Tag Archives: bonnie weinstein

Mikey Weinstein Brings in More Cash…for Less Work?

The accountant for Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation seems to have finally found his stride, as Weinstein’s charity has filed its last two public disclosures in relatively record time.

That said, the rest of the story is just about the same. Despite the fact the finances of Mikey Weinstein’s “charity” have been publicly criticized (and again, just recently), his ethically suspect practices continue.

As in prior years, in 2019 the largest expense for Weinstein’s self-founded “charity” was his own compensation, totaling $364,241. That’s in line with what he paid himself in 2018. The MRFF’s total ‘take’, however, actually fell to $663,335. Though the “charity’s” income was down substantially, Weinstein’s pay remained essentially the same, meaning the direct compensation for his “work” at the MRFF was a solid 54.9% of its revenue, one of the highest percentages to date.

(In defending his exorbitant salary — which the Military Times previously called “unheard of” — Mikey said

My salary is perfectly in line with a ton of other folks that do what they do.

However, Weinstein failed to Read more

Mikey Weinstein FOIA Lawsuit to be Heard Today

Today Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the US Air Force Academy is scheduled for a settlement hearing.

Of all the legal actions he’s filed in recent years, it is the one he has the most likelihood of seeing some success in and, to a degree, that success would be warranted.

Weinstein has asserted that years ago he filed a FOIA that has largely gone unanswered from an unresponsive FOIA office at USAFA. He is generally correct when he asserts the regulations regarding FOIA requests, including, for example, the fact FOIAs are supposed to be answered within 20 days.

In a somewhat unusual twist, Weinstein has Read more

Mikey Weinstein: Take your wife’s advice, at least on one thing

by Sonny Hernandez

In 2014, Bonnie Weinstein, the wife of anti-Christian activist Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), wrote a book titled, “To The Far Right Christian Hater…You Can Be a Good Speller or a Hater, but You Can’t Be Both.”  In my opinion, within this claptrap novel Bonnie expatiates on detailed accounts of receiving poorly spelled and punctuated letters from those whom she calls fundamentalists, which is described as “part humor, part horror, and part lesson in the importance of spelling and grammar…”  In my opinion, Bonnie’s book does not concur her husband’s alleged hate mails, it contradicts them, as Weinstein is historically known for poor scholarship, grammar, syntax, and hate.

Unfortunately, almost two years later, Mikey Weinstein has, in my opinion, yet to comprehend Bonnie’s Read more

Mikey Weinstein Begs for Donations to Support Invisible Court Battles

From Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, speaking for his MRFF:

Your completely tax-deductible donation will allow us to continue our fight in the courts…

“Continue?” The MRFF hasn’t initiated a “fight in the courts” since their last lawsuit was tossed out in 2011. [Clarification: Weinstein did file a FOIA lawsuit against the US Air Force and the Air Force Academy in November 2015.] But Weinstein has been continuously begging for “tax-deductible donations” in the five years since, claiming he needs support to continue his “fight in the courts.” In that time, his MRFF has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars without initiating a single “fight” in the courts — despite his repeated quips that the US military would have to “tell it to the judge.”  Notably, in addition to those hundreds of thousands in outflow (not apparently in the courts), Mikey Weinstein has also managed to pay himself $1.95 million from donations since he founded his “charity.”

Why is Mikey Weinstein saying his donors are funding his court battles, when the MRFF hasn’t started any court battles in years? Some might say that soliciting donations for one purpose and then spending them Read more

Mikey Weinstein’s Charitable Salary Total Reaches $1.95 Million

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein seems to be making a comfortable living doing little more than attacking Christians in the US military.

The most recent financial disclosures for his Military Religious Freedom Foundation (from 2014, released nearly two years later) reveal that he paid himself, as the sole employee of the “charity” he self-founded, $244,232 in compensation from the tax-deductible donations his organization received.

While it is a slight reduction from the $299,634 he paid himself in 2013, it still accounts for a sizeable 35% of all contributions to his MRFF.

Since he founded his laughably-categorized “non-profit” in late 2005, Mikey Weinstein has Read more

Chaplain Klingenschmitt Gets Elected

With 70% of the vote, former US Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt was elected as a Republican to the Colorado state legislature from a district encompassing the major military bases in Colorado Springs — including the US Air Force Academy, his alma mater.

Gordon “Dr. Chaps” Klingenschmitt beat out his Democrat challenger Tuesday with a landslide 70 percent of the vote in the state’s District 15, according to results published by the secretary of state.

District 15 encompasses Peterson Air Force Base, and is near Colorado Springs, Fort Carson and the U.S. Air Force Academy.

While Klingenschmitt’s positions may have been considered “far right,” his opponent’s were apparently as equally “far left.” In an election that saw Colorado’s legislature and governorship go to Republicans, it seems the “right” won out.

Klingenschmitt is famous for being discharged from the Navy over the “pray in Jesus’ name” controversy. He was also unsuccessfully sued by Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and his wife Bonnie — whom he subsequently sued.

Also via Klingenschmitt’s press release.
Read more

Klingenschmitt Wins Colorado GOP Primary

Gordon Klingenschmitt, the former Navy chaplain discharged over a controversy about “praying in Jesus’ Name,” has won the GOP primary for the US House of Representatives for the 15th District in Colorado.

Klingenschmitt expressed confidence in a November victory, as the district is heavily Republican — and also boasts a significant military population.

Klingenschmitt was also sued, unsuccessfully, by Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and his wife, Bonnie, over “imprecatory prayers.” Klingenschmitt sued the Weinsteins in return, claiming abuse of process and defamation. His suit survived dismissal last January, with the defamation claim being allowed to proceed.

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Mikey Weinstein Scrambles to Defend Huge Paycheck

As previously noted, last week the Air Force Times highlighted the fact Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s self-founded “charity” pays its sole employee — Mikey Weinstein — nearly half of the money it brings in. This has been noted here every year, though it picked up significant steam in the past few months.

The original story spread quickly, getting picked up by the Stars and Stripes, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, NonProfit Quarterly, and even Foreign Policy.  Charity rating organization Charity Navigator, which participated in the original article, tweeted their disbelief about Weinstein’s pay scheme, in which he is part of the “board” that approves his own salary:

Weinstein scrambled for a response, calling the article “character assassination” — though he notably did not rebut its veracity.  If the article is factually accurate, as it appears to be, who is responsible for the impact to Weinstein’s character: the person who reported the conduct, or the person doing it?  Weinstein’s acolytes, teaming up to comment on some of the articles, derided the revelation as an “attack,” part of a Christian conspiracy, Read more

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