Posted on 11/22/2007 8:52:16 AM PST by PRePublic
Cambridge votes down scouts’ aid for Iraq GIs By Mike Underwood Friday, November 16, 2007
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.
“He mentioned to me that some people got care packages from home and how happy it made them,” the Scout said.
Troop 45 Cambridge Boy Scouts placed boxes in the city’s 33 polling stations on Election Day.
But someone complained to the city, allegedly claiming the boxes were a “political statement,” and the boxes were removed.
“This was not about supporting the war or any politician or political view. This was supporting the brave men and women who are stationed overseas,” said troop committee chairman Jamisean Patterson, 35.
Patterson said the Scouts were given verbal permission by the city election commission twice and at the polling stations as well. A promotion for the polling place collections was still up yesterday on the Veterans’ Services Department section of the city’s Web site.
Marsha Weinerman, executive director of the city’s election commission, confirmed she received a complaint on Election Day, “Because I did not have confirmation that the Boy Scouts had obtained permission to put their boxes in the buildings, the boxes were removed.”
State law prohibits political statements pertaining to a particular election within 150 feet of any polling station.
But there is no law preventing someone promoting an unrelated political message within 150 feet of any polling station.
Cambridge Vice Mayor Timothy J. Toomey Jr. said a breakdown in communication, rather than malice, led to the boxes being removed.
“Boy Scouts Troop 45’s efforts to support our troops are a benefit for the entire community, and the council will be working with them to ensure that their goals are fully realized,” he said in a written statement.
Financial donations, which will be used to buy items for the care packages, can be sent to the Scouts at Troop 45, P.O. Box 381241, Cambridge, MA 02238. Checks should be made payable to Troop 45.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1045046
Wait till next month when those Cambridge-Kooks realize that almost 100% of the civilian workforce at Hanscom Air Force Base and 100% of the contract workforce that supports Hanscom will be laid off...including all of the funding for “research” being done in Cambridge. They have the Democraps not funding the DoD and the GWOT to thank for what will likely cause them great grief. BAWAHAHA!
If the Republican Party truly practiced conservatism to the fullest and best of abilities as well as actually have a political backbone, then the Republicans would still be a political majority at the federal level today, and the U.S. wouldn’t be heading towards long-term socialism, starting in January ‘09!
Just another sign of the guilt and self-loathing the anti-America folks have - they can’t bear to be close to any source of appreciation for this great country or those who bleed to keep it Free because they know that all they stand for is tearing it down and relegating themselves and the rest of us to the status of livestock instead of Freemen.
No they don’t ! These are people who spit on wounded G.I.’s at Walter Reed Hospital ,who confront service members on university campuses & call them various & assorted obscene names simply because they are members of the armed forces.
These people are simply despise the very existence of the United States.
That’s why we give the Eagle pin to the mom!!
If they’d been collecting care packages for Nepali Maoists or Venezuelan Marxists, the Cambridge City Council would have pitched in to help them with a city-wide pull-out-all-the-stops effort.
I have two sets of Cub Scout pins :-). I understand I’m supposed to be buried with all the Scouting day-cor!
I couldn’t disagree more!
This was an off year election....municipal offices only.
School committee, Town Council, Mayor and the like...
Nothing even remotely touching on a national issue. And even if there had been , it is only an emanation of a penumbra of an extension of a penumbra to presume that collecting goodies for servicemen is a political statement....
Now, if the PTO is conducting its bake sale in the hallway of the school, where the polling is taking place, isn’t that a political statement? I mean, after all...the school committee members are being voted on and the Town Council members are being voted on. These are the people who will establish and approve the education budget....These are the folks who will decide if a Prop 2 1/2 measure will go before the voters to suopport budget increases...
And having the PTO there, holding a bake sale, bemoaning the lack of funding for the schools....
Now, THAT’S a political statement directly impacting the votes!!!!!
You can always tell a Liberal. You can't tell 'em much that they won't disagree with you on, but you can tell 'em.
"...Or is it because the Scouts aren’t gay enough...?"
The Boston Globe is heavy in gay editors. This appeared in the Boston Herald, usually running counterpoint to the Globe.
Where's our "Gay-State Republican" on this story?
Scouts are allowed to take part in civic projects of any kind just about anywhere. A polling place shouldn’t be a problem. They are not advocating for one politician or another, so their efforts are not ‘political’. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be there.
Most polling places are in already established venues, schools, etc. Our polling place is at the local Public Works garage. So all kinds of stuff is going on. For civic groups, such as the Scouts, engaging in a Service project, there shouldn't be a problem,and in just about any other town, except maybe Ithaca, NY, it wouldn't be.
Yep, I gots one of them!! Our oldest son is an Eagle Scout.
The anti-Boy Scout thing got me so riled up, I decided to launch a new organization—CAMBRIDGE PATRIOTS COMMITTEE. Come on down & take a look at our new web site:
http://patriots02139.wordpress.com/
Commenters & authors welcome! Help us do battle with the moonbats and leftist city officials who perpetrate this type of nonsense.
Great-idea-great-blog, I hope for 'spreading the word'. wordpress-tags are a great plus for spreading it even further.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.