Tag Archives: mikey weinstein

Update: Mikey Weinstein Demands Retraction of Exposé

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein has demanded (PDF) an immediate retraction of Mark Stricherz’s article, claiming Stricherz

stated, or quite deliberately inferred that Mr. Weinstein did not work in the Reagan White House, that the examples of anti-Semitic emails…were somehow fabricated and that his salary with the Foundation has somehow been set in contravention of appropriate legal guidelines.

Weinstein’s argument falls flat right out of the gate.

First, Stricherz didn’t state or infer Weinstein didn’t work at the White House. He examined the strength of Weinstein’s own claims about what he did at the White House, citing a former legal counsel in the White House who said Read more

Article Exposes Mikey Weinstein “Stretching” the Truth

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

Americans United Debunks Itself on Military Religious Freedom

When the Family Research Council published its “Clear and Present Danger” (PDF) report on the state of religious freedom in the US military, there was caterwauling from secularists and critics of religious freedom that the report was full of lies and fabrications. In the intervening months, however, no one actually sat down and rebutted the claims.

Granted, with 61 events contributing to what the authors call a “picture of the threat to religious liberty” in the US military, the breadth of the situation made it a daunting task to counter.

It’s also hard to refute because its true.

Chris Rodda, of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation, gave a half-hearted attempt last June, discussing Read more

Mikey Weinstein’s Words, Actions, and Religious Freedom

We think — and the Constitution and Supreme Court caselaw supports us — that the right of the men and women in our armed forces to their personal choice, the right to their personal belief, the right to their religious or non-religious preference, cannot be abrogated by the government, by their superior officers, or by the Pentagon.

That sounds like a statement most could agree with — and those words come from MRFF board member Mike Farrell in their annual end-of-year fundraising letter.

Regrettably, the actions of Farrell’s boss, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, contradict his noble words.  Contrary to Farrell’s gilded semantics, Weinstein has attacked the personal faiths of Christian chaplains and troops — even going so far as to attack Christian chapel services — in what can only be described as an attempt to deny “the men and women in our armed forces” their religious liberties through the force of government.

More tellingly, Weinstein — a Read more

Sikhs Continue Calls for Military Service

While many continue to focus on promoting “sexual liberty” within the US military — primarily open service by homosexuals, bisexuals, transsexuals, etc-sexuals — few have come to the aid of Sikhs who want to serve in the US military. (Sikhs wanting to serve in the US military have received more press in India than the US.)  Sikhs seek a waiver not for behavior, but for their religious beliefs. Kamal Singh Kalsi, a Sikh who obtained an exception to the uniform policy and was allowed to serve wearing a beard and turban, recently highlighted the inability of Sikhs to serve, as well as the increasing calls for the DoD to “fix” policies that prevent them from joining:

With the support of the advocacy group The Sikh Coalition, 105 members of the House of Representatives and 15 senators sent letters to the Department of Defense urging the U.S. armed forces to modernize appearance regulations so patriotic Sikh Americans can serve the country they love while abiding by their articles of faith.

The re-write earlier this year of religious accommodation regulations in the US military would presumably have made it easier for Sikhs to obtain an exception and join while wearing the accoutrements of their faith. However, Read more

Army Rescinds ROTC Instructor Faith Restrictions

While saying the move was unrelated to Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s complaint a few weeks ago, the US Army “removed all university preferences from [its] assignment postings.”

In other words, the text “must be of Christian faith” will no longer appear next to Army staff assignments to Wheaton College.

This was previously discussed at length. While Weinstein called it a “HUGE MRFF Victory” [emphasis original], it Read more

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