Tag Archives: USAFA

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

Humanists Denied Wedding in Naval Academy Chapel

Former Army Captain and current atheist Jason Torpy is keeping busy.  While currently claiming to act as the endorsing agent for a proposed humanist chaplain, he’s also trying to act as an officiant for a humanist wedding at the US Naval Academy.  The only problem for the “Reverend” Torpy: Annapolis reserves its Christian chapel for Christian ceremonies.

Jennifer Erickson, an academy spokeswoman, said in an email that the Naval Academy Chapel is a religious venue that has been used for Protestant and Catholic services since its dedication in 1908.

“The chapel contains permanent Christian architectural features that make it inappropriate for non-Christian or non-religious wedding ceremonies,” Erickson wrote in response to questions about the request. “For requests involving non-Christian and non-religious wedding ceremonies, the Naval Academy offers alternative venues, such as the non-denominational chapel and the Naval Academy Club.”

Because the Christian chapel has unmatched “grandeur” — including the crypt of famed seaman John Paul Jones — the humanists complain that nothing else will do.  The non-theists apparently admire theistic architecture.

To be clear, there are several chapels at Annapolis, including a Jewish Read more

MRFF: Air Force Created New Regulation Because of Christians

As previously noted, Michael Weinstein boasts about his hate mail like some people do pictures of their grandkids.  The MRFF publishes some of those emails, and, more often than not, a “volunteer” staff member posts an online rebuttal.  The replies are often critical and sarcastic, meaning they’re mostly red meat for MRFF acolytes.  Occasionally, though, one reveals the underbelly of the MRFF opposition to religious liberty.

Such was the case with Joan Slish, an MRFF “advisory board” member who has two claims to fame: First, according to the MRFF website, she left the Assembly of God because they were the wrong kind of Christian (though she oddly still claims an AoG Pastorate).  Second, she inadvertently revealed in 2011 that the MRFF was the arbiter of “true” Christianity — telling the world the MRFF would vitriolically attack the religious liberty of the wrong kind of Christian.  (Weinstein was already doing that; Slish was simply the first ‘staff member’ to admit it.)

Now she can add a third trophy:  An official MRFF email reply riddled with statements at times false, at others ridiculous, and almost always comical — but one that also has another peek behind the MRFF curtain.

She falters right out of the gate in following the MRFF tradition of Read more

Service Academies Rank on Forbes Top Colleges List

The US military academies ranked high on the Forbes list of America’s Top Colleges:

Ranked at No. 7, the U.S. Military Academy beat out all the other service academies — as well as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology…

The U.S. Naval Academy was ranked No. 28, followed closely by the U.S. Air Force Academy at No. 31. Forbes slotted the U.S. Coast Guard Academy at No. 94 and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at No. 165.

As noted in prior years, the academies routinely rank near the top of Princeton, Forbes, and US News annual lists of top universities (except when it comes to rankings for ‘best party school’).

Update: As reflected in official Air Force news releases.

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Catholics Support Military Religious Freedom Coalition

Archbishop for the Military Services, Rev. Timothy Broglio, announced his support of the recent coalition advocating for religious freedom in the US military:

The Archdiocese congratulates the Family Research Council and all the members of the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition on their announcement of the formation of the coalition.  The Archdiocese looks forward to working closely as an ally as all seek to ensure the continued protection of the 1st Amendment Rights of Free Speech and the Free Exercise of Religion of the men and women of the United States Military.  No one who raises a right hand to defend the Constitution should sacrifice one of its fundamental principles!

“Likewise, the Archdiocese applauds the work of Doctor Fleming and all those Members of Congress who continue to work so diligently to ensure the 1st Amendment Rights of Free Speech and Free Exercise of Religion of the men and women of the United States Military.”

This is particularly notable because the coalition Read more

Airman Reprimanded for Calling on Mikey Weinstein

An Air Force Airman claims he received verbal reprimands after he was dissatisfied with the Air Force’s response and complained to Michael “Mikey” Weinstein in 2010:

I met with the Cadet Wing Chaplain here at the time and the incident was forwarded up the chain-of-command. After over two weeks of nothing being said to anyone…I decided to bring this to MRFF’s attention. Mikey and MRFF were all over it and came down hard on USAFA.

I received verbal reprimands from Read more

Military Reviews Moral Solutions to Causes of Sexual Assault

Two Air Force JAGs, Major Ken Artz and 1Lt Peter Smyczek wrote a fascinating article that supported General Mark Welsh’s assertion that the accepted culture is part of the sexual assault problem in the military.  Entitled “Sexual Assaults in the Military: Porn is Part of the Problem,” their piece began with a simple statement [emphasis added]:

If our military is to lower its rate of sex crimes, it must limit its members’ consumption of pornography and educate them about its risks.

The JAGs point out that the Air Force must address the underlying behaviors that lead to sexual assault — not merely attack the Read more

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