Tag Archives: MRFF

Military Times Covers Air Force Refuting Mikey Weinstein

On Friday it was noted here that no media outlet had covered the Air Force response to Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s complaint about an article on a Christian Airman. On Sunday, Stephen Losey of the Air Force Times finally picked up the story (which led on their website), writing that the Air Force had found nothing wrong with the article and let it stand:aftimesgallo

AFRC spokesman Philip Rhodes said the review was finished earlier [last] week, and the release will not be taken down. “We vetted the question about the story through Air Force legal and chaplain corps, and all agreed that the story is appropriate as it is displayed,” Rhodes said.

This statement, which was apparently Read more

Mikey Weinstein Loses in Attack on Military Christians

Last week, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein accused the US Air Force Reserve Command of violating the US Constitution by publishing a public affairs release about an Airman’s medical missions trip over Christmas — because it talked about the Airman’s faith in Jesus Christ. In response, the Air Force put a disclaimer on the article and assured Weinstein his complaint would be looked into.

The disclaimer has now been removed, and the article has appeared on more than one Air Force news site.

In other words, Weinstein “lost.” The Air Force (apparently) disagreed with his claim that the article “emboldens our Islamic enemies” or is a “textbook violation” of regulations.

There was no Air Force press release, no Read more

Military Should Distro Mikey Weinstein “Lessons Learned”

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

Air Force “Reviews” Article after Mikey Weinstein Complains

Air Force Reserve Command is reviewing a public affairs news release after Michael “Mikey” Weinstein called it

a “shameless and incredibly prominent and public promotion” of religion…

The article is not unlike many that the Air Force produces highlighting the humanitarian or other off-duty activities of its Airmen. In this case, the story is about SMSgt Larry Gallo and his family, who dedicate their Christmas each year to providing “medical and spiritual aid” in other countries:

“Seven years ago my family and I started giving up our commercial Christmases to do something different, since then, we never looked back,” Gallo said. “These trips allow everyone to slow down and realize that some of the stress we put on ourselves is uncalled for once we put things in perspective.

“We have so much in the United States, and we are blessed as a nation. There is no guilt in being blessed. The guilt comes when we complain and grumble and take for granted the things we do have and not use those blessings to help others who are burdened.”

Read more

USAFA Cadets Mock “Mike Whinestein” in Religion Scandal

Cadets at the US Air Force Academy recently penned a fake news article bemoaning a religious “cult” plaguing their school: the cult of the Sky Crane, aimed at the large crane overshadowing the campus constructing the “uniquely-shaped” Center for Character and Leadership Development.

Filled with innuendo and double entendre, the Onion-worthy piece highlights the persecution of cadets who fail to share the religion of the crane:

Cadets who will not embrace “Our Lord, the Crane” have found themselves increasingly marginalized and excluded from Wing activities:

“I have truly felt the soft, inconsequential blow of cadet discrimination. Last Thursday I tried to AMI a room in Sijan and was told to get out on account of my non-belief in our Lord and Savior the Crane. Over Read more

MRFF Claims US Army Validated Violation of Constitution

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

  • an “unconstitutional disgrace,”
  • an “unconstitutional catastrophe,” and
  • a “stinking poster of unconstitutional malfeasance.”

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

Atheists Misrepresent Military Religious Data. Again.

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

Army Removes “God and Country” after Army Times Inquiry

A US Army recruiting post in Phoenix, Arizona, removed a sign with “On a mission for God and country” tag line after a media inquiry.

The poster, which features a Special Forces patch along with Ranger, Airborne and Special Forces tabs, includes “a stock image” the command makes available for local recruiters, spokesman Brian Lepley said in an email, “but the text was changed by the local recruiting personnel” and not cleared by command headquarters.

That’s really about it. The poster could have said “For Mom and Apple Pie” and also would have been removed if the customized official sign had not gone through the proper approval process.

According to Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, though, the US Army was caught in an open attempt to recruit Christians to violently take over the country. Seriously.  In response to the poster, Weinstein says:

[T]here exists a brutal, sectarian, Christian fundamentalist reign exercised within the United States Armed Forces, constituting a de facto Dominionist fifth column. In fact, it’s often so brazen that it’s not even very “fifth columny” anymore.

Since the reason Read more

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