Wiccan Lawsuit against VA Settled

Multiple press releases announced the settlement of the lawsuit against the Veterans’ Administration that sought to add the pentacle to the list of “approved” symbols of faith.  Under the terms of the settlement, the VA will add the symbol to the list.  The VA must also replace headstones previously provided to Wiccans with no marker.  Ironically, the AU has claimed ‘victory,’ though this agreement did not meet the AU’s previous request that the “unconstitutional” list of emblems be abandoned.

President Bush Announces National Day of Prayer

President Bush announces the annual National Day of Prayer here.  The day will be celebrated on May 3rd this year.  An interesting history of the tradition is contained in former President George H. W. Bush’s 1989 proclamation:

Since the approval of the joint resolution of the Congress on April 17, 1952, calling for the designation of a specific day to be set aside each year as a National Day of Prayer, recognition of such a day has become a cherished annual event. Each President since then has proclaimed a National Day of Prayer annually under the authority of that resolution, continuing a tradition that actually dates back to the Continental Congress, which issued the first official proclamation for a National Day of Prayer on July 12, 1775. By Public Law 100-307, the first Thursday in May of each year has been set aside as a National Day of Prayer.

Navy Chaplains Face Off on Americans United Website

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State posted a scathing article on former Navy Chaplain Klingenschmitt.  They included quotes from a letter written by his former commander asserting Klingenschmitt’s “dishonesty.”  The AU hailed the former chaplain as a vaunted martyr of the religious right.  More interesting, in the public comments on the article, both Klingenschmitt and his former commander have faced off with scathing rebuttals.

It’s Wrong to Say, “You’re Wrong”

On 12 March 2007, General Peter Pace (bio), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave an interview to the Chicago Tribune in which he was asked his thoughts on the current “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of homosexuality in the military.  Part of his reply has been the center of some debate:

“I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts… I would not want it to be our policy that if we were to find out that so-and-so was sleeping with somebody else’s wife, that we would just look the other way, which we do not. We prosecute that kind of immoral behavior.”

Literally hundreds of internet “blogs” and other media sources have pontificated about the General’s comments Read more

General Pace Derided for Moral Stance

General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview that he believes homosexual acts, like adultery, are immoral.  He has since indicated that he should not have focused on his personal views rather than emphasizing military policy.  Gay advocacy groups demanded he apologize for “insensitivity.”

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