Category Archives: Government and Religion

Christian Fighter Pilot Defends Football Coach Fired for Praying

High School football coach Joe Kennedy was fired for praying at the 50-yard line after his team’s games. He has since sued the Bremerton School District for illegally terminating him for his religious expression.

In November, Chad Hennings, a Christian and former Air Force A-10 pilot, filed an amicus brief (PDF) supporting the call for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to allow the injunction requiring the school district to reinstate Coach Kennedy.

Mr. Hennings attributes much of his success to lessons imparted to him by the men who coached him throughout his scholastic and professional athletic endeavors, and who encouraged his dreams to serve his country and to play professional football. He thus shares [the] concern about judicial decisions that may impair a coach’s ability to speak freely and abide by his or her conscience and religious convictions.

It is admirable and noble that Read more

LGBT Advocate Aaron Belkin Misrepresents Military RAND Study

Aaron Belkin is the director of the Palm Center, an LGBT “research” institute that has long advocated and funded studies to promote neosexuality. (In fact, it was founded by Belkin specifically to produce ‘research’ to support the repeal of DADT.) Last week, Belkin wrote an op-ed at The Hill claiming “LGBT inclusion holds all US military to same high standard.” His piece was in response to one by Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council published on the same site on December 8th entitled “A transgender military is a weaker, compromised military.”

Belkin begins his argument by engaging in a bit of revisionist history, claiming those who choose to participate in the LGBT lifestyle were historically prevented from serving in the military only because no one could figure out how to make it work [emphasis added]: Read more

Atheist Jason Torpy Misrepresents Military Demographics. Again.

In 2010 Jason Torpy, a former US Army Captain and current atheist, essentially lied to White House staff when he told them in an official briefing that approximately 23% of the US military was non-theistic. The briefing was one part of his crusade to justify the oxymoronic “atheist chaplain.”

The problem, as previously discussed, was that his own data didn’t support his claim — and he knew it. When presenting his data, Torpy had included as “non-theists” those who indicated “no religious preference” in their military personnel records. Of course, no one has any idea whether those who selected NRP for their records are theists or not. You would think one who represented an ideology that self-righteously proclaimed its reliance on skepticism and evidence wouldn’t rely on “myth” to promote his cause, but that’s precisely what Torpy did. He cast his net so wide, in fact, that his list of non-theists included at least one Muslim terrorist.

Torpy’s fib was outed, and the knowledge of his use of fictional data made Read more

General David Haight Demoted, Retired for Swinging Lifestyle

US Army Major General David Haight was demoted to Lieutenant Colonel and retired after an investigation into his decade-long swinging sexual lifestyle:

An Army spokesman says Maj. Gen. David Haight was demoted by three steps to the rank of lieutenant colonel, a steep and rare downgrade for a senior officer.

The official cause, as summarized by the Associated Press:

An Army inspector general investigation concluded that Haight had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a woman who was not his wife, and that he misused government resources, including a department cell phone and computer, for a “high volume” of personal calls and emails.

Given that “misuse” of a government cell phone and computer — as determined Read more

Bible-Quoting Court-Martialed Marine Goes to the Supreme Court

The case of former US Marine LCpl Monifa Sterling, who made national news when her court-martial included charges related to posting a Bible verse on her desk, has been appealed to the US Supreme Court.

Sterling was a substandard Marine, but the straw that broke the camel’s back to get her court-martialed was posting, “No weapon formed against me shall prosper,” a paraphrase of Isaiah 54:17…

Religious liberty lawyers at First Liberty Institute agreed that Sterling’s posting Bible verses is protected by law…[and] recruit[ed] one of the greatest Supreme Court litigators in recent decades, former Solicitor General Paul Clement, to lead their team…

Sterling’s case has become a fascinating discriminator for Read more

US Military Helps Troops Exercise Faith in Afghanistan

December 24th was Christmas Eve, but it also marked the first day of Hanukkah — a day celebrated even by the US troops stationed in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan:

At sundown on Saturday, Navy Lt. Lauren Sucher of Annapolis, Md., and Navy Chief Petty Officer Kent Frosch of Washington, D.C., stepped outside at Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah.

The short Stars and Stripes article is a reminder that regardless where the US military sends its troops, it generally supports their ability to practice their religion — even if some people might find it uncomfortable.

In this case, these Jewish US troops are surrounded by an Islamic nation and Read more

Ironic Atheists Complain about “Spiteful” Christmas Displays

In an awkward and yet completely predictable move, an atheist activist is complaining that a Christmas sign was erected alongside an atheist “there are no gods” sign in Shelton, Connecticut.

Hemant Mehta, who works as the “Friendly Atheist” blogger, whined that the Christmas sign raised next to the anti-Christmas sign [emphasis added]

may seem innocuous enough — and perfectly legal — but it’s another sign of how little atheists are respected in the community…

Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti couldn’t handle that atheist message, which is why he felt compelled to put up his own sign wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays…

While many atheists are content to let people say Merry Christmas and Read more

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