Category Archives: Government and Religion

Senator Calls for Investigation into VA Censorship, Atheists Defend

Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to investigate allegations that a VA cemetery in Texas has been censoring “God” and “Jesus” from ceremonies.  From the Senator’s letter to VA Secretary Erik Shineski:

I am…greatly concerned by the complaints my office has received from veterans and their families that the Houston National Cemetery Director has forbidden the name of God or Jesus to be used during funeral services at the cemetery, even if the family wishes to do so. Our veterans swore to uphold the Constitution with their lives, and they and their families’ religious freedom should be honored, not prohibited. [emphasis added]

I am requesting that you look into this situation to determine if there are indeed any religious prohibitions or restrictions on speech or religious expression at the Houston National Cemetery. I would also ask that you determine if this situation is unique to the Houston Cemetery or if there are policies in place that might lead to religious prohibitions or restricted speech at other veteran cemeteries.

The controversy started around Memorial Day, when it took a court injunction to allow a local preacher to say “Jesus” when he prayed.  Now the complaint has Read more

House Passes Defense Bill with Homosexual Marriage Restriction

The US House of Representatives passed the 2012 Defense Appropriations bill last week.  (The previously-passed Defense Authorization Act ‘authorizes’ the military, while the Appropriations Act funds it.)  It included an amendment affecting funding for Chaplain training, intended to prohibit them from performing ‘homosexual marriage’ ceremonies in military chapels, regardless of state law.  It was intended to ensure military policy remained Read more

Military Chief Faces Criticism over Role of God in Military Funerals

The head of the armed forces is embroiled in a controversy over the proper place of “God” in military funeral rites — but its likely not the problem you think.

The Israeli military is embroiled in a public battle over whether God ought to be mentioned at memorial rites for fallen soldiers…

The controversy is over whether Yizkor, the Hebrew prayer of remembrance, should begin at military ceremonies with the words “May God remember” or “May the people of Israel remember.”

Military policy calls for the version mentioning God to be used, but enforcement has been patchy in an apparent nod to the sentiments of the Jewish state’s secular majority.

It is a seemingly odd controversy for a nation that is often assumed to be religious in some form.

Back home in the US, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in Texas is Read more

Homosexual Marine Accused of Sham Marriage for Benefits

Three US Marines at Camp Pendleton stand accused of entering sham marriages to obtain access to financial benefits.  It all started when a homosexual Marine wanted to live with her girlfriend but “couldn’t afford it:”

[US Marine Corporal Ashley] Vice told CNN affiliate KGTV in San Diego that she wanted to live off base with her girlfriend, Jaime Murphy, as a couple. Murphy is a civilian.

But on her salary, she couldn’t afford it.

So she says she found a Marine, Jeremiah Griffin, who agreed to marry her so she could receive the $1,200 per month living stipend the Marine Corps gives to married couples living off base.

Her homosexual partner eventually married a third Marine, Joseph Garner, for the same reason.  Vice has told the press the three will likely face jail time, since they are unable to pay back the funds they are accused of getting fraudulently.

Ultimately, the military’s response has nothing to do with homosexuality; Read more

Accused Fort Hood Shooter Faces Death Penalty

Update:  An article at the Army Times documents the “challenges” of Hasan’s defense team, given the weight of evidence against him.

US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, currently charged with murder for the massacre at Fort Hood nearly two years ago, will face the possibility of the death penalty when his case goes to trial.  From the official DoD release:

Fort Hood Commander Army Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbell Jr. will refer the capital murder case against Army Maj. Nidal M. Hasan to a general court-martial for trial, officials at Fort Hood, Texas, said today…

The court-martial in the Hasan case is authorized to consider death Read more

MRFF, Atheists Go After Military Easter. Again.

This site previously noted the lack of original thought on the part of some activist atheists.

Now, in response to Easter, they want, well, an atheist counter-celebration of Christ’s resurrection, apparently.

Last year this site noted that Michael Weinstein’s research assistant Chris Rodda held up for derision the military Christian celebrations of Easter in the combat theatre. Despite the criticism by Rodda and Weinstein’s organization, which oddly includes “military religious freedom” in its name, the celebration of religious holy days in the combat area is perhaps one of the most explicit examples of religious freedom in the US military.

This year, the MRFF continued its attacks Read more

1 … 297 298 299 300 301 … 369