I have yet to be shown what is lost if we take the more cautious approach and not use children (note the verb) for commercial purposes, in any fashion, until they reach the age of majority and are no longer children.

Hi, Tom.

I know how to cook; I’ve done private catering; grew up around restaurants and food service. Yet, our current “signature dish” is: frozen waffles, toasted, over which you get your generous dollop of skim ricotta, your three Tyson’s breaded chicken tenders; your jar sauce; and your slice of deli cheese. Back in the…

I’d like to believe you’ve got the better view of this.

I see what you did there ;)

I wasn’t attempting to share my views, but repudiate yours with the implied reminder: There are ways of supporting one’s neighbors without resorting to ugly forms of nationalism.

Recommended reading: “Declare” by Tim Powers, which sets some scenes and storyline in the Empty Quarter.

Amazing that you extrapolate my geopolitical views from the scant information available. With powers like these, perhaps YOU should be making all the decisions...

Better than living in a Tom Clancy novel?

Imagine that: humanity can’t get into space without humanity’s help. Take your tribalism and go home.

Or, the third option, you advocate for a repeal to the discriminatory policy.

That’s the odd bit about it, eh? The more seriously a Scout reflects upon the nature of his religious beliefs, the more likely it is he’s going to find himself excluded from Scouting.

That kind of wordsmithery would be hypocritical. On the one hand, a Scout/Scouter is “trustworthy, honest”; and on the other, he is... comfortable misrepresenting his ardently held worldview commitments? There’s no reason for the religious discrimination requirement other than inherited prejudices. Scouting will…

What comes first: freedom from hunger, from economic insecurity, from educational neglect, from indoctrination, or from homelessness?

I’ve never understood the tricky bit that happens when the opportunity parents have to lie to their children becomes the right to do so. When does the one turn into the other? And what happens to our responsibility, as members of the same community, to protect a child from misinformation and the consequences it can…

Un Lun Dun?

“Beyond that”? It’s the PRIMARY religious test: Do you believe in gods, or do you not? This isn’t a quibble; the answer to this question is foundational to people’s ethical commitments.

Surprising or not, different forms of discrimination can be equally serious.

What 11-year-old understands the nature of religious claims? A religious requirement for membership amounts to nothing more than indoctrination and social division. Signed, a former Scout who wishes he could support the current organization — but won’t until its discriminatory practices end.

But you’re only a water “rights”-holder insofar as the government’s mandate extends you that privilege. If the mandate changes — as it rightly should, in such circumstances — your rights change accordingly. The rights of a rightsholder don’t somehow precede the law.