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Boy Scout Spox Says Teen Who Meets Eagle Scout Rank Requirements Ineligible Due to Sexual Orientation [Discrimination]

Boy Scout Spox Says Teen Who Meets Eagle Scout Rank Requirements Ineligible Due to Sexual Orientation

Ryan Andresen was in “total shock” when his Scoutmaster informed him he would not be awarding him the rank of Eagle Scout — the Boy Scouts highest honor — because he was openly gay.

“He had been telling me all along that we’d get by the gay thing,” Andresen, 17, told Yahoo News. “It was by far the biggest goal of my life. It’s totally devastating.”

Andresen spent the past 12 years earning enough merit badges to qualify for Eagle Scout, and recently completed his service project — ironically, an anti-bullying “tolerance wall” he worked on with area schoolchildren.

“I want everyone to know that [the Eagle award] should be based on accomplishment, not your sexual orientation,” Andresen’s mother, Karen, told NBC News. “Ryan entered Scouts when he was six years old and in no way knew what he was. I think right now the Scoutmaster is sending Ryan the message that he’s not a valued human being and I want Ryan to know that he is valued … and that people care about him.”

Boy Scouts spokesperson Deron Smith is definitely not one of those people.

In a statement to the press, Smith said Andresen’s coming out last July was not the only disqualifying factor — he also “proactively notified his unit leadership and Eagle Scout Counselor that he does not agree to Scouting’s principle of ‘Duty to God.'”

Smith said the BSA “did not proactively ask for this information,” but once it was received, forced the Scouts to kick Andresen out of the organization entirely.

Many adult Eagle Scouts have been turning in their badges after the BSA reaffirmed its exclusion policy earlier this year.

Zach Wahls, an outspoken gay rights activist and an Eagle Scout, called Andresen’s case “unique,” as most gay scouts never make it this far before being shoved out. “He is a case study of the detrimental effects this policy has on young men,” Wahls told Yahoo.

Andresen and his mom hope a Change.org petition with nearly 150,000 signatures will help persuade the BSA to change its mind.

But time is running out: Eagle Scout badges can only be earned before the age of 18, and Andresen’s birthday is in three days.

[photo via NBC News]

via Gawker http://gawker.com/5949244/boy-scout-spox-says-teen-who-meets-eagle-scout-rank-requirements-ineligible-due-to-sexual-orientation

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From Jack Welch, a Conspiracy Theory

The former chief executive of General Electric went to Twitter to suggest that the Obama administration had manipulated the jobs numbers.

via NYT > Most Recent Headlines http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/from-jack-welch-a-conspiracy-theory/

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Anatomy of Vatican scandal: How the butler did it

VATICAN CITY (AP) — He had the trust of Pope Benedict XVI and the cardinals, monsignors and priests who run the Roman Catholic Church. And because of his privileged position as papal butler, he had access to their deepest secrets: confidential letters, memos, financial reports….

via AP Top Headlines At 9:50 a.m. EDT http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VATICAN_ANATOMY_OF_SCANDAL?SITE=FLROC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Daily Report: Google Deal Gives Publishers a Choice to Digitize or Not

After seven years of litigation, Google and book publishers reached a settlement that would allow the publishers to choose whether Google digitizes their books and journals, and to share revenue if the works are purchased through Google’s online store, reports Claire Cain Miller in Friday’s New York Times.

via NYT > Most Recent Headlines http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/daily-report-google-deal-gives-publishers-a-choice-to-digitize-or-not/

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Joe Lockhart Leaving Facebook–Report

Joe Lockhart, Facebook‘s vice president for global communications, is leaving the social media company, AllThingsD reports.

Lockhart served as President Bill Clinton‘s spokesman and was a founding member of the Glover Park Group. Here’s AllThingsD’s Mike Isaac with more details:

His departure comes nearly 15 months after he first joined the company in July of last year, where he worked alongside of Marne Levine, another beltway insider who has served Facebook as VP of global public policy since 2010.

[snip]

The decision comes in part because of Lockhart’s desire not to move to California full-time and stay on the east coast, where he has continued to reside throughout his employment at Facebook, a source

via Homepage http://influencealley.nationaljournal.com/2012/10/joe-lockhart-leaving-facebookr.php

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Sacha Baron Cohen’s next film: ‘The Lesbian’

Sacha Baron Cohen has already decided on his next project: A film based on the story of a high-flying Hong Kong billionaire offering $65 million to the man who could win over his lesbian daughter with a marriage proposal.

via NYDN Rss Article only http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/sacha-baron-cohen-film-lesbian-article-1.1175636?localLinksEnabled=false&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nydnrss%2Fgossip%2Frush_molloy+%28Gossip%2FRush+%26+Molloy%29

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The Real Romney

7:55 am ET Me, on “Morning Joe,” on how Romney finally showed the American people what he is really like: [President Obama] ended up in a room with a guy, who, from his first answer, was not the version of Mitt Romney, I think, he practiced against. So, all the prep he did, and he […]

via The Page by Mark Halperin http://thepage.time.com/2012/10/05/the-real-romney/

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Obama Poised To Nearly Double ’08 Ad Spending

President Obama’s campaign has spent more than $300 million on television advertising, according to new figures compiled by sources watching the ad market, an amount that puts him on track to nearly double his own record-breaking spending from the 2008 election cycle.

All told, Obama, Republican Mitt Romney and the various outside groups have poured $759 million into television and radio advertisements alone in an effort to communicate their messages with the tiny fraction of voters who remain undecided with just five weeks to go before Election Day. For the week of October 2 to October 8 alone, the two sides are spending a combined $59 million.

Obama’s spending continues to outpace Romney’s own campaign. This week, Obama will spend $20 million on television spots, including nearly $5 million alone in Florida, $4.3 million in Ohio and $3.9 million in Virginia. Obama spent about $230 million on television advertising during the 2008 cycle. If he continues to spend at this pace – about $20 million per week – Obama’s campaign will end the race at or above $400 million on television alone. 

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/obama-poised-to-nearly-double-08-ad-spending-20121005

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Nat Geo to Air Bin Laden Movie

Two days before the presidential election.

via Cheat Sheet http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2012/10/05/nat-geo-to-air-bin-laden-movie.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Fcheat-sheet+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Cheat+Sheet%29

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Electric Cars Do More Harm To The Planet Than Previously Thought

New research suggests that electric cars are not the environmental panacea that they are thought to be. A report from a team at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology claims that the vehicles fail on three fronts: production; charging; and their eventual demise.

The length of the vehicle’s life has an impact on its carbon footprint – those with a life of around 200,000 km improve on petrol and diesel engines by around 28 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. Halve the mileage, however, and an EV’s effectiveness decreases by anything between 9 and 14 per cent. But it is the source of the electricity used for charging the car that is the problem. Using an EV in a country which relies heavily on fossil fuels for its electricity will, unsurprisingly, increase greenhouse gas emissions. Using the car in Europe, however, saw benefits of around 10 per cent, compared to traditional combustion engines.

EV production is, says one of the authors of the report, more environmentally intensive than the traditional automotive industry. Breaking a vehicle up at the end of its life is also more hazardous, as the batteries and motors use toxic materials such as nickel, aluminium and copper.

[Image via Creative Commons on Flickr]

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via Fast Company http://www.fastcompany.com/3001917/electric-cars-do-more-harm-planet-previously-thought?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company%29