A group of US Marines hand-carried a 13-foot cross to the top of a hill at Camp Pendleton, California, in honor of their comrades killed in action:
Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times
At precisely the date and time when World War I officially ended, giving rise to Armistice Day — the forerunner to Veterans Day — the group erected a 13-foot cross. The cross replaced one Read more
Despite Michael Weinstein’s continuous ridicule of the US Air Force Academy, Jason Torpy and his Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers paint quite a different picture — and Torpy looks like a calm foil to Weinstein’s blustering grandstanding:
Continuing what is now nearly a year of collaboration, the Air Force Academy has made significant changes to training as a result of reviews by the Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers… Read more
The last “scandal” at the US Air Force Academy, regarding Operation Christmas Child, was reportedly initiated by a USAFA cadet forwarding an email to Michael Weinstein. Prior to that, the scandal-circuit had been pretty quiet — but not for lack of trying on Weinstein’s part. When there isn’t something to complain about, Weinstein has gone looking.
The law firm of Jones Day — which has assisted Weinstein in other cases — has been looking for information on “The Airman’s Bible and the Airman’s New Testament.” The Airman’s Bible was previously discussed; the “Airman’s New Testament” is similar. It seems the target is some indication, somewhere, that the Air Force was directly or indirectly involved in the production of the Air Force-themed Bibles.
The acknowledgements in the Bible do mention military members, and the Bible carries Air Force symbols, so the target is probably something, somewhere, that will incriminate someone…about something. Naturally, this hunt for an as-yet unknown smoking gun about an unknown problem will prove the obvious fact Christianity is preferred in the US military. Somehow.
In another case, Pam Zubeck of the CSIndy recently publicized a portion of a Weinstein fishing expedition: Weinstein is asking for names and processes surrounding the “Falcon Clips” published last year. Previously, the ominous observation was made that Weinstein seemed to be headhunting for people corresponding with this site.
That has now been confirmed by Read more
Former US Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt has filed a suit in the US Court of Federal Claims seeking reinstatement and back pay or access to retirement.
Klingenschmitt was discharged in 2007 after a controversial couple of years largely revolving around his insistence on ending prayers “in Jesus’ name.” He has been filing appeals ever since.
Notably, Klingenschmitt’s timeline in the filing indicates Read more
The Stars and Stripes covers the story of US Army SGT Chris and Cristina Tarantino, who were “reared Catholic” but recently converted to Islam.
She started to wonder what happened after death, she said, and how to best live life on earth.
She was spending time with her older sister, who had converted to Islam after marrying a Palestinian, and she sought her sister’s guidance.
Her sister’s answers about Islam made sense Read more
A few news sites reported last week on the US Air Force Academy’s participation in — and then reconsideration of its participation in — Operation Christmas Child, in which shoeboxes with basic sundries and gifts are given to needy children around the world by Samaritan’s Purse.
The situation is fairly complex, as evidenced by the fact a few news organizations had to edit and reissue their news articles to correct misunderstandings about what really occurred.
Undisputed public statements indicate cadets at the US Air Force Academy came up with the idea to participate in Operation Christmas Child. They made an announcement in Mitchell Hall (the wing dining facility, with all cadets present) and subsequently sent out a wing-wide email explaining who to contact to participate.
A cadet who “didn’t think much about it at first” later forwarded the email to Michael Weinstein calling it part of the “religious problem” proving the US military “support[s] one religion, which is of course Christianity.” (Weinstein published the email, complete with the names and personal information of the cadets involved, though he redacted his supporter’s information.) Less than 24 hours later, Weinstein was in the local news
accus[ing] commanders of crossing the line by Read more
It seems the prior article on the White House petition to “end discrimination” against military atheists struck a chord, most notably with its creator, Dustin Chalker.
Chalker posted a response to the article with his MRFF ally Chris Rodda as an independent blog. Not all of the assumptions Rodda and Chalker made were necessarily accurate, but the response here, as some have seen, has been interesting. Most who have commented failed to actually read the story behind any of Chalker’s accusations, making such deep and thoughtful statements as “You’re a coward” easy, if logically unsupported, diatribes to make in their passionate support of Chalker.
Though he never indicated so himself, Rodda claims Dustin Chalker – who sued the Department of Defense as an Army Sergeant – is now the civilian “Mr.” Chalker, though she contradictorily uses his rank in the present tense.
Both Rodda’s and Chalker’s comments contained factual errors, though accuracy has never been Rodda’s strong suit. Some of the more salient points of Chalker’s comment are below:
Chalker said it was “lying” to say his lawsuit Read more
The RecordOnline reports on the many faithful members of the US Military Academy’s football team:
They sprint onto Blaik Field and head directly to the north end zone. About 20 or so Army teammates take a knee and pray individually.
Some prayers last a few seconds. Others are deeper. They ask for both teams to be safe. They express how thankful they are for Read more