EVANGELICAL INDOCTRINATION AT A YOUNG AGE!

Article on Tillman inquiry references family's lack of Christian belief as a problem

According to the Army officer who directed the first official inquiry, the Army might have more of a clue about the shooter's identity than it has let on. Asked whether ballistics work was done to identify who fired the fatal shots, Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich told ESPN.com, "I think, yeah, they did. And I think they know [who fired]. But I never found out."

Mansfield and other Rangers who attended the post-incident meeting said — both in interviews with ESPN.com and in documents from the Army investigations — they were advised by debriefers that night that the unit as a whole bore the responsibility for Tillman's death and they should avoid placing blame on any one person.

In his interview with ESPN.com, Kauzlarich also said he was not driven to identify Tillman's killer.

"You know what? I don't think it really matters," Kauzlarich said. "And the reason I say that — you got to look at the overall situation here that these guys were fighting in. And somebody hit him. So would you hold that guy [who] hit him responsible for hitting him, when everybody was shooting in that direction, given the situation? We'll see how the [Defense Department Inspector General's] investigation comes out. But I had no issue on not finding a specific person responsible for doing it."

Kauzlarich said he is confident the current probe will not result in criminal charges against the shooter or shooters. He said investigators would not still be examining the incident at all if it were not for Tillman's NFL celebrity — he walked away from a multimillion-dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals when he enlisted — and the pressure brought to bear by Tillman's family on a number of Washington politicos.

"His parents continue to ask for it to be looked at," Kauzlarich said. "And that is really their prerogative. And if they have the right backing, the right powerful people in our government to continue to let it happen, then that is the case.

"But there [have] been numerous unfortunate cases of fratricide, and the parents have basically said, 'OK, it was an unfortunate accident.' And they let it go. So this is — I don't know, these people have a hard time letting it go. It may be because of their religious beliefs."

In a transcript of his interview with Brig. Gen. Gary Jones during a November 2004 investigation, Kauzlarich said he'd learned Kevin Tillman, Pat's brother and fellow Army Ranger who was a part of the battle the night Pat Tillman died, objected to the presence of a chaplain and the saying of prayers during a repatriation ceremony in Germany before his brother's body was returned to the United States.

Kauzlarich, now a battalion commanding officer at Fort Riley in Kansas, further suggested the Tillman family's unhappiness with the findings of past investigations might be because of the absence of a Christian faith in their lives.

In an interview with ESPN.com, Kauzlarich said: "When you die, I mean, there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist and you don't believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? Nothing. You are worm dirt. So for their son to die for nothing, and now he is no more — that is pretty hard to get your head around that. So I don't know how an atheist thinks. I can only imagine that that would be pretty tough."

Asked by ESPN.com whether the Tillmans' religious beliefs are a factor in the ongoing investigation, Kauzlarich said, "I think so. There is not a whole lot of trust in the system or faith in the system [by the Tillmans]. So that is my personal opinion, knowing what I know."

Asked what might finally placate the family, Kauzlarich said, "You know what? I don't think anything will make them happy, quite honestly. I don't know. Maybe they want to see somebody's head on a platter. But will that really make them happy? No, because they can't bring their son back."

Because I love America: Reagan's Assistant General Counsel, Mikey Weinstein Speaks Out. with God on our side

By Mikey Weinstein

When I began asking questions about what I saw going on at Colorado Springs in 2004 I never expected that the inquiry would lead me to the horrifying conclusion that our country had been taken over by people who have used our own freedoms to enslave us. But that is what happened. When I began I, like most people, was focused on the personal. I believed that what was happening at the United States Air Force Academy, the harassment of cadets and staff with unwanted evangelism, was limited in scope. As the months passed, however, I found myself forced to constantly reassess my basic assumptions. The logic of events was stark and undeniable. Promises of an open inquiry were ignored; decent and courageous people like former Air Force Chaplin MeLinda Morton were intentionally muzzled to ensure the truth would not be heard and the wrongs righted.

As a Republican and an Academy graduate I find myself in head on conflict with my own oath to protect the Constitution. As a Jew I confronted a situation through ears that still hear the cries of my people walking silently into the brick buildings that would reduce them to ash. I cannot stand still and let that happen to my country.

You know about the law suit we filed; that suit took on the issue directly, based on the1st Amendment Right of members of the military to choose their own spiritual paths, unhampered by those placed in positions of authority and on the basis of the Establishment Clause and Clause Three of Article Six, which prohibit the existence of a national religion. That is what has happened. America now has a national religion whose tenets extend to a foreign policy that sees war in the Middle East as the fulfillment of its core mission . The power block responsible for the take over are now, effectively, in charge of the mightiest weapon the world has ever known, the United States Military.

My law suit was one element in the larger battle to take back America. That might seem excessive or alarmist; I only wish that was the case.

I undertook this campaign to oppose those who were violating the principle of separation of Church and State head on and to make the public aware. I now understand that to undo the damage done Americans must come together to organize the dispersed elements opposing these forces that have gone so far in converting America into a theocracy that substitutes one parochial world view of the Bible as law, displacing the democratic foundation of our nationhood.

Every American should be awake to the real and present threat that the take over of America's military poses to our national security and to each of us personally. America is poised today on the brink of a disaster of global proportions. This situation has been moving towards its own logical conclusion while nearly all of us overlooked the clear and present danger signs posed by the coalition of unlikely forces who have come together in a voracious grab for power. Even those of us who have understood some parts of the larger problem have failed to see the connections. That is the past. Today we need to take action.

Those who have carried out this stealth operation, an imperious fascistic contagion growing for the last 30 years, have an agenda. That agenda demanded their patience. They have been. We must not be patient as we fight back. We must act now.

In late 2005 I founded the Military Religious Freedom Foundation www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org. As I studied what was happening I began to hear from our own noble and honorable sailors, soldiers, marines and airmen from all religious traditions at military bases in the US and all over the world. They all told the same horrifying story; my concerns grew.

Here is what we face.

First, the corporate interests: These for profit businesses have worked to ensure their streams of income, focusing on augmenting their own profits and avoiding liability for the damage they well understood they inflicted on America and to people around the world. To accomplish those ends they developed a collation of think tanks and not-for-profits that justified their actions, using ideas cauterized to make their actions seem plausible.

They knew they needed to change the institutions and expectations of Americans to ensure they would keep control. To that end they employed political operatives to build up the facade of respectability those ideas needed. Think of the Heritage Foundation and the words of such as Ann Coulter, John Fund, and Robert Novak. That facade is what we today know as the NeoConservatives or “NeoCons.” You can think of it as the public relations firm presently employed by those rapacious corporations which work through our government.

The third element, funded in large part by the corporate interests but acting from their own agenda, are those who are now coming out of the shadows. As their power grows their need to remain unseen diminishes. Paul Krugman and others identify these as the Theocons. It was the action of the Theocratic agenda that awakened me to what is happening. These elements are the broad strokes that bring into the light the behind the scenes action that is destroying our nation and the hope for peace and prosperity that has always been so present for Americans.

It is not simple until you understand who and why it has happened. The corporations wanted power and money; the NeoCons were willing to make it happen for power and money. The Theocons, a tool made up of elements from a formerly marginalized and unrespected segment of the Christian community, were able to realize their dreams of power and money by becoming the tool that made the whole possible.

Today the man with his finger on the button, those who will receive the order to strike; many of those who will then be expected to put their lives on the line to carry out American policy; have been molded by the influences of these elements. A power conversion has taken place that has nothing to do with freedom or religion. Many thinkers and writers saw the potential for such a threat over the last several generations. But it is our generation and those who follow who now have no choice but to take action.

Corporate interests and the patient and long range plan of Christian Reconstructionists have made this possible with the cooperation and coordination provided by the NeoCons If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I would think it was bad science fiction. But when I wake up the nightmare continues. The threats to my family, the rising tide of violence aimed at me and those I love, and those whose courage has drawn them to stand with me affirm the truth of what we confront.

It began in the early 70s with the thought by a small group of Republicans that control of the GOP could be guaranteed by taking advantage of the newly disenfranchised Southern Democrats through elements in the Evangelical churches there. You will recognize the names of those whose plans have been drawn so large today. Karl Rove, Ralph Reed, Pat Robertson, Jerry Fallwell, James Dobson, D. James Kennedy, John Hagee and Jack Abramoff were among them.

Largely credulous and uneducated the evangelical elements that became their raw material contained strains of thinking from individuals like R. J Rushrooney and Gary North. Margaret Mead once said that only a small determined group ever changes things. Ms. Mead was thinking of positive change; she could not have imagined the vision and motives that moved a small group of Baptists to take over the Southern Baptist Convention by stealth to achieve first a power base and to move on from there to apply the same methods to civil government and our military. But that is what happened.

Today the platform of the Republican Party in Texas reflects their goals. These are consistent and explicit, including the substitution of the Bible for the rule of law in America. In their world capital punishment for sodomy, adultery, for unruly children, and the end of free speech are desirable goals mandated by God. Lying to achieve the ends they believe are appointed by an unimaginable vision of God are entirely acceptable.

Paul Krugman said in his article of last week, For God's Sake, “In 1981, Gary North, a leader of the Christian Reconstructionist movement - the openly theocratic wing of the Christian right - suggested that the movement could achieve power by stealth. "Christians must begin to organize politically within the present party structure," he wrote, "and they must begin to infiltrate the existing institutional order." “

Krugman does not cite the documentation of this, though it exists in a letter written by Dr. Steven Hortzel dated March 13, 1990 . The letter exhorts the recipients on how to take over their local Republican precinct. The back of the letter lays out the Platform which includes ending minority status for homosexuals, an end to the right to abortion, the sovereignty of the family instead of having that status rest with individuals, as intended by the rights theory on which America is founded. And most frightening, in their view the Church will control what is and is not a crime. The same letter sports the direction to, “Vote twice on election day.” So much for respect for our law and the institutions of America.

Today the Platform of the Republican Party of Texas reflects that agenda. The goal of the Texas Republican Party is to "dispel the myth of the separation of church and state."

Organizing and planning far in advance with funding provided by corporations through those we now know as NeoCons, they laid out the stealth plan that has been followed until the present day. You can hear this admitted in clips of a tape assembled recently by Dr. Bruce Prescott. The voices of J. R, Rushrooney, now deceased, and Gary North, his son-in-law, say it all.

No rogue elements were responsible for what took place at the Air Force Academy. Funding provided by those major corporations who put us in Iraq to augment their profits and ensure control of oil funded the NeoCons who wrote the orders taking us to the Middle East against all truth; through the same funding source grew the 'religious' institutions that have taken control of our military. To them the separation of Church and State, the first amendment of the Bill of Rights, is a myth like Bigfoot and Paul Bunyan to be dispelled, by their own words.

We can expect violence. The head cleric of St. David's Episcopal Church of Topeka, Kansas came out to support me; five hours later his church was burned to the ground. A synagogue where I spoke was desecrated. My home has been targeted by feces and beer bottles; our tires slashed; dead animals have twice been placed on our front porch. The death threats come in ceaselessly. It is not convenient and safe to confront and defy those in power; I know that but I refuse to back down. They may try to harm me but I will not go quietly; I will be a Jew from the Warsaw Ghetto, not Berlin. I will be an American from Lexington and Concord, not an American from Halliburton and Blackwater.

With all the bad news it is heartening to note that some people are standing up and fighting back. Every day we are joined by more Americans who hear, understand, and come prepared to take action.

Dr. Bruce Prescott moved to Norman, Oklahoma three years ago and started an organization called, “Main Stream Baptists,” that is challenging the primacy of Christian Reconstructionists in the Baptist faith in the same town that supplied those who carried out the take over of the Southern Baptist Convention. When Bush hosts 'religious leaders,' it is those people who receive the invitations.

Next January between 20,000 and 30,000 Baptists from all races will gather. They will be representing hundreds of thousands of Baptists who affirm the original belief that brought Baptists to America, the freedom to worship as they pleased. Together they will forge a New Baptist Covenant making them the largest Baptist group in the United States. The group includes former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton; the announcement took place in Atlanta, Georgia in January of 2007.

Others, secular and religious, for instance the Methodists who stood up to oppose the Bush Library at SMU stand with us.

I cannot emphasize strongly enough that this is not a partisan battle. I am a Republican who had the honor of serving as Assistant General Counsel in the Reagan White House and as General Counsel to two time presidential candidate H. Ross Perot. I am a Jew proud to stand with Christians, Muslims, agnostics and atheists, and others who, like those I just mentioned, are committed to the vision of an America for which generations have laid down their lives. Stand with me on this and you stand with men and women who dreamed a freedom that the real Jesus would have recognized. At the end of the day, it's simply all about just one thing; our beautiful United States Constitution. Each of us free; each of us equal, living lives where we confront not the dead words of the past but the living truth that is tomorrow

That is America and it is worth dying for. As a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, the father of two graduates as well as one current Academy cadet, the brother-in-law of yet another graduate, and the son of a graduate of the U. S Naval Academy I believe in the vision that is America with every fiber of my being.

RESPONSE TO RADIO INTERVIEW LISTENER

Sir,

Mikey Weinstein forwarded to me your 22 Apr email to him. Mikey doesn't need me to defend him, but I feel compelled to correct some obvious misconceptions you have about what his Military Religious Freedom Foundation mission is all about. First of all, Mikey is a Jew, not a Christian, and he is very up front about that. Secondly, his issues are not about Christians v. Jews or salvation or eschatology or interpretations or misinterpretations of either the Old or New Testaments of the Bible, or theology in general. Nor does he want to take chaplains out of the US military as Madeline Murray O'Hare once did. The problem -- and it is very real -- is that some high ranking officers and other military personnel in leadership positions in the chain of command are engaged in subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle efforts to proselytize lower ranking military people, whom they command or supervise, into following certain religious beliefs.

That, Sir, is strictly against military standards of conduct, Constitutional dictates, and U.S. statues and court decisions intended to further enforce and interpret the First Amendment. Now, I don't know what, if any, military experience you have -- good, bad, or indifferent. But let's suppose you work for some firm or company with a hierarchy -- civilian terminology for chain of command. Your boss, supervisor, manager, etc. says to you one day, "John, we've having a Bible study at 4:30 this afternoon in the conference room and I'd really like to see you there. Think you can make it?" After reading your email to Mikey, I'm guessing you might well agree that Bible study in the workplace would be a great idea. And, in truth, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with it -- until it has all the implications of a "command performance." Perhaps you get the picture. Your fellow workers, who might not be particularly dedicated church goers or even who are opposed to any aspect of religion, organized or otherwise, could justifiably scream bloody murder to the EEO authorities if they felt pressured or coerced into participating in any sort of religious activities in the workplace.

Well, one doesn't go running down to the EEO when one is in the military. Plus, most of the ranking officers and others in the chain of command aren't so dumb as to "order" those they command or supervise to go Bible class or other such religious activity. They know that is not a lawful order. Ah, but, military bosses -- not many, but some -- are control freaks, and if they happen to be overly passionate about being filled with the Holy Spirit and want their troops to be that way also, it creates the problem that Mikey is wrestling with now.

It boils down to the very thing about which you mistakenly upbraided Mikey -- being tolerant. You wrote,"If you were tolerant, you would allow for beliefs different than your own...." Tolerance is precisely what Mikey is seeking.from zealots and others of that ilk who take advantage of rank and position in the military to unlawfully proselytize vulnerable, impressionable young men and women over whom they literally have a significant measure of life and death power. And I hope you are not a zealot, Sir. The problem with zealots is that they have only answers -- no questions. Beware of zealots. Oh, and by the way, I spent 25 years in the US Army and I never, repeat, never encountered the nonsense that Mikey is so valiantly attempting to deal with now. Plus, I consider myself a fairly dedicated Christian with the usual and unavoidable baggage of sin that all of we humans have -- the inevitable "feet of clay."

Mikey and I believe in the same God and we believe that religion has a place in the military establishment -- witness the military chaplaincy and on-base chapels or worship facilities. We are, however, adamantly opposed to aggressive proselytizing of military personnel, sanctioned and aided and abetted by the chain of command on military bases or facilities (e.g., the Pentagon). Simply put, the troops are quite free to go off base to the church or religious group of their choice, but separation of church and state policy protects all of us, including those in the uniformed services sworn to "protect and defend" this country in places where they are in a duty status.

Don R. Fisher
Lt. Col., USA (Ret)

Religious Discrimination at the VA

Your book was the most powerful book I had read in some time. It energized me to keep up the fight here. I will not stop until the VA system changes and people of all faiths, or no faith, are afforded the same rights as Christians. I am leaning on Senator Harkin and the aide that heads up his office in Dubuque is incensed at how I've been treated. I have also contacted Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. If what nothing else my engagement in this fight lends some meaning (in my own eyes at least) to the bias and discrimination I've experienced at the VA. Your story - and I can't even imagine how difficult it was for you to tell it, particularly chapters 18, 19, ect. - renews my own courage and I imagine I am just one of many thousands.

The work you are doing, the sacrifices you are making will continue to make a difference. If not for people like you fighting the good fight our nation would be even further on its way toward devolving into America's own Christian Taliban. I think it important for you to know it is not just because I feel a kinship with your cause as a fellow Jew, it is even more my kinship with your absolute dedication to the Constitution - all of us who have served our Country have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States; unlike so many these days, you take that oath seriously and have never abandoned it. I can't thank you enough for that. It gives me hope and it gives me the courage and strength to fight on with my own fight.

I ended up having to go to the (VA) hospital by ambulance early
yesterday evening. When I called the advice nurse and gave her my
symptoms she told me to hang up immediately and call 911. I did.

I spent about 24 hours in the hospital and once again they couldn't
seem to produce any kosher food - I went without food the whole time.
I also expressed directed that no chaplain visit me; however a
Christian chaplain came to see me anyway, he said, "just to see if you
want us to get you a Rabbi" then handed me the chaplains office tract
with its Christian message. I also noticed, while waiting to be
discharged this afternoon, that the patient lounge on the hospital
ward was filled with Christian tracts, magazines and Bibles. I don't
see that there's any end in sight in regards to their total disregard
for faiths other than Christianity.

Finally, it looks like I'm not going to be physically up to the trip
to Colorado Springs next week; for that I am sincerely sorry. You
can't imagine how much I wish I could be there to support you against
those conniving assholes.

BTW, I managed to take with me to the hospital Barry Lynn's book,
Piety & Politics - I am already about half way through it - another
great read.

Wishing you strength & success,

Akiva David

PAMPLET HANDED OUT AT VA

click on image to enlarge

THE JET SET

Greetings! Today I am really excited to be heading out to
California to speak about our cause at my alma mater, The University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law at the invitation of my close friend, fellow Air Force Academy Graduate, and former President Bush-appointed assistant interior secretary for fish, wildlife, and parks, Craig Manson. After the speech, I'll be heading back out to NewYork for a major fundraiser, then it's on to Colorado with Ambassador Joe Wilson to bring our message to the Rockies!

While on the plane this morning (and after finally being forced to shut off my cell phone and PDA!) I sat and thought about how grateful I am that our organization has
become a viable outlet for those being persecuted in our military to seek assistance. In the past few days alone, I have received several very serious calls for help from members of our Armed Forces who have exhausted all means of resolving their issues, and who are coming to us for help. Rest assured, we are on the case, and we will continue advocating for the thousands more who are either afraid to speak up, or unaware of our foundation.

On that note, we are making huge strides in awareness thanks to the tireless work of the newest member of our team, famed book publicist Ilene Proctor. We have over 60 radio and TV interviews setup, along with major speeches and book signing events. See our newly updated 'Upcoming Events' section for more information on those.

That's all for now. We begin phase 1 of our new website rollout today, so watch for some exciting changes!

-Mikey

Blood Pressure Management HANDOUT from the Peterson AFB, CO

IT'S ABOUT TO GET EVEN BUSIER AROUND HERE...

Greetings! It's been awhile since I've posted so I thought I would bring you up to date on what I've been up to.
I've just finished several whirlwind trips through New York, Los Angeles, and Denver, where I gave speeches,
signed books, met with supporters, participated in debates, and attended the premier of the movie that my family and I are featured prominently in, Constantine's Sword. "Oscar-nominated Director Oren Jacoby's documentary screen adaptation of the New York Times bestseller by James Carroll which chronicles the 2,000 year bloody history between the church and the Jews"

We've been working hard responding to the countless e-mails we receive requesting our support, while keeping
pressure on the Pentagon to complete their investigation into The Christian Embassy and several high ranking
military officers' illegal and unconstitutional dealings that we recently exposed.

My schedule is about to get even busier in April, with exciting events from coast to coast along with a full slate of
TV and radio interviews. See the 'Media Center' and 'Upcoming Events' sections of the site to see what we have
on our plate this month, and to see the details of my upcoming media blitz!

On another note, we are taking a fresh look at our website and are going to be making some exciting updates to
it over the coming weeks. Stay tuned for some great new features!

- Mikey