Tag Archives: MRFF

Michael Weinstein Goes Defensive, Repeats the Crazy

In response to last week’s article highlighting his penchant for alliterative adjective abuse, Michael Weinstein posted a defensive 1,500 word diatribe saying people should cut him some slack.  He claims he rants like a foul-mouthed playground bully because he’s trying to save the world [emphasis added]:

What sane person can doubt that anything less than a tooth-and-nail, eye-gouging fight will protect the American people from those both in uniform and [in] the House and Senate who seek to plunge the United States into an end-times war of apocalyptic proportions? Such a worldwide conflagration of combat is precisely what fundamentalist Christian Dominionists see as necessary for ushering in the Second Coming of the Christ, or “Rapture.” They ruthlessly lust for their promised worldwide bloodbath…

The aircraft carriers, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Peacekeeper Missiles*, bunker-busters, nuclear ICBMs, and 2.35 million active duty and reserve personnel…comprise the jewel in the crown that the “Christian Taliban” aims to seize at any and all cost.

There you have it, folks.  Weinstein should be granted wide latitude because his noble goal is to save the American people from the crazy Christians in its own military and Congress.  (To be clear, this isn’t the first time he’s made this claim.)

And who are these crazy Christians?  Read more

LtGen Michelle Johnson Newest USAFA Superintendent

LtGen Michelle Johnson, USAFA Class of 1981, recently took over as the Superintendent of the US Air Force Academy, replacing outgoing LtGen Mike Gould.

Many references to her new command have noted she is the first female to be Superintendent.  (A few quick-to-report articles said she was the first woman to lead a ‘major’ or ‘DoD’ service academy. The qualifier is necessary since RADM Sandra Stosz has led the Coast Guard Academy since 2011, and the CG Academy is not part of the DoD and is sometimes considered ‘minor.’)  The official Read more

Navy Info Chief for Michael Weinstein: Cut out Adjectives

Navy Chief of Information RADM John Kirby didn’t write a personal letter to Michael Weinstein, but he might have been thinking about him when he emailed naval officers and told them to stop the “jargon and gibberish,” as well as excessive adjectives.  Criticizing his own service’s communications efforts, RADM Kirby said:

We’ve never met an adjective or adverb we didn’t like.

We don’t “exploit operations in the electromagnetic spectrum.”  We fully exploit them.  We don’t integrate functions; we seamlessly integrate them…

Here’s another example…about the Zumwalt-class Read more

Breaking: Air Force Restores Censored Chaplain Article

Update: Now covered at the Christian Post, Christian News, WND, The Blaze, the ACLJ, OneNewsNow, and Charisma News.

In what will certainly be a blow to Michael Weinstein’s ego, the Air Force has re-published the article his “religious freedom” organization had convinced the Air Force to censor because they said it was “bigoted” and “defiles the dignity of service members.”

With noticeably no publicity, the article was quietly reinstated last week.  (The article by Chaplain (LtCol) Kenneth Reyes can now be read here [updated link]) Col Brian Duffy, with “higher headquarters consultation,” issued the following statement:

Arctic Warriors, our “Chaplain’s Corner” will return and be accessible from our JBER Official Web Page…. Commentaries presented are designed to enhance the spiritual resilience and wellness of our community of Active Duty, DoD civilians, family members and retirees as part of the Air Force and Army Comprehensive Fitness programs.

We believe this new approach, taken in Read more

Commander: Troops Ordered Not to Have Opinion on DADT

According to an ongoing story covered at FoxNews, Utah Air National Guard TSgt Layne Wilson was reprimanded after writing a letter to a West Point chaplain regarding a post-DADT chapel ceremony, which presumably occurred last December.  The text of his letter does not appear to be completely available, but it said in part

Our base chapels are a place of worship and this is a mockery to God and our military core values. I have proudly served 27 years and this is a slap in the face to us who have put our lives on the line for this country. I hope sir that you will take appropriate action so this does not happen again.

Apparently, West Point complained to the Utah Air National Guard, and Wilson’s supervisor gave him a Letter of Reprimand because he

“failed to render the proper respect to a commissioned officer.”

Given that only part of the story is public, it is difficult to fully discuss. On the other hand, another part of the conversation is public and may stand on its own. As noted in a memo from LtCol Kevin Tobias, 130th Engineering Installation Squadron commander, following this incident [emphasis added]:

“We talked about his feelings about DADT and Read more

Free Speech, the Constitution, and the US Military

With a few recent controversies over US troops making (or being prohibited from making) religious statements, a common thread has found its way into a few responses that demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the US Constitution.

These comments were along the lines of “if he worked for a private company [the soldier] would be fired” for making a religious statement, or this one from an MRFF supporter:

This is so ironic: A civilian employer can monitor and repress “free speech” in the workplace, yet the military…is supposed to let these Talicrisps (fundamentalist christians with fried brains) just rant freely…

For those who haven’t read the Constitution lately, the US Constitution prevents the government from restricting the rights of its citizens. The Constitution does not restrict a private citizen from restricting the rights of another citizen.

While there are many nuances, a private company can Read more

Commander Threatens Soldier for Religious Facebook Post

As noted at FoxNews, a Colorado Springs-based US servicemember posted her opinion on Facebook — and has been threatened by her commander as a result:

The soldier, who is an evangelical Christian, said she returned home from church on Sunday and was watching a documentary about a minister who endorsed homosexuality…

Her Facebook message read:

“A lot ticked off, now to all my gay friends you know I care about you so don’t think otherwise. I’m watching this documentary and this gay guy went to a church and the Pastor was telling him that he needs to embrace his way and know that it is not a sin. Ok umm wow, dude it is. I’m sick of people making Gods word what it’s not. Yes God loves you as a person but He hates the sin. Tired of hearing about Pastors being ok with homosexuality.”

She was reportedly told to

either remove the post or face a reduction in rank and pay.

There is contradictory information about whether she is an Airman or a Soldier, which may be just as well, as she wasn’t seeking to make a public statement and actually asked Fox to pull the article, which it did for a short time.  She appears to have substantial Read more

More Groups Seek Equal Treatment with Weinstein

The American Family Association has joined other groups in asking [PDF] that they, too, be allowed to meet with senior US military leaders on issues of religious freedom and tolerance — as Michael Weinstein was:

Because religious freedoms are extremely important to us, to military service members and to our veterans, we request a meeting with [the JAG, Deputy IG, Deputy Chief of Chaplains, Director of AF EO, and other staff members], which will confer the same courtesy extended to Mr. Weinstein and MRFF.

While Weinstein claimed he was invited, the Air Force excused the meeting by saying he’d simply asked for, and been granted, an audience.  In so doing, Air Force leaders opened themselves up to exactly what has happened: They are forced to grant other groups the same treatment, lest they succumb to the accusation that they gave Michael Weinstein “special treatment.”

No word yet on whether these groups have received personal emails from Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh, as Weinstein did — a move that supporters claimed legitimized his cause.

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