Tag Archives: military religious freedom foundation

AU Lodges IRS Complaint Against Liberty University

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has, again, filed a complaint with the IRS asserting that Liberty University is misusing its status as a tax-exempt (501(c)3) organization.  The original complaint can be read here.

For its part, Liberty barely addressed the merits of the complaint, instead saying that this was simply another attempt by the AU to intimidate Liberty.  In fact, Mat Staver, the Liberty School of Law dean, said the school was considering legal action in response to the AU’s attempt to intimidate Liberty students:

“We’re now looking at whether we are going to respond by filing some kind of civil action against Americans United — because what they’re trying to do is essentially intimidate Liberty University, particularly the students, from exercising their constitutional right to vote,” he argues. “We’re not about to allow this organization to do that to Liberty University students.”

As noted in the discussion last year when AU filed a complaint against Liberty, the AU is frequently associated with criticisms of Christians in the military.  It remains a “partnering link” on the MRFF page, and Michael Weinstein has claimed AU membership at one point.

Weinstein Defines Religions, Assigns Followers

According to the Advocate, a homosexual advocacy publication, Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation is on a new crusade: supporting the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Comically, Weinstein, who has been taken to task for his displays of Constitutional ignorance, again displays his lack of knowledge with regard to the ongoing controversy.  The Advocate asked him…twice…what power the President had to repeal the policy on homosexuals in the military.  Twice, the former White House counsel talked vaguely about executive orders without explaining how an executive order can overturn a law passed by Congress (Title 10, Subtitle A, Part II, Chapter 37, § 654).  (Answer: it can’t.)

When asked about who the MRFF is “fighting,” Weinstein again displayed his tendency to make up his own definitions of religious groups–and then to assign people to them as he saw fit.

We’ve got this fanatical religiosity in fundamental Christianity… Read more

MAAF Misrepresents Data in Brief to White House

The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers was one of several groups that recently met with White House staff members as part of a White House meeting with the Secular Coalition for America.

According to the MAAF web page on the meeting, president Jason Torpy presented a briefing at the meeting that claimed to explain the relative percentages of faiths represented in the military.  His briefing grossly misrepresented numeric government data, apparently in an attempt to strengthen the MAAF position and demands.

In what the MAAF called a “new MAAF demographics study,” which was actually an MAAF presentation of a study done by the Defense Manpower Data Center, the MAAF said

DoD data show nearly one-quarter of the military is nontheistic

Using the DMDC data, the MAAF claimed that 23.4% of the Department of Defense was “nontheistic.”  Based on this number, according to the MAAF, “nontheists constitute a significant portion of the military.”  Thus,

Military and Civilian leadership must recognize and support this significant demographic

Some might say numbers don’t lie, but the MAAF certainly demonstrated that one can misrepresent them to support untrue Read more

Weinstein Claims Credit for BRAC’d Unit

A previous article noted that Michael Weinstein likes to highlight the places that his Military Religious Freedom Foundation was mentioned in the press.  One result of his “tooting his own horn” may be the perception of “impact” from his organization.  Apparently, his desire to seem influential is so strong that he has digressed into fiction.

In a long article published at an independent “online magazine,” Weinstein Read more

Academy Pagan Leader Fears “Brainwashed” Christians

A few weeks ago the Colorado Springs Gazette published a short email excerpt from the designated pagan leader at the USAF Academy, TSgt Brandon Longcrier.  In the quote, the Gazette highlighted Longcrier’s fear for his cadets in the face of what he described as a “hate crime” (the crossed shoe boards at the pagan circle).

Not much later, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, to whom the letter was addressed, published a series of letters it had received on the subject.  The authors’ names were redacted, but in one the author clearly identified himself as the person who found the cross at the pagan site and took “the picture,” which is known to be Longcrier.  In addition, it includes the quotes from the Gazette article attributed to him.

Longcrier’s message reiterates the “hate crime” and criticizes the Air Force Academy for its response.  More interesting, however, is his attitude toward the cadets — particularly those of the Christian Read more

Weinstein Gives Typical Speech at USAFA

As previously noted, Military Religious Freedom Foundation creator Michael Weinstein spoke at last week’s character symposium at the USAF Academy, part of its annual National Character and Leadership Symposium.  Initial indications are that his welcome was warmer this time, with press reports indicating he received standing ovations rather than the jeers of a previous visit.

According to reports, he repeated his somewhat inflammatory claims that

his foundation is at war with some fundamentalist Christians in the military who put their faith ahead of their oath to defend the Constitution.

In the past five years, during which he has been in constant litigation with the Department of Defense, Weinstein has never proven that any active duty military member has taken any actions that put anything “ahead of their oath” to the Constitution.  While the loaded phrase makes him sound noble, it is a Read more

The MRFF’s Own ‘Pattern and Practice’?

It is unlikely that this article will be very interesting to many, but some may find it illuminating.  It doesn’t deal directly with religion and the military, but analyzes an organization that frequently involves itself in that topic.  The MRFF frequently relies on a strict application of “the rules” to forward its political agenda with regard to Christians in the military, and it appears it may have its own issues with rules regarding its conduct.  For those that are interested: Read more

Cross Found at USAFA Pagan Circle

This incident has been so mis-reported that it was initially just ignored; however, when General Gould published a statement agreeing that this incident has been “sensationalized,” he gave credence to the view that this situation is being grossly mischaracterized, and that people are inappropriately using it for their personal advancement.  An analysis thus follows…

Despite the positive hullabaloo over the US Air Force Academy pagan circle, Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation has now denounced the placement of a cross at the site, an act that occurred before the recent positive press reports.  Though the incident took place several weeks ago, the MRFF appeared to time the press release to counter the recent spate of “good news” about religious tolerance at USAFA.

For the record, it should go without saying that Read more

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