Free Republic

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The city must pay nearly $900,000 after a failed effort to evict the Boy Scouts of America because of the group's ban on gays, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The post-trial ruling is just the latest twist in a decade-long legal dispute over the Boy Scout oath, which requires members to be "morally straight." The two sides have sought a compromise that would let the local Boy Scouts chapter keep its rent-free, city-owned headquarters without violating the national Scout policy. However, a tentative deal struck since the city lost a court case last year has fallen apart....

It's not your typical boy scout project, but then again, 15-year-old Joey Ricketts is not your typical boy scout. Joey has spent the better part of his life in the Scouts, and when it came time for his eagle scout project... Joey Ricketts, Boy Scout: "I know that a lot of people have done a lot for the World Trade Center and I know the Pentagon is from our state and so I thought it would be nice to do a monument to the Pentagon." But this is not just a project to Joey, it's something more personal. Joey's dad...

Take a hike in any American wilderness area during the summer, and there's a good chance you'll find a group of Boy Scouts. Since it began in Britain nearly a century ago, Scouting has revolved around camping, canoeing and other outdoor activities - the kinds of activities New York Times writer and editor Peter Applebome avoided for much of his life. He was drawn into the organization after his son Ben joined a troop in Chappaqua, New York. In his book Scout's Honor: A Father's Unlikely Foray into the Woods, Peter Applebome describes how he acquired a new appreciation for...