Category Archives: Government and Religion

Medal of Honor Ceremony Marked by Prayer

On 12 July 2011, Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry received the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House.  SFC Petry was honored for his selfless actions when he picked up and threw an enemy grenade that had fallen among his team.  The grenade discharged and catastrophically amputated his hand.

SFC Petry has remained humble throughout, thanking his family and asking for prayers for the sacrifice of military families in support of the US’s mission:  Read more

Rock Beyond Belief Praises the Military Chaplaincy

Advocates for “Rock Beyond Belief,” the atheist counter-event to the Christian Rock the Fort, have previously taken advantage of opportunities to belittle Christianity and the Army — even when the Army was going out of its way to do exactly what they wanted.

However, a recent post at the Rock Beyond Belief blog may mark a significant change in tone.  Eschewing the normal martyrdom complex (save a hint in a sentence or two) and mockery of religion, the article instead praises US military Chaplains Read more

Letter Suggests USAFA Dorm Tension after DADT Repeal

A letter to the editor at the Colorado Springs Gazette, the paper local to the US Air Force Academy, proposed an interesting conundrum following the repeal of the policy best known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell:”

…Let’s consider the dilemma the Air Force Academy faces in assigning roommates now that homosexuals can serve openly. If everyone’s values and beliefs are considered, as they should be, they will need to consider the heterosexual’s values, too.

Roommates with conflicting sexual preferences will encounter unhealthy and unfair sexual tension. If two homosexuals are roomed together, this is clearly a sexual-preference bias equalized only if men and women were allowed to room together, too, which the cadets would cheer.  Read more

Marines Honor Fallen Jewish Heroes

Chaplain (COL) Jacob Goldstein and General Robert Magnus, USMC Retired, former Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, recently gathered with 50 Marines at the Jewish Center in Manhattan to honor fallen Jews in the US military service.

“In front of the Torah, we pay tribute to those who served our country,” said Rabbi Yosie Levine of the Jewish Center, in Manhattan, which hosted the May 30 Jewish Community Memorial Day Event, “An Appreciation of America’s Service Members.” With a U.S. Marine Corps Color Guard on the bimah, Levine told the guests: “Each Shabbat we pray and say todah [thank you]…May God bless America.”

General Magnus was a former helo pilot who carried the callsign “Heeb” for more than 30 years.

The Memorial Day event was steeped in Jewish ceremony Read more

Fort Hood Freedom Fest Headliner Offends?

Fort Hood recently hosted its “Freedom Fest.”  No, not the Fort Bragg atheist event that temporarily used the same name; this was the Independence Day celebration.  By all accounts it was a rousing success.  Due to fire bans across Texas, Fort Hood had one of the only fireworks displays in the region.  Around 100,000 were expected to have attended.

In the past, some have taken issue with the US military having “Christian” musicians or bands at similar events.  Apparently, they are concerned about exposing troops and their families to edifying or God-honoring lyrics.

Few people seem to have any problem when the opposite is the case.  The musical act at Fort Hood’s Freedom Fest was Read more

Obama Appoints Homosexual Veteran to West Point Board

The Wall Street Journal noted President Barack Obama appointed openly homosexual Army veteran Brenda “Sue” Fulton to the US Military Academy (West Point) Advisory Board.

Fulton is USMA Class of 1980, the first West Point class to include women. She is also part of the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy, an activist organization toward DADT repeal.  Another member of the “forum,” retired Navy Chaplain (CAPT) John Gundlach, recently called military members’ religious opposition to repeal “bigotry.”

The WSJ notes her appointment puts  Read more

Fort Hood-Inspired Plotters Jailed, Indicted

In a fairly under-covered foiled terrorist attack, the Associated Press notes Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, also known as Joseph Anthony Davis, and Walli Mujahidh, also known as Frederick Domingue Jr., have both been jailed pending their trials for planning an attack on a Seattle military recruiting station.

The two were arrested June 22 in an FBI sting after they arrived at a warehouse garage to pick up machine guns Read more

Germany Files Charges in Frankfurt Airport Attack

Murder charges have been filed against Arid Uka, a 21 year old Albanian who is accused of opening fire on US servicemembers traveling through the Frankfurt airport in Germany, shouting “Allahu Akbar” as he killed two American airmen and wounded two others.

The indictment indicates Uka was a Muslim “radicalized by jihadist propaganda:”

Authorities have said that Uka confessed shortly after his capture at the airport to wanting to kill American troops because of the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.

According to the indictment, Uka was radicalized over time by jihadist propaganda he saw on the Internet, Read more

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