News

Gov. Perry will sign book in Woodville
2008 04 28

Governor Rick Perry, a former Eagle Scout, will be in Woodville Monday, May 5, at the library at 1:30 for a book signing of his book about scouting, On My Honor.

“All proceeds from this book go to the Boys Scouts of America legal defense fund,” said Shawn Pierce, district executive of the Three Rivers Council.

The governor is scheduled to speak to the Tyler/Jasper County Friends of Scouting meeting on the importance of scouting.

The luncheon is by invitation only, but anyone interested in attending the meeting or wanting to make a donation to the Boy Scouts can contact Brent Meaux in Jasper at 384- 5747 or Jimmie Cooley in Woodville at 283-7665.
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Governor to visit campus amid stir over book
2008 04 16

Gov. Rick Perry’s new book tour, which has stirred mixed reactions, is making a stop at the TCU Bookstore on Thursday for a book signing.

Perry’s book, “On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For,” is centered on the Boy Scouts of America program’s criteria of having a “duty to God” and supporting the intolerance of homosexuality with a vow to stay “morally straight.” According to a synopsis inside the book’s jacket, Scouts have been berated by liberals who oppose those Boy Scout standards.

Despite the controversial issues the book addresses, Andrea McCormick, a bookstore manager, said she expects to see about 200 people at the event.

Although many Scouts have shown a positive reaction toward the book’s publication, as McCormick mentioned, others have expressed negative feelings.

The Scouts do not need anymore attention about the negative issues the organization has faced, said Drew Wilson, an Eagle Scout at TCU.

Perry is “dragging Scouts through the mud” by blowing the controversial issues out of proportion, Wilson said.

Taylor Witt, event coordinator, said unlike some other book signings, he expects the event to remain under control and without controversy.

Perry’s office did not return phone calls seeking comment.

The bookstore has 225 copies of the book in stock along with book paraphernalia available for the public to purchase and have Perry sign, Witt said.

McCormick said the bookstore has sold about 100 books so far, but said many would wait until Thursday to purchase a copy of the book.

When Perry’s book was released in February, Barnes & Noble College Booksellers contacted Perry’s office to set up a book signing specifically for TCU, Witt said.

The book focuses on the values of Scouting in America and the right to assemble, McCormick said.

Perry uses his experience as an Eagle Scout as well as the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court case, Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, to explain the importance of Scouting values and the right to remain a private organization. He invites other political figures such as Defense Secretary Robert Gates and astronaut James Lovell to share their views as well.

“The U.S. would be a better country if everyone lived by the principles the Boy Scouts of America have established,” says Ross Perot, former independent presidential candidate and author of the book’s foreword.

The book signing is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the bookstore’s upstairs reading room.
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Perry Interview featured on GodTube
2008 04 14

Governor’s first book is ‘readable defense’
2008 04 07

Gov. Rick Perry examines the Boy Scouts of America in his first book, “On My Honor.”

Perry believes in scouting. As a boy, he achieved scouting’s highest rank, Eagle Scout. He is the father of an Eagle Scout.

He views scouting as one of most important positive influences of his use.

Few former Scouts mind being called a “Boy Scout,” yet the term is not always used as a compliment. It is a curious put-down, though.

It implies that the “Boy Scout” is too honest, too much of a straight arrow. Vice pays tribute to virtue through hypocrisy, but is never comfortable around it.

That might explain why the Boy Scouts have been virtually under siege for more than 30 years.

In “On My Honor,” Perry traces the barrage of lawsuits that have beset the organization, attempting to force it to change, primarily due to scouting’s call for Scouts to be “morally straight” and to “do their duty to God.”

Perry defends both the organization’s values and defends Boy Scouts for fighting to preserve those values.

He explains the central importance to scouting of the values that have provoked outsiders to assault scouting and why they are worth fighting to preserve.

He shows how scouting is being driven out of public schools and excluded from community charity drives by the tactics of its critics.

He also shows the harm, which results from these attacks. Youngsters face barriers to participation in a worthwhile organization.

Society, as a whole, suffers from the erosion of individuals‚ rights to freedom of association.

Perry explores how scouting affected his life and the lives of other prominent people who were once Boy Scouts.

Perry, who is both Republican and conservative, crosses party and ideological lines in this book.

Some of those quoted include former Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee, hotelier J.W. Marriot and former astronaut James Lovell.

Perry provides examples of young men who benefit from the scouting program today and defends its relevance in today’s America.

He also gives a short, lucid history of the organization. He discusses its origins and its evolution through the twentieth century.

“On my Honor” is a spirited and readable defense of scouting and the values held by the Boy Scouts of America.

Whether you agree with Perry or take issue with his conclusions, this book is worth reading.

Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, amateur historian, model-maker and father of a son working to become an Eagle Scout, lives in League City.
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Cub Scout first to get book signed by Perry at Lubbock event
2008 04 04

The first book Gov. Rick Perry signed on Wednesday was for Cub Scout McKale Dean.

He has a long way to go before catching Perry’s Eagle Scout rank, but his parents intend to keep him close to a program which, like the governor, they say is worth defending.

“Becoming a man and becoming a good Christian man is the most important thing, and the Cub Scouts do foster that,” McKale’s father, Mark Dean, said.

The Deans joined about 200 others who lined up at Barnes & Noble BookSellers for autographed copies of Perry’s book, “On My Honor,” which defends the Boy Scouts’ traditional ways. All proceeds from the book go to the organization’s legal defense fund.

The Scouts have come under fire from groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union for a variety of issues, including their stance against gay and lesbian Scout leaders.

But Perry, whose son also is an Eagle Scout, says the Scouts were among the most important influences on his life. He said he decided to write the book to praise the Scouts’ values and to rally support for “an organization that has been beaten up lately.”

“The Scouts are caught in the middle of this conflict that pits traditional values against the me-first culture,” Perry said as he addressed those waiting in line. “The foes of traditional values have taken a good cause, the defending of individual liberty, and they have ruined it by defending license.

“Scouting does not need to be remade. It’s worked for 100 years. Leave it alone, and let it continue to work for 100 years more.”

The South Plains Council of the Boy Scouts has about 4,000 members in 20 counties, said Rodney Carpenter, executive director. The group is growing, he said.

The book was published in February by Stroud & Hall Publishers. It’s sold at Barnes & Noble for about $25.
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New Borders
2008 04 04

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be at the new Borders bookstore at the Town Square shopping center today.

Perry will be signing his book, “On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For.”

It’s all part of the grand opening of the store, in the shopping center near South Las Vegas Boulevard and I-215. Festivities run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. today through Sunday. Other authors will be on hand to sign their books, including John Huddy (“Storming Las Vegas”), in addition to musicians, magicians, candy sampling and contests.