Following a public relations debacle in which a low-level commander gave Michael “Mikey” Weinstein a short-lived “victory” in his attacks on religious freedom, the US Air Force reiterated to its commanders that they should not be directly dealing with Weinstein. Quoting retired US Army Chaplain (Col) Ron Crews: Read more
Just a few hours after a Security Forces squadron commander banned his troops from saying “Have a blessed day” in an attempt to appease Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, the Air Force issued a formal reversal, saying there’s nothing wrong with the phrase:
“We are a professional organization defended by a professional force. Our defenders portray a professional image that represents a base all of Middle Georgia can be proud of. Defenders have been asked to use the standard phrase “Welcome to Team Robins” in their greeting and can add various follow-on greetings as long as they remain courteous and professional.
The Air Force takes any expressed concern over religious freedom very seriously. Upon further review and consultation, the Air Force determined use of the phrase “have a blessed day” as a greeting is consistent with Air Force standards and is not in violation of Air Force Instructions.”
Robins Air Force Base should get credit for the most affirmative statement ever in a Weinstein-reversal, in which they not only undid the ban but also firmly supported the statement in question.
The Robins statement generated nearly Read more
Twenty four members of Congress wrote a letter (PDF) to Secretary of the Army John McHugh questioning the circumstances surrounding the Letter of Concern given to Chaplain (Capt) Joe Lawhorn.
While the Army has maintained that Chaplain Lawhorn wasn’t “punished” (and therefore there is apparently nothing to discuss), the Congressmen communicated their concerns that even the “administrative action” was chilling to rights protected under the law and Constitution:
We believe this administrative action sets a dangerous precedent for Army suicide prevention initiatives, the role of Army chaplains, and most importantly, the ability for service members to exercise and express religious beliefs, as protected under the First Amendment and reinforced by current law and DoD regulations.
The letter also raises concerns that the action Read more
The miniature scandal involving Michael “Mikey” Weinstein complaining about a human interest story of an Airman’s missionary trip revealed an important insight to how Weinstein’s money-making attacks on US military Christians work. With emphasis added:
The command began reviewing the article on Jan. 27 after the watchdog group Military Religious Freedom Foundation demanded it be taken down. MRFF founder and president Mikey Weinstein, in an email to 433rd AW Vice Commander Col. Aaron Vangelisiti, called the article a “shameless and incredibly prominent and public promotion” of religion on official Air Force websites…
Over the course of emails back and forth, Vangelisiti assured Weinstein that his concerns were pushed up the chain to Command headquarters…
Weinstein said Vangelisiti said a formal response was being readied on Thursday and would be released Friday after being approved by the wing commander, Col. William W. Whittenberger Jr.
Perhaps more so than the other branches, the US Air Force Read more
Over the years, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein has demonstrated that he is fairly adept at public relations, though he has stumbled a few times. (For example, he failed to rebut accusations he was “cashing in” on donations last year, and he more recently failed to support his claims of his White House duties.) Contributing to his public relations “victories” have been the public relations shortcomings of his primary foe, the US military. In many cases, the US military has allowed Weinstein to shape the narrative — an opening of which he has taken full advantage.
Weinstein recently claimed that a US Army recruiting poster that said “On a Mission for God and Country” was
Ultimately, the Army told the recruiters to remove the poster, said publicly the poster hadn’t gone through the proper processes, and indicated Read more
In what has become standard practice for atheists trying to inflate their numbers, the Freedom From Religion Foundation ran an ad in USA Today’s Year in Defense claiming nearly a quarter of the US military is “not religious” [emphasis added]:
Proselytizing officers got you down? Annoyed by preaching chaplain emails? Frustrated by prayer at mandatory events? Tripping over bibles with every about face? If you’re one of the 23.4%* of the U.S. military who is not religious, join the ranks of America’s largest non-prophet nonprofit…
As previously noted, atheists who take pride in their “skepticism” and reliance upon demonstrable data over mere belief have been very quick to express their belief in the report from the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers that initiated the 23.4% number — despite the fact the data does not support the conclusion.
The asterisk in the ad leads to Read more
Mark Stricherz at aleteia (tagline: “Seekers of the Truth”) wrote a lengthy exposé on Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and his self-founded charity, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, entitled “Meet “Mikey” Weinstein, the Questionable Critic of the Pentagon’s Religious Policy.” (It was repeated at Newsmax as “Man Leads Effort to Scrub God From Military.”) While some of the article is a mere statement of Weinstein’s positions or status, Stricherz does an excellent job of revealing Weinstein’s reliance on hyperbole and showmanship (even Weinstein’s wife admits he goes “overboard“) — something that undermines Weinstein’s credibility in a meaningful way.
For example, Stricherz starts off with Weinstein’s opening statement to November’s congressional hearing, in which
Weinstein made an opening statement in the familiar manner of those who testify before Congress.
It was a fairly droll narration of a prepared statement. But that’s not how Weinstein portrayed it later [emphasis added]: Read more
An article at the Stars and Stripes, making a reference to the congressional testimony a couple of months ago, notes that “both sides agree” that there continues to be confusion over the US military’s policy on religious liberty. The article led with the story of US Army Chaplain (Capt) Joe Lawhorn — who was punished for mentioning his faith during a briefing and who was cited again recently in the Washington Times — as an example.
Nearly a year after the Department of Defense issued a heavily revised religious expression policy that advocates said would bring a new level of religious freedom, the dispute at Fort Benning, Ga., is evidence that the new wording hasn’t done away with old disputes. The fight Read more