Glen Ridge is celebrating a bumper crop of Eagle Scouts. Props to the guys who’ve made it to the pinnacle of scouting. They’ll be honored/inducted this Friday.
Alexander Michael Flannery
Alex’s project was to have the students in our middle school write letters to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. They wrote letters in support of the troops dedication and to express their appreciation for the risks taken by the troops.
Sean Patrick Flannery
Sean’s project was to erect a flag pole and provide landscaping for a local school. Now the school can raise the American flag every morning and show pride in our country.
Christopher J. Matthews
Chris’ project was to collect food and supplies for our local animal shelter. The shelter is run entirely by volunteers and supported by donations. It is part of our community and is the source of many pet adoptions.
Eric Robert Olson
Eric’s project was to reassemble book shelves and re-shelve books in our local library after some flood damage had been repaired. The library and many books on the ground floor were damaged by water. His project allowed the library to open the lower floor to the patrons sooner.
Jeremy F. Kane
Jeremy’s project was to collect reading materials and pre-paid phone cards for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The magazines and books let the troops know what was happening at ‘home’ and help pass the quiet hours. The phone cards are to help the troops stay in touch with friends and family back home.
Meanwhile, another local group would love to see the next group of Eagle Scouts be a little more inclusive. Members of the Unitarian Church of Montclair, NJ spoke at this rally…
Members of Scouting for All staged an eight-hour protest Wednesday outside the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel as some of the 3,000 people attending the Boy Scouts’ national annual meeting began to trickle in.
“We’re a peaceful group, but we’re not going to remain silent,” said Scouting for All President Scott Cozza. “The Boy Scouts of America will never be the same. They’re going to have to deal with this issue.”
According to Scouting for All’s Web site, more than 40 percent of its members are Eagle Scouts. More than 100 of them have returned their Eagle Scout awards either to the Boy Scouts or Scouting for All, which is holding them in trust until the BSA’s policies change, Cozza said.
“I still love scouting,” Knapp said. “I still believe it’s the best youth program in the world. We need it now more than ever before.”
The national spokesman for Boy Scouts of America said Scouting for All is welcome to protest as long as the group allows the service organization to do as it wishes.
“The Boy Scouts accepts their rights of free speech,” Gregg Shields said. “We would ask our fellow Americans to respect our right to define our membership.”
That right allows the Boy Scouts to exclude gays and atheists, said Shields, adding that the Boy Scouts oath states: “I will do my best to do my duty to God.”
“If you want to be a Boy Scout, you must believe in God,” Shields said.
Have you seen the Penn & Teller Showtime special called BULLSHIT-
“The Boy Scouts of America is no longer entirely what people think it is,” Teller, who grew up in the shadow of The Inquirer tower in Philadelphia, where some people still know his first name, said in a phone interview Thursday. “Essentially, it has been hijacked by religious conservatives.”
Let’s hear it for the Eagle Scouts!
Now, if your son is prevented from joining the brownies is that sex discrimination?
Amazing, isn’t it? Even the boy scouts are not safe from the PC police.
Barista, why didn’t you divide this into two postings. These kids have done a good job and should be congradulated. Let the have thier day in the sun.
Set up a seperate thread to discuss BSA recruitment issues.
Bit, It’s not obvious why?
because he knows that as a whole the boyscouts suck and that it’s a shame that these kids have worked so hard for an organization that discriminates and uses taxpayers money to discriminate.
i applaud the kids accomplishments. let’s hope that they didn’t take the LDS propaganda to heart.
Kids doing good things for good causes, a rarity these days. I, for one, applaud the Eagle Scouts and wish there were more kids like them.
How many conservative plays have you seen at the partially taxpayer funded Luna Stage?
How many white presidents of the NAACP have there been?
Congratulations to all! It’s a lot of hard, hard work to make Eagle.
I was a proud scout once and I’m saddened to see where this all has gone. I still think the scouts have a whole lot to offer kids, but I won’t be a part of any organization that leaves out any group of kids. It’s just wrong.
And splitting the posts would be pretending that the two subjects can be separated. The kids in scouts should know the position of their organization and the controversy that surrounds that position. Why hide it?
What is a conservative play? A one-man drama about John McCain…or a musical that harkens back to the “good old days” in the 50s that whitewashes over reality?
Then again, all the drama we need is coming from Washington who performs their own conservative play for us all. Daily showings, free admission.
I doubt a profile of Paul Robeson would qualify, belletrist.
hiding,
are you talking about the inclusion shown by the democratic party where the tolerant students of the New School shout down a speaker (john mccain) who has a different viewpoint? or the tolerant and inclusive actions of a democratic party that vilifies black female policians/judges/academics if they believe in conservative principles? or the ny times that has a headline excusing the new orleans congressmen facing indictment cause he had a poor childhood?
And please let me know when the luna stage has Ann Coulter give a one woman show.
“How many white presidents of the NAACP have there been?”
Seriously? This kind of question from people who I know are actually quite smart is depressing. Have stopped lurking on this site since the move to a new url, and now I see why. It’s much more interesting to participate in other sites where people actually have conversations instead of trotting out the same old lame questions and rhetoric over and over again.
don’t bother us then… are u afraid of dialogue that dares to make you to think? take your holier-than-thou attitude to a blue wave site.
I completely agree that the Boy Scouts should allow gays into its ranks. Lesbians, too. After all, why should they be left out?
This is only one of many wrongs that must be righted. Why, for instance, should the Catholic priesthood be dominated by christian zealots? Why not allow Jews and Muslims to join?
What fyi says: “It’s much more interesting to participate in other sites where people actually have conversations”
What fyi means: “It’s much more comfortable to participate in other sites where people can be fairly certain that everybody will mouth the same pablum.”
Ah, yes, ahem, excuse me…
Congratulations, boys. I imagine it’s not easy being a Boy Scout these days, with the controversy over gays and atheists. I suppose that some of you are ambivalent about the Scouts’ stand on these issues. I am gratified, however, that you have hung in there and focused on what’s good about the Scouts — on the achievement of making Eagle and learning leadership and outdoor skills and so forth — without being unduly distracted by the brouhaha. What you guys have done takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and you should be rightfully proud. Good work!
The NAACP was formed in response to the 1908 race riot in Springfield, capital of Illinois and birthplace of President Abraham Lincoln. Appalled at the violence that was committed against blacks, a group of white liberals that included Mary White Ovington and Oswald Garrison Villard, both the descendants of abolitionists, issued a call for a meeting to discuss racial justice. Some 60 people, only 7 of whom were African American (including W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Mary Church Terrell), signed the call, which was released on the centennial of Lincoln’s birth. Echoing the focus of Du Bois’s militant all-black Niagara Movement, the NAACP’s stated goal was to secure for all people the rights guaranteed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution, which promised an end to slavery, the equal protection of the law, and universal adult male suffrage, respectively.
The NAACP established its national office in New York City and named a board of directors as well as a president, Moorfield Storey, a white constitutional lawyer and former president of the American Bar Association.
BRAVO! Thanks, Eagle Scouts, for contributing to the community.
Out of 18 posts, only 6 mention on the good that the scouts did and offer any congradulations for their accomplishments.
It’s not a PRIVATE organization we all fund it with our school and government dollars.
I don’t want my money going to such a bigotted organization.
Historically, the BSA has been granted certain special access not usually afforded to other private organizations. These rights include priority access to government lands, the right to recruit directly within public schools, the right to meet on their facilities, as well as discounted rates for access.
In many cases, schools provided the BSA with such support — support that they would likely deny to other, more-controversial groups, or religious organizations. [31] Many state and local governments still allow the BSA to use public land or facilities.
Currently, the U.S. Department of Defense spends an average of $2 million a year by being the official host of the National Scout Jamboree, which meets every four years on a U.S. Army base.
the state of new jersey doesn’t recognize gay marriage. Should all federal dollars be withheld from the state?
The Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard discriminate.
Why do we expect the boy scouts to be in the forefront of social change?
Let’s, well, leave the kids alone and work on the adults first, eh?
Modern day liberalism is so insistent on strict adherence to its orthodoxy. Its a kind of secular fundamentalism. They are as convinced of the rightness of their cause and as uninterested in differing opinions as any religious fundamentalist.
Where did gay marriage get raised as an issue? The only issue I saw was a belief in God.
You are so into thowing up straw men and then knocking them down. Please take a deep breath and think about what you actually believe.
I was a cub & boy scout. There are a few christian prayers to read and some religious type projects to complete in your guide book. You are allowed to abstain from them if that is your wish, you can still get credit.
I was/am an athiest but I had little problem with what was written since it followed good morals.
dear ban the boy scouts…
as of yet, you can’t choose where you tax dollars go.
I would think that the scouts are the least of your problems as far as “tax dollars spent on things you don’t approve of”
Personally I would have no problem with sending my own son to the scouts… I always see them and the brownies raising money.. they aren’t just sitting on fat checks.
What do the Brownies have to do with the fact that the Boy Scouts discriminate?
Girl Scouts of the USA has consistently upheld the belief that issues of sexuality belong between a girl and her parents, and therefore does not take any official position on the issue of homosexuality; Girl Scouting is open to all girls and adults who accept the Promise and Law.
Realhawker- you said “I had little problem with what was written since it followed good morals.”
Does that mean that you think Homosexuality is bad morals- shame on you if you do.
I don’t remember the scouts giving us sexual preference diversity discussions.
homosexuality never came up during my time in the scouts… was not in any handbook or papers I recieved.
perhaps because it was when I was 8-12?
I am the proud father of an eagle scout who was a member of troop 12 in Montclair. Back when this controversy first started, the scoutmaster at that time wrote a letter stating that the troop is an all inclusive troop who welcomes any boy who wants to join. He was not the only scout leader across the country who challenged the national organization. During his many years involved in troop 12, there was never a moment when anyone was discriminated against. In fact, some of the older boys told me of an earlier trip that took them through a part of the south and stopped at a diner that didn’t welcome the black boys and they were incredulous. They all packed up and left. It’s easy to attack the boys at a local level for the actions of the national organization.
Thanks History Buff. I had no idea. Has there been more than one?
Love that story, BeanCounter, thanks. Bully for you and your son that he was able to have that experience.
Unfortunately in many states you can legally be discriminated against for being gay. Your boss can just write “You’re Gay” on your pink slip and it’s perfectly legal. It’s a shame. And, a shame that the Boy Scouts are just as ignorant.
If the Boy Scouts said “No Christians” or “No Jews” – there would be an uproar. But, it’s okay to discriminate against athiests?
I don’t know that I agree with the statement “Let’s start with the adults first.” I mean, this IS about adults. I dont think it’s the 6-10 year olds setting the governing rules of the Boy Scouts, is it? Instead, there are adults who are institutionalizing homophobia and teaching the kids that discrimination is okay.
Hopefully it’ll be today’s kids – the adults of the future- who stop this nonsense.
the boyscouts also discriminate against agnostics.
it’s not OK to even be in a questioning mode about G*d
A few thoughts:
I had a High School English teacher who always said, “Never trust an Eagle Scout.”
When I was in the Boy Scouts, (in NJ but not Baristaville) I never saw or heard anything that discriminated against gays or the not-so-faithful.
I dropped out of the Scouts because the guys in my troup were a bunch of juvenile delinquents.
Congratulations Eagle Scouts for a truly exceptional accomplishment. This achievement proves that you are young men of substance & determination.
Greg Spinelli
Scoutmaster
Troop 12 Montclair
” the boyscouts also discriminate against agnostics.”
Everyone does. It’s because they are so whishy-washy.
at its founding, the NAACP had only one African American on its executive board, DuBois himself, and did not elect a black president until 1975.
I commend the Eagle Scouts for their service to the community; they model the excellence of the next generation.
I am proud of the members of my congregation, the Unitarian Church of Montclair, who protested the exclusion of gay or atheist young men, who may also wish to serve.
Spinelli’s the scoutmaster of Troop 12? Oh, all right, maybe he’s not such a bad guy. (Maybe.)
How can they not allow homosexuals, how would they know if a person was gay?
They can see right into the soul.
Are their souls branded with a large G or is it an H or is it a Q. And are they branded in English. I think that German would be more appropriate.
yeah right. That’s why Truman Capote was a scout!
Yes, Truman Streckfus Persons was a boyscout in a troop on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I guess they didn’t sniff him out or look into his soul enough.
really????
There’s an awful lot of work involved in becoming an Eagle Scout. Hard, community service-type work. I’d be much more inclined to salute such efforts via Scouting than anything either Butch or the local Unitarians hatched up. Always and forever.
“Hiding in Baristaville,” if you took that catty post about “Tru” seriously, you need more help than even the conservative-minded posters on this site can ever give you. It was a reference to hustlers, not Merit Badge winners.