tripped up by the survey’s conclusion that Read More... Posted Mar 17 2008, 05:50 PM by Hannah Tennant-Moore with | with no comments Filed under: premarital sex, boy scouts, scouts honor, girl guides

• Maybe Someday Your Son Too Will Stop An Assassination

  Recently, I wrote a post about the top Boy Scout popcorn seller nationwide,  in which I idly wondered whether the mother of this salesman might have hoped for different kinds of accomplishments when her son first heard the call. Maybe accomplishments like those of 15-year-old Boy Scout Mohamed Jaisham Ibrahim, who saved the president of the Maldives from a knife-wielding attacker Tuesday.   Read More... Posted Jan 08 2008, 06:01 PM by Amy S.F. Lutz with | with no comments Filed under: boy scouts, Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, assassination

• "Be Prepared" . . . To Sell A TON Of Popcorn

  How did I live 37 years on this planet without discovering that popcorn is to Boy Scouts what cookies are to girl scouts?  It must be because I don't live within hawking distance of Anthony Aldrich II, who as of last week was gunning for his fifth sales title in six years among Boy Scouts nationwide.  In case you're wondering how much popcorn one would have to sell to contend for the title, Anthony had already sold $22,000 with more than a week left in the selling period.   I'm sure Anthony's mom is very proud of him.  But I think if he were my son, I just might be wondering, is this why I signed him up for Boy Scouts?  So he could peddle more popcorn than Orville Redenbacher?   Read More... Posted Jan 02 2008, 03:35 PM by Amy S.F. Lutz with | with no comments Filed under: fundraising, PTA, popcorn, boy scouts

• An Open Letter To The Boy Scouts Of America

  Congratulations on your new appointment as Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America. I read on the BSA website that as you look at the future of scouting in the next millennium you believe that to be successful you cannot simply rest on the rich heritage and history of the Boy Scout; which is why I propose you update the Boy Scout motto. I understand your hesitation to modify the very motto that has been with the BSA since it was founded in 1910, but “Be Prepared” no longer reflects the character and reputation your organization passively condones. Therefore I submit you immediately adopt the following motto as your primary guiding ideal, “Be Prepared to Defend Yourself Against the Sexually Predatory Advances of Your Scoutmaster”. Read More... Posted Dec 16 2007, 11:59 AM by makeitadouble with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: child abuse, discrimination, child abuse prevention, boy scouts, bigotry

• Things Fall Apart: Cub Scouts Badges. Millions of 'Em

  When I was little, the kids who were Cub Scouts were weenies. Has that changed? Because if it hasn't, there's about a million and a half weenies out there whose uniforms are covered with little lead weenie patches. And even weenies deserve lead-free uniforms.   Read More... Posted Oct 11 2007, 07:29 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: recalls, lead, things fall apart, cub scouts, patches, boy scouts