Street Wrong To Evict Boy Scouts

Evening Bulletin ^ | 07/25/2006 | RAJ BHAKTA

[fgoodwin]

Street Wrong To Evict Boy Scouts

http://www.theeveningbulletin.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16963263&BRD=2737&PAG=461
http://tinyurl.com/qo4r4

07/25/2006

By: RAJ BHAKTA, Special To The Evening Bulletin

In the midst of Philadelphia's worst crime wave in memory, including 220 murders already this year, a shrinking police force and failing schools, who has Philadelphia Mayor John Street bravely targeted as public enemy number one?

The Boy Scouts of America.

The Boy Scouts Cradle of Liberty Council, which serves 87,000 scouts in Philadelphia, Montgomery County and Delaware County, has kept its headquarters on public grounds near Logan Circle since 1928. In a more sane era, the City Council promised that the Boy Scouts may remain there with no rent charged "in perpetuity." Since then, the Scouts have spent millions of dollars renovating this structure over the years and paid for all its upkeep.

But now, the city of Philadelphia, under the leadership of Street, is seeking to evict the Boy Scouts from their city-owned Center City headquarters because of their alleged refusal to admit open homosexuals as members. This, however, is of course a lie. Right on the Scout's Web site it says, "Prejudice, intolerance and unlawful discrimination in any form are unacceptable within the ranks of Cradle of Liberty Council."

This strikes me as the most ridiculous political action taken this year by any politician in America. Why now, while the city suffers its worst quality-of-life crisis in recent memory, does John Street push a radical agenda rather than face this city's genuine problems?

And who suffers in the end for this piece of political theater? 40,000 inner city children who belong to the Scouts. The streets of Philadelphia are unsafe, yet Mayor Street chooses to go after the one organization that has done so much to improve the lives of thousands of children in this region. He is taking on a group that has helped many young people steer clear of criminal activity.

Because John Street has chosen to waste precious time and energy on this matter, I fear he doesn't know about the dangers brewing within his own city. So let me spell it out for him: Crime is up astronomically in Philadelphia, Mr. Mayor. Drug use is skyrocketing. In Northeast Philly, where I was born, the numbers are staggering. Assaults have risen over 400 percent in some areas of the Northeast including Mayfair, Fox Chase and Burholme.

We Philadelphians should take pride in our long-standing support for the Boy Scouts and should let the mayor know, loud and clear, that we do not support his hateful treatment of this group.

If the scourges of crime and drugs persist in our neighborhoods, only God knows who the city will target next. Perhaps the Salvation Army.

Raj Bhakta is a candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania's 13th District.

[BipolarBob]

Bhakta has his priorities straight, the question is do the voters?

[FormerACLUmember]

The democrat party, the ACLU, and NAMBLA target the Boy Scouts, since our homosexual pals need fresh meat. Meanwhile, crime spirals out of control in Philadelphia.

What about the human rights of the children? Reason Number 10788 wht the democrat party must be annihilated.