Tag Archives: Public Expression

Warning: “Freedom” Group Says This Site Contains “Outright Lies”

Michael Weinstein, head of his own non-profit Military Religious Freedom Foundation, says ChristianFighterPilot.com is a “Christian supremacist” site containing “outright lies” and “falsehoods.”

This most recent attack finds its source in a letter written by Weinstein and addressed to the Secretary of Defense — and copied to everyone from the Joint Chiefs to President Obama.  In it, Weinstein says a “catalyst” to a complaint from an Air Force Academy cadet was:

The inclusion by the Air Force Academy Public Affairs Office in the daily Academy-wide “Falcon Clips” email of a sectarian Christian-themed blog post…

The “Falcon Clips” are a compilation of public references to goings-on at the Air Force Academy.  They are emailed out daily, and, according to these reports, included a reference to “Bat Signal Busted, Weinstein Declares War Back On.”  It would appear Weinstein Read more

Military Base Hosts See You at the Pole

Religious freedom in the armed forces — something the US military takes very seriously — sometimes goes beyond the servicemembers that most are apt to think of.  In the case of Fort Hood, Texas, it also applied to the children.  As noted by the Army news release:

Students and staff from Fort Hood’s Smith Middle School took part…in an event known as “See You at the Pole” Sept. 22.

SYATP is an annual, student-led global day event that draws students from across the world to their school’s flagpoles to pray for their nation, schools, students and teachers, according to the website.

More than 20 students and faculty members took part bringing their own prayers and a group prayer.  Read more

“Freedom” Group Takes Threatening Stance Against Troops

Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation publicly prides itself on its self-proclaimed “defense of the Constitution,” but its recent response to a critic defies its own description.

A detractor emailed the MRFF defending the “christian concert coming to FT Bragg [sic],” previously discussed here.  The MRFF published the message, as it frequently does, and its response was telling.

Rick Baker, an MRFF “regional coordinator,” said  Read more

Fort Bragg Undeterred by Criticism of Chaplaincy Event

According to various reports, Fort Bragg plans to continue with its Rock the Fort event despite complaints the participation of US military personnel constitutes a violation of the Constitution.

In a letter this week responding to concerns expressed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick wrote that he’s confident the planned “Rock the Post” event doesn’t infringe on anyone’s freedoms.  Read more

Trijicon Gunsight Maker Sales Grow

According to a Michigan news site, the “Bible-references flap” from earlier this year (which was frequently misrepresented) hasn’t put a damper on the bottom line of Trijicon, the maker of advanced (and popular) gunsights for weapons.

In fact, it might even have helped.

Tom Munson, director of sales and marketing at Trijicon, said the company has removed controversial Biblical verse references from inscriptions in its military orders but still includes them in commercial sales to hunters, collectors and others. He also said the company this year is on track for more business than last year under its military contracts, despite Read more

Number of Chaplains Opposing DADT Repeal Increases

The Alliance Defense Fund previously wrote a letter to President Obama in which 41 retired Chaplains, speaking freely since they are outside military service, opposed the repeal of the policy known as “Don’t ask, don’t tell” on religious freedom grounds.

Last Friday they added to that number, with 25 new signatories.  As noted at the ADF,

The letter states, “By raising homosexual behavior to the same protected class as innate, innocuous characteristics like race and gender, the armed forces will cast the sincerely held religious beliefs of many chaplains and Service members as rank bigotry comparable to racism.”

The release of the letter nearly coincided with Read more

Incoming Marine Commandant Opposes DADT Repeal

Despite some prior insinuations to the contrary, it appears Marine General James Amos holds much the same view as General James Conway, outgoing Marine Commandant, when it comes to the policy known as “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

In testimony at his confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee, Amos reportedly said DADT repeal is a “distraction” to the ongoing wars, and he personally opposes the repeal.  In his written answers to advance questions, he reportedly said

In my personal view the current law and associated policy have supported the unique requirements of the Marine Corps and thus I do not recommend its repeal.

During his testimony he also gave a hint to Read more

Army General Denies Equating Religion, Racism

A firestorm erupted in the media last week when LtGen Thomas Bostick, a member of the “working group” on “Don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal, was quoted in the Washington Times apparently equating religious opposition to homosexuality with bigotry and racism.  From the Washington Times editorial “A New Gay Army:”

Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, the Army’s deputy chief of staff in charge of personnel matters who spoke about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” before several hundred troops at the European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. “Unfortunately, we have a minority of service members who are still racists and bigoted and you will never be able to get rid of all of them,” Lt. Gen. Bostick said. “But these people opposing this new policy will need to get with the program, and if they can’t, they need to get out. No matter how much training and education of those in opposition, you’re always going to have those that oppose this on moral and religious grounds just like you still have racists today.”

The Times provided no source for their information.  The US military subsequently released a statement in which Bostick denied making the quotes:  Read more

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