Take the Boy Scouts. For generations, the Boy Scouts, founded and preserved by Americans of all political as well as ethnic backgrounds, has helped millions of American boys become good, productive men. The left throughout America -- its politicians, its media, its stars, its academics -- have ganged up to deprive the Boy Scouts of oxygen. Everywhere possible, the Boy Scouts are vilified and deprived of places to meet.

But while the left works to destroy the Boy Scouts -- unless the Boy Scouts adopt the left's views on openly gay scouts and scout leaders -- the left has created nothing comparable to the Boy Scouts. The left tries to destroy one of the greatest institutions ever made for boys, but it has built nothing for boys. There is no ACLU version of the Boy Scouts; there is only the ACLU versus the Boy Scouts.

The same holds true for the greatest character-building institution in American life: Judeo-Christian religions. Once again, the left knows how to destroy. Everywhere possible the left works to inhibit religious institutions and values -- from substituting "Happy Holidays" for "Merry Christmas" to removing the tiny cross from the Los Angeles County Seal to arguing that religious people must not bring their values into the political arena. Read On

An old Spanish proverb says, "An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy." I believe that value holds, in or out of a recession. And seeing as my 87-year-old mother lived through the Great Depression, I think her value (and that of those like her) will increase through these tough economic times because her insider wisdom can help us all.

Mother was about 10 years old when her eight-member family endured the thick of those recessive days in rural Wilson, Okla., which only has a population of 1,600 today. The recurring droughts across the heartland during that period dried up the job market, making it worse in the Midwest than it even was in the rest of the country. Over the years, my grandpa worked multiple jobs, from the oil fields to the cotton fields, and he was even a night watchman. The family members did what they could to contribute, but most of them were simply too young to play a major part. Read On

During the last year and a half, Rick E. Krial spent $150,000 defending his porn business in court. He says it's not worth it anymore, The News Leader of Staunton, Va., reported. Staunton Prosecutor Raymond C. Robertson won a conviction against Krial and his company in August on two misdemeanor obscenity charges. The week-long trial pitted Robertson against two of the nation's top obscenity trial lawyers. The porn shop closed after the trial. "I wasn’t a bit intimidated," Robertson told CitizenLink. "I’ve been doing this stuff for 41 years. "I’ll bet you a lot more communities in America would find this stuff obscene than not. Some of them are just afraid to go after it." Krial told the newspaper that if his store stayed open, "They were going to come at me with all the charges they could. Nobody needs this kind of aggravation." Krial has agreed not to appeal his conviction or reopen the store, The News Leader reported. Phil Burress, president of Ohio's Citizens for Community Values, has seen similar results in his state. "The first step is someone needs to call the police department and say, 'Please investigate,' " he said. "If you have an adult bookstore or you have a video store that has a backroom that is selling (obscene) pornography, that is prosecutable in 45 states. In Milford, Conn., police are doing their part to clean up the community. Six men were arrested during a recent sting at a porn shop. Four were charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, the other two with public indecency. "The vast majority of the time, when you fight this good fight," Burress said, "you win."

A federal judge's groundbreaking award of nearly $200,000 in restitution to a teenager victimized in child porn by a corporate executive who downloaded her images may open "the floodgates" for similar victims. That's the claim of Jonathan Einhorn, defense lawyer for Alan Hesketh, a 62-year-old former Pfizer vice president who admitted possessing nearly 2,000 images, including four of the now 19-year-old girl. "If that's what happens, that's what happens," said Cindy Robinson, a lawyer with Tremont & Sheldon who represents people abused by Catholic priests. "These children suffer immeasurable damage.""I hope it's true," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children in Alexandria, Va., who identified the girl's images for prosecutors. "I hope it spreads like wildfire. I hope it sends a message to those victimized that they can get help ... and creates kind of a deterrent effect that makes those think twice before downloading these images. I applaud the vision of this federal judge. I hope it is emulated." Early Monday afternoon Senior U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton opened a new "frontier" when he awarded the 19-year-old woman $150,000 for her medical, psychological and counseling expenses. Never before has a judge ordered criminal restitution from a person who possessed child pornography. Read On

Two teenaged girls were arrested for allegedly pimping other students for prostitution, Phoenix police said. Jazmine Finley and Tatiana Tye, both 16, allegedly used contacts from local schools and their friends to lure other young girls into prostitution, MyFOXPhoenix reported. Investigators said the suspects recruited at least five girls, ages 14 to 17. Finley and Tye, who were allegedly involved in prostitution themselves, were responsible for recruiting, teaching and receiving money from the other girls who worked for them, police said. At one point, the two rented an apartment where they conducted the prostitution operation, according to investigators. The Phoenix Police Vice Unit began investigating when patrol officers gave detectives information on child prostitutes working the west Phoenix area. The teens were charged with multiple counts of child prostitution, pandering and receiving the earnings of a prostitute, MyFOXPhoenix reported. Police said there may be additional arrests as they continue the investigation. CfD states, "What has happened with the teenage boys and men?"

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