Category Archives: Government and Religion

West Point Cadets in Sombreros OK. They Just Can’t Pray.

westpointhatA US Military Academy Facebook photo from their University of Texas at El Paso football victory raised the ire of activists, as it showed the cadets wearing sombreros while being hosted by the largely Hispanic community [emphasis added]:

The school should apologize for the image and take it down, said Lisa Navarrete, an official with the National Council of La Raza, a nonprofit group in Washington that focuses on immigration and other Latino issues. The use of sombreros to represent Latino people is an “old-school and dated stereotype” that offends many people, Navarrete said.

“I am a huge sports fan, so I understand that trashing your opponents in silly and not-so-silly ways is part of the game,” she said. “But I am also old enough to remember when banana peels were thrown at Georgetown University basketball players. Ugly bigotry is still ugly and offensive, even in the context of entertainment.”

With regard to the public Read more

Teenager Becomes Newest Face of Military Transgender Policy

brewer2The Associated Press published an unusually revealing article [updated link] about a 13-year-old US Army dependent named Jenn Brewer — who is actually a male, but is attempting a pre-puberty “transition” to female under the military’s healthcare system:

The Pentagon announced in June an end to the military’s ban on transgender service members. The ripple effect of the new health benefits extends beyond active-duty military to include roughly 7 million retirees and children of service members, like Jenn.

The change puts support for Jenn’s mental and physical well-being during her transition within reach, but the new coverage also comes with controversy.

The National Center for Transgender Equality says the new policy doesn’t go far enough, with a key operation – gender-reassignment surgery – covered only for active-duty personnel.

The article indicates activists are already fighting Read more

DoD Publishes Transgender Implementation Handbook

transbookThe Department of Defense has published “An Implementation Handbook” to “Transgender Service in the US Military” (as a PDF). While apparently trying to be helpful, it contains a lot of “it depends” type answers. For example, will a Soldier get in trouble for using the “wrong” pronoun with respect to someone who is a male but claims to be female [emphasis added]?

Question: What pronouns should I use with transgender Service members?

Answer: This will vary by individual and unit. Transgender Service members should Read more

Mikey Weinstein Accused of Clickbait — by His Own Supporters

Most people who follow military issues know US Army MajGen Wayne Grigsby was fired suddenly this week for an undisclosed reason. The mystery around why has attracted and kept the media’s attention, particularly as they’ve looked into his past and noted he was a relatively uncontroversial commander at Fort Riley, Kansas. The only newsworthy event, in fact, was a complaint from Michael “Mikey” Weinstein months ago about retired LtGen Jerry Boykin speaking at a prayer event.

And that’s enough of a connection for Mikey Weinstein, who has vaunted the same story a half dozen times over the past week. While he has repeatedly proclaimed “MRFF in the news!”, he’s left even some of his own supporters scratching their heads. Referring to one of Weinstein’s self-aggrandizing posts, a supporter said [emphasis added]:

This…has some serious click bait issues…There is no real meat to the story. There is mention of Gen Boykin but nothing links Grigsby to any MRFF Hot Button issues.

That’s an astute observation by someone who normally defends Weinstein. Weinstein is Read more

Sikhs Still Seeking Tolerance, Acceptance by US Military

sikhtrioDespite claims by Secretary of Defense Ash Carter that tolerance is “a practical necessity” in the US military — and that nothing unrelated to someone’s qualifications should prevent them from serving — people who are prevented from serving for reasons other than sexuality aren’t reaping the fruits of that newfound practical “tolerance.”

Maj. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi was recently in the news — and at the Democratic National Convention — highlighting the continued fight for Sikhs to gain Read more

Airman Charged with Crime even Fort Hood Shooter Avoided

Airman Charles Wilson of Robins Air Force Base is finally facing his court-martial for allegedly killing his fiancée and their unborn child.

Charles Amos Wilson III, 29, a support member of the 461st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, is charged with the premeditated murder in the fatal shooting of Tameda Ferguson, 30, at her Dawson home in August 2013. Ferguson was 8-1/2 months pregnant.

Wilson was arrested two days later on charges of murder and feticide after an investigation by the GBI and Terrell County Sheriff’s Office.

This is the third of three court-martials Wilson is facing for a group of alleged crimes. His prior two trials have had a mix of results.

As previously noted, the charge of Read more

Donald Trump, “One God,” and Religious Liberty in America

NPR’s Weekend Edition recently ran a story in which it highlighted “divisive” Presidential candidate Donald Trump for his use of the mantra that America should unify under “one God.”

Donald Trump has been repeating the phrase “One people under one God.” Critics say it could be interpreted as running counter to the American tradition of religious freedom.

The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty — a liberal leaning Baptist organization — took up that cause, saying it “raise[d] religious liberty concerns” [emphasis added]: Read more

Charitable Giving and the CFC: 2016

Whether or not you believe in the concept of the exact tithe, charitable giving remains one of the basic tenets of Christian living. Besides “passing the plate” on Sunday, the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is one of the more popular means through which members of the military have an opportunity to give.


Link

What is the CFC?

The CFC, which has been announced Read more

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