http://www.al.com/huntsvilletimes/stories/index.ssf?/base/living/119159190395050.xml&coll=1 GODLESS SOLDIERSMany soldiers say they face harassment from Christian comradesBy KAY CAMPBELLkay.campbell@htimes.com In the midst of their fight to bring freedom to Iraq and Afghanistan, some American soldiers are finding their own freedoms threatened by the troops on their own side.Though the U.S. Constitution mandates that the government apply no test of faith for employment – and, one presumes, deployment – of American citizens, soldiers who are open about being non-believers can face harassment and ostracizing from fellow troops and their officers, some say.”We didn’t let anyone know we were atheists,” said Steve Moore of Huntsville, who served two tours in Iraq as an Army staff sergeant.Moore and his wife, Renee, also an Army veteran, were taking a break a couple of weeks ago from packing goody boxes for non-believing soldiers for the project Operation Foxhole Atheist sponsored by the North Alabama Freethought Association.”We didn’t want any stigma to thwart our career,” Moore said. “There is nothing more frightening than a radical fundamentalist with an assault rifle.”
I wonder if Johnson does this by bashing other faiths…?
From the article:
“We’re fighting the Christian Taliban, pure and simple,” said Hall’s attorney, Mikey Weinstein, speaking by phone Monday from his Albuquerque office.
Weinstein is an Air Force veteran and founder of Military Religious Freedom Foundation. His 2006 book, “With God on Our Side: One Man’s War Against an Evangelical Coup in America’s Military,” will be issued in paperback this fall.
Since Weinstein, a lifelong Republican who served in the Reagan White House as a legal counselor, began his campaign for religious freedom in the military, he has received regular death threats by phone and e-mail. Dead dogs have been dumped in his yard. The front window of his home in Albuquerque has been shot out. Twice.
Weinstein’s foundation has received reports of religious intimidation from more than 6,000 troops, including from liberal Christians being harassed for not being “Christian enough.”
Death threats, dead dogs thrown in a man’s yard, windows shot out- all because someone doesn’t share the same beliefs as you and is also trying to protect the rights of others who hold different beliefs?
Yep, sounds like the Christian Taliban to me.
Truly shameful!
I wonder if phreedum supports those practices?
From the article, “In a 2005 New York Times story on the growing numbers of evangelical and charismatic Christian chaplains in the armed forces, Chaplain Brig. Gen. Cecil Richardson said, “We will not proselytize, but we reserve the right to evangelize the unchurched.”
WTF is the army wasting taxpayer money on a “brig. gen.” chaplain for? What possible use could this dipshit be?
Phreedm has often argued that the US is a Christian nation. He likes to claim that based on the majority of the population being Christian. He also seems to think it reflects poorly on AA and the ACLU when they attempt to keep religious symbols out of courthouses and protect freedom of speech for everyone.
I conclude that he is very much in sympathy with making the government and the country more Christian. All that is left to determine is whether in his mind this ‘end’ justifies using unpleasant ‘means’ against everyone whose beliefs differ from his.
He’s certainly not above using dishonest debating tactics and obvious lies, so who knows?
Well ellipsis… What do you say? Love Him or leave?
I like Phreedum. Most of the time, I have no idea what he’s talking about to be honest. I read the articles he links to and they seem to either prove the opposite point or be totally irrelevant. But, it’s better for me to engage him on this site than any other place. I can always walk away and get a coffee before I respond. Despite our growing ranks, I’m afraid that atheists are still an oppressed minority. We can’t go around thinking that everyone is going to change overnight and stop believing in magic. So, we are stuck with a population of Phreedums. At least we get plenty of practice at it, in an environment that we can control.
In one of the last posts Mr. Silverman said, “Don’t feed the trolls!”, but anyone who has run a blog knows that you can just delete the comments or block users if you really want. Phreedum is still here because we need him. He provides entertainment, gets us all fired up, and represents the views of a lot of people.
(Unless you say anything Phreedum, I’m going to assume you are male.)
Correction: There is nothing more frightening (to a career, Non-Christian soldier) than a radical fundamentalist as your rater or senior rater on your NCOER or OER.
For those of you unschooled in the military, OERs and NCOERs are the report cards given to every soldier above a certain rank, and they are used to decide who to promote by a board of unknown members that meet secretly to promote a predetermined number of soldiers from each job specialty, to the next rank.
Years ago, people would wear their Masonic jewelery, with the intention of any Masons on the board would look favorably at a fellow Mason. I don’t know when they stopped that practice, but you can no longer wear affiliation acoutraments in official DA Photos. It must have been a problem, at least perceived as such, or they would not have changed the reg’s.
And how is that not proselytizing? I seriously think that most xians don’t even know what the word ‘hypocrisy’ means.
We all knew that this kind of stuff was going to happen since we have an idiot-in-chief who is a born-again.
Funny, but the only people who were the most dishonest to me and others around me were born-agains.
Guess none of us read that business about doing unto others clear to the end. Must contain an exception for atheists.
Did anyone see Bill O’Reilly completely go nuts on Friday over the two “Militant Gays” in church? It really was quite entertaining.
I’m guessing, since he has so much love for the troops, that he’ll equally flip out when he gives this story his “”Fair and Balanced” treatment all this week. Then we can see Bernie, Jane, Dennis Miller and the body language expert give their outrage as well. Don’t worry, they got our backs.
Oh hello Abe Lincoln and cute little rodent…
What exactly was the story on “militant gays” in church about? Is it on You Tube?
It’s right here, first one under “Factor Features”:
http://www.foxnews.com/oreilly/index.html
Talk about a persecution complex!
“This story is huge, IT’S HUGE!”
Nodster,
Saw it! I don’t watch him often, but he never fails to entertain. What a nimrod.
Billy O’ says
Like the Catholic church needs help from anybody when it comes to demeaning xianity.
Exactly what I was going to say.
Yes, Bill. We’re militant now. First, we enter your church quietly and harm absolutely no one. But soon, we will be dressing your pets in DRAG! AHAHA! Our only aspiration is to be as militant as those trouble-causing atheists!
Isn’t fucking kids demeaning to the catholic cult?
Yeah, a couple of peaceful drag queens showing up in church are the real threat to the faith.
“This story is huge, IT’S HUGE!”
I love how the guest laughs when Bill O first goes barmy.
Demeaning to Catholics:
1. Pedophilia scandal
2. Affiliation with military dictatorships…The church + General Francisco Franco = a “moral” society.
3. A pope who smirks at the AIDS epidemic in Africa
4. Women in El Salvador forced to undergo gynecological examinations at local police stations if accused/suspected of a uterine cleansing (abortion).
5. A history of torture in Latin America
6. Blatant thievery
7. Support of slavery justified as “evangelism”
8. The murder (execution??) of Federico Garcia Lorca for being gay
There is so much more…
Bill O now says that the drag queens in the church is the worst thing to happen in a century to the church! Hysterical, much? I thought priests who fuck little kids and then cover it up was the worst thing in this century.
Maybe they corrupted the church building so that none of the congregation will have any hope of getting to heaven.
Perhaps the building is now possessed and needs to get exorcised.
Observations of a former Catholic schoolgirl expelled by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart:
1.A couple of drag queens in the congregation adds flavor to the whole DOUR event. The drag queens were probably better dressed than 99.9% of the sanctimonious Sunday crowd which is known to parade in pleated Dockers with haircuts that would make God cry.
2.Drag queens don’t wear glittery kitten sweaters with HUGE crosses.
3.Besides, isn’t the priest in drag as well??? It’s all theatrics. Drag queens are part of the event as much as the communion wine.
4. The drag queens are probably just goddamn tired of being bullied.
I find it fascinating that no one is standing up for the First Amendment…?
So let me get this straight…it’s ok for any “militant” to disrupt any groups meeting…?
So if christian militants crashed AA’s party in Seattle…all of you would have supported the crashers…?
Somehow I doubt it…
Again…so much for tolerance, respect and “justifying” outrageous behavior…I guess this is what atheists call “taking the high road”…
Did the drag queens have guns? Did they take hostages? What are they accused of doing, that could possibly be called “militant”?
I hear the “militant atheist” phrase too. I have never heard even a rumor of Richard Dawkins opening fire on a church. This seems to be a way to further vilify anyone who is different. If you are not in the majority and use your RIGHT of free speech, you are labeled militant. Fear mongering at it’s best.
Phreedm,
If Christian militants were to FINALLY ditch those hideous 80’s glittery kitten sweaters with puffy sleeves and don spiked heels, Prada bubble skirts along with the latest in Hugo Boss sequined tank tops in order to crash an AA convention…I would personally welcome them and share my lipstick! Heck, I’d applaud their courage.
Just messin’ with ya…LOL!
phreedum,
There was no disruption. The drag queens were quiet and were only upsetting to xians because of the way that they were dressed.
If xians would like to quietly attend any atheist meeting wearing religiously themed dressed I would have no problem with it.
Face it, you are just pissed off becasue xians are losing their priveleged place in society and being challenged to justify their beliefs and actions. The future belongs to secularism.
jshanewhit
Yes indeed! The histrionic religious right throws around terms like “militant atheist” all the while supporting an unprovoked military strike an Iraq.
Comment from: phreedm [Member]
I wonder if Johnson does this by bashing other faiths…?
No I do not bash other faiths. All I did was relay a few personal experiences. What exactly about my quotes in this article make you think that I or the organization I founded bashes other’s faiths? Unless you’re one of those who believes our refusal to be silent and invisible constitutes “bashing”…
Kathy Johnson
Kathy Johnson,
Yes, welcome to reality. Phreedump is having a tizzy fit because we do not agree with him, as many fundamentalist of any kind will do. Somehow using free speech scares the sh*t out of them. They fear free speech and open debate more than death, and they fear that much more than any atheist I have ever met. Just the way thing are, they fear being equal, because they have been given special treatment for so long. Justice means a loss to them. They feel threatened by justice, and they should.
If you will not cover for them and look the other way, you are a threat.
Hello Kathy…
First let me thank you for your service to our country…I for one do not subscribe to the rhetoric and hatred, that’s commonly spouted on this blog about our military…
My comment was actually a dig towards Dave…
I commend you on choosing the high road, and using education to inform others about atheists, rather then “bashing other religions” (as Dave and Peter constantly do).
It’s a well known fact that those who build themselves up by tearing others down are actually the insecure ones…
as the previous post makes my point…
The Washington Post had a great front page article about our military yesterday. (Sunday) I hope you got a chance to read it.
Thanks again…for all you have done…and all you will continue to do…
with deep regards…Phreedm
Comment from: Barbiebrains
Now that was funny…I’ll bet you’re a riot at a party…
As to supposed “Catholic bashing”, it is hard to find anything good that Catholics have ever done.
Certainly the death and destruction far outweigh the few acts of kindness you might find.
Historical question: who was responsible for probably the biggest single case of church burning, and church bashing, in history? When and where?
Just one event, not things like the Hundred Years War or the Thirty Years War. Answer later.
The future does belong to secularism and to the pro-sex flip side…
Free yourself from glittery kitten sweaters and equally grotesque nutcrackers…
This is churchwear 2007…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/radmike/313676744/
Cat sweater…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ksmcneill/302522379/
Back to the topic..
I guess the military better not press this christianity business too much…
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10420
You may someday find that there are ONLY atheists in foxholes.
Forget Atheists in Foxholes… I want to see more conscripts in foxholes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/15/AR2007101500841.html
Well, no one took up my challenge. But the answer is, I think, the Catholic Crusaders in 1204 who sacked the city of Constantinople. They looted, and then burned, and massacred men, women, and children. Killing priests and burning churches was also part. Apparently the Greek Orthodox xians were not xian enough for the Roman Catholic true xians.
Or maybe that was just an excuse and they were only in it for the loot.
bernarda,
I didn’t take you up on your challenge, because I was unable to find the answer. But I was waiting impatiently for your answer.
I actually thought it might have been those college students in Alabama (I think) that burned down 6 churches over the course of a couple of weeks a few years ago.
Phreedm,
This one is for you.
Got it Ren…I will study up on in to try and understand…
Thanks…
phreedm@yahoo.com
What the hell! There are way mor radical MOSLEM fundamentalists with guns who aren’t shy about blowing themselves upto kill children ! Face reality!
Yes Jimmy, the christians tend to use delivery systems that don’t require blowing themselves up. I seriously doubt the children that are killed really care one way or the other.
Jimmy,
What would you do if your country was invaded and you were subjugated without hope of ever being free because you happened to live on top of a resource that the invading army wanted?
Don’t even say it’s not about oil, because if it weren’t, we would be in Darfur, Sudan where Genocide is happening right now, not twenty years ago when they were our allies.
Question: How do you stop an enemy tank with a rifle?
Answer: You put the rifle down and you build IEDs and VBEDs instead.
Question: Who didn’t see that coming?
Answer: The Bush administration and 80% of Americans.
I watched a program on the military channel recently about soldiers on patrol in Iraq. One of the NCO’s made the statement that he didn’t mind fighting the enemy face to face like men, but he was scared to death of IEDs and said that those that planted them were cowards.
The very next program dealt with the new GPS guided MLRS that carries several different warheads and can kill anything from troops in the open, to command and control centers… from 60 miles away. Now I ask you: Who are the cowards?
If you are under 42 yrs of age and have only one felony conviction, you can get up to $40,000 to sign up for the Army. Be my guest! Tell ‘em I sent you and I can even get $1,000 for the referal. (Actually I cannot since I am no longer in the Army, but you can give them my wife’s name!)