Tag Archives: MRFF

Wheaton ROTC Under Review for Christian Requirement

Wheaton College — an unabashedly Christian university — has had an ROTC program since a few years after the close of World War II. Wheaton requires its faculty to be of the Christian faith, a requirement also levied upon its ROTC instructor, as the instructor is considered to be a member of the Wheaton faculty (though they are paid by the US military, not the school).

When the position of ROTC instructor was recently advertised among Army officers, the “must be of Christian faith” requirement caught the attention of a Soldier who pointed it out to Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s MRFF.  Weinstein was typically unmoved [emphasis added]:

Wheaton and its fundamentalist Christian ROTC unit are to the United States Constitution what a dog with a full bladder Read more

AF Band Flash Mobs Smithsonian with Christmas Songs (Video)

This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary.

Continuing a tradition begun last year, the US Air Force Band “flash mobbed” the Smithsonian and performed What Child is This? and Carol of the Bells, to the delight of the crowd:

The Air Force Times Flightlines blog noted that the official Air Force Band website said the first song was Greensleeves.  While Greensleeves is the same tune as What Child is This?, the vocalists were clearly singing the lyrics to the latter.

Military members can Read more

Mikey Weinstein Worries about Christian ISIS

As described in the Digital Journal:

Mikey Weinstein, an Air Force Academy graduate, is worried that radical Christians pose the same kind of threat ISIS does in the Middle East…

Weinstein routinely uses over-the-top language to describe Christians, partially to gain attention and partially to coat-tail the topic du jour, so associating US military Christians with ISIS is par for the course.

Further [emphasis added]:

Many in the military believe their No. 1 duty is destroy anyone who opposes Christianity, Weinstein says.

It’s a good thing conspiracy theories are, by definition, unprovable.  It saves Weinstein the trouble of having to support his wild accusations with those pesky things called “facts.”

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US Air Force Revises Religious Guidelines

As previously noted, the Air Force has published a revision to its AFI 1-1, “Air Force Standards,” which alters the wording and tone on how the service views religious liberty and expression.  The new AFI can be found here (PDF).

The greatest sources of consternation were paragraphs 2.11 and 2.12, and that’s where the Air Force made its revisions. In one notable change, the topics of 2.11 and 2.12 have been reversed: The Air Force now talks about religious freedom and expression before it talks about restrictions and the Establishment clause. While that may seem insignificant to some, it is noteworthy for the tone of the regulation.

The most significant change to the AFI — in direct response to laws passed by Congress — also marks its most dramatic explicit statement. The new regulation now says [emphasis added]:

Every Airman also has the right to individual expressions of sincerely held beliefs, to include conscience, moral principles or religious beliefs, unless those expressions would have an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, good order, discipline, health and safety, or mission accomplishment.

Every Airman has the right to express their religious beliefs.  Further, Read more

Congressional Hearing on Military Religious Freedom, Hostility

As previously noted, the House Armed Services subcommittee on personnel invited five civilian witnesses to provide testimony on the state of religious freedom in the US military last Wednesday.

Attending were:

  • Michael Berry, Liberty Institute attorney who acted on behalf of cadets at the US Air Force Academy this year
  • Retired Chaplain (Col) Ron Crews, an outspoken advocate for military religious freedom
  • Travis Weber, Director of the Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty, US Naval Academy graduate and former Naval aviator.
  • Rabbi Bruce Kahn, a retired Navy Captain and Chaplain, a founding member of the Equal Rights Center, and an advocate for homosexual “rights.”
  • Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, founder and sole employee of his Military Religious Freedom Foundation, engaged in a self-described “war” against Christians in the US military.

Contrary to some predictions, it wasn’t really a contentious meeting. What the hearing did reveal was the committee members were Read more

World Magazine Posts Mikey Weinstein Interview

WORLD Magazine has posted excerpts from the Marvin Olasky interview of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein conducted in late September.

Olasky’s summary was tellingly entitled “Michael L. Weinstein: Fighting Christian influence,” and he introduced the excerpts by noting

[The MRFF is] media-savvy group that fights what it says is religious intimidation by evangelicals in the U.S. military. I disagree with Weinstein and probed his biases before an audience of Patrick Henry College students…

Read the full article here, or watch the original interview.

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Military Religious Freedom goes to Congress

The congressional hearing postponed in late September, in which a House Armed Services subcommittee was to hear testimony on military religious freedom, has been rescheduled for tomorrow, 19 November, at 1400 Eastern.  The hearing is scheduled to be broadcast online.

The original invitees included retired Chaplain (COL) Ron Crews, Liberty Institute attorney Michael Berry, Travis Weber of the Family Research Council, retired Navy Chaplain (CAPT) Bruce Kahn, and former Air Force Captain Michael “Mikey” Weinstein.

Chaplain Crews recently made a point of saying he intended to speak about the “duplicity” of the US Air Force, which published an atheist’s commentary but censored a Christian’s. Read more

Chaplain Klingenschmitt Gets Elected

With 70% of the vote, former US Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt was elected as a Republican to the Colorado state legislature from a district encompassing the major military bases in Colorado Springs — including the US Air Force Academy, his alma mater.

Gordon “Dr. Chaps” Klingenschmitt beat out his Democrat challenger Tuesday with a landslide 70 percent of the vote in the state’s District 15, according to results published by the secretary of state.

District 15 encompasses Peterson Air Force Base, and is near Colorado Springs, Fort Carson and the U.S. Air Force Academy.

While Klingenschmitt’s positions may have been considered “far right,” his opponent’s were apparently as equally “far left.” In an election that saw Colorado’s legislature and governorship go to Republicans, it seems the “right” won out.

Klingenschmitt is famous for being discharged from the Navy over the “pray in Jesus’ name” controversy. He was also unsuccessfully sued by Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and his wife Bonnie — whom he subsequently sued.

Also via Klingenschmitt’s press release.
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