Tag Archives: Public Expression

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

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

Religious Freedom Day, 16 January 2015

Each year since 1993 the President has declared January 16th to be “Religious Freedom Day,” in order to remember the passage of Thomas Jefferson’s 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. President Obama has not yet issued his proclamation this year [Edit: now available] but will likely do so today.

Jefferson’s statute continues to be a strong expression for the value of religious liberty even today. Though the statute has been discussed in many places and in great depth, there are two important points to take from the statute. First, Read more

Mikey Weinstein Attacks Military Church Services

Remember the inspirational video of US Marines praising God with Days of Elijah during a Sunday worship service last September?

That is what Mikey Weinstein says he is “up against.”

When Mikey Weinstein objects to Christians attending church, can there be any doubt that he’s not really interested in “religious freedom?”

This is what we at MRFF are up against… the Dominionist “Holy Warrior” indoctrination of U.S. service personnel!

(The normally critical atheist Jason Torpy Read more

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