BSA, RIP (Will Nothing Remain Unconverged?)

11 Wednesday Oct 2017

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

Tags

Boy Scouts of America, culture, decline, memories, SJW, society

I, Perrin Lovett, promise
to do my best
To do my duty to God
And my Country
To help other people, and
To obey the law of the Pack.

-Cub Scout Promise *Superseded by:

On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

So I promised many decades ago.

I failed. We all failed. Our best was not good enough. God is not pleased. The Country is no more. Some People cannot be helped and others more than help themselves. The Law is dead.

So it goes:

The Boy Scouts of America announced on Wednesday that girls will soon be allowed to become Cub Scouts and to earn the coveted rank of Eagle Scout, the organization’s highest honor.

“We believe it is critical to evolve how our programs meet the needs of families interested in positive and lifelong experiences for their children,” said Michael Surbaugh, chief executive of the Boy Scouts.

The scouting board of directors voted unanimously to make the historic change in an organization that has been primarily for boys since its founding more than 100 years ago.

Starting next year, young girls can join Cub Scout units, known as dens. Local scouting organizations can choose to have dens for girls and dens for boys. “Cub Scout dens will be single-gender — all boys or all girls,” the organization said in a statement.

A separate program for older girls will be available in 2019, the Boy Scouts said, enabling them to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.

The Boy Scouts said the moves reflect the changing nature of American life, adding to the appeal of a scouting program that can serve the entire family.

BSA said it commissioned two nationwide surveys that showed parents not involved in scouting had high interest in getting their daughters signed up for both Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

…

Earlier this year, the National Organization for Women urged the Boy Scouts to admit girls to the entire program, supporting the efforts of a New York teenager, Sydney Ireland, to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, as her older brother did.

Unanimous failure. The changing nature – like decomposition of a corpse I suppose. Polls of people not even involved. (Anyone poll, fellow veterans? No.) NOW – that says it all…

It gets better (worse):

…

Founded in 1910 and long considered a bastion of tradition, the Boy Scouts have undergone major changes in the past five years, agreeing to accept openly gay youth members and adult volunteers, as well as transgender boys.

Thanks, T-Rex.

The expansion of girls’ participation, announced Wednesday after unanimous approval by the organization’s board of directors, is arguably the biggest change yet, potentially opening the way for hundreds of thousands of girls to join.

Many scouting organizations in other countries already allow both genders and use gender-free names such as Scouts Canada. But for now, the Boy Scout label will remain.

“There are no plans to change our name at this time,” spokeswoman Effie Delimarkos said in an email.

No plans AT THIS TIME. Tomorrow is a different time…

Surveys conducted by the Boy Scouts showed strong support for the change among parents not currently connected to the scouts, including Hispanic and Asian families that the BSA has been trying to attract. Among families already in the scouting community, the biggest worry, according to Surbaugh, was that the positive aspects of single-sex comradeship might be jeopardized.

Shut up! We’re pandering!

In August, the president of the Girl Scouts, Kathy Hopinkah Hannan, accused the Boy Scouts of seeking to covertly recruit girls into their programs while disparaging the Girl Scouts’ operations. On Monday, Latino civic leader Charles Garcia, just days after being named to the Girl Scouts’ national board, wrote an opinion piece for the Huffington Post calling the BSA’s overture to girls “a terrible idea.”

“The Boy Scouts’ house is on fire,” Garcia wrote. “Instead of addressing systemic issues of continuing sexual assault, financial mismanagement and deficient programming, BSA’s senior management wants to add an accelerant to the house fire by recruiting girls.”

I’d say, “You go gurl!” but … there will never be any way to make everyone happy:

Instead of recruiting girls, Garcia said the BSA should focus on attracting more black, Latino and Asian boys — particularly those from low-income households.

…

The Boy Scouts’ new policy on girls was hailed by Zach Wahls, an Eagle Scout who played an active role in pressuring the BSA to end its ban on gays. However, he urged the Boy Scouts to take one more step and end its exclusion of atheists and non-believers who do not profess a “duty to God.”

Sure! Admit atheists, satanists, communists, “refugees,” terrorists, murderers, cannibals, ISIS, ANTIFA, BLM, SJWs (well, the rest), homicidal sentient toasters, aliens, open pedos, Harvey Weinstein, beastialitists, corporations, fictional characters, and lawyers. Admit anyone who will come. They’ll have to.

In ten years they won’t be able to recruit any boys.

Please do abandon duty to God. He is already gone. I’m glad I am to.

I will take and keep what’s left to me – mere memories of the Pushmataha Area Council.

2017 ffos

Mine is slightly older. May still have it somewhere. Memories.

Reconstructing a Legend: The Bucanero Canon

06 Monday Mar 2017

Posted by perrinlovett in Other Columns

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bucanero, Canon, cigars, memories, Perrin

Sitting around in a dark stupor of legislative reform I drifted off into a pleasant dream, a remembrance of a different time. An age ago, or so it now seems, I stumbled across a cigar of uncommon qualities.

**Yes. This is another trip in Perrin’s fuzzy-details time machine…**

Let’s say it was the week around Christmas, 2006 – that sounds about right. Give or take a year and the accuracy is impeccable. Hell, I was there; how am I suppose to recall ~~anything~~ everything?

Anyways, I was at the old beach compound. It was evening. That! I remember. Dark outside. Later too; the youngins were pretty much all tucked away in bed. The rest of the horde was scattered here and yon by television and wine rack. I procured a lantern and ventured onto the front porch.

Behind the screens my little flame danced and flickered in the constant salty breeze. A melody of shifting airs, none too cool, and crashing waves provided the ambiance for my experiment. Or, was it an experience? Huh…

In the near dark I perched in an old rocking chair. A sturdy ale by my side – we’ll say it was S. Smith’s Imperial – I pondered my evening smoke. Back then I was new to the sport and given to trying any and everything. My palate had yet to fully develop. This, I know, may skew my memories. What was fun or all I could handle back then might, now, be passe.

At any rate, THEN, my choice was interesting and excellent (so I thought at the time). Out of my small travel humidor, which I have since misplaced (with a great many other things – like old beach compounds…), I pulled a Gordo-ish, 6X60 beauty. She was dark and fragrant. It was a Bucanero Canon Cubano Maduro. A cannon of a canon.

160817buc0023-Edit-Edit-600x600

Courtesy of Bucanero.

In those days I had little idea of what, exactly, went into a stick. However, based on my research, just now, I can authoritatively say the wrapper is or was a strong Nicaraguan Habano, the dual filler is from Nica and the D.R. The binder remains a mystery product! Bucanero claims it to be on the “Light side of Full Body” with “Complex flavors”. That seems about right. Honestly, I can’t recall the exact notes. I’ll settle for their stock description: “rich creamy flavor with complex cocoa, espresso and assorted subtle spices”.

That seems about right. Patrick A. from Stogie Guys said, in 2008:

Big, black, and bold, this five and ½ inch by 60 ring gauge Bucanero behemoth packs rich, textured flavors of dark chocolate and burning timber. The Nicaraguan, Honduran, Italian, and Costa Rican blend is full-bodied and well-balanced. With decent construction – including a fairly even burn for its large girth – I can recommend this at $7 a pop.

Right, again. I picked his short review because of the close temporal proximity to my memory. His $7 price seems about right too. The chocolate I could see. The timber would be surprising. If I can muster anything from the memory banks, it would be earthiness (from Nica) along with the cocoa and light spices. I find his addition of Honduras, Italy, and Costa Rica interesting as well. Perhaps the blend has changed?

Back to what I can directly recall – this was a damned fine smoke! Seems that it took me around a good two hours. I would have gone slower, then, in fear of being overpowered. And, as I recall, that nearly happened. By the time I finished I was dizzy. This was a combined effect of the ale and the “light side of full body”. However, it was a happy dizzy. It was balanced perfectly on the knife’s edge. Any more and I might have been ill. Any less and I might not be typing this. In short, it was a blissful experience.

It’s one I’d rather like to repeat. Of course, as I mentioned above, a re-creation might be impossible a decade later. Too much smoke under the bridge perhaps. Still, it would be interesting. And difficult.

All of the shops I now generally frequent have stopped carrying Bucaneros. Back then they usually had two facings in stock: my Canon and the more popular Full Sail. There are a few I can think to check without going overly out of my way and without resort to on-line ordering and the mercy of UPS. I’ll do a little pavement pounding in FLA and report back if I strike tobacco gold.

The conditions may not be replicable. However, I’ve tried to rebuild the legend in my mind tonight. And I hope you enjoyed the trip.