Category Archives: Government and Religion

Michael Weinstein Loses Fight with USAFA. Again.

It is easy to forget that Michael Weinstein was an Air Force JAG “for 10 years” (if you can figure out how that timeline works, you win the Christmas turkey).  In a recent press release conducted through his trusted Colorado Springs Independent, Weinstein claimed USAFA was now obligated to cancel its National Prayer Breakfast observance (the same event over which he sued — and lost — last year).  Referring to the Colorado Court of Appeals ruling that said Colorado National Day of Prayer proclamations were unconstitutional,

Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, says the ruling means Read more

Panetta Pleads for Moral Behavior in the Military

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, concerned over instances of “misbehavior” that have shed negative light on the US military, issued a “personal plea” for US troops to “honor their military values:”

“These days, it takes only seconds — seconds — for a picture, a photo, to suddenly become an international headline,” Panetta said. “And those headlines can impact the mission that we’re engaged in, they can put your fellow service members at risk, they can hurt morale, they can damage our standing in the world, and they can cost lives.”

The sentiment was reportedly echoed by the top commander in Afghanistan:

Marine Gen. John Allen…believes that a number of major setbacks in the past six months have resulted from moral, Read more

History of the Bible in the US Military

A New York museum is hosting a collection of US military Bibles dating from the mid 1800s to modern times.

The exhibit showcases three dozen copies of Scriptures published for members of the U.S. Armed Forces from the Civil War onward, from leather-bound, 19th-century copies to contemporary Bibles clothed in camouflage.

The books are on loan from Read more

FRC Sues Navy over Bible Ban Records

The Family Research Council has joined with Judicial Watch in filing a lawsuit against the US Navy seeking access to documentation over the Walter Reed policy that “banned” the Bible.

The FOIA lawsuit…seeks access to records concerning a policy announced in a September 14, 2011, memo issued by the Commander of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center banning the use and/or distribution of Bibles and other religious items during visits with wounded, ill or injured patients.

The Navy has reportedly failed to respond to the FRC Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request within the time required by law.  Walter Reed rescinded the policy as insufficiently reviewed after intense media coverage.

Camp Pendleton Cross No Closer to Resolution

A recent report out of southern California indicates it will still be “weeks or months” before the US Marines make a decision on the now-controversial Camp Pendleton cross.

“We are thoroughly and deliberately evaluating the issues raised by the existence of the informal memorial in order to assess the impact on the installation,” said the spokeswoman, Capt. Kendra Motz.

The atheist whose complaint started the controversy, Jason Torpy, reiterated his assertion the crosses are illegal.

House Committee to Debate Troops Religious Expression

Update: The committee passed the religious freedom legislation as amendments to the NDAA.  The legislation has the support of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

The House Armed Services Committee is going to debate the Military Religious Freedom Act, which the Air Force Times says US Rep Todd Akin (R-Mo) will let troops and chaplains “openly oppose gays.”

Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., is specifically aiming to protect religious freedom by allowing service members and chaplains to openly oppose gay and lesbian lifestyles and the presence of gay Read more

1 … 250 251 252 253 254 … 369