Several years ago the Boy Scouts won a lawsuit by establishing that they are a private organization entitled to discriminate in their membership. The obvious fallout of such a win is that as a private, discriminatory organization they are no longer entitled to governmental perks like funding. The government can no more fund the Boy Scouts then they can a Church or a Klan.
However, the Boy Scouts, used to decades of government preference, don’t like their welfare checks being cut. They avoid becoming a responsible private organization and instead choose to lobby politicians to continue their welfare. Activist politicians in turn have little need for pesky things like American principles and waste no effort criticizing the patriots who want the Boy Scouts to live up to their claims as being a private organization. Today the Senate amended the Defense Department Appropriations bill to state that “Boy Scouts should be treated the same as other national youth organizations.”
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, a former Boy Scout who sponsored the Senate provision, said it is necessary to push back on a spate of lawsuits to limit Boy Scout activities on government property.
Unfortunately for power hungry Frist, congressional activists do not have the power to destroy the First Amendment in an appropriations bill. But Frist apparently doen’t care too much about the Boy Scouts or our troops since he is delaying the appropriations bill because the White House doesn’t like the provision that say that they can’t torture prisoners. (Hmm, I wonder why the AP didn’t feel fit to include that in their Boys Scout report.)
Heck, maybe Frist can combine his interests and require the military to train the Boy Scouts in torture techniques.
At least in my experience, Boy Scouts already is a extended mild torture process. I mean, come on, making boys run around in those embarrassingly short shorts?
They did fry 4 leaders at the Jamboree this year…was it an accident or practice??
A much better solution would be for the Scouts to change their policies to be non-discriminatory.
The new Venture shorts aren’t “embarrassingly short,” and my experience is that kids buy them six sizes too large anyway.
The four leaders who died were volunteering to help set up a tent for a concessionaire – doing a good turn. An aluminum tent pole came into contact with a power line. They were good men.
Scouting is still good for kids. Pray for an end to silly politics at the National Council level. Please.
Wow. Learn to take a joke man! But, I do suppose that if the boy scouts spent less time gay bashing, they may have had time to teach their leaders not to set up tents near power lines. I think that was like Day 1 of Girl Scout Camp Safety Training…right after they told us to stay away from the Boy Scout Camp.
When I find articals like this that Bash the Boy Scouts for who they are, I must ask what are you thinking. There is no line on the Boy Scout application that asks if you are Gay. If you think that trying to protect youths from sexuall preditors is bad you probly think that rape is a choice. Wake up and smell the coffee.
Only a person in need of serious therapy would think that “gay” and “sexuall preditors [sic]” are interchangeable.
Check out Adventure Scouts USA, they are an American scout program which doesnt discriminate. No discrimination, and all the great things scouts are. They are even coed, so boys and girls siblings can join the same scout program.
Che! As if, I kinda like my andalucian-style blue scout uniform. There´s nothing embarrising about are shorts, shirts, scarfes, or any part of our uniform for that matter… I bet you´ve also weared shorts sometime in your life… Respectfully, Loto
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