{"id":43088,"date":"2018-04-10T00:36:53","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T03:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/?p=43088"},"modified":"2018-07-30T02:19:56","modified_gmt":"2018-07-30T05:19:56","slug":"mikey-weinstein-goes-after-okinawa-pow-bible-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/10\/mikey-weinstein-goes-after-okinawa-pow-bible-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Mikey Weinstein Goes after Okinawa POW Bible. Again."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By now you’ve probably seen the reports saying Michael “Mikey” Weinstein filed a complaint<\/a> (PDF, through his lawyer) about a Bible at a POW\/MIA display at Okinawa, Japan. What these reports don’t seem to convey is this is just Mikey being Mikey<\/a>. Every couple of months he makes these kinds of complaints<\/a>; they hit a high point<\/a> every now and then, fade into the background<\/a> later, and maybe catch peoples’ attention again.<\/p>\n

The POW\/MIA display is a piggy bank for Weinstein. If his coffers get low, he can pull one of these from his files and try to get attention.<\/p>\n

To prove the point, consider that the subject of this latest complaint at US Naval Hospital Okinawa is a POW\/MIA table that is on permanent display<\/strong>. It’s been there for years.<\/strong> Nothing changed in the past week to suddenly cause 26 MRFF “clients” to now live in — quote — “mortal fear<\/strong>” because of this display. Yet, somehow, that’s what Mikey claims happened.<\/p>\n

Sickeningly, Weinstein is even trying to (incorrectly) use veterans’ groups to buttress his accusation.\u00a0\u00a0The National League of POW\/MIA Families defended the Bible<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bible was always intended to be there,\u201d said Stephensen, of Boise, Idaho. \u201cThe POWs held in Hanoi vehemently turned to God for comfort and safety and persistence…\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see where the harm is,\u201d Stephensen added. \u201cIf somebody\u2019s going to take offense to it, they\u2019re making a conscious effort to be offended.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Recognizing the credibility and emotion associated with such a group, Weinstein tried in vain to gain his own, implying the American Legion agreed<\/strong> with him:<\/p>\n

Asked about the POW\/MIA group\u2019s position, Weinstein said the American Legion does not require a Bible at its \u201cMissing Man\u201d displays.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s deflection — and it’s also repulsive.<\/p>\n

This isn’t about anyone requiring<\/em> a Bible at a POW\/MIA display; this is about someone trying to require there not<\/strong> be a Bible at a display.\u00a0 The American Legion does not prohibit Bibles.<\/p>\n

This tripe came from Chris Rodda<\/a> two years ago, and her argument was as fallacious and worthless then as it is now.<\/p>\n

There’s nothing new here. In fact, Weinstein has complained about POW\/MIA displays on Okinawa before. In 2016, US Marine Col Brian Howlett — commander at Camp Hansen, one of the other Marine Corps camps on Okinawa — told Mikey Weinstein to pound sand<\/a>. The Bible stayed.\u00a0 (Naval Hospital Okinawa is associated with Camp Butler.)<\/p>\n

Mikey Weinstein has little to lose here. If his complaint hits the news, then it worked — and he gets publicity and maybe a few “donations.” If it doesn’t work, he loses nothing; he just tries again later.<\/p>\n

But why does he keep trying? Despite the fact the Bible on the POW\/MIA display has long been defended<\/a> — even by the military itself —\u00a0Weinstein occasionally finds a commander, office manager, or random person who will hide<\/a>, cover, or replace the Bible with a blank book<\/a> with the hope they’ll appease him. But such moral cowardice is blood in the water for Weinstein. You will never achieve “peace in our time” by giving a schoolyard bully what he wants.<\/p>\n

Even the Naval Hospital Okinawa response —\u00a0Rear Adm. Paul D. Pearigen is reportedly<\/a> opening an “investigation” — arguably benefits Weinstein’s cause because it lends an air of unwarranted legitimacy to his complaint. After all, why is an “investigation” even necessary?\u00a0 And does each individual military installation really need to go through this charade?\u00a0 This\u00a0should be settled\u00a0policy for the entire Department of Defense.<\/p>\n

If Naval Hospital Okinawa must conduct an “investigation” over the Bible at a POW\/MIA display, it should conduct it upward, with a request to their superiors to state with clarity DoD policy on the matter.<\/p>\n

Settle it. Then, Mikey Weinstein has nowhere to go. It ends.<\/p>\n

Mikey Weinstein is, by his own admission, an agitator. He is a self-serving malcontent who will continue to make these complaints so long as he has the remotest chance of publicity — read: money for his personal paycheck<\/a>. (It is almost ironic, as others have pointed out, that Weinstein is using freedoms protected by those being honored<\/a> by the POW\/MIA table in his attempt to denigrate it.)<\/p>\n

The most effective way to stop these semi-annual complaints is to end the access to publicity. Give Mikey Weinstein the consistent, correct answer, and the media will bore of him: There is nothing wrong with a Bible on a POW\/MIA memorial table<\/strong>.\u00a0 It doesn’t have<\/em> to be there — the military’s view is neutral.<\/em>\u00a0 But it would be wrong to prohibit<\/em> it from being there.<\/p>\n

If military installations can’t do that on their own, the DoD should do it for them. Then, rather than defending the honor of its veterans against a perennial malcontent, the US military can return to its actual mission of defending our Nation.<\/p>\n

As reported at\u00a0This Ain’t Hell<\/a>, Stars and Stripes<\/a> (twice<\/a>), FoxNews<\/a>, Military.com<\/a>, and\u00a0San Diego UT<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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