Tag Archives: military religious freedom foundation

USAFA General Recalls Two Years of Leadership

The Colorado Springs Gazette wrote a short article on the US Air Force Academy’s Superintendent, LtGen Michelle Johnson, in which she looked back on the last two years of her leadership of USAFA:

In her first days on the job at the Air Force Academy, Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson found herself justifying the school’s existence amid a Pentagon budget crunch and a looming government shutdown.

Two years later, she says those first frantic weeks have formed Read more

US Navy Defends Treatment of Chaplain Wes Modder

While most of the story regarding US Navy Chaplain (LtCmdr) Wes Modder faded into the background with the news of his victory a few weeks ago, one media story included a quote from the Navy that seemed to indicate a bit of self-righteousness [emphasis added]:

A spokesperson for the Navy said the system in Modder’s case worked as it is supposed to, with an investigation following complaints lodged against Modder.

The Navy takes issues like this very seriously, said Lt. Jessica Anderson, public affairs officer and writer for the Chief of Naval Personnel in Arlington, Va.

“When there are allegations of misconduct like this, we investigate — as we did in this case,” Anderson said.

Part of Lt Anderson’s statement is actually fair: With some Read more

Hopper Writes on Inviting Mikey Weinstein to Dinner

US Air Force Major Christina “Thumper” Hopper, recently made famous as a target of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, wrote an email to Weinstein last Wednesday with a brief outline of the event her husband’s “invitation to dinner” had become. The letter was intended for publication, and Weinstein duly posted it on his website. It seems to have been written at least in part as a result of Bob Lawrence’s blog a few days earlier.

In the letter, Hopper explains why they invited Mikey Weinstein to dinner after he denigrated her online:

My husband and I invited Mikey to dinner because we strive to live in harmony with others and hold to the biblical principle that if possible, as far as it depends on us, we should live peaceably with all (Rom 12:18). So, we wanted the opportunity to Read more

MRFF Attacks 14-Year Old “God Bless” Sign

Update: In an asinine announcement, Mikey Weinstein is now “demanding” that the Marine base erect six more signs, one each to Allah, Yahweh, Odin, Vishnu, goddess, and “there is no god.”

  • It’s telling that Weinstein, who describes himself as a Jewish agnostic, demanded “Yahweh” when practicing Jews make a point of not using the names of God — meaning many Jewish personnel would find that sign offensive.
  • Further, there is the obvious point that “Allah” is simply Arabic for “God,” making that sign simply a different language of the same text.  (Why not ask for other languages?)
  • Finally, the statement “there is no god” finds no resemblance with the current sign, which makes no exclusive statement.

Of course, all that ignores the fact the military’s decision to allow the presence of one does not require them to erect others.  Weinstein’s “demand” is infantile and ignorant, but it seems to have gotten him the attention he wants.

A variety of news organizations are now reporting that Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation is demanding the removal of a sign on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, as provided by the MRFF:

The offending sign simply reads

God bless the military, their families and the civilians who work with them.

While Weinstein referred to this as the “latest breach,” it turns out it wasn’t Read more

Mikey Weinstein Quietly Apologizes to Christian Fighter Pilot

On August 11th, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein railed at US Air Force Major Christina “Thumper” Hopper, claiming she violated Air Force regulations in the course of her “1st-degree religious zealotry unbecoming of a military leader” and “vile missionary-crusader propagandizing.”

The next day, LtCol Aaron Hopper, Christina’s husband, took to Weinstein’s Facebook page… to invite him to dinner. Weinstein “Liked” the post, but nothing else was said.

Nearly a month later, on September 18th, an ally of Weinstein wrote a blog revealing that Weinstein had, indeed, visited the Hoppers in Enid, at what became an event hosted by the Hopper’s pastor, Wade Burleson (who had publicly defended Hopper against Weinstein). In a step quite out of character for Weinstein, he is said to have apologized, sort of:   Read more

Huffington Post: Most Captivating Photo of Navy Baptism at Sea

Chris McGonigal of The Huffington Post — not precisely a bastion of conservative values — posted a list of “The Most Captivating Military Photos From August 2015.” The first one out of the chute was of a baptism at sea conducted on the USS George Washington:

Lt. Cole Yoos [of the] Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), and Lt. Brian Kirschenbaum, a Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 chaplain, baptize Aviation Structural Mechanic (Safety Equipment) 2nd Class Ryan Norton, from Minto, North Dakota in the baptismal pool on the ship’s flight deck during a baptism-at-sea.

Better not let Michael “Mikey” Weinstein see that.  He thinks such displays of religious freedom like baptisms on the flight deck of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier are propaganda for terrorists. That means, of course, Read more

Navy Reverses, Rules for Embattled Chaplain Modder

For the past six months, US Navy Chaplain (LtCmdr) Wes Modder has been fighting for his career after his commander, CAPT Jon Fahs, requested he be “detached for cause” (PDF) and then defend why he should be retained in the Navy. The primary charge was he “failed to show tolerance and respect” when he made certain statements about sexuality.

Last week, the US Navy Personnel Command informed Captain Fahs that his request for Chaplain Modder to be Detached for Cause was denied, as was his request for Modder to “show cause” to remain in the Navy. Rear Admiral David F. Steindl wrote (PDF):

Your request for detachment for cause in the case of LCDR Modder…has been reviewed and is disapproved. I have found the evidence of substandard performance in this case does not meet the standard of gross negligence or complete disregard of duty… LCDR Modder will not be detached for cause.

In other words, the Admiral said CAPT Fahs was wrong.

To be “detached for cause” (DFC) in Read more

Mikey Weinstein has Lunch with Pam Zubeck. Film at 11.

Pam Zubeck has written for The Colorado Springs Independent, a small, left-leaning local paper, for a few years. Some time ago she became a veritable public affairs officer for Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, taking on his mantle and acting as his outlet for just about anything he had to say. (For the record, that’s a characterization she really dislikes.)

Last Wednesday, Zubeck had lunch with Weinstein…and that was apparently newsworthy for a small paper in town. She asked him about his next big thing:

Mikey Weinstein, the crusader against religious bias in the armed forces, will ask the Air Force Academy to remove the words “in the year of our Lord” from diplomas for the class of 2016, which Read more

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