The Pentagon Chaplain’s office hosted a Sikh event commemorating the Sikh festival Vaisakhi.
On Vaisakhi day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh summoned Sikhs from all over India to the city of Anandpur Sahib. At this gathering, the Guru called upon Sikhs to uphold their faith and preserve the Sikh religion…
Valarie Kaur, an activist and Sikh, provided remarks and republished them at The Huffington Post. Read more
Father Ray Leonard is a civilian contract chaplain who filed a lawsuit after the US military refused to allow him to perform services during the budget crisis known as the “government shutdown” last year.
Father Leonard’s lawsuit has been dismissed as moot (PDF), essentially because the government allowed him to return to work after it re-opened.
Legally, if a defendant reverses a policy in response to a lawsuit, the courts will not (necessarily) consider the claim moot. In this case, however, the judge decided the military did not change its mind because of his lawsuit, but because the government re-opened. Paraphrased, this “mootness” exception says Read more
The US Navy reported that a T-34C Turbomentor crashed in the Gulf of Mexico last Thursday:
A U.S. Navy T-34C Turbo Mentor aircraft assigned to Training Squadron 28 (VT-28) with two pilots aboard crashed today while conducting a routine training mission over the Gulf of Mexico…
The T-34 does not have ejection seats; instead, Read more
The 2014 National Day of Prayer was already marginally controversial because of the US military’s decision to allow uniformed servicemembers to attend at the request of Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-Al).
There were largely only two stories that came out of the event: Dr. James Dobson called President Obama the “abortion president,” and Rep Janice Hahn (D-Ca) walked out.
Unfortunately, calling out President Obama Read more
When the DoD declined to respond to Weinstein’s letter demanding they withdraw participation from the National Day of Prayer held by Congress, he declined to make his normal vitriolic demands that the military would have to “tell it to the judge.” Instead, he threatened…more letters:
Weinstein [said] that “it is likely there will be more letters” sent to the Pentagon regarding their objection to the involvement of the Pentagon with the task force.
True to his word (this time) Weinstein wrote another (long) letter (PDF), claiming the National Day of Prayer event not only caused the DoD to violate the law, but also put Congress in violation of the law. Despite some concerted efforts on his part, the letter Read more
President Obama will deliver the commencement address at the US Military Academy this year.
More than 1,000 cadets are expected to graduate and be commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army after completing their 47-month leadership experience, and the president looks forward to addressing these outstanding graduates,” [White House] spokesman Keith Maley said.
Vice President Biden will give the address at the US Air Force Academy.
Traditionally, the President and several other key military leaders rotate among the service academies. He spoke at USAFA in 2012 and Annapolis in 2013.
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The Department of Justice has said it will “strongly” defend the Mount Soledad cross (as it has said before), the subject of a continuous legal battle for more than 25 years. The cross was ruled unconstitutional again in December 2013.
Obama administration lawyers have told the Supreme Court they will strongly defend the 29-foot-tall cross atop Mount Soledad in San Diego as a memorial to the nation’s war veterans and not an unconstitutional promotion of Christianity by the government…
The cross was aloft more 35 years before a 1989 lawsuit claimed Read more
As he has occasionally done before, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein has complained about the upcoming National Day of Prayer to be held at the Capitol, equating the National Day of Prayer Task Force, which is helping to organize the event, with al Qaeda. Weinstein “respectfully demands” not only that any DoD participation be prohibited, but that the DoD
aggressively investigate and appropriately punish any of the individuals and/or organizations that would have allowed for uniformed personnel to participate in this sectarian spectacle
The Defense Department appears non-plussed:
Army officials on Friday said there were no plans to back out of the event. The Army still intends to send Read more