Tag Archives: Constitution

Former JAGs: MRFF Wrong Historically, Legally

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein relies heavily on his credentials as a “former Air Force JAG.” Presumably, people outside the military ascribe to a JAG a particular expertise on military regulations and the law, and Weinstein seeks to benefit from that connotation.

When Weinstein recently demanded that the US Air Force Academy prohibit cadets from praying, it was notable that not one but two former JAGs spoke up in defense of the military religious freedom Weinstein’s “Military Religious Freedom Foundation” sought to ban.

The Alliance Defending Freedom’s Daniel Briggs wrote a letter (PDF) that became the “opposing viewpoint” that required USAFA to be “prudent and deliberate” in its review of Weinstein’s complaint. Briggs said [emphasis added]

Cadet-led prayer does not violate any purported ‘separation of church and state.’ Courts have long recognized that this term is a misrepresented and tiresome platitude found nowhere Read more

In fit of Facebook Envy, Mikey Weinstein Attacks Franklin Graham

In a post thick with irony, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein took to the internet last week to decry the “extremist” Franklin Graham who “personally targeted” him. The context was Weinstein’s attack on the pre-game prayers by US Air Force Academy cadets, which Weinstein has called “putrid” and illegal. When Graham responded, Weinstein said [emphasis added]:

Well-funded Christian fundamentalist organizations are using social media to attack MRFF!…

Extremist Christian preacher Franklin Graham personally targeted me and our Military Religious Freedom Foundation, asking followers to support and encourage actions meant to undermine our Constitutional rights.

(Said the well-funded anti-Christian organization that uses social media to attack others…) What Read more

Military Religious Freedom Group Lauds Decision to Grant Sikh Waiver

As reported in the New York Times, the US Army has granted Capt. Simratpal Singh a religious accommodation to wear the beard, unshorn hair, and turban as the outward expression of his Sikh faith — even while wearing the military uniform:

It is the first time in decades that the military has granted a religious accommodation for a beard to an active-duty combat soldier…But it is only temporary, lasting for a month while the Army decides whether to give permanent status to Captain Singh’s exception.

If it decides not to, the captain could be confronted with the decision of whether to cut his hair or leave the Army. He has said he is prepared to sue if the accommodation is not made permanent.

(This occurred not long after Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va) sent yet another letter to the DoD, as he has for several years, asking that the US military reconsider its policies prohibiting Sikhs from serving.)  Singh, a West Point graduate, had previously sacrificed those religious Read more

Franklin Graham Defends Praying USAFA Cadets

Franklin Graham took to Facebook last weekend to defend US Air Force Academy cadets who, once again, were under fire for their religious expression by none other than Michael “Mikey” Weinstein.  In a post with 75,000 likes and more than 18,000 comments, Graham called out the “Atheist Mikey Weinstein and his ironically named Military Religious Freedom Foundation:”

[Weinstein] said Air Force players participating in public prayer “is a scandalous outrage” and calls it “a disgrace” and “a putrid example of Christian supremacy.” Since when is voluntary prayer scandalous or putrid? The Air Force Academy now says that it will conduct an inquiry into the situation. I call this a foul! Join me in praying that the religious freedoms of these young men will not be taken away as Read more

Mikey Weinstein Threatens Lawsuit for Being Called “Grinch”

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein has reportedly threatened to sue the Christian Examiner for posting a commentary entitled “How the Grinch stole Christmas – at Dover Air Force Base.”

The commentary is actually a very well-written and astute piece by Dr. Gregory Tomlin, an Assistant Professor of Church History and a faculty instructional mentor for Liberty University Divinity School, who clearly explains both the constitutional and military regulation issues surrounding Weinstein’s complaint about the now-infamous Operation Christmas Child email sent by a Dover AFB secretary.

Tomlin accurately notes that  Read more

USAFA Cadets Defy Mikey Weinstein, Pray in End Zone Before Game

Before the Mountain West Conference championship game this past weekend, US Air Force Academy cadet football players defied the invective and threats of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein — and prayed in the end zone.  As captured on video by NBC San Diego:

Mikey Weinstein’s criticism has been called petty even by his supporters, yet he is claiming these cadets taking a knee in the end zone prior to the game violates Air Force instructions, the US Constitution, and the law:  Read more

Peace Cross Survives: Mikey Weinstein’s Lawsuits Now 0 for 6

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein maintained his perfect record of zero wins in his years of lawsuits against the American government over religion.

Many may not even be aware he had been part of another lawsuit, but in May of this year Weinstein said he had “join[ed] forces” with the American Humanist Association to try to have the Bladensburg Peace Cross torn down. (Despite innumerable threats, Weinstein hasn’t filed a lawsuit on his own in years.) The Peace Cross is a 90-year old World War I memorial in Maryland.

In a summary judgment, a Federal court just dismissed (PDF) that lawsuit.

Importantly, US District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow’s ruling avoids the semantic gymnastics of other cases by not trying to avoid the fact that a cross is, indeed, a religious symbol. The ruling says that simply being a cross does not inherently mean it is unconstitutional [emphasis added]:  Read more

Professor Sues US Naval Academy

Bruce Fleming, a civilian English professor at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, has filed a lawsuit claiming he was denied a pay raise due to an unjust reprimand he received in 2014:

Attorneys for Bruce Fleming said Thursday that the professor was denied merit pay and $7,000 in summer funding based on a 2014 reprimand. It stemmed from a 2013 classroom discussion, when Fleming prompted his students to consider the academy’s sexual assault program and the potentially one-sided burdens it put on men, at a time when the academy was part of the national debate over how to stop sexual assault in the military.

Fleming asserts his words were protected under the Constitution. For its part, Annapolis Read more

1 … 29 30 31 32 33 … 82