The White House We The People website says the Administration will respond to petitions that garner 100,000 signatures in 30 days.
Due today, an MRFF petition to “investigate claim[s] of the military indoctrinating religious fundamentalism” only needed 99,995 more signatures. Five people Read more
Chuck Norris recently cited “36 examples of religious liberty assault” (in Part 1 and Part 2) to defend an assertion that religious liberty is under attack in America. About a third of his examples involved the US military, all of which have been discussed here before (amplifying remarks follow):
A Vietnam Veteran’s memorial erected in 1972 in Coos Bay, Oregon, is the focus of a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The FFRF is demanding the town remove the memorial because it has a cross.
The [FFRF] sent Coos Bay City Manager Rodger Craddock a letter saying the memorial itself isn’t the problem, it’s the cross resting on top.
They say it’s an “endorsement of Christianity over other religions and over nonreligion,” and must be removed “immediately”.
The presence of a cross on a public display does not “make [a] law regarding an establishment of religion.” But these asinine attacks will continue, and in some cases Read more
It’s one thing to disagree with another person’s ideology. It is quite another to participate in an event for the sole purpose of denying others access to that same support and religious liberty.
Advocates for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation recently bantered about attending a Strong Bonds marriage enrichment seminar not to strengthen their marriages, but solely to take surreptitious video of the illegal “indoctrination.” It seems they are openly attempting to gather “physical evidence” for Michael Weinstein’s “war” on religious liberty in the US military:
According to his Facebook account that’s US Soldier Daron Williams telling Army spouse Katie Aerumnous to ‘record the prayer so you can file a complaint’ — about a voluntary event she would be choosing to attend — with the sole goal of denying future Read more
It took about 16 months, but a WhiteHouse.gov petition by MRFF activist Dustin Chalker finally crossed 20,000 signatures.
As discussed previously, the petition — “End the Military’s Discrimination against Non-Religious Service Members” — claims the US military forces troops to participate in “religious rituals.” As you may recall, Chalker is the same person who made the ridiculous assertion that being present — just respectfully standing silent — while others pray is the same thing as participating in that prayer.
Under current rules, a survey has to Read more
According to former Congressman Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, Chaplain (Capt) Emil Kapaun — who died among his fellow POWs during Korean War — will posthumously receive the US military’s highest award: the Medal of Honor.
Former Kansas Congressman Todd Tiahrt…sent a note he had received from an officer in the Pentagon about preparations for a White House ceremony April 11. Tiahrt later posted the letter on his Facebook page, which said that Kapaun also will be honored April 12 at the Pentagon.
President Obama will reportedly present the Medal to his family in early April. The family will be joined by other distinguished guests: Read more
Religion News Service — the non-profit media group that famously took a grant from atheists aimed at providing favorable news coverage — provided a balanced look at the US Army’s research into the previously-discussed virtual chaplain training, otherwise known as “spiritual triage.”
Trailing the [computer animated] combat medics, the uniformed military chaplain kneels and performs “spiritual triage,” assessing who is dead, who is soon to die, and who is likely to survive.
For the dead, there is silent prayer; for the gravely wounded and those in pain, there are words of comfort…At each point in the action, a prompt asks users what they think is the appropriate Read more
According to NBC News, the US Army is starting the process to recoup the cost of atheist former Cadet Blake Page’s West Point education:
In a memorandum dated Dec. 12, the superintendent of West Point Academy, Lt. Gen. David Huntoon, did recommend to Army headquarters that Page be honorably discharged and that recoupment — in the form of money or service as an enlisted soldier — be waived.
The response, signed by Thomas R. Lamont, assistant Army secretary, approves Page for an honorable discharge, but disapproves the waivers. In the Jan. 28 memorandum, he orders the West Point superintendent “to conduct a recoupment investigation.”
The Army could demand up to $250,000 or order Page back to active duty, where he previously served enlisted before Read more