Atheists Force 9/11 Sign Down, Kansas Locals Rebel

Since the local post office yielded to the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) last month by removing a "God Bless America" banner placed by postal workers 15 years ago, residents of Pittsburg, Kansas have displayed thousands of such signs throughout town.

“This just infuriates me.  [The removal of the banner] tore my heart out."
-- Ruth Wegner (husband Richard was 20-year postal worker)

“I don’t see what it’s hurting. But I guess we need to be politically correct. It’s just sad.”
-- Mike Lewark, retired postal worker and Vietnam War veteran

“I’ll miss it. It showed the post office was part of America, and God got us to where we’re at. We were proud of it.”
-- Jim Scott, 32-year retired postal worker and former U.S. Marine

For background, read After City Bans 'God Signs' Florida Residents Display MORE

Click headlines below to read previous articles:

ACLU Stops Godless Patriotism in New Jersey School

Georgia Sheriff's Christmas Sign Peeves Atheists

Mississippi Police Chief Thanks God at City Prayer Meetings

Louisiana Sheriff Defies ACLU with Fourth of July Prayer

Atheists Threaten Arkansas School so Citizens Pray Publicly

Ohio School Board Wants Prayer, Ignoring Atheists

Prayer Stays in Florida School, Opposing Atheists



-- From "Post office banner removal sparks reaction in Pittsburg" by The Associated Press 2/1/16

The Pittsburg post office took the banner down Wednesday after hearing complaints about it from the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation. The organization said hanging the banner at the post office violated the principle of separation of church and state.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Post Office [Twana Barber] said the postal service removed the banner because postal policy prohibits the placement of notices on postal property unless they’re official government notices.

The Pittsburg Morning Sun reports that a similar banner appeared at a couple of local businesses by Thursday, and a local sign company says requests for more signs have been pouring in.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pittsburg residents unhappy with removal of 'God Bless America' banner" by Andra Bryan Stefanoni and Sarah Okeson, Joplin Missouri Globe 1/27/16

Postal workers [about 60] paid for the 12-foot-long vinyl banner after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that took down the Twin Towers and killed 2,996 people in New York, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

Ed Hinde watched as employees took out the eight screws holding the red, white and blue banner to the southeast corner of the post office at Seventh and Locust streets. They rolled up the banner because it was brittle after more than a decade outside.

“After the Sept. 11 attacks, a group of employees came to me and said, ‘Let’s do something’,” recalled Hinde, who served as postmaster from 1987 to 2003. “The employees paid for half of it, and I paid for half of it.”

About a dozen people, including retired letter carriers, members of the American Legion and other Pittsburg residents, watched in silence.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Blessings — More than 1,000 'God Bless America' signs given away as backlash grows" by Michael Stavola, Pittsburg Morning Sun 2/1/16

. . . Jake's Fireworks responded by printing 1,200 "God Bless America" yard signs and 300 similar banners. The company began handing out signs at 11 a.m. and by 11:45 a.m., the signs were gone.

Cars stretched over two blocks. Drivers were eventually met with rows of American flags and a digital sign saying "God Bless America" as they pulled into the company’s driveway at east industrial park, where Marietta and other employees directed traffic and greeted the drivers.

The company had a crew work overnight printing signs, [retail sales director Jason Marietta] said. Marietta knew the demand would be high after a Facebook post was shared 1,500 times. He just didn’t imagine it would be this big.

It took roughly 45 minutes for community members to clear out 1,500 signs, but employees continued to take down contact information to distribute additional signs and banners as they are printed.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Banner Backlash — 'God Bless America' banners proliferate following removal of original from post office" by Sarah Gooding, Pittsburg Morning Sun 1/28/16

Thursday morning, a very similar banner appeared on the fence next to local business Jayhawk Signs and Graphics, another at CDL Electric Company and social media marketing by Jake’s Fireworks promised more to come.

“We hung the banner in support of our troops and to commemorate the 9/11 attacks on America,” said Shea McLaughlin, with CDL Electric. “That banner has nothing to do with religious values or political correctness. It has everything to do with freedom of speech and the foundation that this country was built on.”

McLaughlin said that foundation is the God-given right to be free, along with free speech.

“Sometimes you have to stand up for what’s right,” McLaughlin continued. “In the day and age of political correctness someone has to be a leader and stand up for what they believe in.”

. . . Area residents also showed up at the post office with sandwich boards and flags, earning cheers of support from passers-by.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read 'God Bless Planned Parenthood,' Says President Obama

And read Supreme Court Justice Scalia Says Government Should Favor God of the Bible

Christmas Tree Flyer Censored by NH School Supt.

A few days after Veterans' Day, Superintendent Robert Malay of School Administrative Unit 29 (Keene, New Hampshire) put Air Force veteran John Fletcher on notice that if he wanted to distribute invitation flyers in district schools for any civic events, the word "Christmas" is strictly forbidden.  The Lions Club and American Legion had previously sponsored the annual Christmas tree lighting in Marlborough, NH for over 15 years without incident.

"I was very upset, I really was.  If it's not a school sponsored activity, I don't understand why 'Christmas' had to come out of 'Christmas Tree'."
-- John Fletcher, Commander, American Legion, Marlborough, NH

For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:

Georgia Sheriff's Christmas Sign Peeves Atheists

Mississippi Town Defies Atheists' Anti-Christmas Demands

Atheists Help Liberal Schools in Oregon Ban Christmas Choirs

U.S. Schools Force Islamic Terror Singing, Posters

Muslims in Washington, D.C. Force Christmas Off School Calendar

Angry Muslims Storm New Jersey School Board Demanding Holidays

Florida School Teaches Islam Including Prayer Rugs



-- From "Officials ask for word 'Christmas' to be removed from NH town tradition" by Kathryn Burcham, WFXT-TV25 (Boston, MA) 11/30/15

"He wanted me to change it to say "holiday tree lighting" instead," Fletcher told FOX25. "It's not a holiday tree, it's a Christmas tree. If you want a holiday tree, then do it for Valentine's Day, or Columbus Day, or whatever you want."

Fletcher and his wife - who play Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus at the tree lighting - used WhiteOut to remove the word "Christmas" from the flyer but refused to change the actual wording.

"In this case, this political correctness has just gone too far. it's just getting out of hand," Fletcher said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "School district bans the word 'Christmas' from flyer" by Todd Starnes, FoxNews.com 12/2/15

[Fletcher] was so upset he wrote a letter to the Sentinel Source – the newspaper of record in that neck of the woods.

“As commander of the American Legion it offends me,” he wrote. “I respect all rights; always have. But do not take away our rights because you may offend someone else.”

I called Superintendent Malay to find out why the word “Christmas” needed to be deleted, but he did not return my message.

Folks, I chatted with at the local school are pretty upset at how Mr. Fletcher was treated. They say the superintendent really ruffled some feathers.

To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.

In addition, read Praying Mother Banned from New Hampshire School Grounds and also read Democrats Say 'Christian Talk' Not Welcome in New Hampshire

And read about myriad attacks on Christmas in schools around the nation, but Indiana Protects Christmas from Atheists' Lawsuits.

Mrs. Obama Thanks Hollywood for Gay Indoctrination

In an address Friday at the National Geographic’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., First Lady Michelle Obama agreed with TV and screenwriters that their industry can use, and has used, the power of media to inculcate sexual deviancy in the culture, and so she thanked them for advancing the Gay Agenda

“So the fact is, in many ways, you all are in a unique position to help us address some of the most challenging issues that we face as a nation . . . like gay rights.”
-- Michelle Obama

For background, read about TV's Disproportionate Attention to the Gay Agenda

Also read Study Shows Media Bias Favoring Gay Agenda is Christians' Fault

And read Media Admit Propaganda Overstating Gay Population

In addition, read Obama Top Homosexual Arrested for Anal Sex with Boy

-- From "Michelle Obama joins Bradley Cooper to praise ‘American Sniper’" by Krissah Thompson, Washington Post 1/30/15

The first lady’s blessing comes three weeks before the Academy Awards and in the midst of a larger debate about the film [‘American Sniper’].

In her call-out to Hollywood’s “content creators,” [Mrs.] Obama said she would like Hollywood to have the same effect on views of military veterans that it has had on perceptions of gay and lesbian Americans.

“It wasn’t all that long ago that this was a third-rail kind of issue, not just in politics, but in entertainment as well,” she said of gay rights. “Today, ‘The Imitation Game’ is up for best picture at the Oscars, and Cam and Mitchell — two of my favorites — are raising their daughter on ‘Modern Family,’ one of the top-rated shows on TV. And at the same time, we’ve seen gay rights advance in real life as well.”

It is not unexpected that Obama chooses to engage moviemakers in connection with her initiative. The first lady has had a close relationship with Hollywood that was capped in 2013 when she made a surprise appearance at the Oscars to present the award for best picture.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Michelle Obama Praises Movie-TV Industry for Promoting Same-Sex Marriage" by Terence P. Jeffrey, CNSNews.com 1/31/15

“Every day, through the movies and TV shows and ads you all create, you have the power to shape our understanding of the world around us,” said Mrs. Obama.  “You challenge our most strongly held beliefs. You influence our opinions on current events.”

“. . . in the early ‘90s . . . Tom Hanks won an Oscar for his portrayal of a gay character in ‘Philadelphia.’ ‘The Real World’ included an openly gay cast member.  And over the years, there was ‘Ellen’ and ‘Will and Grace,’ ‘Milk’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain.’

“As my husband said, we’ve seen gay marriage go from a wedge issue into a civil right in states all across this country.And that’s just one issue.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Click headlines below to read previous articles:

President Obama's Cross-dressing Military Fantasy is Reality

President Obama's Eric Holder Creates Law for Transgenders

Students Must Divulge Sex History for Obama Administration

White House Says Gay Recruitment of Kids Successful

Also read how the Obama Administration's non-enforcement of pornography and obscenity laws erodes the culture and harms children.

And read the history of President Obama's Gay Agenda for Schools and how government forces homosexual indoctrination in schools.

Atheists Defeat Veterans Memorial in N. Carolina

The city council of King, North Carolina voted to remove a privately-funded sculpture of a soldier kneeling at a cross and a Christian flag from King Central Park rather than fight the costly lawsuit against Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

“I feel this city has been sabotaged and bullied by folks who don’t believe in what this community stands for . . . we have been pressured by insurance companies and attorneys who have never been to King. They don’t know what we are about and what this community stands for.”
-- Wesley Carter, City Councilman

For background, read Atheists Force Christian Flag Out, King Citizens Respond

Click headlines below to read previous articles:

Atheists Want WWI Memorial Cross Demolished in Rhode Island

Atheists Want Marine Memorial Demolished at Pendleton

Atheists Sue to Remove Christ from 9/11 Memorial

Federal Appeals Court Rules Memorial Cross Unconstitutional

Jesus Banned from Sterling, Colorado Cemetery

Also read President Obama Opposes Prayer for Soldiers in Battle

-- From "North Carolina town agrees to remove sculpture of soldier with cross" by David Ng, Los Angeles Times 1/13/15

Documents show that in settling the case, King agreed to remove the sculpture. In addition, the town's insurer will pay $500,000 to the Americans United for Separation of Church and State to cover legal fees and costs. A nominal $1 in damages will also be paid to the plaintiff.

King has denied it violated laws regarding the separation of church and state in the U.S. Constitution and the North Carolina Constitution.

A news release from the city said the City Council preferred not to settle the case but nonetheless approved the settlement on Jan. 6. The city, population 6,906, said that it had already incurred legal costs in excess of $50,000 to defend the case, and that litigation costs were expected to reach $2 million without any guarantee of a favorable verdict.

As part of the settlement, King has also agreed not to fly a Christian flag at the memorial park. The Christian flag typically features a cross in its upper-left corner and is intended to represent various Christian faiths.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "King settles flag lawsuit; Christian flag, statue to be removed" by Meghann Evans, Winston-Salem Journal 1/7/15

The King City Council on Tuesday voted 3-2 to approve a settlement agreement in the lawsuit, Steven Hewett v. the City of King.

The council voted in King City Hall before a mostly filled room of about 60 people. While the crowd never got out of hand, many people shook their heads in frustration as the board voted to settle. A few people interjected, saying such things, “What else are you going to give up next?”

Council members Charles Allen and Mayor Pro Tempore Dillard Burnette voted in favor of settling, while Brian Carico and Wesley Carter voted against it.

Mayor Jack Warren broke the tie, voting in favor.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "King settles - Citizens ask council to fight for flag" by Nicholas Elmes, The Stokes News (Walnut Cove, NC) 1/6/15

“I fully believe in the right of flying our flag,” said Danny Newsome. “Continue to fight for them to give us the right to fly the flag.”

Jack Westmoreland, a veteran who served in Beirut, said . . . “This country was founded on the freedom or religion and the freedom of speech. I ask that you give me my right to freedom of religion.”

David Keaton, a long time King resident, said “ . . . don’t take mine away from me. God all mighty has blessed King and we do not need to turn our back on him. I encourage you to do everything in your power to keep that flag flying one way or the other. Just do what is right.”

The two council members voting against the settlement agreed that settling made good financial sense for the city, but said they could not vote “yes” due to their faith.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Feds Fail to Ban Jesus from Memorial Day

And read Atheists Inundated by Jesus' Cross Symbols in California

Obama's VA Veterans Hospital Bans Christmas Carols

A Christian school was turned away at Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia from their annual Christmas caroling -- an anti-Christian trend in President Obama's Pentagon and Veterans Administration.  The group was told that they couldn't sing anything alluding to Christianity, so they just left.

“From our point of view, the purpose of Christmas and its carols is to celebrate and honor the birth of Jesus, and if that goal is taken from us, it is an issue we do not want to be a part of. We do not think it is a good idea to systemically weed out religious Christmas songs from being sung in certain places.”
-- Dan Funsch, Principal, Alleluia Community School

For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:

President Obama's VA Strips Jesus & Bible from Chaplains

President Obama's Pentagon Takes Orders from Atheists: Nativity Scenes

President Obama's Pentagon Says Following Jesus' Command is a Court Martial Offense

President Obama's Army Says Christians are Worst Terrorists

President Obama's NASA Ignores God's Creation: Apollo 8 1968

And also read the latest news of the secular rebellion against Christmas.

UPDATE 2/6/14: President Obama, Hypocrite in Chief, Holds Prayer Breakfast

-- From "VA Hospital Bans Some Christmas Carols" by The Associated Press News 12/24/13

The students from Augusta's Alleluia Community School were prevented from singing traditional holiday songs such as "Silent Night" and "O Come All Ye Faithful."

Hospital spokesman Brian Rothwell said in a statement that military service members represent people of all faiths. He said that VA rules on "spiritual care" are in place out of respect for every faith.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Augusta VA won't let carolers sing religious songs" by Wesley Brown, Athens-Banner Herald (Morris News Service) 12/24/13

Alleluia Community School Principal Dan Funsch said he was sad to hear that the Veterans Affairs hospital’s “spiritual care” grants holiday exemption only to Frosty, Rudolph and the secular characters that make up the 12 Days of Christmas.

. . . Funsch said, when he and his students arrived at the hospital Friday, they were handed a list of 12 Christmas songs the hospital’s Pastoral Service had “deemed appropriate for celebration within the hearing range of all Veterans.”

[Hospital spokesman Brian] Rothwell could not provide the date the VA’s ban on religious Christmas songs took effect, but Funsch said that in 2011 and 2012 his students were welcomed without hesitation at the Augusta VA’s Uptown campus as part of a yearly caroling the school does on its last day of classes before the holiday break.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Policy hits a sour note" by Augusta Chronicle Editorial Staff 12/26/13

We don’t know the precise religious makeup of the local VA’s patient population. But we would guess that the hospital’s complaint box isn’t stuffed with indignant comments from patients who don’t want to hear Christmas songs. The Alleluia group reported no problems when it caroled at the VA’s Uptown campus in 2011 and 2012.

. . . do veterans really have to be protected from certain holiday singing? Caroling scarcely qualifies as imposing religious persecution. For a sense of perspective, read recent news stories about the bloody, violent purge of Christianity in other parts of the world. On Christmas Day, 15 Christians died in a church bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, where Christianity has been practiced since the first century A.D.

It appears that the VA is trying to outlaw being offended. But after word of the Augusta caroling decision hit national news wires this week, the hospital inadvertently cast a wider net to offend many more people.

To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.

For further background, read President Obama Redefines 1st Amendment Freedom of Religion and yet President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity, and so Congress Responds to Obama's Military Attack on Christians

Atheists Want WWI Memorial Cross Demolished in RI

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is demanding that a cross outside of the fire station in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, as well as a prayer on the department website, be removed because both are unconstitutional.  Citizens overwhelmingly support the 1921 memorial to fallen World War I soldiers, some arguing that the cross is NOT in reference to Christianity.

“The majority now is being bullied by the minority, by the atheists and by the secularists and we feel like we are on the defensive . . .”
-- Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin

For background, read Supreme Court Says No Crosses; Arlington Neither? and also read Federal Appeals Court Rules Cross Unconstitutional as well as Court Ruling Removes Prayer Banner from Cranston RI School



UPDATE 5/3/12 "We're 'going to battle against these atheists all the way back to Wisconsin'" (video):

-- From "Cross in Woonsocket called unconstitutional" by The Associated Press 4/24/12

The Woonsocket Call reports that the Madison, Wis.-based [atheist] group sent Mayor Leo Fontaine a letter calling the cross' display in the parking lot of the fire department "unlawful" because of the separation of church and state.

The foundation says an image of an angel and "The Fire Fighter's Prayer" on the department's website are also unconstitutional.

The group says it received a complaint from a local resident, but officials in Woonsocket are skeptical. Fontaine says the monument has been there for 97 years and no one has had a problem with it.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Mayor keeping options open, calls atheists 'knuckleheads'" by Dee DeQuattro, WPRO News (Radio 630/99.7FM) 4/25/12

“It’s one of those things that you want to try to dismiss because, you know, a couple knuckle heads out in Wisconsin have an idea that they feel offended about something and suddenly everybody has to jump for them and I don’t want to have to resort to that but I also don’t want to be unprepared either,” [Mayor Leo] Fontaine told WPRO’s John DePetro.

State Representative Jon Brien from Woonsocket agreed with Fontaine, “What I just heard is so ludicrous its even hard to believe,” Brien told the WPRO Morning News with Tara Granahan and Andrew Gobeil, “This is an organized war on religion, but not religion in general it is a war on Catholicism.”

“They can do it now because they know city and towns are broke so they are not going to be able to put up the money to fight them the way that they normally would,” said Brien.

Fontaine said he doesn’t view the monument as religious in nature. “This cross is there primarily as part of a war memorial and not so much to symbolize the Christian cross but To signify the crosses over thousands and thousands of graves of American soldier who fought and gave their lives for very freedom that this freedom from religion group operates under,” said Fontaine.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Woonsocket Council president defends cross on war memorial" by Mike McKinney, Providence Journal 4/25/12

City Council President John F. Ward . . . said the memorial being criticized by the Freedom From Religion Foundation is a historical monument, dedicated to people from Woonsocket who gave their lives in the two World Wars, not a religious one.

"I think the organization is completely off base in their objections," Ward said. He said if "they were right then we would have to rebuild the Supreme Court houses in Washington," remove monuments across the country, "and we would have to close the Arlington National Cemetery."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Bishop Tobin weighs in on war monument, calls atheists bullies" by Dee DeQuattro, WPRO News (Radio 630/99.7FM) 4/26/12

Bishop Tobin says the challenge to the war monument that features a cross in Woonsocket by a Wisconsin atheist group is a “serious attack on religious expression and religious freedom” and that the atheists are bullying those who have faith.

“We are seeing a slow but steady erosion of a basic American value and that is the freedom of religious expression,” said Tobin. Tobin said the cross should not be taken down but he is open to relocating it to an area of more prominence where it will not be an “issue.” Mayor Leo Fontaine of Woonsocket said he is looking at spaces on private land that the monument could be relocated to if necessary. A rally scheduled for next Wednesday May, 2 at 4:30 p.m. at the monument aims to urge the city to keep the monument where it is.

Tobin told John DePetro that religion is everywhere in American society and various faiths are represented. He said that it is impossible for someone “offended” by the presence of religion to avoid it completely so they need to come to terms with it. “It is very hard to be immune to all that. If people are offended by that they have to deal with their issues,” said Tobin. “They cannot live in a bubble. They cannot isolate themselves completely from every religious expression in our nation, in our culture, in our society.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Cross in group's crosshairs" by Russ Olivo, The Call (Woonsocket, RI) 4/23/12

On April 13, the Madison, Wisc.-based foundation sent Mayor Leo T. Fontaine a letter calling the display of the “Latin cross” on public property “unlawful” and demanding that the situation be rectified.

Sprinkled with references to case law affirming the separation of religion and government, the warning has sparked outrage among veterans, city officials and many others in this overwhelmingly Roman Catholic enclave.

“It’s a jobs program for lawyers with nothing better to do,” says [Council President] Ward. “I have serious doubts that someone actually reached out to them to file a complaint.”

But city officials take the threat seriously. FFRF is a well-heeled organization whose track record proves it’s not bashful about backing up the tough talk with action. It’s taken on numerous high-profile legal battles over the church-state divide and has won many. It has a litigation fund that’s reportedly in the vicinity of $5.5 million and, by its own accounting, is presently pressing complaints in 11 states, including Pennsylvania, Colorado, Arizona, Montana, Tennessee, Virginia and others.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

 

Obama Opposes Prayer for Soldiers in Battle

President Obama's representative at the congressional hearing of the “World War II Memorial Prayer Act of 2011” spoke against adding President Roosevelt's prayer to the war memorial in D.C., saying the prayer would “dilute” the “elegant” memorial’s core message.

“With thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy.”
-- President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s D-Day prayer

UPDATE 6/7/14: FDR's D-Day Prayer is Un-American, Say Atheists

For background, read Is Obama Christian? Few Think So: Poll and also read Obama Declares He's Christian, Again as well as Creator Systematically Deleted from American History



UPDATE 11/17/11: Interior Secretary Says He Disagrees With Administration's Stand Against Prayer

UPDATE 12/10/11: Prayer bill likely to pass Congress, thus backing Obama into corner (so he'll have to sign it)

-- From "Adding FDR Prayer To War Memorial" by Dave Jordan, Associated Press 11/3/11

At a House hearing Thursday, Robert Abbey, director of the Bureau of Land Management, said a plaque or inscription of the prayer that Roosevelt read on a radio broadcast to the nation on June 6, 1944, would "dilute" the memorial's central message.

As U.S and allied troops launched the invasion that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany, FDR asked the nation to join him in prayer. He then asked God to give the allied troops courage and faith, saying, "With thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy."

A World War II veteran, 87-year-old George "Poppy" Fowler, told a House committee that the prayer should be added to the memorial. He said, "This prayer came at a perilous time, yet it was answered in victory at a dear cost of lives."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Obama Administration Opposes FDR Prayer at WWII Memorial" by Todd Starnes, FoxNews.com 11/4/11

"It is unconscionable that the Obama administration would stand in the way of honoring our nation's distinguished World War II veterans," [Rep. Bill Johnson's, R-Ohio] said. "President Roosevelt's prayer gave solace, comfort and strength to our nation and our brave warriors as we fought against tyranny and oppression."

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council said it's not all that surprising.

"This is further evidence that the administration has created an environment that is hostile towards American history -- but in particular towards Christianity," Perkins told Fox News. "I hope America wakes up and realizes what this administration is doing to this country and how they want to radically and fundamentally change America."

Johnson's bill, which had bipartisan support, is expected to pass a committee vote and he anticipates the full House will support the legislation.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Veterans Sue VA Over Freedom of Speech/Religion

Three local veterans groups have accused VA officials at the Houston National Cemetery of banning such religious words as "God" and censoring their prayers at soldiers' funerals.

For background, read Houston Pastors Ask VA Official be Fired and also read Feds Fail to Ban Jesus from Memorial Day at Houston VA Cemetery



-- From "Houston National Cemetery in Prayer Dispute" by James Dao, New York Time 8/30/11

The [Veterans Affairs'] new enforcement outraged members of local veterans organizations who have long infused their ceremonies with references to God. This summer, they filed a lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs that has turned the national cemetery into a battleground over the role of prayer in veterans’ burials.

The plaintiffs, aided by a conservative legal group, the Liberty Institute, contend they should be allowed to use a Veterans of Foreign Wars script dating from World War I that refers to the deceased as “a brave man” with an “abiding faith in God” and that seeks comfort from an “almighty and merciful God.” The institute has publicized the dispute nationwide with slick videos and a Web site declaring that “Jesus is not welcome at gravesides.”

The lawsuit, which alleges religious discrimination by the government, and the videos have generated angry letters and Internet commentary against the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as demands from members of the Texas Congressional delegation, mostly Republicans, that the Obama administration fire the Houston cemetery director, Arleen Ocasio.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Judge seeks settlement in VA discrimination suit" by Juan A. Lozano, Associated Press 8/22/11

The lawsuit filed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars District 4, the American Legion Post 586 and the National Memorial Ladies says VA officials barred prayer and religious speech in burials at the Houston cemetery unless families submit a specific prayer or message in writing to the cemetery's director. The lawsuit also accuses VA officials of not allowing them to use religious words such as "God" or "Jesus."

During a hearing on the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes . . . criticized what he believed were efforts by the VA to portray members of the National Memorial Ladies, a local nonprofit that honors veterans and their families, as "old ladies ... attacking people" with religious messages.

Hughes also [said] that attorneys for the veterans groups have continued to amplify their claims by "supplying excruciating detail," including affidavits by veterans and relatives who believe they have been discriminated against by VA officials.

"We have to solve this problem," the judge said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Fed. Appeals Court Rules Cross Unconstitutional

The typically liberal 9th Circuit in San Francisco says the war memorial cross at Mt. Soledad, San Diego is an endorsement of Christianity by government; the case is headed to an eventual conclusion at the Supreme Court.

UPDATE 6/25/12: Supreme Court declines involvement in case, for now -- maybe later.

UPDATE 3/15/12: Obama Justice Department files legal briefs asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to allow the cross to stay

UPDATE 1/11/11: VFW sues Obama administration over Mojave cross land

-- From "Judges rule cross at Calif. park unconstitutional" by The Associated Press 1/4/11

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the unanimous decision in the dispute over the 29-foot cross, which was dedicated in 1954 in honor of Korean War veterans.

"In no way is this decision meant to undermine the importance of honoring our veterans," the three judges said in their ruling. "Indeed, there are countless ways that we can and should honor them, but without the imprimatur of state-endorsed religion."

Federal courts are reviewing several cases of crosses on public lands being challenged as unconstitutional, including a cross erected on a remote Mojave Desert outcropping to honor American war dead. Tuesday's ruling could influence future cases involving the separation of church and state.

U.S. Justice Department [of the Obama Administration] spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle said the federal government, which is defending the San Diego cross, is studying the ruling and had no comment.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Appeals court rules Soledad cross unconstitutional" by Greg Moran, San Diego Union-Tribune 1/4/11

The battle is likely far from over. The appeals court did not order the 43-foot monument removed but returned the case to federal court in San Diego to determine if the cross will have to be moved or if there is a way that it can be modified to pass constitutional scrutiny as part of the war memorial.

Reaction to the ruling was swift and pointed. The American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego & Imperial Counties, which represented opponents seeking to get the cross moved, said the decision validated core legal ideas.

There are a couple of ways the case could move forward. The federal government, which now owns the land and was the defendant in the case, could ask a larger panel of the appeals court to review Tuesday’s decision. The larger panel could conclude the cross is OK where it is.

A second possibility, and one that people on both sides of the issue have long expected, would be for the case to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court, to determine once and for all the fate of the cross.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Appeals court says Calif. cross on public land must go" by Robert Marus, Associated Baptist Press 1/5/11

“[C]onsidering the entire context of the memorial, the memorial today remains a predominantly religious symbol,” wrote Circuit Judge Margaret McKeown in the court’s opinion. “The history and absolute dominance of the cross are not mitigated by the belated efforts to add less significant secular elements to the memorial.”

“The fact that the memorial also commemorates the war dead and serves as a site for secular ceremonies honoring veterans cannot overcome the effect of its decades-long religious history....," McKeown wrote. "The memorial’s relatively short history of secular usage does not predominate over its religious functions so as to eliminate the message of endorsement that the cross conveys.”

The court also noted the La Jolla community’s history of anti-Semitism between the 1920s and 1970s.

“Overall, a reasonable observer viewing the memorial would be confronted with an initial dedication for religious purposes, its long history of religious use, widespread public recognition of the cross as a Christian symbol, and the history of religious discrimination in La Jolla,” McKeown wrote. “These factors cast a long shadow of sectarianism over the memorial that has not been overcome by the fact that it is also dedicated to fallen soldiers, or by its comparatively short history of secular events.... The use of such a distinctively Christian symbol to honor all veterans sends a strong message of endorsement and exclusion. It suggests that the government is so connected to a particular religion that it treats that religion’s symbolism as its own, as universal. To many non-Christian veterans, this claim of universality is alienating.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Calif. War Memorial Cross Unconstitutional, Court Rules" by Stephanie Samuel, Christian Post Reporter 1/5/11

Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Joe Infranco labeled the ruling a tragedy.

“It’s tragic that the court chose a twisted and tired interpretation of the First Amendment over the common-sense idea that the families of fallen American troops should be allowed to honor these heroes as they choose,” he expressed in a statement following yesterday’s ruling.

Prior to this ruling, U.S. District Judge Larry Alan Burns ruled in 2008 that the cross does not violate the separation of Church and State.

"The court finds the memorial at Mt. Soledad, including its Latin cross, communicates the primarily non-religious messages of military service, death, and sacrifice," Burns wrote in his decision. "As such, despite its location on public land, the memorial is constitutional."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Click headlines below to read previous articles:

Federal Judges Rule Crosses Unconstitutional

Obama's Supreme Court, re: Mojave Christian Cross

Atheists Fail to Stop Texas Cross Sculpture

Neighbor Disturbed by Cross on the Hill

Atheists Force Christian Flag Out, Citizens Respond

Residents of King, North Carolina fight to restore Christian flag to Veteran’s Memorial in Central Park - City council reconsidering its surrender to ACLU et. al.

"Only one King resident has publicly supported the council’s decision [to remove] the flag."

UPDATE 1/20/15: Atheists Defeat King Veterans Memorial — City Gives Up on Lawsuit

UPDATE 11/2/10: City reverses itself; will devise flag-flying plan and hope to avoid ACLU lawsuit

UPDATE 10/24/10 (video) Thousands protest:


-- From "King council may revisit flag decision" by John Hinton, Winston-Salem Journal Reporter 10/21/10

The dispute began Sept. 15 when the council voted 3-1 to take down the flag from the memorial on the advice of City Attorney Walter W. Pitt Jr., who said it violated the First Amendment.

The flag, which has a Latin cross inside a blue rectangle on a white field, flew next to the U.S. flag, the North Carolina state flag, the city’s flag and six others.

In mid-August, the council and Pitt received letters from the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina and the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Both groups urged the council to remove the flag.

Officials with Americans United for the Separation of Church and State have said that they would consider filing a lawsuit against the city of King if the city council approves letting the flag fly again on city property.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Hundreds Expected For Rally In King" by Leslie Bray Evans, The Stokes News, posted at WXII TV-12 10/21/10

King residents are battening down the hatches for the storm of visitors expected to descend upon the city on Saturday. Oct. 23 is the long-awaited day for those who plan to attend “Return America -- Christian Flag March and Rally,” an event to show support for the Christian flag being flown again at the Veterans Memorial at Central Park in King.

Organizers state: “This will be an event that will be remembered far into the future for not only the town of King, but for all people that are concerned for the direction of the country, the threats against our freedoms to display religious images, and the continuing removal of God from our country's historical beginnings.”

Mike Marshall of King has been a visible factor in the fight to put the Christian flag back up at the Memorial. He estimates about 1,500 people will attend the March but says he won’t be surprised if it’s 500 or 15,000.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.



UPDATE 10/27/10 video:

Obama's Supreme Court, re: Mojave Christian Cross

The recent Supreme Court decision in the Salazar v. Buono case of the war memorial cross may not be representative of the bench filled by President Obama: The lineup does not bode well for other challenges to religious symbols, such as San Diego's 29-foot cross and war memorial on Mount Soledad.

UPDATE 11/11/12: New cross placed on 1-acre plot in Mojave, not on federal land

UPDATE 6/25/12: Federal Appeals Court Rules Cross Unconstitutional at Mt. Soledad, San Diego - Supreme Court Declines to Consider Case

UPDATE 5/11/10: Cross mysteriously stolen

-- From "Supreme Court overturns objection to cross on public land" by Robert Barnes, Washington Post Staff Writer 4/29/10

A splintered Supreme Court displayed its deep divisions over the separation of church and state . . . with the court's prevailing conservatives signaling a broader openness to the idea that the Constitution does not require the removal of religious symbols from public land.

A 5 to 4 decision by the court overturns a federal judge's objection to a white cross erected more than 75 years ago on a stretch of the Mojave Desert to honor the dead of World War I.

Six justices explained their reasoning in writing, often using stirring rhetoric or emotional images of sacrifice and faith to describe how religion can both honor the nation's dead and divide a pluralistic nation.

The bottom line, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote, is that "the Constitution does not oblige government to avoid any public acknowledgment of religion's role in society." Although joined in full only by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Kennedy's opinion will be closely parsed as courts across the country consider challenges to religious displays in public settings.

But it is a narrow ruling, offering less guidance for the future than a stark acknowledgment of the fundamental differences between the court's most consistent conservatives and its liberals in drawing the line between government accommodation of religion versus an endorsement of religion.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "When Is a Cross a Cross?" by Stanley Fish, New York Times 5/3/10

. . . Notice what this paroxysm of patriotism had done: it has taken the Christianity out of the cross and turned it into an all-purpose means of marking secular achievements. (According to this reasoning the cross should mark the winning of championships in professional sports.) It is one of the ironies of the sequence of cases dealing with religious symbols on public land that those who argue for their lawful presence must first deny them the significance that provokes the desire to put them there in the first place.

It has become a formula: if you want to secure a role for religious symbols in the public sphere, you must de-religionize them, either by claiming for them a non-religious meaning as Kennedy does here, or, in the case of multiple symbols in a park or in front of a courthouse, by declaring that the fact of many of them means that no one of them is to be taken seriously; they don’t stand for anything sectarian; they stand for diversity. So you save the symbols by leeching the life out of them. The operation is successful, but the patient is dead.

To read the opinion column above, CLICK HERE.

From "Supremes raise bar for non-Christians 'offended' by faith" by Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily 4/28/10

In the majority opinion delivered by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court said, "The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement does not require eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm. A cross by the side of a public highway marking, for instance, the place where a state trooper perished need not be taken as a statement of governmental support for sectarian beliefs. The Constitution does not oblige government to avoid any public acknowledgment of religion’s role in society."

Kennedy was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito. Roberts and Alito filed additional concurring opinions. Antonin Scalia filed a concurring opinion that was joined by Clarence Thomas. Opposing the ruling were John Stevens, Ruth Ginsberg, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer.

According to the Alliance Defense Fund, one of the organizations that has worked on the issue, the focal point of the case was whether someone who has suffered no harm but only claims being "offended" can sue to destroy religious references on public monuments and memorials.

"The ACLU and its allies should not be able to demolish war memorials based on the objection of one person who can't seriously claim to have suffered harm from it," said ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence.

"A passive monument acknowledging our nation's religious heritage cannot be interpreted as an establishment of religion," added ADF Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco. "To make that accusation, one must harbor both a hostility to the nation's history and a deep misunderstanding of the First Amendment."

Mathew D. Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law, said the issue is bigger than a single monument – or even all the monuments.

"If the courts returned to the original understanding of the Constitution, then these First Amendment religion cases would be easy. The next justice on the Supreme Court must be committed to upholding the rule of law and the original intent of the Constitution.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Supreme Court to Decide Freedom of Religion Cases

Onslaught of legal attacks by ACLU and homosexualists on religious liberty of Christians from the Boy Scouts to American veterans
UPDATE 9/17/09: Supreme Court decides to hear case

-- From "Ninth Circuit Stays Appeal Over Use of City Land for Scout Camp" by Metropolitan News-Enterprise Staff Writer 5/18/09

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Friday stayed an appeal in a years-long dispute over whether the [California] state Constitution allows public land to be leased to organizations that discriminate on the basis of religion or sexual orientation.

A three-judge panel . . . said it would await action by the U.S. Supreme Court before Barnes-Wallace v. City of San Diego, 04-55732, can go forward.

The plaintiffs, who identify themselves as being agnostic or gay, want to evict the Desert Pacific Council of the Boy Scouts of America from Camp Balboa in San Diego’s Balboa Park and the Youth Aquatic Center on Fiesta Island, also in San Diego, for which the scouts pay nominal rent to the city.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Lesbians look to boot Boy Scouts from own facilities" by Bob Unruh © 2009 WorldNetDaily 5/6/09

The case involves a series of projects by the Boy Scouts of America in San Diego. The private organization has provided millions of dollars in improvements to public facilities in exchange for their use but faces being banned because homosexuals and lesbians who never even were exposed to the work claimed their feelings were hurt.

The organization has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and now two major public interest law firms have joined them in their request.

"Radical homosexuals are attempting to use every means possible to destroy the Scouts despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that recognized their First Amendment right to have a morally-based policy excluding homosexual involvement," said Richard Thompson, president of the Thomas More Law Center, which worked with the the Alliance Defense Fund on the friend-of-the-court brief.

At issue in the case are leases from the city of San Diego allowing the San Diego Boy Scouts to build and operate campgrounds and an aquatic center on city property for their use and the public's.

. . . "There were no religious symbols at the facilities."

. . . Thomas More Law Center and Alliance Defense Fund lawyers . . . argue the court's "permission ideological standing rule" now creates a new threat to faith-based organizations that choose to cooperate with the government in establishing public benefit programs by subjecting them to lawsuits from people who never even "observed" anything.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Christian cross complaint targets nation's faith factor" by Bob Unruh © 2009 WorldNetDaily 5/21/09

A cross erected in the remote Arizona desert by U.S. veterans in memory of their lost World War I buddies has become the focal point for an effort by the American Civil Liberties Union to eradicate references to Christianity from America's heritage.

. . . the attack on the cross in the desert . . . now needs a favorable ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court or faces demolition.

The Mojave Desert Memorial Cross has stood for more than 75 years in honor of America's lost soldiers. It was erected in 1934 by World War I veterans who saw the image of a doughboy in the shadows on the stone hillside and wanted a place to remember their lost trench-mates from the big war.

But the ACLU, representing a man from Oregon who has alleged he might drive on the desert road in Arizona and might be offended by the cross, has won lower court rulings that the cross must cease to exist.

The cross was covered in a bag when the court's ruling was released, and later encased in a plywood box so that no one could inadvertently see the representation of Christianity, officials said.

Attorneys with the Liberty Legal Institute, which calls the case a "microcosm" of the trend of hostility towards veterans' memorials in the U.S, say the impact will reach many more memorials than just the one in Arizona.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.