Word: membership
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...copy the biblical Phineas, who, in the 25th chapter of the Book of Numbers, kills an Israelite man for an interracial marriage. In return Phineas is granted the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, for zealously upholding the creed of his God. According to the current doctrine, Phineas Priests earn membership by killing or maiming homosexuals, Jews and anyone who is not white. There is no organization of Phineas Priests. In fact the order's conceit is that men act alone--not unlike the shooters in several historic episodes, including the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers--just as Furrow...
...officials saw a photo in a local New Jersey paper that identified Dale as a leader of the Lesbian/Gay Alliance at Rutgers University. The Scouts promptly expelled him. Dale's ouster, the court declared, was "based on little more than prejudice"; he had "never used his leadership position or membership [in the Scouts] to promote homosexuality, or any message inconsistent with Boy Scouts' policies" of being "morally straight" and "clean." The New Jersey court rejected the argument that the Boy Scouts were a private membership organization and had First Amendment rights of "intimate" and "expressive association." In fact, the court...
...confronted these would-be infiltrators in court; and four times, the organization had emerged victorious. A California state court chose not to reinstate a scout leader who was kicked out because he was gay; the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal. Meanwhile, atheists who sued for membership were ruled out of order, as was a woman who wanted to be a scoutmaster. But last week the New Jersey supreme court brought an end to the win streak. In a unanimous decision, the seven justices upheld the membership of James Dale, 29, a gay assistant scoutmaster expelled...
...Scouts of America has not been completely resistant to modernization of its membership criteria. After winning the lawsuit brought by the woman scoutmaster in 1987, the group eventually altered its rules and allowed women to become scoutmasters. But even as New Jersey ordered Dale to be reinstated, the group shows no sign of compromise over gays. Scout lawyer Davidson says he will bring the battle to a new arena: the U.S. Supreme Court. "This ruling unconstitutionally infringes on the rights of the Boy Scouts of America," says Davidson. "It's sad when the state dictates to parents what role models...
Even American Express, which makes much of its money from merchants on its credit and charge cards, is using its popular Membership Rewards program as a fee generator. The company has hiked annual fees in the program 60%, to $40. If you want to link your personal card with your corporate card, that's another $10, please. And if you're late with your card payment, you pay a fee of around $15 and forgo your points for that month--unless you ransom them for another $15. Like many issuers, Amex has added a mandatory-arbitration clause, so customers...