It's cookie time

Girl Scout cookies weather the storm of controversy as the progressive orgprepares to celebrate 100 years

In Shelley Long's campy 1989 comedy, Troop Beverly Hills, the indefatigable Long leads a troop of hard-working Beverly Hills tweens through a competitive Wilderness Girls cookie contest season.

Despite their earnest badge-earning efforts, the Beverly Hills girl scouts are harassed by the more conventional Redfeathers troop because of their outward differences from the "average" girl scout.

Who knew that a Shelley Long vehicle (which also showcased other B-list celebrities like Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Pia Zadora) would continue ringing true today?

Last week, the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) came under criticism from a group of modern day Redfeathers who seek to punish the progressive national organization. Specifically, detractors take issue with GSUSA's inclusion of transgendered Bobby Montoya, who identifies as a girl, in a troop in Colorado.

The Girl Scouts of Colorado immediately released a statement saying, “If a child identifies as a girl and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout.”

Rachelle Trujillo, vice president for communications of the Colorado Girl Scouts, added, “If a child is living as a girl, that’s good enough for us. We don’t require any proof of gender.”

To some, this inclusion is a subtle display of positively shifting, more open-minded awareness. But to the conservative group HonestGirlScouts.com, this is an aberration of the Girl Scout Law that defies the intended "all-girl experience."

The attention could not come at a more perfect time, as the GSUSA are ready to celebrate their 100th Anniversary of spreading inclusion and goodwill amongst girls of all backgrounds, shapes and abilities this month.

It is obvious the individuals behind the website misunderstand the tricky nature of the transgendered identity, conflating Montoya's sexuality with her gender, which are not the same thing.

An inflammatory viral video, featuring a 14-year-old Girl Scout from Ventura County, Calif., (clearly working on her Poise and Prejudice badges), called for Americans to boycott the upcoming Girl Scout cookie sales in order to stop funding the GSUSA.

In response to the video message of intolerance, advocates of the Girl Scouts of all ages and gender identities began speaking out in support of the GSUSA's decision. Most pointedly, former Girl Scout and later transgender man Buck Angel made his own video bucking the boycott, asserting that the Girl Scouts is ultimately "about learning to be a good person."

This attention could not come at a more perfect time, as the GSUSA prepares to celebrate its 100th Anniversary of spreading inclusion and goodwill amongst girls of all backgrounds, shapes and abilities this month.

While HonestGirlsScouts.com frames the GSUSA as "pro-abortion, pro-promiscuity, pro-gay-lesbian, and liberal," they are twisting the amazing work that this century-old organization has accomplished in the way of fighting gender inequality, promoting strong female role models and motivating underserved populations.

This cookie season, the Girl Scouts of Central Texas is excited to debut their 100 Year commemorative cookie boxes. All light blue boxes of Shortbread cookies will juxtapose black and white photos of GSUSA's first year with color photos of 2012's scouts.

In keeping with the times, the GSUSA has also developed a free Cookie Finder app to help you stock up for the long months without your beloved Thin Mints and Caramel deLites.

Now, more than ever, it's time to show your support for the Girl Scouts. Let's make it clear that bigotry and intolerance are not ideals we want to teach our children. Let's buy so many of these delicious little cookies, we prove Taylor and her crew unequivocally wrong.

It'll be the most delicious declaration you'll ever make. Take that, you nasty Redfeathers.

The 100th Anniversary commemorative Girl Scout cookies will be on sale Jan. 18 - Feb. 24.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”