From the Northeast Times:

Today, Fox News will chronicle Philadelphia’s eviction of the Boy Scouts.

Philadelphia Inquirer acknowledges the obvious.

What's gained? A good neighbor. (Recall that the Cradle of Liberty tried to buck national scouting's antigay stance.) What's lost? A costly, legal dispute that would be fodder for the culture wars.

Replacing the Boy Scouts' headquarters with condos wouldn't make Philadelphia a better place for its children.

Philadelphia Daily News disregards the obvious.

The Fairmont Park Commission voted Monday to back the city's efforts to boot the local Cradle of Liberty Boy Scout Council out of its city-subsidized headquarters, for which it pays the city $1 a year.

In response, the Boy Scouts of America National Council has vowed to create two new badges: "Fighting" and "Victim."

Maybe that new badge should be "Irony."

Philadelphia Inquirer chronicles Boy Scouts’ resolve.

The Boy Scouts of America will fight to stay in the city-owned building they have occupied since 1928, saying the City of Philadelphia has no right to force them to change their policy barring gay members.

The Church and State Blog has cross posted Raj’s remarks concerning the Boy Scout’s eviction.

Evening Bulletin features Raj's expanded reaction.

And who suffers in the end for this piece of political theater? 40,000 inner city children who belong to the Scouts.

Because John Street has chosen to waste precious time and energy on this matter, I fear he doesn't know about the dangers brewing within his own city.

Adam Graham laments Boy Scout’s eviction.

The liberals' war on the Boy Scouts has been the most surprising attack. This is an American institution, but compared to political correctness and homosexual rights, this American institution takes a back seat.

Is This Life concurs with Raj’s denouncement.

In a city where a total vacuum of morality in "urban areas" is eventually the root cause of this chaos and carnage, wouldn't you WANT to use the Boy Scouts as an example?? Maybe try to get some of this children from broken homes involved in something that would give them a moral compass??????

Now, flying in the face of a Constitutional Charter, Mayor Street wants to start charging the Cradle of Liberty Council "fair market value" for the use of the property. He knows the BSA can't afford it. Oh, yeah, did I mention, there's a developer primed to put up a 47-story condo across the street from the BSA/COL headquarters?? Hmm,..who do you think is getting a little extra in his pocket on this play??

Stop the ACLU assesses Mayor Street’s decision.

The Real Ugly American becomes first to link Raj’s reaction.

In the midst of Philadelphia’s worst crime wave in memory including 220 murders already this year, a shrinking police force, and failing schools, who has Philadelphia Mayor John Street bravely targeted as public enemy number one?

The Boy Scouts of America.

The city of Philadelphia, under the leadership of Street, is now seeking to evict the Boy Scouts' Cradle of Liberty Council from its city-owned Center City headquarters because of their refusal to admit open homosexuals as members.

“This is probably the most ridiculous political action taken this year by any politician in America,” said Raj Peter Bhakta, who is running for Congress in Northeast Philadelphia and Montgomery County. “While the city suffers its worst quality of life crisis in recent memory, John Street seeks to push a radical agenda rather than face the real problems.”

Raj said he was particularly shocked that Street would take on a group that has done so much to help so many young people steer clear of criminal activity. The Boy Scouts Cradle of Liberty Council, which serves 87,000 scouts in Philadelphia, Montgomery County and Delaware County, has kept its headquarters on public grounds near Logan circle since 1928. In a more sane time, the City Council promised that the Boy Scouts may remain there with no rent charged “in perpetuity.”

“The streets of Philadelphia are unsafe,” said Raj. “So Mayor Street chooses to go after the one organization that has done so much to improve the lives of thousands of children in this region.”

The Supreme Court said in 2000 that applying a state public accommodations law to require the Boy Scouts to admit a gay troop leader violates the group’s constitutional right of expressive association.

“If crime and drugs persist in our neighborhoods, only God knows who the city will target next,” said Raj. “Perhaps the Salvation Army.”

Philadelphia is quickly becoming the murder capital of the country. There is more than one murder per day. Drugs and violence are invading the streets of the Northeast!

Violent crime in some neighborhoods has risen over 400 percent in the Northeast in the last two years alone.

Let’s stand up and do something about it. Please join Congressional Candidate Raj Peter Bhakta, and the Philadelphia Town Watch for an emergency public forum. Come together to voice your concerns and issues!

The Event is FREE and all citizens are Welcome!

When: Thursday, July 27th at 7pm
Where: VFW Post #2 at 4638 Richmond Street.

Save the Northeast

From the Northeast Times:

Raj Bhakta is not backing down from his campaign theme of "Save the Northeast."

Bhakta, the Republican challenging U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-13th dist.), was blasted last week in a column.

At issue was a Bhakta campaign flier that mentioned Mayor John Street "has declared war on the Northeast" and is destroying neighborhoods, with support from Schwartz.

The column accused Bhakta of playing "racial politics," adding that he sounded like the late segregationist Strom Thurmond.

While attending a vigil on Friday night to help capture a man who tried to rape a woman at Frankford Avenue and Benner Street, Bhakta said he is pushing his "Save the Northeast" theme because residents have told him that the area is not as safe as it was a decade ago. He added that he’s gotten positive feedback, even after the column appeared.

If elected, Bhakta would fight for funding for more cops.

"It’s the best deterrent — police officers on the street," he said.

Bhakta said he has spoken to police officers who are frustrated about a justice system that allows some criminals to get out of jail soon after their arrests.

"We need to have funding for prisons," he said.

Bhakta said he’ll continue to work with community activists such as C.B. Kimmins, whom he met at a recent fund-raiser for the family of slain police officer Gary Skerski.

And he’ll continue to advocate for citizens who value safety, cleanliness and civic-mindedness.

"I’m unrepentant," he said. "Save the Northeast."

Northeast Times documents victim's resolve.

The victim of an attempted rape joined community activists on Friday night to hand out fliers featuring a sketch of the suspect.

The crowd gathered at the Frankford Transportation Center, not too far from where the incident occurred at Frankford Avenue and Benner Street.

The 18-year-old victim was waiting for a bus to take her to her Torresdale-area home at about 12:30 a.m. on May 16. That’s when a young man pressed a sharp object into her back — he told her it was a knife — and forced her to the rear alley of a house on the 6000 block of Frankford Ave.

The young woman remained calm, falsely telling her attacker she had herpes and fighting him off as he attempted to remove her clothes. The man ran away when a neighbor hollered from a second-floor window.

The victim described the man as a dark-skinned white man or a Hispanic. He was about 19 years old, 5 feet 6 to 5 feet 7 inches tall, 150 to 175 pounds, with a heavy build.

He had short dark brown hair cut in a buzz, though he might have since dyed his hair blond. He had a chubby face and was wearing a white T-shirt with a black T-shirt around his neck and baggy long blue jeans cuffed at the bottom.

On Friday, the victim was joined by family members, Men United for a Better Philadelphia and anti-crime organizations from Tacony, Frankford, Mantua and South Philadelphia. Also joining the vigil were police officers from SEPTA and the 15th Police District and congressional candidate Raj Bhakta and his staff.

The group was hoping people who frequent the transportation center would recognize the suspect.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call the police special victims unit at 215-685-3251 (3252, 3265).