Military spending on Scouts questioned

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-scouts07.html

Why is it in the U.S. military's interest to spend $8 million to put on a big annual jamboree for Boy Scouts at a military base in Virginia every four years?

Secondly, there is public relations and recruitment, he said. Seventy percent of students at U.S. military academies are former Scouts, he said. snip

But in order to participate in the jamboree, young men must swear the Boy Scout oath that includes belief in God. And that excludes atheists, which makes the expenditure of federal funds unconstitutional, Adam Schwartz, an attorney for the ACLU, argued.

"That's right -- if you don't want to take the scout's oath, you can't join the Boy Scouts," said George Davidson, attorney for the scouts. "But why would you want to join an organization you don't believe in?" snip

"Only kids who believe in God have the opportunity," he said. "If they don't believe in God, they can't scuba dive. They can't canoe. They can't have access to all these opportunities."

[MADem]

1. I always had a problem with this

Because on many military bases, there were Scout camping areas that had to be MAINTAINED by grounds crews. Since MWR went self-sustaining in the post Vietnam era, that money had to come out of the installation operating budget.

The Scouts also have a problem with gays. It's not the kids' fault--hell, they just want to go camping--but the adults running the outfit are a bunch of bigots.