Tag Archives: Constitution

Retired Chaplain Norris Burkes Wrong on Gen Costin, Religious Freedom

Retired US Air Force Chaplain Norris Burkes first came to the attention of this site in 2009, when the syndicated chaplain wrote a column about the burning of Afghan-language Bibles by American troops in Afghanistan (a controversy discussed here). In essence, Burkes approved, and noted:

The possession of such religious material violates something the military calls General Order No. 1.

Though he was dismissive of most input, he did finally concede that he was wrong — General Order Number One says no such thing.

Despite the admission, Burkes declined to change the article, and it can still be found on his website, with the unchanged statement that even Burkes admitted was wrong.

Chaplain Burkes recently popped up again, and for some reason he Read more

Religious Freedom Day and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, 2017

Monday, 16 January 2017 marks the annual Religious Freedom Day, as proclaimed by President Obama over the weekend:

Religious freedom is a principle based not on shared ancestry, culture, ethnicity, or faith but on a shared commitment to liberty — and it lies at the very heart of who we are as Americans…We must be unified in our commitment to protecting the freedoms of conscience and religious belief and the freedom to live our lives according to them…

Part of being American means guarding against bigotry and speaking out on behalf of others…

Religious liberty is more than a cornerstone of American life — it is a universal and inalienable right…

Religious Freedom Day marks the anniversary of the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786, originally authored by Thomas Jefferson.  It preceded the US Constitution and its similarly-themed First Amendment by several years.

President Obama’s 2017 statement was Read more

STRATCOM Revokes Christian Pastor’s Invitation over Religious Beliefs

Retired US Army LtCol Tom Gray, now a contractor at the global nuclear US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, recently issued a press release (PDF) celebrating his “vigilance” over the “separation of church and state.”  Gray announced he’d had Dr. Philip Kayser of the Dominion Covenant Church in nearby Omaha disinvited from speaking at the Offutt Chapel. According to Gray, Kayser had planned on giving “a class on leadership from a Christian perspective.” Gray objected:

Dr. Kayser’s beliefs…can be found online. I brought my concerns to Captain Yi, the USSTRATCOM chaplain, and the invitation was revoked.

The STRATCOM decision to disinvited the local pastor is problematic — and disturbing.

First, it’s worth noting even Gray — despite Read more

US Army to Grant Sikhs, Muslims, Jews Permanent Waivers

The US Army has changed its policies (PDF) to allow Sikhs, Muslims, and Jews to serve while wearing their religious accoutrements in uniform [emphasis added]:

Since 2009, religious accommodation requests requiring a waiver for uniform wear and grooming have largely fallen into one of three faith practices: the wear of a hijab; the wear of a beard; and the wear of a turban or under-turban/patka, with uncut beard and uncut hair. Based on the successful examples of Soldiers currently serving with these accommodations, I have determined that brigade-level commanders may approve requests for these accommodations…

Importantly, the policy specifically says the religious practice should be approved 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

Town of New Windsor Threatened over God and Country

The Town of New Windsor, New York, has been threatened over a war memorial which contains the words “To Those Who Served Both God and Country“:

Town Attorney Michael Blythe said the lawyer, Martin Karlinsky, sent the town two letters, suggesting that the wording on the memorial, invoking the word “God,” runs counter to the First Amendment clause that draws a strict separation between government and religion. Blythe said there was a “veiled threat” of a lawsuit.

Apparently unmoved, Town Supervisor George Green had a pithy response to the threat: Read more

Mikey Weinstein’s MRFF Admits Trolling for Offended Supporters

weinstein9Without fail, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein will announce dramatic accusations of Christian malfeasance within the military by saying he has “34 aggrieved clients, 29 of whom are practicing Christians” or some such arbitrary numbers. This reliance on quantity goes against Weinstein’s own favored quote by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor that we “do not count heads before enforcing the First Amendment,” but Weinstein is known for sacrificing principle for dramatic effect when it suits his needs.

The numbers, vague and unprovable though they are, help mitigate Read more

1 … 18 19 20 21 22 … 82