Guest Editorial
By Capt. Joseph R. John | NOVEMBER 11, 2015
President Ronald Reagan had a strong Christian faith
The current occupant in the oval office has been hostile toward Christians in the military
“The First Amendment was not written to protect people and their laws from religious values, it was written to protect those values from government tyranny.” ~ Ronald Reagan
For 239 years, every Commander-in-Chief protected the Religious Freedom and Speech of members of the US Armed Forces and the profound religious beliefs of Chaplains, guaranteed to every American by the US Constitution and The Bill of Rights.
Obama is the first occupant of the Oval Office who has not done so and violated the trust of American citizens!! His civilian appointees in Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs have been violating the Freedom of Religion and the Freedom of Speech for members of the US Armed Forces and for patients in VA Hospitals. They have been perpetrating the “government tyranny” President Reagan warned America about:
1) February 2912—Catholic Chaplains have had their Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion violated by being forbidden from reading letters to parishioners from their Archbishops and Cardinals in the pulpit in Chapel on Sundays.
2) Military personnel have been prevented from having Bibles on their desks in their work places.
3) September 2011 – The Army issues guidelines for Walter Reed Medical Center stipulating that “No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading materials and/or facts) are allowed to be given away or used during a Chaplains visit
4) April 2012 – US Air Force Base Commanders will no longer use checklists for Air Force Inns that would require ensuring a Bible is available in each room for those residents who may want to refer to one, as they once did routinely.
5) The US Air Force has removed “So help me God” from all its oaths.
6) VA Chaplains have be ordered to cover up the alter, crosses, and pictures of Christ with the curtains used to separate sick patients beds in VA hospitals by Obama appointees in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
7) Army Ranger Chaplain Joseph Lawton was brought up on charges for using verses for recommending the Psalms of David in the Scripture to comfort PTSD sufferers in Suicide Awareness & Prevention Classes he taught, explaining it gave him comfort when he was dealing with depression.
8) Chaplains are directed to violate their well held religious beliefs by forcing them to allow same sex marriage ceremonies be performed in their Chapels.
9) An on-line military Equal Opportunity Course at the Pentagon made the startling claim that the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, and the US Constitution all contribute to modern sexism; when complaints were filed, the courses were taken off line, but are still given.
10) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Month “Political Events” are held on every military base in violation of US Military Regulations. On US Air Force bases, rainbow striped American flags are allowed to be flown, which is a desecration of the US Flag, in violation of Title 4 of the US Code.
11) Rainbow striped flags are allowed to be flown on US Air Force Bases in Arizona, which is in violation of Title One of the US Code.
12) Straight Christian males are being driven out of the US Armed Forces, because 10,400 of them were raped last year by the new gay members of the military being recruited into Obama’s politically correct openly gay US Armed Forces.
13) January 2011 – After a federal law was passed to transfer a WWI Memorial in the Mojave Desert to private ownership, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the cross in the memorial could continue to stand, but the Obama administration refused to allow the land to be transferred as required by law, and BROKE the LAW refusing to allow the cross to be re-erected as ordered by the Court.
14) November 2011 – Obama opposes inclusion of President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous D-Day Prayer in the WWII Memorial.15
15) A highly decorated Navy Chaplain, LCDR Wes Modder, who ministered to Navy SEAL Teams has been barred from ministering to US Navy personnel and their families, because he gave his faith-based response to questions sailors asked about his religious beliefs concerning homosexuality and biblical teachings of marriage, violating his Freedom of Speech, and his Freedom of Religion.
16) June 2011 – The Department of Veterans Affairs forbids references to God and Jesus during burial ceremonies at Houston National Cemetery.
17) August 2011 – The Air Force stops teaching the Just War theory to officers in California because the course is taught by chaplains and is based on a philosophy introduced by St. Augustine in the third century AD – a theory long taught by civilized nations across the world (except America).
18) September 2011 – Air Force Chief of Staff prohibits commanders from notifying airmen of programs and services available to them from chaplains.
19) November 2011 – The Air Force Academy rescinds support for Operation Christmas Child, a program to send holiday gifts to impoverished children across the world, because the program is run by a Christian charity.
20) November 2011 – The Air Force Academy paid $80,000 to add a Stonehenge-like worship center for pagans, druids, witches and Wiccans.
21) February 2012 – The U. S. Military Academy at West Point disinvites three star Army general and decorated war hero Lieutenant General William G. (“Jerry”) Boykin, USA (Ret), former Commander Delta Force, from speaking at an event because he is an outspoken Christian.
22) February 2012 – The Air Force removed “God” from the patch of Rapid Capabilities Office (the word on the patch was in Latin: Dei translated the word for God)
23) June 2012 – Bibles for the American military have been printed in every conflict since the American Revolution, but the Obama Administration revokes the long-standing U. S. policy of allowing military service emblems to be placed on those military Bibles.
24) May 2012 - The Obama administration opposes legislation to protect the rights of conscience for military chaplains who do not wish to perform same-sex marriages in violation of their strongly-held religious beliefs.
According to the reputable annual surveys conducted by The Military Times, Obama's approval rating among military personnel has fallen from a paltry 35 percent in 2009 to just 15 percent now, while his disapproval ratings have increased to 55 percent.
Will the Republican leadership in Congress take action to protect the Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech of members for the US Armed Forces?
Joseph R. John, USNA ‘62
Capt USN(Ret)
Chairman, Combat Veterans For Congress PAC
2307 Fenton Parkway, Suite 107-184
San Diego, CA 92108
Fax: (619) 220-0109
http://www.CombatVeteransForCongress.org
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