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I have sent the author the following E-Mail:

Just a couple of comments on your latest column.

"On membership applications, Boy Scouts and adult leaders must say that they recognize a higher power, not necessarily religious. Lambert had disclosed his atheism to Scout leaders last year in his Eagle Scout application, but he still received the award."

Mr. Lambert, having disclosed to his Eagle Board of Review that he was an atheist and believed in no higher power (and, according to reports did so verbally face-to-face, not in his application), should never have received his Eagle award. This BOR made a mistake.

"The current dispute arose last month, when Lambert got into an argument with a Scout leader at a Scout training seminar as to whether the Scouts should expel atheists."

"Meanwhile, another good Scout leader is lost. Darrell Lambert, with an exemplary record of scouting and community service, reportedly doesn't smoke, drink alcohol, or take drugs. He has been a quartermaster and three-time senior patrol leader, an assistant scoutmaster, and a field leader in training as part of the Search and Rescue Program."

In my opinion, your column reads as though Mr. Lambert was tossed out of the BSA as a youth. He wasn't. He was tossed out because he professed atheism in public, at a training session for adult leaders that he was attending as a trainee. Mr. Lambert had turned 18, and had registered, as per BSA rules, as an adult; specifically, an Assistant Scoutmaster. Now, you can research this yourself if you like, by going over to your local BSA Council office and picking up an Adult Application. But, if you'd like, you can take my word for it when I tell you that part of the Adult Application for the BSA is a "Declaration of Religious Principle", and that the application states that you must subscribe to the declaration to register as a leader. Suffice it to say that no honest atheist could do so. By doing so, Mr. Lambert fails "A Scout is Trustworthy", the first of the 12 points of the Scout Law. I would not consider this the sign of a good leader. Deliberate liars shouldn't be youth leaders.

"Under current Boy Scout rules, a crack-smoking, al-Qaeda-supporting, wife-beating member of the Ku Klux Klan would be fine as a scoutmaster, but Lambert isn't."

Under current Boy Scout rules, felons cannot be Scout leaders. Also, users of illegal drugs cannot be Scout leaders (and the Adult Application specifically asks if you use drugs). Not to mention that the other two criteria you set violate numerous provisions of the Scout Law and Scout Oath. So the hypothetical individual you reference above could not, in fact, be a Scout leader. For you to say different is wrong. I have to ask; did you write the above statement out of ignorance or malice? If the former, you owe the BSA an apology, and I ask that before you write any further on the BSA, you have the responsibility to do some research and know what you're talking about. If the latter, then you are dishonorable and are merely a propogandist, not a journalist.