The Scouts win one; noxious carbon emissions and today's food articles from Maria

The Scouts win one
Supreme Court rejects appeal in Boy Scout case: Atheist father asked court to bar recruiting in public schools

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Tuesday from an atheist father over Boy Scout recruiting at his son’s public school.

John Scalise had asked the court to bar public schools from opening their doors to Boy Scout recruiters and promoting membership, arguing that the group discriminates against nonreligious boys and parents by denying them membership if they don’t swear to religious oaths.
. . .
A Michigan appeals court said that Mount Pleasant schools allowed other organizations to use class facilities, including a hospital group, an Indian tribe, a Baptist church, and a hockey association.

Scalise argued that his son, Benjamin, was taunted by classmates and humiliated by a Boy Scout recruiter in front of other students. Benjamin Scalise is now 17.

The Supreme Court’s last Boy Scout case was in 2000. Justices ruled 5-4 at the time that the Boy Scouts can bar gays from serving as troop leaders. The ruling was written by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who died last year.

Davao City in the Phillipines is hosting the International Urban Scout Jamboree this week.

More noxious carbon emissions
from Al, via Kesher Talk.

As for the poison ivy story, Michael Fumento correctly points out that

there's no special relationship between CO2 and poison ivy. Increases in CO2 make all plants grow faster and healthier. So yes, poison ivy and poison oak and kudzu all benefit from increased atmospheric C02. But so do rain forests, fruit trees, crops, and flowers. Indeed, as we've seen from previous warm periods such as the medieval one, global warming directly benefits crops by extending growing seasons and allowing crops in places previously to cold to even allow them.

While on the subject of noxious fumes, Chomski continues to spout off.

At the blogs
The Daily Ablution writes about Johann Hari's disgraceful contempt for Bjørn Lomborg.
In the same post, commenter Nigel links to a CNN story where the wounded CBS correspondent Kimberly Dozier admitted that

"I can't go out and hunt a story. I'm having to wait for it to come to me, or I'm having to train Iraqi translators to go out and be my eyes, be my ears, ask the questions that I would ask if I could."

If you go to my sidebar links, the three Michaels, Michael Fumento, Michael Totten, and Michael Yon have been reporting directly from Iraq, and not one of them sat in their hotels "having to wait for it to come to me". Michael Fumento even has a photo of the Al Rasheed hotel, where journalists hole up while their stringers gather the news (photo #8 of the slide show).

Another darn thing you didn't want to know about Prince Charles

U.S. Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Sex Offender Visitation Case, ACLU Disappointed.

All Things Beautiful ponders a 'Deadly Charm' Offensive

On a lighter subject, Petite woman of the world,unite! You have nothing to lose but your dowdy, ill-fitting dresses

North Korean concentration camps, and today's articles from Maria
Via Maria, a horrifying story: North Korea's grisly arms tests on babies

Flights to US at risk after secrecy ruling

Despicable, in absolute terms.

New Jersey Anti-Tax Rally June 24th

Today's food articles from Maria
Significant increase diabetes prevalence in US. You heard it from me before, you'll hear it from me again: cut back on starches and give up sugary foods.

The Flavour Point Diet: Taste not waist

Bacterial Evolution in the Yogurt Ecosystem.

Today's video
Via Annika, behind the scenes in Star Wars.