"Morally Straight" - well, sort of

[edschweppe]

The Boy Scouts of America spent a great deal of time and money defending their right to kick boys and adults out of Scouting who were homosexual, on the grounds that everyone involved with Scouting had to be "morally straight". Well, this story broke earlier today:

DALLAS, Texas - The national director of programs for the Boy Scouts of America has been charged with possession and distribution of child pornography, the U.S. Attorneys said Tuesday.
In charges filed by federal prosecutors on March 21, Douglas S. Smith Jr. was accused of receiving images over the Internet in February of children engaging in oral sex, intercourse and other sexually explicit conduct.

(MSNBC story)

Frankly, I was disgusted with the BSA when they decided to make homosexuality a big issue, and even more so when I heard that the policy was being driven by fundamentalist Christian elements. I'm even less impressed with the BSA now that it appears that they allowed this guy to "retire" rather than drive him out.

Comments

[wcg.livejournal.com]

You know how it is, Ed. It's morally straight to talk the traditional morality while peddling child porn, because that way you can repent for your sins and promise to sin no more if you get caught. Actually living openly as a Ho-Mo-Sex-ual flouts moral conventions. We can't have THAT!

(Don't let the irony drip on your feet, OK?)

[edschweppe.livejournal.com]

(Don't let the irony drip on your feet, OK?)
'Sokay, got them hip waders ready!

Of course, maybe the real secret behind starting fires without matches is to be a flaming hypocrite to begin with...

[edschweppe.livejournal.com]

Oh, by the way. There used to be a page (http://www.bsalegal.org/brucecol-181.htm) on the BSA Legal Issues website (http://www.bsalegal.org) on which Eagle Scout and current C-SPAN General Counsel Bruce Collins decried the BSA's descent into anti-gay politics. On the same page, good old Douglas Smith replies to Mr. Collins, blaming the whole mess on the ACLU.

I say "used to be" because the BSA appears to have pulled the page; now it 404's out. On the other hand, Google's mighty cache brings it all back:

Clearly, Mr. Collins longs for a time when the Boy Scout organization could give its undivided attention to the "good stuff" of Scouting: "camping and life skills ..." So do we. Mr. Collins would do well to communicate his displeasure to those directing their discriminatory assault against his beloved Boy Scouts -- the ACLU.

Douglas S. Smith Jr.
National Director of Program
Boy Scouts of America

http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:1NguQR9-M5YJ:www.bsalegal.org/brucecol-181.htm

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Smith, reached Tuesday at his home in Colleyville, near Fort Worth, referred all questions to his attorney, Jack Strickland, who said: “He’s not taking this well. I’ve got to tell you, this is a good man and I would hate to see the entirety of his life and the good things he’s done defined by one incident.”

Ah yes, the Pete Rose defense...