Free Republic

Sustainability merit badge requirements released 15 July 2013 44 Comments Updated, July 16 with clarification about water bill sustainabilityReady … set … go green! The long-awaited requirements for the Boy Scouts of America’s Sustainability merit badge have been released. The badge joins the Eagle-required list as an option to Environmental Science merit badge. Scouts must earn either Sustainability or Environmental Science on their journey to Eagle. Scouts may begin working on Sustainability MB once pamphlets arrive in Scout Shops and at scoutstuff.org in early August, but you can get a first look at the requirements below. Or click here (PDF)...

(Email received this morning.) Dear Friends, So far, we have released our proposed membership standards and a statement of faith & values that all adult members will be required to sign. We now also submit a Key Differences chart and outline between the new Youth Adventure Program and the Boy Scouts of America. Please forward this email to everyone in your troop and council to understand more about the new (soon to be formally named) organization. Outline of Differences between the Boy Scouts of America and the new Youth Adventure Program: 1) The BSA's new policy requires troops to accept...

OnMyHonor.Net Final Naming Survey After conducting multiple online and email surveys, conducting Focus Group testing in two cities with both parents and scouting age boys, and running initial trademark searches on selected names, we have narrowed the names down to the following selection. The list of names below has been carefully evaluated to address the goals contained in the Mission Statement. Please read through the following names and cast a vote for the ONE name you think best typifies the mission of the new organization. That's it! Based on your input and the recommendations of our steering committee we'll be...

This interview with John Stemberger [click HERE to listen], founder of OnMyHonor.net, was recorded today, July 18, 2013. Stemberger describes the formation of a new boys organization that will provide a wholesome alternative to the pro-homosexual Boy Scouts of America (BSA). [Watch an introductory video HERE.] The new boys organization (yet unnamed) will be devoted to building good character among boys, centered on biblical principles. The new group holds its first national convention this September after holding a recent planning meeting of national pro-family leaders in Louisville, Kentucky. Stemberger, who is also president and general counsel of the Florida Family...

Known as The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, the 10,600-acre park opens Monday, when 30,000 scouts are expected to visit for the quadrennial National Jamboree. The Summit will have more than 5 miles of zip lines, a whitewater-rafting circuit, a 120-foot tree house and a stadium for 85,000 people.

Bookmark this thread. In the previous three bibliography threads, I have gathered links to 118 news articles posted on FreeRepublic concerning the decision of National Council to admit "openly gay" children to the Boy Scouts of America. This post rounds the number of threads up to 124, adding six more articles since my last post on June 15.This will be my last bibliography thread for the time being, since the issue has peaked in the news. * * *BSA Bibliograpy Part 4: New group trying to straighten out the Boy Scouts- Gay Scouts question badly misses the point Coach is...

Since shortly after its formation in 1988 the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has been fixated on deviant sexual behavior, culminating in the endorsement of homosexual pastors in 2009, homosexual “marriage” in 2011, and the election last month of their first homosexual bishop. Dr. James Nestingen, a highly respected scholar and retired ELCA seminary professor, recently concluded that promoting acceptance of deviant sexual behavior has actually replaced the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the primary mission and message of the ELCA. Those within the ELCA demanding these radical changes asserted it is necessary for the ELCA’s very survival. Supposedly, they...

In a backlash to the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) decision to embrace the presence of openly Gay scouts in its ranks, a new group which has not yet named itself, has announced it will begin to operate as an alternative to the BSA starting next January 1st. Using lofty phrases like “character development” the new group declared it will be generally modeled on Christian principles of chastity outside of marriages between one man and one woman. New Group (NG) will meet in Nashville in September to address what it says are the concerns of “tens of thousands” of individual...

A national coalition, which includes people formerly associated with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) as well as several other partners, announced Tuesday the formation of a new youth organization for boys that is founded on Christian values and principles. "Our vision is to be the premier national character development organization for young men which produces godly and responsible husbands, fathers, and citizens," said Rob Green, the organization's interim executive director, during a press conference call Tuesday. He added, "The new program will be an exciting and motivating outdoor-based program focused on leadership and character development for boys, and founded...

For Immediate Release July 9, 2013 Washington, DC Good afternoon. My name is Rob Green. I am from Spartanburg, South Carolina and I will be the interim Executive Director of a new national youth character development program for boys. Louisville Meeting: On Saturday, June 29, 2013 a landmark meeting occurred in Louisville, Kentucky. Nearly 50 leaders from around the country came together, each with a strong interest in forming a new scouting-like organization for young men. We had veteran scout leaders, representatives from major faith denominations, and national organizations concerned with youth and families. From that meeting, held less than...

Bookmark this thread. In past weeks I have gathered links to 112 news articles posted on FreeRepublic concerning the decision of National Council to admit "openly gay" children to the Boy Scouts of America. This post rounds up some additional articles since my last post on June 15. Some of the stories were posted more than once; if the duplicates had more than a few replies, I have included them also. While my past two bibliography threads contained stories only about the "gay" scouts decision, for the time being I will link to any Boy Scout story on FR. The...

WH Price of The Spearhead clues us in on Scouting’s self-inflicted woes, as well as their sordid beginnings. If you have always bought into the mythology, this zinger from Price should blow your mind: That politicians and preachers today could talk about scouting as though its origins are godly, clean-cut and wholesome is, quite frankly, hilarious. The origin of scouting has more to do with taking scalps than it does with...

Twenty-three Boy Scouts were hospitalized after a lightning strike in New Hampshire on Monday night, a fire chief said. Chief David Parenti, of Belmont Fire Station, said the Scouts, aged from 12 to 16, were at the Griswold Scout Reservation in Belmont when the incident happened. Parenti told NBC station WHDH that many of the injuries were minor burns. He said six scouts were given cardiac monitors because the burns were in the chest area. However, he said this was done mostly as a precaution.

<p>BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Four men are suing the Mormon church and Boy Scouts of America in federal court, saying they were sexually abused while attending scouting functions in Idaho.</p> <p>Attorneys Gilion Dumas, Andrew Chasan and Timothy Walton filed the lawsuit in Boise's U.S. District Court on Monday on behalf of the men, who are named only as John Does I-IV.</p>

My little girl is 5. Perfect time to start Girl Scouts except ... well I suppose y'all will fill me in on that. Thoughts?

Given the friction and financial woes facing the Girl Scouts these days, perhaps it's time for a giant friendship circle. Under that long-standing tradition, a ring of Scouts clasp hands and give a little squeeze, accompanied by a silent wish of good will. Just a year after its centennial celebrations, the Girl Scouts of the USA finds itself in a different sort of squeeze. Its interconnected problems include declining membership and revenues, a dearth of volunteers, rifts between leadership and grassroots members, a pension plan with a $347 million deficit, and an uproar over efforts by many local councils to...

Bishop Kee Sloan, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, has posted a letter asking churches to sponsor Boy Scout troops. In apparent response to the Southern Baptist Convention's resolution opposing the Boy Scouts' decision to accept openly gay scouts, Sloan wants Episcopal churches to step forward to host troops that may need a meeting place. Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter said while in Birmingham last weekend that his church, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, plans to stop hosting its Boy Scout troop. First Baptist Church of Pelham and First Baptist Church of Helena have also announced...

WINNSBORO, SC (WIS) - Logan Robinson is going to need a bigger sash. He's come a long way in 10 years. Back then he was just a 7-year-old Cub Scout who enjoyed carving polar bears out of bars of soap. "For a 7-year old to have a knife and be carving something, it was awesome," said Robinson. "I was hooked right away." Robinson achieved his Eagle Scout rank by the age of 13. Most scouts quit when they hit Eagle. Robinson was just getting started. "If I didn't have something to focus on, I was just going to fizzle out,"...

Look at the similarities. As Gallia Watch explains, the French video that you can watch by clicking on the link just below this post title shows "the vigil held in Montpellier on the eve of the first homosexual marriage in France that took place May 29 in that city. Les Veilleurs (those keeping vigil), seated on the ground, and singing L'Espérance (Hope), their anthem, are confronted by the pro-gay crowd, standing, visibly more rowdy and drinking, carrying the multicolored banner of Gay Pride". It is easy to see the contrast between the beautiful, peaceful hymn sung by the Les Veilleurs,...

Bookmark this thread. Last week I linked on one thread 89 news articles posted on FreeRepublic concerning "openly gay" children being admitted to Boy Scouts of America. This post provides links to all additional articles posted on this issue since then to June 15 (as of time/date below). Creating this round-up of BSA news is to avoid flooding your in-box with pings as this situation is being hashed out in one or more articles daily. I will continue to follow up on FR postings and ping you once a week or less, unless there is a huge breaking story. For...