Show Notes::MRFF opponents seek Trump's help, w/ Chris Rodda

Latest bit of news concerning MRFF encompasses a few recent news items of interest -- Todd Starnes (and Mike Huckabee), Robert Jeffress and the DoD, and POW/MIA tables. While the Jeffress/Starnes fiasco are important, our focus is going to be the POW/MIA tables, but to understand the "news" about the tables, one needs to be aware of the preceding garbage.

Where to find Chris

• http://www.liarsforjesus.com/index.html
• https://www.dailykos.com/user/ChrisRodda

MRFF

• https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/

Sekulow and MRFF

https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2018/07/mrff-gets-under-sekulows-thin-fundamentalist-evangelical-skin/

Trump’s lawyer and Chief Counsel of the ACLJ (American Center for Law and Justice) https://aclj.org/, a politically conservative, Christian-based social activism and watchdog organization associated with Regent University School of Law in Virginia; IOWs Pat Robertson. In some circles they are consider the anti- American Civil Liberties Union. Jay Sekulow, who I will mention as reference and not criticism, is a Messianic Jew, is so hot and bothered by MRFF’s fight in Okinawa.

Now MRFFs history with Sekulow is fairly encompassing. https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2017/08/8917-trumps-lawyer-and-chief-counsel-of-the-aclj-jay-sekulow-attacks-mikeymrff-outlandish-angry-atheist-attack-claims-conference-that-includes-facebook-and-google-executives-somehow-vi/ Of interest to us tonight is a piece (actually two) you did concerning the "DMZ flag" at the Air Force’s Enlisted Heritage Hall, a museum at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.

What the “DMZ flag” is all about?

The exhibit in question consisted of a mannequin in an airman's uniform standing next to a Christian chapel flag with a sign telling the following story:

"This Christian Flag is significant because it was rescued from the ruins of an American Chapel that ultimately found itself situated in the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea. In 1960, a young A1C Luke Holcomb, was assigned to the post along the Demilitarized Zone. From his duty section he could see what remained of the chapel and was fascinated by the site [sic] of the U.S. and Christian flags leaning against the rear corner of the building. One night, he and three friends swam across the river separating them from the chapel, and at the risk of death, they liberated the flags. It was his wish that this flag be displayed in dedication of the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen who risked their lives during the Korean Conflict."

To borrow from your piece, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/15/1724636/-Air-Force-Returns-Admittedly-Inaccurate-Story-to-Museum-ACLJ-Launches-Attack-to-Defend-Exhibit (AND https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/air-force-museum-puts-admittedly-inaccurate-story-back_us_5a33cac3e4b02bd1c8c605f0)

So, how does the ACLJ twist the facts about MRFF’s efforts to get the historically dubious story of the airman allegedly retrieving the Christian chapel flag from the Korean DMZ in 1960 removed? Well, for starters, by claiming that MRFF is attacking history.

Its petition-signer-getting article, titled “Defend the Chaplain Flag, the Cross, and Christians Who Serve Our Nation,” begins:

“In the latest attack by Mikey Weinstein and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), the target is not only the United States military (MRFF’s venomous specialty) but is also an attack on history, in this case the history of the Korean War.”

Initial story concerning “DMZ flag” https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-most-unbelievable-story-about-korea-that-you-will_us_59f9cac7e4b0412aab840c80

Other media concerning “DMZ flag”

Group wants Maxwell AFB museum to remove Christian flag from exhibit
Exhibit Director at Maxwell exchange emails with Rodda
Defend the Chaplain Flag, the Cross, and Christians Who Serve Our Nation (ACLJ)

https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2017/08/8917-trumps-lawyer-and-chief-counsel-of-the-aclj-jay-sekulow-attacks-mikeymrff-outlandish-angry-atheist-attack-claims-conference-that-includes-facebook-and-google-executives-somehow-vi/

Jeffress and MRFF

On June 24, 2018, "First Baptist Dallas", the Texas mega-church pastored by Robert Jeffress, had its annual “Freedom Sunday” event. During this event, Robert Jeffress was initially advertised as delivering his presentation titled “America is a Christian Nation.” During a “Salute to our U.S. Armed Forces” portion of the event, the official seals of the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces were to be very largely and prominently displayed. The display of these official seals by any non-federal entity is strictly prohibited,,,

https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2018/06/6-21-18-mrff-letter-to-dod-sec-mattis-demands-first-baptist-dallas-cease-and-desist-utilization-of-all-dod-insignia-logos-in-promoting-sectarian-fundamentalist-christian-event/

http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/docs/Letter%20to%20Pastor%20Jeffress,%20First%20Baptist%20Dallas%202018-06-21.pdf

MRFF not only contacted Jeffress but the DoD (Defense Secretary Jim Mattis) as well, as a result,,, did Jeffress comply considering “First Baptist Church released a statement Friday: "We plan to honor our military this Sunday at our Celebrate Freedom services, as planned." “

First Baptist Dallas removed, TODAY, a video and image of the official Military Department Seals from its website promoting the event. Thus, all indications are that these same Seals will NOT be illegally used at this weekend's "Freedom Sunday" event as they had been previously and in DIRECT VIOLATION of the DoD guidance entitled "Important Information and Guidelines About the Use of Department of Defense Seals, Logos, Insignia, and Service Medals."

http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/2018/MRFF_DEMAND_JEFFRESS_MATTIS.html

What is an important take-away from this bit of news, “Department of Defense guidelines allow use of Armed Forces seals only for official military use. The MRFF says the church's use of the seals in its program makes it appear the Armed Forces endorses the event, which is this Sunday.” That first sentence should end it right there,,, but to often it does not.

In the last week, a media company removed controversial billboards which showed the title for Freedom Sunday, "America is a Christian Nation." http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2018/06/18/america-is-a-christian-nation-billboards-come-down-in-dallas-after-complaints/

Other media

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Foundation-Says-Dallas-Church-Should-Remove-Military-Seals-from-Its-Freedom-Sunday-Program--486204471.html

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2018/06/24/pentagon-forces-pastor-robert-jeffress-church-to-remove-military-seals-from-ad/

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/06/trumps-spiritual-advisor-busted-pentagon-illegally-using-military-seals-ads-church/

Starnes and MRFF

http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/2018/MRFF_Covered_By_Patheos%20and%20Raw%20Story.html

Like Sekulow, MRFF has a “storied” history with Starnes but for our purposed tonight, our interest is concerning his recent whinge RE Jeffress mentioned prior. https://www.toddstarnes.com/show/pentagon-tells-church-to-remove-military-seals-after-complain/

What makes this newsworthy, as MRFF notes, *Original Headline Read: "Pentagon Tells Church to Remove Military Seals After Atheist Group Complains". Revised Headline Reads: "Pentagon Tells Church to Remove Military Seals After Complaints" (Saturday, June 23, 2018). You see, recently MRFF had to send a cease and desist letter to Starnes to stop calling MRFF an “atheist” organization. It's really comic gold in the snark category, but obviously got the point across.

From the letter sent, https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018-06-25-Todd-Starnes-Fox-News-Network-wcorr.pdf

There was a time when I thought perhaps you were innocently confusing the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) with a separate, unrelated, organization by the name of Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF). You’ve no doubt seen their television commercials with President Reagan’s son, Ron. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is different. It is not an atheist organization. It is a secular civil rights advocacy organization of which approximately 96% of its current and retired armed forces clients are Christian as are about 80% of the Foundation staffers.

Given that this has occurred a number of times I would like to ask a favor. Would you please have someone in the Fox News legal department, preferably an attorney who knows something about the law of libel and slander, call me so that I can have a conversation with them about what in the world it is going to take to impress upon you the need to stop doing this.

Following, or about the same time (the time frames of when shit actually happened gets a bit blurry), this happened, in Todd Starnes’ new opinion piece on Foxnews.com, http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/07/19/todd-starnes-air-force-surrenders-to-demand-to-replace-bible-with-generic-book-faith-on-powmia-table.html the vocal detractor calls MRFF a “militant organization” rather than “atheist organization.” So the letter appears to have worked for the moment. But where Starnes goes into bizarro-land, he “urge[s] the Trump administration to defend the POW/MIA tables.” IOWs defy the Constitution.

Tweeting,

And stating in a subsequent OPed, “Let’s cut to the chase – President Trump needs to immediately intervene and put a stop to these ugly attacks from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.” https://www.toddstarnes.com/show/air-force-base-defends-replacing-bible-with-generic-book-of-faith/

Just to note, Starnes' over-the-top reaction also coincides with another MRFF victory in my home city of Buffalo. And just so people are aware, it is not the tables nor the symbolism of the tables MRFF and others are fighting against, it is the placement of the Bible. A point we will delve into a bit more later.

http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/2018/VA_Buffalo_Bibles_Removed_2018.html

Huckabee

You know this bloviating fucknut couldn't be too far behind in all this,,,

https://ijr.com/2018/07/1110936-mike-huckabee-air-force-bible/

“This is an issue I'd love to see the president interject himself into. I'd love to see him say, as commander in chief of the military, 'Put the Bible back on the table. Let's not be stupid about this.'”

As noted by Chris, now the FRC has chimed in,,,

___________________________________________________________________________________

So with that bit of house keeping out of the why we come to the crux of tonight's show – POW/MIA tables.

A thought I have concerning this apparent merging of narratives. It is well known that one of the Reich's tactic is to throw spaghetti on the wall and see what sticks – ie the various anti-LGBT bills we saw similar to the debacle in AZ kinda sorta ending with Pence's mess that initiated numerous corporate boycotts in IN. http://interestinghmm.blogspot.com/2015/10/lines-being-drawn-for-indianas-next.html. It is a tactic put forth by the pro-fetus organizations adopted by the anti-LGBT crowd and now appears to be trickling into the various military cases.

Now the SOCAS work MRFF has engaged in is very necessary. There are blatant violations, one would have to be a complete idiot not to see such IMO. But yet, the Reich's objects. Do you think, that these objections to the removal of the Bible (and Seals) are a new flavor of spaghetti?

The Beginning as I know it, (or I should say when I started to pay more attention). The MIA table issue “began” around 2016. As Chris notes the changing of the tradition began much much earlier,,,

2/25/16 - New Testament Bible Removed from Akron, OH VA POW/MIA Table http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/2016/Akron_VA_2-25-16.html

4/4/16 - New Testament Bible Removed from Youngstown, OH VA POW/MIA Table http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/Youngstown_VA_Victory_4_4_16.html

4/8/16 - New Testament Bible Removed from Wright Patterson AFB, OH POW/MIA Table http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/OHIO_HatTrick_4_8_16.html

4/11/16 - New Testament Bible Removed from Houston, TX VA POW/MIA Table http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/MRFF_4th_Victory_POW_MIA_4_11_16.html

4/19/16 - New Testament Bible Removed from Tobyhanna, PA VA POW/MIA Table http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/2016/TobyhannaArmyDepotPOW_MIA_4-19-16.html

9/16/16 - New Testament Bible Removed from Eglin AFB, FL Allergy Clinic Table https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/bibleRemoved_Eglin_USAFbase_9_16_16.html

10/18/16 - MRFF commends Chillicothe Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Athens Ohio, for prompt New Testament Bible removal from Medical Health Clinic http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/bibleRemoved_Athens_10_17_16V2.html

Nov 2017 - DENVER VA MEDICAL CENTER PROMPTLY REMOVES UNCONSTITUTIONAL BIBLE FROM "MISSING MAN TABLE!" https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/2017/DENVER_VA_MEDICAL_CENTER_REMOVES_BIBLE_NOVEMBER_2017.html

June 2018 - Group files IG complaint against Navy over Bible included in Okinawa POW/MIA display http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/2018/MRFF_Stars_Stripes_DodIG_June_2018.html

MRFF SENDS OFFICIAL DoD/IG COMPLAINT LETTER RE: OKINAWA NAVAL BASE; DEMANDS BIBLE REMOVAL https://www.stripes.com/news/group-files-ig-complaint-against-navy-over-bible-included-in-okinawa-pow-mia-display-1.534982

July 2018 - MRFF's Efforts Lead to Bible Replacement at F.E. Warren AFB, Special Thanks to Colonel Stacy J. Huser, Wing Commander of the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base (AFB) http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/2018/_Warren_Bible_Replaced_2018.html

July 2018 - MRFF's PERSISTENCE LEADS TO BUFFALO, NEW YORK's VA MEDICAL CENTER REMOVING UNAUTHORIZED BIBLES FROM POW/MIA TABLE! http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/2018/VA_Buffalo_Bibles_Removed_2018.html

The Okinowa and FEWarren issues seem to be the ones stuck in the Reich's craw. But as you can see, this is not a new issue concerning the tables.

What exactly is a POW/MIA table and when did it get it's start?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_man_table

The Missing Man Table is a place of honor, set up in military dining facilities of the U.S. armed forces and during occasions such as service branch birthday balls, in memory of fallen, missing, or imprisoned military service-members. The table serves as the focal point of ceremonial remembrance, originally growing out of US concern of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. From my understanding, the tables are only used at dine-in functions.

The original tradition of these tables started by the River Rats in 1967 did NOT include a Bible, and

neither does the American Legion's version, which sticks to the original tradition. We are not trying totake away a tradition, as the fundies are claiming to get their followers all outraged; we are trying to

RESTORE this tradition to the original one that honored POWs and MIAs of ALL religions or no religion.

General symbolism, although there are variations in some things that do not appear to this layman understanding to take away from the meaning.

Symbolism

This description is from Wiki for simplicity sake. Concecus sems to agree from othre readings with the only discrepancy being the inclusion of the Bible; which we will get to.

• Table: set for one, is small, symbolizing the frailty of one isolated prisoner.
• Tablecloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond to their country’s call to arms.
• Single red rose in the vase, signifies the blood that many have shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of America.
• The red ribbon (yellow ribbon for Air Force ceremonies) represents the love of our country
• Slice of lemon on the bread plate: represents the bitter fate of the missing.
• Salt sprinkled on the bread plate: symbolic of the countless fallen tears of families as they wait.
• Inverted glass: represents the fact that the missing and fallen cannot partake.
  
• Lit candle: reminiscent of the light of hope which lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors, to the open arms of a grateful nation.
  

• Empty chair: the missing and fallen aren't present.
  

Notice what is missing in that description?

That above description from my understanding is what the RiverRats intended when THEY began the tradition in 1967.

MRFF first filed a complaint about the display with Rear Adm. Paul Pearigen, Navy Medicine West commander, on April 5. The Navy later said it investigated the matter but found that including the Bible was “consistent with Department of the Navy and Department of Defense guidance, as well as the U.S. Constitution.”

,,,

The official Navy or Defense Department stance on Bibles being included in POW/MIA “Missing Man” table displays remains unclear. However, a report on the Navy’s website from 2014 describes the Bible as being an official part of the display. https://www.stripes.com/news/group-files-ig-complaint-against-navy-over-bible-included-in-okinawa-pow-mia-display-1.534982

In general news sources, things like some POW/MIA orgs, and the like there is nary a mention of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association ... River Rats is just their nickname ... and the organization still exists today. Its as if the guys never existed because they didn't worship like the theonuts in power so their contribution to the remembrance of are missing is of no consequence.


'America's White Table by Margot Theis Raven. The book explains why members of the military set a single white table in mess halls as a way to honor fallen or missing soldiers.

America's White Table, Jul 9 2005 | Video | C-SPAN.org https://www.c-span.org/video/?185999-1/americas-white-table Margot begins at the 10:17 mark reading from her book.

Okinawa Table

https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2018/06/anonymous-active-duty-u-s-armed-forces-member-and-mrff-client-shares-experience-with-bibles-on-fallen-soldier-tables/

If you remember, I mentioned Jay Sekulow, this is the bit where he comes into play

Trump’s lawyer and Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow, is so hot and bothered by MRFF’s fight in Okinawa, he had the ACLJ team put together a rambling 12-page letter of their own promoting bigoted religious favoritism — which includes plentiful,absolutely fake, and discredited historical statements and an enormous amount of inapplicable/bogus caselaw — it’s posted on their website’s front page! http://media.aclj.org/pdf/LTR-Garrison-7-2-18_Redacted.pdf

https://www.stripes.com/news/group-files-ig-complaint-against-navy-over-bible-included-in-okinawa-pow-mia-display-1.534982

http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/2018/MRFF_Demands_Navy_reconsider_decision_2018_april.htm

Show Notes:: Chris Rodda on Anti-LGBTQI Captain Sonny Hernandez

As you know we are  not a scripted show, so the dialogue will not follow this "outline". Due to the nature of the topic and the amount of material, I made notes for myself and co-hosts of what I hoped to cover and the material available for background information

Chris's original story appears here and here.

IMO::  At the heart of it, this is a SOCAS issue complicated by the inclusion of the military.  A point that will become clear as we talk.  What Hernandez advocates is Christian theocracy, or as I prefer Christian Sharia.  The mentality he promotes is no different than the more ardent forms of Islam; Daesh comes to mind.  It is a point many former and current military member have remarked to me and in comments of the various articles.  I am sure Chris is well aware of theses sentiments.  It is why MRFF is so important. (And by proxy Chris's work with Liars as this is a notion espoused by Barton.)

The controversy raises questions over the role of chaplains and where the boundaries lie between spiritual leadership and innate freedoms of religion and speech guaranteed under the Constitution that all service-members swear to “support and defend.”

In some strange ways, this issue also ties in with the current flap of DayGloMan v the NFL and the Pledge debacle in schools.

Q:: What is MRFF, who is Mikey, and what is your role?

Before we get going, as of Sunday night I have 40+ articles concerning the debacle and related issues with Hernandez.  This story has taken off like no one expected and I believe (OK I know) you and MRFF are a big reason as to why. (About fucking time the MSM didn't just blow MRFF.)  Q:: How do you feel about that notion, especially considering some of the public criticism (ie FOX news) that Mikey gets as well as MRFF?

So, this first point is one you open with in your article concerning the oath that Hernandez took but isn't there something in the Christian Bible, in Matthew about if you speak an oath you will be bound by it? Every person that enters military service in the US swears an oath to the US Constitution to protect and defend it. This so called Chaplin would have them break faith with their god. I'd ask, who is the one worshiping Satan?

Q::  So who is this Sonny Hernandez character?
Article in question (BarbWire)

• Misogynistic statements about the military having female chaplains, expressing his opinion that “women are not called to be pastors, and since a chaplain is supposed to be a pastor in uniform — it exposes their rebellion,” 
• “There is no such thing as transgenderism”

Background per MRFF

Some of the previous writings of Chaplain Hernandez, along with his “tag team” Bible-believing blogging buddy Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Dowty (a.k.a. the “Christian Fighter Pilot”), which led to MRFF’s filing of its initial DoD/IG complaint in April and other supplemental complaints, see these prior posts:

• “Christian Fighter Pilot” Jonathan Dowty Accuses First Lesbian Air Force Academy Commandant Of Being A Liar”
• “Will the Air Force Do Anything To Rein In Its Dynamic Duo of Gay-Bashing, Misogynistic Bloggers?”
• “The Glaring Double Standards Of The Air Force’s Most Homophobic, ‘Bible-Believing’ Chaplain”
• “Chaplain Who Said There’s ‘No Such Thing As Transgenderism’ Now Says Obeying Constitution Serves Satan”

Q::  Concerning his misogyny statements, Hernandez was writing as a blogger on Air Force Lt. Col. Jonathan Dowty's “Christian Fighter Pilot” blog.  Without getting too far into the rabbit hole, can you explain the import of this? 

Also mentioned, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/gay-bashing-chaplain-endo_b_13867166.html

[Dowty was the slime ball who went after Brig. Gen. Kristin Goodwin (then Select), who had been nominated to be the Air Force Academy’s next commandant of cadets, of being a liar. Dowty’s basis for this accusation? Goodwin graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1993, but the policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) wasn’t implemented until 1994. Therefore, according to Lt. Col. Dowty, Goodwin, who is a lesbian, must have lied about her sexual orientation in order to join the Air Force.]

So, our "benighted researcher", you seemed to really get under his skin in one particular article.  Q:: What makes Hernandez's "case" so important? Besides the fact he has been a thorn in MRFFs side 

http://christianfighterpilot.com/2017/06/27/us-military-continues-to-ignore-mikey-weinstein/ 
and
http://christianfighterpilot.com/2017/06/06/mrff-operates-in-the-red-takes-government-money-but-mikey-weinstein-profits/

He has flat out and very publicly instructed members of the U.S. military to disregard and disobey the Constitution.

In his article, Hernandez did nothing short of instructing service members to disobey the Constitution that they swore an oath to uphold, with statements such as these,,,

• Christian service members who openly profess and support the rights of Muslims, Buddhists, and all other anti-Christian worldviews to practice their religions — because the language in the Constitution permits — are grossly in error, and deceived.
• “There is no exegetical support, and no moral justification for any Christian service member to openly profess or support the alleged rights of anti-Christians. Christian service members must share the Gospel with unbelievers so they can be saved, not support unbelievers to worship their false gods that will lead them to hell.”

To layman eyes, the anti-LGBTQI stance and his misogyny aside, that really is not the issue here is it.  At least based on your response, "No, Chaplain Hernandez, the right to religious freedom is not just an “alleged” right, nor is this right something that the Constitution merely “permits.” It is a right that the Constitution mandates!"  Q::  Can you expand on that a bit as to exactly what you are referring to?

A third point that you note, "baffling them with bullshit".  I have read and re-read his supposed instructions to fellow Bible-believing chaplains and I can't make head or tails of it.

Therefore, if military chaplains are criticized by individuals for not accommodating all service members, and are told to resign from the military since they cannot care for all, just ask them this question: ‘Does the free exercise of religion apply to ‘all’ service members or only service members whose beliefs concur with yours?’ If the response is: ‘Military chaplains must provide for all or they are not fit to serve,’ they are now guilty of violating their own criteria of providing for all, since they are establishing a religion that requires every service member to accommodate evil even if their sincerely held convictions prohibit them from doing so. However, if they respond to the question by saying that the free exercise of religion is for ‘all,’ simply tell them: Thank you very much.

From what I can make of his statement, Hernandez is stating that HIS interpretation of HIS religiondictates that HE is allowed to and MUST discriminate against others HE deems less worthy.  Basically HIS interpretation of the Bile trumps the Constitution - which is against the oath he took when entering the service.  It's the "I'm Special" treatment that Kim Davis expected.

A point in an article from AFTimes. Don Byrd writing for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, states, that the idea of ”[d]enying the rights of non-Christians is an offense to American liberty. But it also undermines the strength of the Christian faith by suggesting it is threatened by a truly free conscience.  The success of a religion should not depend on the extent to which the rights of others are restricted.”  Basically Byrd underscores your contention that Hernandez publicly instructed members of the U.S. military to disregard and disobey the  Constitution.

MRFFs response
Initial complaint about Captain Hernandez was in April. It called for the chaplain to be investigated over a blog post titled: "How was Col Goodwin - an open homosexual - able to enter the Air Force?"  The complaint accused the chaplain of believing his "bigoted, homophobic, misogynistic" beliefs "take a higher precedence than the law and federal ethical standards".

In a response to the Friendly Atheist, you stated,  and I loved this,

Imagine if a Muslim chaplain tried to pull this shit. He’s be out of a job immediately — and cause Fox News to talk about Sharia Law for the next week. I would say imagine a Humanist chaplain doing the same… but there are none in the military. Meanwhile, Christians like Hernandez have plenty of power in the military and they want to make sure that no other religion gets any respect — even when all those soldiers share a mutual goal of protecting our country.

Which brings us to the crux of the matter, Hernandez's latest article "blatantly and indisputably advocates the subordinating of the U.S. Constitution to his personal Christian ideology and violated his Oath of Office as a commissioned officer, as well as Title 18, U.S. Code § 2387’s criminal prohibitions against counseling or urging insubordination, disloyalty, or ‘refusal of duty’ to other military members."

Complaints of military chaplains engaging in overtly sectarian behavior have doubled since Donald Trump became president, according to MRFF. The Hernandez piece was evidence of President Donald Trump emboldening the far fringes of the Christian right.

"America’s military members look to the president for direction and inspiration," he said. "Trump’s statements and actions have fully endorsed and validated this unbridled tidal wave of fundamentalist Christian persecution, which is now more inextricably intertwined into the very fabric of our Department of Defence than ever before."

Might be a good point to interject this observation, one in which you commented concerning Salon's comparison to Gordon Klingenschmitt.  Hernandez actually appeared on Klingeshmitt's "Pray in Jesus' Name" program.  I consider him a Klingenschmitt wannabe.

Salon writes,

Perhaps Hernandez is trying to horn in on the turf of Gordon Klingenschmitt, a former Navy chaplain, who currently is the most notable Christian nationalist chaplain. Klingenschmitt became a minor Religious Right celebrity after he unsuccessfully and falsely claimed that punishment he faced for engaging in political activity in uniform was somehow a religious persecution.
,,,
Klingenschmitt created a myth around himself that he was persecuted for trying to pray in the name of Jesus. After Klingenschmitt was removed from the Navy, he turned his fake story into a web and local television show. He later successfully ran for the Colorado House of Representatives, serving a single term, in the process becoming legendary within the state for his numerous erratic and offensive statements.

I have also posted quite a bit concerning the douchenozzle, ripping into his terrible understanding of the Bible.

AF response
As for the AF response , there seems to be some confusion which you address here,

And it is the statement made by Lt. Col. Gibson — that the Air Force is not conducting an investigation — that makes the Stars and Stripes article very misleading, and led many to wrongly believe that Chaplain Hernandez has been cleared. This is not the case. Although it is true that the Air Force is not conducting an investigation, that’s because it wasn’t the Air Force that was asked to conduct the investigation in the first place. The complaint, filed by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), was filed with the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD/IG), not the Air Force, so it is the DoD/IG that is conducting the investigation — an investigation that is still open and ongoing. (The Stars and Stripes article has now been corrected to correctly state that the complaint was filed with the DoD/IG, not the Air Force.)

Q:: Why is this important?
Initially reported by S&S that they were "standing behind" Hernandez's right to express his own views.

To wit Mikey responded,

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) and its legal counsel have reviewed the terribly erroneous Stars and Stripes article authored by its reporter Dianna Cahn released earlier this Tuesday evening and would like to make the following rebuttal. The second paragraph of the article incorrectly states, “The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which advocates on behalf of a pluralistic military with sharp separation of church and state, CALLED ON THE AIR FORCE TO INVESTIGATE HERNANDEZ after the chaplain called Christian servicemembers who give credence to other faiths ‘counterfeit Christians.’ At the very outset, let me emphasize that MRFF NEVER ‘called on the Air Force to investigate Hernandez.’ Indeed, we at MRFF long ago gave up expecting ANYONE in the Air Force to enforce its own regulations and the Constitutional mandates to separate church and state and guarantee religious equality within its own ranks.

Something you also replied to via FB,

I am sitting here right now writing something about this as quickly as I can, but for now please read Mikey's statement, which he wrote immediately upon our seeing this completely misleading and inaccurate article from Stars and Stripes last night. The article's inaccuracy makes it sound like Hernandez has been cleared by quoting an Air Force spokesman saying that the Air Force is not conducting an investigation. That's true -- the Air Force is not conducting an investigation. But there’s no reason it would be. Why? Because it wasn’t the Air Force that was asked to conduct the investigation in the first place! It was the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD/IG), not the Air Force, that MRFF's complaint against Hernandez was filed with, so it is the DoD/IG that is conducting the investigation — an investigation that is still open and ongoing.  (Stars and Stripes has now corrected its article to correctly state that the complaint was filed with the DoD/IG, not the Air Force.)

To which the S&S issued a correction, (a sloppy correction IMO),

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the agency to which the Military Religious Freedom Foundation filed its complaint. It was filed with the Department of Defense Inspector General. The story also mischaracterized a christianfighterpilot.com blog post that questioned the integrity of a newly promoted brigadier general. This story has been corrected.

But the best part is this,

You know how I posted the Stars and Stripes article about the Air Force clearing Hernandez from the other day was wrong, and wrote about it on HuffPo yesterday? Well. lookie lookie at what's on the front page of Stars and Stripes right now!

It seems the AF is investigating,

After initially denying an investigation, the Air Force said Friday that its inspector general’s office is reviewing complaints against reserve chaplain Capt. Sonny Hernandez, who proclaimed that Christian servicemembers are wrong to support the rights of other faiths to practice their religion, actions that he said will lead them to hell.

“I can confirm that the Air Force is reviewing IG complaints made against Chaplain Hernandez that were referred to the Air Force Inspector General’s office,” Air Force spokesman Col. Patrick Ryder said Friday. “At this time it would be inappropriate to comment on the nature of those complaints or speculate on potential outcomes.”

An Air Force Reserve spokesman said earlier this week that the service was not investigating Hernandez.

See also

Even FFRF has voiced there opinion,

As a military chaplain you have a duty to aid our service members in the free exercise of their religious beliefs. Accommodating the free exercise of religion is, in fact, your only job. Military chaplains exist to grant our service members access to a church or religious leader of their chosen religion while they live on base or travel overseas.

While the military chaplaincy has unnecessarily expanded and in many cases now provides redundant access to Christian chaplains in areas where private Christian churches are available, the justification for military chaplains nevertheless remains rooted — tenuous though those legal roots may be — in the constitutional principle of free religious exercise. Your call to openly disregard the Constitution is particularly hypocritical, given that the Constitution justifies your existence.

After the show Deb and I did a we bit of digging,

The Hernandez video we spoke of,,,  https://www.youtube.com/embed/xm_qN4ieCr4

Tennessee Temple University 
Is a TRACS accredited school, which IRL means nothing,

The organization was founded in 1979 to "promote the welfare, interests, and development of post-secondary institutions, whose mission is characterized by a distinctly Christian purpose."^[3] According to the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), TRACS is a "product of the ICR" and was created "Because of the prejudice against creation-science, outspoken creationist schools" that had "little or no chance of getting recognition through accreditation."^[5] TRACS requires all accredited schools to have a statement of faith that affirms "the inerrancy and historicity of the Bible" and "the divine work of non-evolutionary creation including persons in God's image".^[6]

Show Notes: Atheists on Air: Beyond the Trailer Park Ep. 108: Barton is at it Again! With Chris Rodda

Below are sections of the article we talked about.  What is is important, that our legislators are not making policy based on this charlatan and lying piece of shit.  Whether it be due to laziness or ignorance, this information needs to get out there.


Article we will be discussing:: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/history-advisor-to-members-…
Liars website:: http://www.liarsforjesus.com/index.html
Chris on HuffPost:: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/chris-rodda
Chris on Talk2Action:: http://www.talk2action.org/user/Chris%20Rodda
On Twitter:: https://twitter.com/ChrisRodda1

_____
Pseudo-historian David Barton, best known for his misquoting of our country’s founders to promote the notion that America was founded as a Christian nation, also has a habit of telling some pretty tall tales about his own life. There was his claim of being a college basketball star, his claim of having been a translator for the Russian women’s national gymnastics team, and most recently his claim of having an earned doctorate. But while most of Barton’s bio-embellishing claims have either been proven to be false or are so far-fetched that they are just impossible to believe, there is one that is unfortunately all too true – that he advises many members of Congress on historical subjects. This isn’t just another bogus claim made up by Barton to exaggerate his achievements and impress his audience. It has been repeatedly confirmed by members of Congress who have praised Barton by proclaiming that he is their go-to guy when they need historical examples to use in their arguments on current issues and legislation.

So, who are these members of Congress who run to David Barton when they need historical “facts” to justify their political agenda and legislation? Well, they are almost exclusively members of something called the Congressional Prayer Caucus, a House caucus founded in 2005 by former congressman Randy Forbes, with the help of David Barton — a caucus whose numbers have ranged from ninety to well over a hundred members since its founding.

If y'all may remember I posted a piece concerning Rick Saccone back in 2013 dealing with the want to include "In God We Trust" as a motto in PA schools.  At the time it was not to far removed from one of Forbes' faux paux from 2011,

[t]o understand the significance of undermining the motto, it is important to first understand our nation's rich spiritual history. The Founders acknowledged our nation's trust in God in our foundational document, the Declaration of Independence,,, [Emphasis mine]

Saccone seems to think that there is yet a crisis of national identity, confusion among Americans about their nation’s motto.  I will wager that the ideology (Christian Revisionist history put forth by David Barton) that forced Forbes into his erroneous statement also rules the mind of Saccone.  I will also wager that neither Forbes nor Saccone "know," or understand, the history behind the phrase beyond what fits into their personal or political agendas.

Q::  Can you touch on again, as I know in our previous talks we have hit this point, why the DOI is not a legal document in the manner the Reich so wants it to be? (We didn't hit on this point but still important!)

The sole purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to dissolve the legal ties between the colonies and Great Britain; once that goal was achieved, the official role of the Declaration was finished.  As I noted, Daulton Dickey in his piece sums it up quite well.

,,,a significant voting bloc that bases its positions and voting decisions on the Bible and the notion that America is a Christian nation, whether it’s on the obvious church/state separation issues or any of the other various issues, such as women’s reproductive rights, gay rights, climate change, etc., in which the personal religious beliefs of these lawmakers are the deciding factor in their opinions and how they vote.

Q:: What exactly is the Congressional Prayer Caucus, what is their influence and how wide is this influence?  I know they have been highlighted in many of your writings concerning the "National Day of Prayer".

,,,But what people need to understand is that Barton and his disciples in Congress believe that the answer to any question or problem facing America today can be found in the Bible. For example, the description on Barton’s radio show website for one of Pence’s appearances in 2008 was: “Today, David Barton, Rick Green [Barton’s co-host], and Congressman Mike Pence discuss Biblical principles in regards to the energy debate.” Yeah, that’s right — even something as completely unrelated to religion as energy policy can somehow be based on “Biblical principles”!

Q::  Rhetorical, as I know the answer and I am sure others do as well.  How dangerous is Mike Pence?

I think what is important to realize, and it is a point you make - the Reich distorts American history to make it fit their agenda.  Agenda, being the key word.  Q::  While their agenda is blatantly obvious to us, in a few words - I'm thinking just one - what is this agenda?

Q::  Again, for the sake of redundancy, what is a theocracy or theocratic rule?

On a recent episode of his radio show, titled “Immigration: What Founding Fathers Of America Thought About It,” Barton attempted to make the bizarre case that immigration was really a state, and not a federal, issue, actually saying that “the feds didn’t have all that much to do with immigration; the states did.” He also claimed that, while the founders “were absolutely okay with people immigrating from anywhere,” there were “certain requirements you had to meet when you got here.” And what were these requirements according to Barton’s convoluted arguments? That immigrants assimilate by learning to speak English and, of course, be Christian. To support his claim that immigration in the days of the founders was a state and not a federal issue, Barton used a so-called quote from Jefferson — a quote that he had previously used in an article on his website to argue that the federal government had no business being involved in healthcare, but is now using for immigration as well as healthcare.

The meat of Chris' article (see attached article),,,

The problem with Barton’s so-called Jefferson quote? Well, Jefferson wasn’t talking about immigrants. He wasn’t even talking about ships coming to America from other countries. He was talking about the exact opposite — ships that were sailing from America to Europe!

The quote that Barton butchers so completely to make it say the exact opposite of what Jefferson was actually talking about comes from Jefferson’s 1805 message to Congress (what we today call the State of the Union address).

The role of the yellow fever epidemic

So, you see what Barton did, with his typical complete audacity, to change the last sentence of the above quote to transform Jefferson’s words about ships sailing from America to Europe into a so-called Jefferson quote about immigrants coming to America?

Barton’s version:

    “The federal government is to certify with the exact truth for every vessel sailing in from a foreign port the state of health on that vessel, which prevails from which country she sails …”

What Jefferson really said:

    “I have strictly enjoined on the officers at the head of customs to certify with exact truth, for every vessel sailing for a foreign port the state of health respecting this fever which prevails at the place from which she sails.”

Healthcare

As you can see, Jefferson very clearly said that addressing the issue of yellow fever was both a state and a federal matter, most obviously because the federal government had authority under the Constitution over both interstate and international commerce, which the big healthcare crisis of that era was certainly affecting. But, more importantly, look at Jefferson’s words in the last sentence of the above quote — “Although the health laws of the States should be found to need no present revisal by Congress …” Clearly, by the words “revisal by Congress,” Jefferson was saying that the federal government did have the authority to overrule the health laws of the states if the state laws were inadequate to protect the national interests.

And Jefferson wasn’t the first president to be of this opinion. In his 1798 message to Congress, John Adams, who also made the issue of yellow fever epidemics his first order of business, called on Congress to establish regulations “in aid of” the health laws of the individual states, also citing the Constitution’s commerce clause as the authority to do so (emphasis added),,,

Why is this important?

But David Barton, by his blatant butchering of Jefferson’s words to create a fake Jefferson quote about immigration, and further misquoting Jefferson by leaving out the part where Jefferson said that this health crisis was both a state and a federal issue, has, in his typical fashion, created just the kind of perfect (and perfectly bogus) founding fathers’ quote that his disciples, both in Congress and elsewhere, count on him to provide them with.

And, while the fact that we have many members of our Congress relying on David Barton for their historical information is frightening enough, there is something even more scary than that. As I wrote quite a bit about in my most recent book, Barton’s brand of Christian nationalist history has already made it into our public schools via the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (NCBCPS) curriculum, a curriculum chock full of Barton’s history lies (not surprising since Barton is on the NCBCPS’s advisory board), with this Barton-inspired curriculum already being taught in 2,900 public high schools in 39 states according to the NCBCPS website. But it gets worse than that. Barton has now come out with a new history curriculum, set to be released this August, which is also potentially destined to end up in our public schools.

To get more information concerning the issue in TX - remember how TX and CA swing with regards to education has significant impact nationwide

TFN https://www.facebook.com/TexasFreedomNetwork/

• http://tfn.org/david-barton-watch/

January 7, 2016::End of the day round-up (pg 2)

Agricultural Anti-GMO Activism is Probably Not About the Technology At All

A common explanation among many supporters of agricultural biotechnology is that anti-GMO activism is driven by money. That is undoubtedly true in many cases – for example, organic or ‘natural food’ marketers who have supported anti-GMO campaigns in an attempt to increase sales. It’s true for companies like Genetic ID which find it profitable to test crops and foods for GMO content, while at the same time aggressively supporting anti-GMO campaigns and GMO/non-GMO food product labelling.

In this category we can place some more traditional food marketers eager to exploit a marketing niche. The Chipotle Mexican Grill Company is a high-profile example.

But this is far from true for all anti-GMO campaigners – either individuals or multinational NGOs. Greenpeace, for example, may have attracted additional donations because of its campaign against Golden Rice, but the same effort has also cost it serious credibility in the broader context. Is Greenpeace really that callous to third-world blindness? How can you trust what Greenpeace says on climate change when the same group destroys GM crop plots in The Philippines while seeking extended bans because of insufficient field data.
,,,
The positions of major NGOs on GMOs and climate change are quite consistent if one considers that the real issue is not opposition to GM technology, but rather to large petro/chemical companies. Large petro/oil companies commonly profit from fossil fuel usage; therefore policies which mean reduced fossil fuel usage are applauded. Large chemical/bio companies benefit from GMO crop technology; therefore, GMO crops are opposed.

Dr Karl Kruszelnicki's science conundrums: How healthy is coconut water?

When coconut water was first introduced in the US as a Superfood in the early 2000s, it was claimed to have the power to fight kidney disease, osteoporosis and viruses. <--Red flag

However, dieticians shot down these incorrect claims. Other false claims for "Mother Nature's Sports Drink" include the ability to cure hangovers, slow the ageing process, and simultaneously lower your weight, blood pressure and cholesterol.

The worldwide financial spend on coconut water in 2013 was nearly half-a-billion dollars – sold on supermarket shelves, and in yoga studios and gyms. It is being heavily pushed as a rehydration liquid for athletes and lovers of natural food.

Sure, when you sweat, you lose water, sodium and lots of minerals. But studies have shown that coconut water is about as good at rehydrating you as generic sports drinks or – wait for it – tap water.

The false marketing claim that it is superior as a rehydration liquid to sports drinks was withdrawn in the US after a class action lawsuit in 2011.

NEW!! Liars For Jesus: The Religious Right's Alternate Version of American History, Vol. 2 Chris Rodda, Ed Brayton (Foreword)

Cruz Launches Homeschool Coalition Led By 'Christian Patriarchy' Adherent

Ted Cruz made an effort to win over an influential subgroup of conservative evangelicals this week, announcing the formation of a “Homeschoolers For Cruz” coalition. While an estimated 1.8 million children in the U.S. are homeschooled, Cruz is aiming at a very specific segment of these: the politically powerful Christian conservative homeschooling movement.

Indiana GOP’s ‘Heartbeat Act’ Would Ban Abortion at Six Weeks

Indiana’s 2016 legislative sessions began this week, and one Indiana lawmaker has introduced legislation that would prohibit abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which could be as early as six weeks’ gestation.

Sponsored by state Sen. Jim Banks (R-Columbia City), SB 144 would make it a felony to “perform or induce an abortion before determining whether the unborn human individual has a detectable heartbeat,” and after a heartbeat has been detected.

The proposed bill would modify Indiana’s current ban on abortions at 20 weeks post-fertilization.

Theodore Shoebat Wants Blasphemers Burned At The Stake To Prevent Cannibalism

"That stuff cannot be tolerated," he explained, "because as soon as you allow attacks on Christianity to be enabled and to thrive, then the Christian spirit begins to decay, it begins to decline and all sorts of moral evils take place like public acts of sodomy, public acts of desecration and degenerate behavior and murder. It just spirals and it goes on and on and pretty soon you have cannibalism, pretty soon you have bestiality and pedophilia."

Meet David Barton — the Evangelical Quack “Historian” Exposed as the Fake He Is

Although I have previously posted concerning Julie Ingersoll's book “Building God’s Kingdom: Inside the World of Christian Reconstruction”this excerpt provided by Frank Schaeffer is an eye opener.  Delving into the mind of Barton can be a dangerous thing, but Ingersoll does a wonderful job of explaining how and why Barton thinks the way he does.

My only caveat, while I appreciate the work of Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter, they are not the first, nor the only individuals responsible for exposing Barton for the liar he is.  In 2006 Chris Rodda published Liars For Jesus: The Religious Right's Alternate Version of American History, Vol. 1 followed by Debunking David Barton's Jefferson Lies: #2 - Jefferson Founded a Secular University in 2012 and Debunking David Barton's Jefferson Lies: #5 - Jefferson Advocated a Secular Public Square. During that time period, beginning in 2010, Chris also produced a series of videos that countered the crap Barton was spewing on Glen Beck.  Though a bit dated, the information is still relevant as Barton as still regurgitating the same lies. Chris is currently working on a fourth book addressing more of Barton's bullshit

There is perhaps no better example of Christian Reconstructionist influence on the broader culture than the work of Tea Party “historian” David Barton. Barton does not explicitly identify as a Christian Reconstructionist, and Christian Reconstructionists would not claim him as one of their own.Barton does have ties to several Reconstructionist groups, including the Providence Foundation; he occasionally cites the work of Rousas Rushdoony and promotes views on race and slavery that are rooted in Rushdoony. While Barton doesn’t use the language of theonomy or postmillennialism, as we will see, he speaks of dominion, biblical law, the necessity of bringing every area of life under the lordship of Christ, and sphere sovereignty of biblically ordained institutions. He embraces the whole range of political views advocated by Reconstructionists from the right-to-life and creationism to more narrowly held positions on issues such as the history of slavery and opposition to the Federal Reserve System. As we shall see, the approach to history that has made Barton famous is rooted in Rushdoony’s biblical philosophy of history.
,,,
Barton’s work has been the subject of extensive critique by bloggers, reporters, and other critics, some of whom are scholars publishing peer-reviewed critiques, but, for the most part, scholars have not devoted a lot of attention to debunking his claims. Beginning in about 2011, two conservative Christian professors from Grove City College, Warren Throckmorton, professor of psychology, and Michael Coulter, professor of humanities and political science, published a critique of Barton’s The Jefferson Lies entitled Getting Jefferson Right: Fact Checking Claims about Our Third President. The book was received well by scholars, and the authors’ credentials as conservative Christians undermined Barton’s defense that criticism of his work was ideological rather than factual. The Jefferson Lies was withdrawn by its publisher. One might expect under the weight of such resounding rejection, Barton would disappear into obscurity. Yet Barton’s supporters remain as devoted as before. Criticism from scholars (whether Christian or not) is dismissed as liberal, socialist, and even pagan. Discredited in the larger culture, Barton remains influential in the conservative Christian subculture.
,,,
Many look at the US Constitution and see little mention of religion and wonder how conservative Christians can insist that it is a template for a Christian nation. But Barton is careful to speak, instead, of our “original national founding documents.” For Barton and his followers, the Declaration of Independence, though never ratified and carrying no legal authority, has the same status as the Constitution.   [<--a point I have a tendency to harp on]
,,,
For him the Constitution represents a consensus—as though there is a singular view that can be attributed to “the founders.” Barton’s style of reading the Constitution is modeled on his style of reading the Bible, which he also treats as a coherent document that can be read from start to finish to yield a clear, undisputed, objective meaning, instead of a collection of fragmented texts written over a very long period of time in different cultures, assembled into larger texts, then chosen from an even larger collection of texts in a political process, translated from ancient languages, and finally interpreted in different ways by different communities. Every stage of that process continues to be profoundly disputed by scholars, and there is always an interpretative framework (albeit all too often an unrecognized one) underlying any reading of it. While the US Constitution is a newer document, and it is therefore somewhat less difficult to discern its meaning(s), the fact remains that it is the product of hard-fought compromise among leaders, bound in time and culture, who profoundly disagreed with each other. There is no reason to believe they thought they were writing a sacred text to which all subsequent generations of Americans were bound by a process that amounts to divining a singular “intent.”

Meet David Barton — the Evangelical Quack “Historian” Exposed as the Fake He Is

U.S. Senate Gives Black Eye to House Fundamentalist Christians

I have been staring at the same three articles for about an hour now trying to make sense of them.  I am failing miserably.

This first piece is in regards to John Flemming's reaction to the failure to pass his version (the Flemming Amendment) of the NDAA. "that essentially seeks to give military service members the right to engage in anti-gay discrimination under the guise of protecting religious liberty.."

Warning that liberal activists are seeking to "expand secularism, humanism, atheism to limit your First Amendment right of speech not only in the military but elsewhere," Fleming said that conservative Christians must remain vigilant and work to expand protections for their religious liberty.

"With the next NDAA, we hope to strengthen our language even more," he said, "because we'll have both a Senate and a House Republican majority. So we'd really like to expand upon the language we already have in the NDAA that protects First Amendment speech and also protects atheist chaplains"

The second article is a 2013 piece by Senior Research Director Chris Rodda of MRFF, who gives some much needed background on the NDAA fight (FY 2014) and who** is behind this drive for legislating discrimination in the military

The attached is from MRFF's Mikey Weinstein.  It is his reaction to the failure of the Flemming Amendment passing:

The U.S. Senate has courageously just stood up to the Christian-supremacist bullies in the House of Representatives. Oh yes, the Senate has just completely ripped away from their religiously bigoted, House counterparts a would-be treasured bible-thumping bonanza of immeasurable, unconstitutional proselytization.  This erstwhile prize of legislative plunder had been specifically designed by these Congressmen and Congresswomen from the House, in nefarious collaboration with their legions of fundamentalist Christian parachurch allies, to be embedded deep within the confines of the 2015 Pentagon authorization/funding act.

Fortunately, the plan by these Christian crusader Members of the House failed. Please let me briefly explain, my friends.

[,,,]
In what we can only describe as an amazing early holiday present for servicemembers, Constitutional loyalists, and those who value the separation of Church and State, an obscure, but extremely detrimental amendment to the House-passed H.R. 4435 version of the bill “miraculously” disappeared from the final version of the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (FY2015 NDAA). If the House had its way, next year’s Federal roadmap for America's armed forces would have included the following painfully ugly provision designated as "Section 525” in the Hoped-for House version:

“…if called upon to lead a prayer outside of a religious service, a military chaplain may close the prayer according to the traditions, expressions and religious exercises of the endorsing faith group.”

[,,,]
As I have said many times in many places for many years, in the U.S. armed forces you may have mandatory formations and you may have religious formations but you CANNOT have mandatory, religious formations.

Luckily for us, the United States Senate took the side of the U.S. Constitution, its construing Federal and state case law in conjunction with DoD directives, instructions and regulations. Further, the Senate obviously and carefully considered U.S. national security as well as the compelling governmental interest in optimizing the unit cohesion, mission readiness, good order, morale, and discipline of our valued armed forces members.

U.S. Senate Gives Black Eye to House Fundamentalist Christians 
_____
**(American Family Association, American Values, Alliance Defending Freedom, Center for Military Readiness, Center for Security Policy, Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, Citizens for Community Values, Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, Family PAC Federal, Freedom Alliance, Freedom X, Heritage Foundation, International Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers (ICECE), Judicial Watch, Liberty Center for Law and Policy, Liberty Counsel, Liberty Institute, Media Research Center, Military-Veterans Advocacy, Ohio Faith and Freedom Coalition, Patriotic Veterans, Stand Up America, Thomas More Law Center, The Oak Initiative, Traditional Values Coalition

ADDENDUM::RADIO – THE RICK SMITH SHOW – Rick Smith w/ Chris Rodda | Military Religious Freedom Foundation - Protecting the Constitutional Guarantee of Separation of Church and State in the United States Military

Chris Rodda, Senior Research Director for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation talks about her Huffington Post article on religion and the ROTC at Wheaton College as well as the influence of the Reich Dominionists, Quiverfull and Shepherding and how it fits together.

RADIO – THE RICK SMITH SHOW – Rick Smith w/ Chris Rodda | Military Religious Freedom Foundation - Protecting the Constitutional Guarantee of Separation of Church and State in the United States Military

See also:

Bonnie Weinstein's book mentioned by Chris,,,