Articles labeled: boy scouts

A tornado created a sad and cruel situation for many boy scouts at an Iowa campsitewhen they sought refuge in a wood building which was then struck by the twister. 4 scouts were killed and 40 injured, suffering mostly head injuries. The scouts were between the ages of 13 - 18.

Our hearts go out to the friends and families of these boys.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A spokeswoman for Iowa Homeland Security says at least four people were killed and 40 injured when a tornado struck a western Iowa Boy Scout camp.

Iowa Homeland Security spokeswoman Julie Tack says a search and rescue team has been deployed to the camp near Little Sioux in Harrison County. She says the camp is covered with debris and downed trees after the tornado hit about 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Tack says there were 93 campers and 25 staff members at the camp. The campers were between 13 and 18 years old and were attending a leadership training camp.

We have mixed feelings about the Boy Scouts of America here at Minor Topics. Some of us think they are a harmless organization that gives kids some camaraderie and a chance to hone their s’mores making skills. While others think that, while one could argue that they have a legal right to require Christian allegiance and discriminate against homosexuals under the umbrella of “religious exemption”, they should then forfeit collecting any taxpayer funds and stop using public schools as promotional venues. Texas Governor Rick Perry certainly falls into the former camp, and he thinks the Boy Scouts are the bees knees. In fact, he thinks they are so great he wrote a book about them.

In his new book, Texas Gov. Rick Perry uses the Boy Scouts to draw a battle line in a “culture war,” defending them against the American Civil Liberties Union and what he sees as a moral struggle for the country’s future.

He was to be in New York today to launch a tour promoting On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For.

The book extols the virtues of the Boy Scouts and its impact on a young boy growing up in rural Paint Creek, Texas. “Life revolved around school, church, and – for most boys – the Boy Scouts,” wrote Mr. Perry, who eventually became an Eagle Scout.

It traces a 30-year history of litigation involving the Scouts – most of which they won – and Mr. Perry, a Republican, targets the ACLU as the primary force behind a leftist push to accept homosexuality and challenge Scouting’s duty to God.

The Boy Scouts did the right thing. They asked permission to set up donation boxes to collect money for care packages to send to our troops. Some asshole complained that it was a political message (Really???) and the donation boxes were immediately taken down.

Let the karma police bless this stupid town.

Big-hearted Boy Scouts collecting donations for care packages for U.S. troops are still scratching their heads after being sent packing from polling stations when Cambridge officials ruled their generous effort “political.”

“We just wanted to make a lot of troops happy,” said Scout Patrick O’Connor, 16. “I was devastated that someone would think to take (the donation boxes) out,” he said.

O’Connor of West Cambridge was one of the Scouts who wanted to collect toiletries, magazines, candy and other items for care packages after one of his relatives was injured in an IED explosion while serving in Iraq.