GRAPEVINE, Texas — The Boy Scouts of America voted Thursday to end its controversial policy banning gay kids and teens from joining one of the nation’s most popular youth organizations, ditching membership guidelines that had roiled the group in recent years.
Over 61 percent of Scouting’s National Council of 1,232 delegates from across the country voted to lift the ban, BSA officials said. The final tally was 757 yes votes, to 475 no (another 168 delegates did not cast a ballot since they were not present at the meeting). The ban on gay leaders was not voted on and will remain in place.
“This resolution today dealt with youth. We have not changed our adult membership standards. They have served us well for the last 100 years. Those were not on the table,” said Tico Perez, BSA national commissioner.
Some parents are happy. Some are furious and have talked about pulling their kids out. Other people say the BSA has not gone far enough and that the ban against gay adult leaders should be lifted. The ban is supposed to be lifted as of January 1, 2014.
Change isn’t easy. The 100 year old organization will suffer growing pains just like anyone else. I would commend them for the efforts they have made so far. While the organization hasn’t included gays and lesbians in its adult leadership, it has opened its doors to all boys straight or gay.
That is a starting place. After all, its about the kids.
How about those first responders! “First Responder” has become the buzz word of the millennium. What we really mean are those brave souls who are first on the scene of any disaster, large or small. Those are the people who rush into burning buildings, who scrape us up off the highway or who dodge bullets running into schools when a another mad-man decides to go out in a blaze of glory, mowing down as many innocents in cold blood as possible.
Those are the folks who travel great distances to places like Boston or Moore, Oklahoma just because they are needed and have skills that might be needed in a time of crisis. Those are the folks you see pouring through the 17 miles of rubble that the residents of suburban Oklahoma City used to call home. Those are the folks who gaze on the most horrific scenes in the aftermath of fires, tornadoes, earthquakes, shootings, and terrorism.
Who listens to idiots like this? So the government staged a fake tornado and steered it out in Oklahoma to do all that damage?
UFB!
What ever happened to martians? They were so much more believable. Matt Drudge links to this clown. Conservatives need to hit the REJECT key for this nut job.
For the past couple of years, if most teachers are honest, they will tell you that they feel beaten up, under-appreciated, over-worked and the political victims of whatever people feel ails American education. Any time someone has a gripe, teachers have been in the first line of fire whether it’s over test scores, the decline of America’s youth, the graduation rate, or unions financially strapping municipalities.
In Virginia, not to stray too far from home, legislation has tinkered with teacher accountability, teacher evaluation, and teachers’ job security, especially along the lines of continuing contract. More is being asked of teachers and less is being given to them in the way of reward and compensation. In Virginia, teachers now must pay their own VRS. Elementary teachers still don’t have adequate planning time and secondary planning time is often encumbered with meetings and other wastes of time. Teachers often plan from their own homes, far in to the night.
On the one hand, teachers are trusted less which is evidenced by the frequency of evaluation, and general supervision by administrators, as though the teachers are the students. Ironically, more is being demanded of these same people.
Does this guy have any responsibility for decency or (gasp) telling the truth? At what point is there a limit to free speech?
Should this type of threat cause the involvement of the FBI? Secret Service?Is there a difference in the rhetoric found here and the obviously bad taste tweet of Lizz Winstead? (tornadoes are targetting conservatives.) Winstead did self correct and admit her timing was horrible and she should have known better. Has Santilli issued any remarks admitting stupidity?
(A huge thank you to Steve Randolph for digging out the information!)
Part 1: The Players
Once upon a time during the first Dark Ages in Prince William County, in the year 1972, there were 7 magisterial districts and 7 supervisors. There was no at-large chairman. He was elected from the ranks. There was a school board. Each of the 7 members were appointed by the supervisor for that district. Well, there should have been a school board.
Five of the supervisors were new and 2 were incumbents.
Is Fredericks actually saying that the tea party is going to cause the Republicans to crash and burn at the election? it sure sounds like it to me.
I am just not one to count chickens before they hatch.
The reality is, very few people are far right or far left anythings. The people who win elections are those who appeal to the middle. Elections are won and lost by the middle, not by the purists of either political extreme.
As I touched base with many of my Republican buds, I believe most of them were speechless.
I saw this happen many years ago, before there was such a thing as a tea party. Ollie North and Michael Farris were somehow involved. It was then I made my resolution to never attend another Republican convention, as a vendor or anything else.
Great balls of fire. You really have to be kidding me. I had to see it for myself.
I had read that Jackson also suggested that “enhanced interrogation” be codified and that members of the CIA and Military would be protected from prosecution if they should use this method of questioning. I think that he suggested legalized torture. Have I misread something here?
Pardon me. This candidate is simply unacceptable. What WERE they thinking?
Did he compare Planned Parenthood to the KKK?
I think I’ll tiptoe on off and vote for Dr. Ralph Northam, thank you very much!
It’s tornado season. I have spent the past several hours glued to CNN who is covering the live tornadoes in Oklahoma and Kansas. These things are ferocious and are causing a tremendous amount of damage.
How do people live like this? One minute you have a house. the next minute you don’t–that’s assuming you live through the storm.
I would be terrified if I saw something like this coming at me! I would expect to get hit with a tractor trailer or a farm animal. I would definitely relocate the first time I was in one of these horrible tornadoes. The reporters are speaking of it as though it were alive.
The Republican State Convention selected the following folks to challenge the Democrats in this year’s state elections.
Governor: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli
Lt. Governor: Bishop E.W. Jackson
Attorney General: Senator Mark Obenshain
This is an extremely conservative ticket. Make no mistake, the Democrats will point out the extremism. It looks like its all about numbers now–who can get the most votes. As far right as this slate is, the Democrats can be all over the spectrum.
There will be a Democratic primary on June 11th to decide who will represent the party for Lt. Governor and Attorney General.
A special congratuations to Colonel Moe Davis for being a recipient of the Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award. The write up on Moe is below the fold.
Moe was invited to the Hefner Mansion to receive his award. We want a detailed report when he returns!
May 15, 2013 08:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Winners Announced for 2013 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards
Norman Lear to be honored with Lifetime Achievement Award on May 22nd
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Hugh M. Hefner Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards. Christie Hefner established the Awards in 1979 in conjunction with Playboy magazine’s 25th anniversary to honor individuals who have made significant contributions in the vital effort to protect and enhance First Amendment rights for all Americans in the fields of journalism, government, book publishing and education. A press reception with the winners, judges and special presenters will be held on May 22, 2013, at the Playboy Mansion, where winners will receive a cash award of $5,000 and a commemorative plaque.
It looks like we’ve moved to talking about possible scandals just in time, because according to the Congressional Budget Office, the debt disaster that has obsessed the political class for the last three years is pretty much solved, at least for the next 10 years or so.
The last time the CBO estimated our future deficits was February– just four short months ago. Back then, the CBO thought deficits were falling and health-care costs were slowing. Today, the CBO thinks deficits are falling even faster and health-care costs are slowing by even more.
BAGHDAD — A recent tide of sectarian tensions that erupted into the worst violence seen in Iraq in five years is testing the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose ability to contain the crisis could hinge on a conflict raging beyond his control in Syria.
The prospect of a regional power shift driven by the bloody civil war next door, where a mostly Sunni rebel movement is struggling to topple the Shiite-dominated regime, has emboldened Iraq’s Sunni minority to challenge its own Shiite government and amplified fears within Maliki’s administration that Iraq may soon be swept up in a spillover war.
LEESBURG, Va. – A statue of a Confederate soldier that has stood in front of the historic courthouse in Loudoun County since 1908 is now being called inappropriate and a local lawyer says it should be removed.
The statue was erected to honor the war dead at a time when many Civil war veterans were still alive.
The statue shows a Confederate soldier standing guard with his rifle ready.
An inscription, carved into the stone monument, says, “In memory of the Confederate Soldiers of Loudoun County, Va. Erected May 28, 1908.” Read more…
Recent revelations about the Internal Revenue Service’s selective and deliberate targeting of conservative organizations are outrageous and seriously concerning. This years-long abuse of government power is an assault on the free speech rights of all Americans. This direct assault on our Constitution further justifies the American people’s distrust in government and its ability to properly implement our laws.
The American people deserve answers about how such seemingly unconstitutional and potentially criminal behavior could occur, and who else was aware of it throughout the Administration. It is imperative that you, your predecessor, and other past and present high-ranking officials at the Department of Treasury and IRS immediately testify before Congress.
It’s tornado season. I have spent the past several hours glued to CNN who is covering the live tornadoes in Oklahoma and Kansas. These things are ferocious and are causing a tremendous amount of damage.
