Mikey Weinstein Attacks Air Force Christians for Their Faith

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein recently slammed Christian Air Force officers for the high crime of…being Christian.

His first target was US Air Force Reserve Major Christina “Thumper” Hopper. Hopper’s callsign recalls a few Air Force traditions, playing off both her name and her character. (Thumper was the name of the rabbit in Bambi (get it?), and she was also known for her faith — making her a “Bible thumper.”)

In an innocuous Air Force article about her participation in a triathlon, Thumper talked about how she “measure[d] herself”:

The overarching thing that defines all of my life is my relationship with God. It’s what drives me and makes me passionate about life. The reason and the purpose behind everything I do is to glorify God and to make his name known. If that was removed from my life, I would feel that I have no purpose.

Weinstein — who once said he would give his last drop of blood to defend others’ rights to their faiths, even if they were offensive — berated Thumper and belittled her beliefs:  Read more

Rabbi Elie Estrin Commissioned as Air Force’s Only Bearded Chaplain

Rabbi Elie Estrin (previously discussed here) recently graduated from Officer Training School, officially making him an officer in the Air Force Reserve — and the Air Force’s only chaplain wearing a beard:

During the five week Commissioned Officer Training Course, Rabbi Estrin ate Kosher MRE’s (ready-to-eat meals) and said that staff were fantastic about facilitating his required accommodations, some of which included his adherence to Shabbat and the 25 hour fast of Tisha Be’av, a day which commemorates the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem.

(Chaplain Menachem Stern currently serves in the US Army with a beard.)

Religious beards mark one Read more

Atheists Demand Removal of War Memorial with Hidden Ichthus

Update: The Boone County Commission voted to move and replace the memorial.

Can you see what atheists find offensive about this war memorial to fallen troops?

Behind the dedication plaque at the bottom of the stone is an ichthus.

And that’s why these atheists say it has to go.

The grounds of the Boone County Courthouse in Missouri are host to memorials to local citizens killed in action while fighting for their country. After a threat from atheists, one of those memorials may have to move. The memorial was raised in 1992 for two locals killed in Operation Desert Storm: Steven Farnen and Patrick Connor.  It recently came under attack by atheists, and the County Commission is considering a proposal to move it to a cemetery — away from the courthouse grounds, and away from the memorials for all the other fallen citizens:

The focus of the proposal, and the yearlong controversy surrounding the memorial, was an ichthus, or “Jesus fish,” the commission decided to cover last June rather than face possible legal action from a Washington, D.C.-based organization.

Neither of the families wants the memorial moved, and both even agreed Read more

Chaplains Support Troops Affected by Chattanooga Shootings

In a little-reported story, US military chaplains from across the country mobilized to try to serve and bring peace to service members assigned to the Navy Operational Support Center in Chattanooga, where five troops were killed last month:

“We are here because we want to be here for the Sailors and Marines,” said Lt. Cmdr. David Hicks, a Navy chaplain from Charleston, South Carolina.”

Lt. Joel DeGraeve, Navy chaplain from Columbus, Ohio: “To reach out to each other and build each other up when we’re having life struggles is Read more

Tarawa Marines Repatriated 70 Years Later

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser (repeated at the Stars and Stripes) covered the repatriation of the remains of 36 US Marines from Tarawa’s Betio Island, where they fell in battle more than 70 years ago:

History Flight Inc., a Florida nonprofit that has searched Tarawa for more than five years, announced in June its discovery of a burial trench on Tarawa’s Betio Island, a sandy grave of at least 36 Marines killed Nov. 20-23, 1943…

The flag-draped caskets Read more

Military General Cautioned to Avoid Attending Chapel

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and his acolytes within the MRFF have long claimed that military officers should not be allowed to even introduce themselves as Christians, claiming that if subordinates had the slightest inkling the officers had religious beliefs, they could “coerce” their subordinates into the faith.

The claim is ridiculous on several levels, not the least of which is the MRFF’s contention that all military subordinates are sycophants.

Further, as noted in Christian Fighter Pilot is not an Oxymoron, the lengths to which a superior would have to go to “hide” his religious faith to meet Weinstein’s demands would be extreme:  Read more

Navy Conducts Blessing of the Pilot Wings

The US Navy conducts an annual “blessing of the fleet,” a tradition intended to “safeguard crews and ships” from the hazards of the oceans through a religious blessing.

It turns out the Navy also conducts a “blessing of the wings” as part of new Naval Aviators’ winging ceremonies. An official Navy article recounts that the chapel at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi held its first services on the infamous December 7, 1941, and as the new aviators went off to war, chaplains began “blessing” their wings:

According to the chaplains, during World War II, many Catholic chaplains began blessing the wings of Catholic aviators. This tradition continued throughout the years and eventually became a “Blessing of the Wings” service in chapels around the world.

Eventually the service included Read more

Muslim Soldier Celebrates Ramadan at Guantanamo

The Miami Herald recently published a somewhat censored report of “Sgt 1st Class A,” an unidentified female California National Guard Soldier and Muslim. She was on her first deployment in her 20-year career, and the article briefly described her past and how she celebrated Ramadan.

Islam, she says, makes her a better soldier, “thoughtful, compassionate, understanding — all those things you need as a leader. That’s where I pull my strength from.”

In an interesting twist, the article says Read more

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