Free Republic

George Watkins worked through the weekend on his Eagle Scout project. His project was to place pavers that were donated as a fundraiser for the Historical Soldiers Memorial Cemetery section at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Sierra Vista. He placed more than 4,000 pavers, a job that took two days to complete with the assistance of several Scouts and adult leaders. Photo by Mark Levy, Herald/Review

The Boy Scouts' motto is: Be prepared. Who knew it meant preparing to de fend themselves against union thuggery? Kids, pay attention: This is a teachable moment for all of you on power, politics and Big Labor's culture of corruption. At last week's City Council meeting in Allentown, Pa., a top official of the local Service Employees International Union chapter ranted about 17-year-old Scout Kevin Anderson's park-cleanup work. To earn an Eagle Scout badge, Anderson devoted some 200 hours to picking up trash and helping clear a 1,000-foot walking path with fellow members of Boy Scouts Troop 301 of Center...

My column today provides context for the SEIU bullying of Boy Scouts in Allentown, Pa. As you’ll see, there’s a long history of Big Labor thuggery against volunteers who threaten the union racket. On a related note, be sure to check out the video of Fresno homecare providers exposing how SEIU staff threatened them and changed their ballots to secure a razor-thin advantage in a controversial union election this June. As I’ve been reporting over the last several months, the home health care power grab across the country gives you a glimpse of the SEIU-endorsed Obamacare future. When Big Labor...

SNIPPET: "Search at Grundy County plant called part of ongoing probe" SNIPPET: "But a source said the owner of the plant, which processes lamb and goat, was taken into custody at his home in Chicago. Documents and records were taken from the plant and from a Chicago travel agency on West Devon Avenue, also owned by the same person, the source said."

The Obama administration’s safe schools czar, Kevin Jennings, has accused the Baptists, the Boy Scouts and sports fans of anti-gay bias, and he has advocated a special high school for gay teens as well as gay-straight alliance clubs for every high school in America. Jennings, who was a prominent homosexual activist before being named director of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education, also has called for kindergarteners to be taught to respect all sexual orientations, while insisting that “ex-gay messages” and “Christian values” are ‘misused to isolate or denigrate lesbian, gay, bisexual...

Two separate incidents of potential school yard mayhem were narrowly averted by decisive action on the part of public school officials in New York and Delaware. In Delaware’s Christina School District, 1st grade student Zachary Christie was spotted eating lunch with an unauthorized Boy Scout mess kit tool—a combination knife/fork/spoon. Disaster was avoided when the vice-principal quickly disarmed and immobilized the child. The school’s “zero tolerance” policy calls for the offending 6-year old student to be sentenced to 45 days in reform school. School officials rebuffed arguments that the child’s age and the circumstances should be taken into consideration. “This...

FirstCall/ -- AT&T* announced today a donation of more than $250,000 to the Patriots' Path Council, serving Boy Scouts of America in northern and central New Jersey. The money is a result of the first annual AT&T NJ Golf Classic which was held at Fiddlers Elbow Country Club in Bedminster and featured appearances by former NY Yankees Joe Pepitone and Lee Mazzilli. Proceeds will be used to support Inner City Scouting programs providing camp scholarships for children living in urban areas and will also fund the cost of a full-time bilingual Program Director for Hispanic communities.

Six-year-old Zachary Christie was so excited to become a Cub Scout that he brought his camping utensil to school. The tool serves as a spoon, a fork and a knife, and Zachary wanted to use it at lunch. What Zachary didn't know was that the gizmo violated his school's zero-tolerance policy on weapons. And now the Christina School District in Newark, Del., has suspended the first grader and ordered him to attend the district's reform school for 45 days. Zachary's parents insist their son did not intend to hurt anyone, and they are fighting to overturn the ruling. "Zachary wears...

Below is audio and a partial transcript of Kevin Jennings', President Obama's safe school czar, thoughts on keeping the Boy Scouts out of the public school system. This is from a 2000 speaking engagement with his former organization the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in Iowa. In the same speech, Mr. Jennings also advocated for mandating a gay friendly curriculum in the public schools from kindergarten onward.

New advice published in Scouting, the official in-house magazine, says neither Scouts nor their parents should bring penknives to camp except in "specific" situations. Scouts have traditionally been taught how to use knives correctly, using them on camping trips to cut firewood or carve tools. At one point Scouts were allowed to carry a sheath knife on their belt as part of their uniform although this is no longer the case. In recent years the Scout Association guidance has been that parents should carry knives to camps or meetings. Dave Budd, a knife-maker who runs courses training Scouts about the...

Scouts will soon have to survive without their trusty penknives on camping trips thanks to Britain's growing knife crime culture. Scouts used to be allowed to carry sheath knives on their belts New advice published in Scouting, the official in-house magazine, says neither Scouts nor their parents should bring penknives to camp except in "specific" situations. Scouts have traditionally been taught how to use knives correctly, using them on camping trips to cut firewood or carve tools.At one point Scouts were allowed to carry a sheath knife on their belt as part of their uniform although this is no longer...

The legal world — or at least those who watch movements at the Supreme Court closely — is a bit abuzz this morning with the news that Justice John Paul Stevens has confirmed that he has hired only one clerk so far for next year’s term. Clerk-watching has long been one of the signals as to whether a justice plans to retire, although clearly not foolproof and definitely not official. Justices usually hire three to four clerks by the beginning of the summer, a year or so before the next term when the clerks would start work. For Justice Stevens,...

Even though there was a slight hitch in their plan, a group of Boy Scouts who while on their way to a national competition in Indiana found themselves stranded in Atlanta, are now on their way. After exhausting all other options to find a flight that would get them to Indiana before 8 a.m. Sunday, the Scouts were able to rent a charter bus, which Delta will be covering the cost, said Carlos Santos, Delta spokesman. Although they bought their plane tickets in April, the group of 30 Boy Scouts and their eight chaperones were forced to rent the bus...

One adult and three teenagers at a Boy Scout camp are accused of forcing a boy to drink human urine because they were "teaching him a lesson" for supposedly making racial slurs to another Scout, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office reported Monday.Investigators arrested Joseph Wendell Reid, 21, two 16-year-olds, and a 15-year-old, all from Ocala, last week on a charge of kidnapping.Officers allege the four held a 12-year-old boy against his will, first taping his mouth shut and then forcing him to drink urine, according to the Sheriff's Office.The four were attending Camp Shands at Baden Powell Road near Hawthorne,...

Scouts can earn activity badges for skills from skateboarding to global conservation, but the new chief scout could herald the prospect of members tackling some slightly trickier future pursuits – such as eating snakes and climbing Mount Everest. Bear Grylls, 34, the former SAS man and survivalist who, as television viewers will know, long ago earned his stripes for both the above, said he would be encouraging more adults to volunteer so that 33,000 youngsters on waiting lists could join scout groups. Grylls will become the youngest chief scout in the organisation's 102-year history later this year when he replaces...

US' own Hitler Youth- Daily Kos In todays NYT, there is an article about the boy scouts explorer program which takes scouts (boys and girls) between 14 and 18 and trains them in so called law enforcement activities.This proram now has over 35,000 members and semms to be concentrated in the border areas. My immediate reaction on reading the article was to think of the Hitler Youth movement in Germany of the thirties, and to this end I checked into Wiki and compared the two groups.

The responding officers — eight teenage boys and girls, the youngest 14 — face tripwire, a thin cloud of poisonous gas and loud shots — BAM! BAM! — fired from behind a flimsy wall. They move quickly, pellet guns drawn and masks affixed.

IMPERIAL, Calif. — Ten minutes into arrant mayhem in this town near the Mexican border, and the gunman, a disgruntled Iraq war veteran, has already taken out two people, one slumped in his desk, the other covered in blood on the floor. The responding officers — eight teenage boys and girls, the youngest 14 — face tripwire, a thin cloud of poisonous gas and loud shots — BAM! BAM! — fired from behind a flimsy wall. They move quickly, pellet guns drawn and masks affixed. “United States Border Patrol! Put your hands up!” screams one in a voice cracking with...

With work ramping up in Washington on a "hate crimes" bill that would create special rights for homosexuals, a case that addresses a related issue – claims by same-sex couples they have the right not to be "offended" by "straight' morality – has been presented to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case involves a series of projects by the Boy Scouts of America in San Diego. The private organization has provided millions of dollars in improvements to public facilities in exchange for their use but faces being banned because homosexuals and lesbians who never even were exposed to the work...

Note: Photo included. Trio not guilty of helping 7/7 London bombers Jury clears men of conspiring with four bombers over London 2005 explosions that killed 52 Rachel Williams guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 April 2009 17.01 BST Three British Muslims were today cleared of helping the 7 July bombers choose their targets by carrying out a reconnaissance mission in London seven months before the attacks that killed 52 people and injured almost 1,000. A jury at Kingston crown court unanimously found Waheed Ali, 25, Sadeer Saleem, 28, and Mohammed Shakil, 32, all from Beeston, Leeds, not guilty of conspiring with the four...

President Obama says he wants to be president of all the people. But some groups are urging him to make an exception for the Boy Scouts of America. Critics of the Scouts who are outraged that the group is allowed to exclude gays and atheists while receiving federal funding are urging Obama to reject the group's honorary presidency, a designation bestowed on every U.S. president since William Howard Taft in 1910.

Tory Green, the first Eagle Scout from Troop 400 in Huntsville, met President Barack Obama at 2 p.m. this afternoon inside the White House. "It was breathtaking," said the 17-year-old Lee High School senior. "Not only did I get to meet the president, but I got to give Michelle Obama a big ol' hug." Green is in Washington D.C., to present the National State of Scouting address to Congress tomorrow morning. Today Green was scheduled to meet with President Obama, but meeting the president's wife was a coincidence. "We were walking toward the Oval Office, and she walked by, stopped...

FORT HUACHUCA — Army soldiers are all volunteers. It is also said that when a soldier marries, the resulting family also volunteers to serve the country. Some soldiers and their families take volunteering a step further by being active in their local community. That can be said of the Dean family on Fort Huachuca. The family of four — Sgt. 1st Class Chad Dean, his wife Charity and their two teenage sons, Brandon, 15, and Bradley, 13 — spend hours in Scouting, youth football and other activities on and off the post. Like many parents who volunteer their services, Chad...

If you've seen the yellow bags on your door knob, you probably know this is the day Boy Scouts collect food for the hungry. Their goal - 500,000 items. But behind one door knob, a local Cub Scout troop solicited a pretty special donor, former president George W. Bush. For 10,000 local kids, scouting for food is door to door, and it's neighbor to neighbor. But for the boys of Troop 19, their newest neighbor is guarded by the police and the Secret Service. Getting the former president's canned goods is no simple matter. "You had to do a bit...

Mass Junior Conservation Camp Under Attack The Massachusetts Junior Conservation Camp (MJCC) that Gun Owners’ Action League runs jointly with the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and the Department of Conservation and Recreation is under attack by the local government in Chesterfield. The MJCC is currently held at the Chesterfield Scout Reservation for two weeks in August. Over the last few years the Scout Reservation has had a neighbor who complained about the shooting taking place during the MJCC program. As a result of this neighbor’s complaints Paul Tacy, the Zoning Enforcement Officer for the Town of Chesterfield, filed a...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2009 – Sixteen million new toys were distributed to 7.6 million children over the Christmas holiday through the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Charles Reynolds, an assistant with the Marine Forces Reserve Toys for Tots Program, speaks to Cub Scouts in Mandeville, La., about the program during a Dec. 7, 2008, visit. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Capt. Erin Wiener   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The program’s aim is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to...

It's been 62 years since conservationist Virgil McCroskey gave the Boy Scouts 400 acres of timberland near this village in Idaho's panhandle, with big ideas for a big new camp. But don't expect any pup tents or even the faintest whiff of smoke from Camp McCroskey these days. Rarely used for camping, the land instead has become a moneymaker for the Inland Northwest Council of Boy Scouts. Over the past 35 years, the council has repeatedly logged the property, collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of the money helped pay the mortgage on council headquarters in far-off Spokane, a...

Boy Scouts in Dundee will be able to pledge allegiance to ‘Allah’ and drop the traditional oath to God and Queen, says the Scout Association in Scotland. The Association has given its backing to starting Dundee’s 45th troop which will specifically target Muslim boys. In the oath Muslim recruits will be able to replace the name ‘God’ with “Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful”, and pledge to honour “the country in which I am now living” instead of the Queen. The Scout Association is already open to all faiths and Muslim boys are currently part of existing troops,...

It looks as though the USSC or for that matter any of our elected representatives are going to do anything to call into question Barrack Obama's foreign national status. So, it's up to us (American Citizens) to apply the pressure to get them to take notice. We can BOYCOTT any spending on luxury/non-essential items. This will get the governments attention. Pay your bills but don't spend your tax refund, don't spend your stimulus payment. Call in to local radio talk shows.......you know the drill. If it's good enough for Jesse Jackson, then it is certainly good enough for us in...

NEW YORK — A Long Island teenager has earned all 121 merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America. It's an accomplishment the local arm of the organization calls "an almost unheard-of feat." Oceanside resident Shawn Goldsmith earned his final badge — for bugling — in time for his 18th birthday in November. He far surpassed the 21 badges required to achieve the elite rank of Eagle Scout.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2008 – Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Azemar King saw how the nation swept in to help him and his fellow New Orleanians when Hurricane Katrina devastated their city in 2005. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Charles Reynolds, an assistant with the Marine Forces Reserve Toys for Tots program, speaks to Cub Scouts in Mandeville, La., about the program as well as the benefits of staying in school, staying fit and volunteering during a Dec. 7, 2008, visit. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Capt. Erin Wiener   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. So this year, he’s convinced...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – The scouting movement in Iraq was revitalized in 2004 by the Green Zone Council, a group of Coalition forces in Baghdad who saw value in having Iraqi children involved with their communities. Today, service members continue to work with the youth of Iraq on Saturday afternoons at a small community just outside the Victory Base Complex. “You can look around and, if nothing else, you are doing something good here because you are creating a positive impact for Iraqi families and the children,” said Lt. Cmdr. Eric Fretz, who is helping bring the scouting program back...

SIERRA VISTA — A ceremony to prepare a portion of the state-operated veterans cemetery to receive the remains of soldiers who died in the then Territory of Arizona in the late 1800s will be held Wednesday afternoon. Nearly 70 sets of remains, many of them incomplete, will be reburied at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery next May, after being exhumed at a long-abandoned burial ground in Tucson, said cemetery administrator Joe Larson. Initially, the remains of 10 individuals were expected when the project was started, before Larson became the administrator. “Then the number grew to 30, and now it...

A Berkeley Sea Scout leader, who was found guilty in July of molesting boys on the troupe's boat (Rosynsky didn't even bother to find out that Sea Scouts are made up of Ships and Crews and what they sail are ships not boats.) under a plea deal, was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison. Eugene Evans, 65, must also pay $10,000 in restitution to his victims and register as a sex offender when he is released from prison, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson ordered following the punishment laid out in the plea deal. Evans reached the deal...

Unfair Demands On Boy Scouts http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=33a46ad1-5d62-4201-98b5-dd7602900835 By The Day Published on 7/29/2008 We are at a loss to understand why the state Department of Transportation wants to give East Lyme Boy Scout troops such a hard time over doing a good deed. For 25 years on Labor Day weekend the Scouts have served coffee and doughnuts around the clock to weary drivers at the weigh stations on Interstate 95 in Waterford. Drivers get a needed break. The Scouts take pride in providing a service. Donations collected help the Boy Scouts and other local groups. Who could object? Unfortunately, the bureaucrats...

Trading Post 13 last Tuesday, a sweltering morning during the 15th Boy Scouts Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill near Fredericksburg, Va. Despite the heat wave, over the next 10 days they would help 32,000 other Scouts burn through 76,000 hamburgers, 479,000 eggs, 10 tons of beef stew--and countless hours energetically addressing a controversy that will not fade. "In the Bible, it's a sin to be gay," said Moran, 15, as the sun glinted off his dyed blue hair. Keep them out of scouting? "Exactly," he declared. Fifteen-year-old Greg Gutta Jr. was sympathetic. "They say everybody should have the right to...

Local scouts donate to Little Sioux camp The Boy Scouts of Troop 66 on Fort Leavenworth were recognized Wednesday for donating $1,074 to help rebuild the Little Sioux Scout Ranch near Little Sioux, Iowa. The ranch was nearly destroyed when a tornado touched down in the camp on June 11, leaving at least four people dead and more than 40 injured. Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, commanding general of Fort Leavenworth, congratulated the scouts on a job well done. Lt. Col. Chip Bircher said his son, Brion Bircher, wanted to help the scouts affected by the tragedy after seeing...

I'm not sure where to publish this so I put it in Personal and Misc. This is a link to a sermon that Sam Thomsen (one of the Scouts that died in the Little Sioux tornado) wrote and delivered to his church. He wanted to be a minister. He was my son's patrol leader. Here is another link to a page about all of the Scouts that died. Please remember them and their families in your prayers.

KCCI is getting early word tonight of a tornado touchdown that hit a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa, injuring as many as 40 people. Our sister station in Omaha, KETV, reports that the Boy Scouts confirm four of those injuries are fatalities. Courtney Greene, a spokeswoman for Governor Chet Culver, says the tornado hit the Little Sioux scout camp. Speaking from the state Emergency Operations Center, which is mobilized because of flooding across Iowa, Greene said authorities have been told of multiple injuries and the potential loss of life. Hospitals in the area have been told to be on...

A possible tornado has struck the Litle (spelling from site?) Sioux Scout Camp in Iowa. Very large response is being reported by media. Large number of injuries.

Boy Scouts File Federal Lawsuit Over Dispute with City of Philadelphia by KYW's Mike Dunn The local Boy Scouts organization has filed a federal lawsuit against the Nutter administration over the mayor's ultimatum that the scouts renounce the group's national policy on gays or leave their city-owned headquarters. Mayor Nutter has told the "Cradle of Liberty" Boy Scout council to renounce the Scouts' national policy on gays, start paying fair-market-value rent, or vacate its city-owned headquarters -- on Winter Street near 22nd, just off the Benjamin Franklin Parkway -- by June 1st. Currently, the scouting group gets the office space...

The Boy Scouts of America's Philadelphia chapter has sued the City of Philadelphia in federal court to block the city's May 31 deadline for the scouts to open membership to gays and atheists, or vacate their historic 1928 headquarters off Logan Square. The civil rights lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Center City, contends that the city's ultimatum violates the scouts' rights under the U.S. and Pennsylvania Constitutions. "The City has imposed an unconstitutional condition upon Cradle of Liberty's receipt of a benefit that Cradle of Liberty has enjoyed for nearly eight decades, and that many other organizations that...

Sessions Leads 100th Year Boy Scout Recognition Efforts http://sessions.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=89413 Introduces Commemorative Coin, Garners Support for Commemorative Stamp Washington, Apr 23, 2008 U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) is leading congressional efforts to recognize the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America in 2010 by introducing legislation for a “100 Years of Scouting” commemorative coin. “Boy Scouts are a significant part of American culture, shaping the values, citizenship, and skills of millions of young men,” Sessions stated. “As an Eagle Scout with four generations of Boy Scouts in my family, I strongly value the Boy Scouts’ history of instilling a sense...

Ask Candidates about the Boy Scouts Dear Member of the Media: The city of Philadelphia is a war zone. Philadelphia has the highest murder rate of all major U.S. cities and one of the highest overall crime rates. One in thirteen young black males in the city was shot or killed in the past 5 years. Over 1,000 youth under age 24 were shot in 2006 alone. Philadelphia has one of the highest high school dropout rates of all major cities and is among the highest in gang membership, gang violence and drug use. One answer to this crisis facing...

I read (forget where) recently that a "Muslim" Boy Scout troop hiking caused suspicion and several reports were called in to the police. Apparently, all was deemed "OK." My query: do not the Boy Scouts pledge allegiance to GOD, not Allah, and are they not Christian-church affiliated? Also wonder "how" passersby knew they were Muslim... only way I can figure is by dress, but what was so different from the "normal" scout dress was not offered. Before my query here, did try to research via an internet search, but only found confirmation of Muslim Boy Scouts, with an indication they...

Q: Let’s talk about your new book, “On My Honor,” which draws on your experience as an Eagle Scout and champions the values of the Boy Scouts of America, to whom you are donating your royalties. A: Yes, to their legal-defense fund. Q: Which has been fighting the A.C.L.U., to keep gays out of the scouts. Why do you see that as a worthy cause? A: I am pretty clear about this one. Scouting ought to be about building character, not about sex. Period. Precious few parents enroll their boys in the Scouts to get a crash course in sexual...

Philly's War on the Boy Scouts http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120312309480173061.html http://tinyurl.com/3cmtwp By KEVIN FERRIS February 16, 2008; Page A10 Philadelphia As Michael Nutter was sworn in as the city's 98th mayor last month, he called for a new wave of public service to clean up drug-infested neighborhoods. If he is serious about renewing volunteerism, he'll start by putting an end to the city's campaign against the Boy Scouts. On May 31, the Cradle of Liberty Council, the local Boy Scout chapter, will be evicted from its headquarters on 22nd and Winter Streets -- a space it has occupied since 1928. The eviction isn't...

Boy Scout Week Salute: Scouts teaches young people leadership and wisdom http://westlibertyindex.com/article.php?viewID=1396 by Tom Norris · February 06, 2008 With Boy Scout Week upon us, I thought I’d do away with the usual facts-n-figures and talk straight about the organization. Some will read this and think, “That’s nice, but who cares?” One youth club is as good as the next; it doesn’t really matter. But at what point do the things we do start to matter? I suspect this is determined by the degree to which it influences our life. After 14 years in the service, most of that as...

Boy Scout-produced documentary highlights extraordinary Central Texans http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/02/03/0203scouts.html http://tinyurl.com/2oddh6 'Believe It. Live It' showcases groups, individuals who personify the Scout Law By Patrick George AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, February 03, 2008 A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. For almost 100 years, members of the Boy Scouts of America have been taught to memorize the traits that make up the Scout Law. Last summer, a group of nine local Scouts sought to find out what those values really mean by creating a film about the people who personify them in Austin. On...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, has written a book about the Boy Scouts, and he includes a less-than-flattering story about Mitt Romney, suggesting that the Republican presidential hopeful bowed to the homosexual rights lobby during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Here is a portion of what Mr. Perry had to say about Mr. Romney in the new book... "In 2000 (Romney) put out a published call for volunteers ... The Great Salt Lake Council of the BSA, the largest in the nation, with some 80,000 Scouts and 35,000 adult leaders, answered Romney's call for volunteers." "Some...