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BREAKING NEWS:

"INGLORIOUS PASTOR"
GIUNTA OFF AGENDA
DUE TO MRFF

Fundamentalist fraudster and phony "Doctor" Ray Giunta out of Pentagon Prayer Breakfast

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

"The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is absolutely delighted that the nefarious fundamentalist Christian fraud, liar and con-man, Ray Giunta, will no longer be the featured speaker at tomorrow morning's 'Pentagon Prayer Breakfast.' We will not, however, 'congratulate' the Pentagon for honoring MRFF's direct demand to terminate Giunta's privileged speaking engagement. Quite the contrary, in fact. On behalf of MRFF's 211 armed forces clients at the Pentagon who came to us in fear and desperation for MRFF's intercession to stop this terrible travesty, MRFF renews its demand to the Pentagon to aggressively and expeditiously investigate the specifics of how and why this well-established Christian religious extremist scam-artist was given the honor to speak in the first place. Any and all who bear responsibility must be severely and publicly punished. As this investigatory accountability demand is akin to having the 'fox investigate the hen house,' MRFF expects the usual whitewash from those unconstitutional cowards complicit in this ignominious disaster at DoD."

Michael L. "Mikey" Weinstein, Esq.
Founder & President
Military Religious Freedom Foundation


MRFF FEATURED BY
THE HUFFINGTON POST

Ray Giunta, Discredited Pastor, No Longer Appearing At Pentagon Prayer Breakfast

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

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Selected Article Excerpts:

  • A controversial pastor with a history of exaggerating his background is no longer scheduled to be the featured speaker at Wednesday's Pentagon Prayer Breakfast after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation drew attention to his checkered past.
  • Michael Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, demanded that the Pentagon revoke its invitation to the man he described to The Huffington Post as a "well-known Christian fundamentalist scam artist."
  • When asked by The Huffington Post about the decision to bring in Giunta and MRFF's demand that his invitation be withdrawn, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon responded on Monday afternoon, "The Office of the Pentagon Chaplain supports the free exercise of religion of all faith groups represented by Pentagon personnel and regularly invites speakers from diverse faith groups to speak about their experiences and perspectives to Pentagon employees."

    But on Tuesday morning, the Office of the Chaplain at the Pentagon sent a revised invitation to the prayer breakfast saying that Giunta was no longer going to speak.
  • A major who works on the Army staff at the Pentagon and is one of MRFF's clients told The Huffington Post on Monday that he was deeply disturbed by the invitation to Giunta because of the larger message it conveyed and the harm it could do to the Defense Department. He requested anonymity for fear of repercussions

Click to read this article
at The Huffington Post


MRFF FEATURED BY
HUFFPOST LIVE (VIDEO)

Pastor at the Pentagon

"IF THE PENTAGON CAN'T FIND A GUY WITH A SKETCHY
PAST, WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT THEM?"

Click to watch video
at HuffPost Live


PREVIOUS MRFF COVERAGE
BY HUFFINGTON POST

Pentagon Prayer Breakfast
To Feature Discredited
Pastor Ray Giunta

Monday, November 26, 2012

Selected Article Excerpts:

  • Ray Giunta has been publicly called out for illegally taking $10,200 from a cemetery board, falsely claiming to have advanced degrees and diagnosing young people as having mental disorders despite not being a doctor. But on Wednesday, he will get a coveted perch at the Pentagon, as a guest speaker at the Defense Department's prayer breakfast.
  • "Arming a well known Christian fundamentalist scam-artist like Giunta with an homage so profound as to be the designated special guest speaker at this highly visible Pentagon religious event is simply beyond the pale of acceptability and literally strains credulity," said Michael Weinstein, the founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which is calling on the Pentagon to revoke Giunta's invitation.

  • Weinstein and MRFF, which is dedicated to protecting military members' religious freedoms, first became aware of Giunta's speaking slot when the group's clients stationed at the Pentagon complained about the event. MRFF, on behalf of these 211 members of the armed forces, is demanding that the Pentagon revoke its invitation to Giunta. Of MRFF's clients, 189 are practicing Protestants or Roman Catholics. Further, MRFF wants an investigation into who was involved in inviting Giunta and how the event came about.

  • A major who works on the Army staff at the Pentagon and is one of MRFF's clients told The Huffington Post he was deeply disturbed by Giunta's planned appearance, for the harm it could do to the Defense Department and the larger message it conveyed. He requested anonymity for fear of repercussions. [...] He added that he was worried that Giunta's appearance was part of a larger effort by some people in the military to turn members of the armed forces into "warriors for God." "That's not our mission," he added. "We have a constitutional mission, not a religious mission."

Click to read this article
at The Huffington Post


PREVIOUS IGNOMINIOUS
INVITES CANCELLED
DUE TO MRFF PRESSURE

Giunta was simply the latest in long track-record of
DoD attempts to give platforms to notorious
Christian fundamentalists, each of which were
challenged and dashed by MRFF.

1/30/12 MRFF VICTORY ALERT: Under Pressure from MRFF and other Civil Rights Allies, Islamophobic Retired Lt. Gen. Boykin Withdraws from National Prayer Breakfast at West Point

"We are deeply saddened that it took a public outcry of this magnitude to cause Boykin to pull out from this event, likely under pressure from within the Pentagon. Our outcry must not stop – all individuals within the command structure responsible for inviting this vile Islamophobe must be held accountable via courts martial." - Mikey Weinstein

4/22/10 FOXNEWS.COM - Army disinvites
Graham to Pentagon Prayer Day

Evangelist Franklin Graham's invitation to speak at a Pentagon prayer service has been rescinded because his comments about Islam were inappropriate, the Army said Thursday.
Graham, the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, in 2001 described Islam as evil. More recently, he has said he finds Islam offensive and wants Muslims to know that Jesus Christ died for their sins.
...The Military Religious Freedom Foundation had raised the objection to Graham's appearance, citing his past remarks about Islam.


MRFF In Box

FROM MRFF'S INBOX

ABUSIVE AND EFFUSIVE,
MRFF GETS IT ALL

Juxtaposed, these two emails
show the contrasting extremes of
feedback received by MRFF every day


"you only won for
satan today jew"

From: (Fake email address removed)
Subject: you only won for satan today jew
Received: Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Mr Weinstein, funny how you and your loudmouth band of "freedom FROM religion" troublemakers at the MRFF only try to stop our devout and humble Christians clergymen from preaching and witnessing the Truth of our Savior's Gospel, isn't it? Doesn't matter if its at the West Point Academy or AF Academy. And now yet again you strike an ambush at the pentagon? You and your MRFF cohorts in crime only target Christian leaders and preachers who proudly walk with The Christ in The Spirit. And try to expose with gentelness and grace of spirit and Christian love The Word. To our otherwise lost soldiers. It is a simple rescue operation, Mr. weinstein. If you die without knowing Jesus you will be in hell with satan for all eternity. The more soldiers which hear the Gospel of Jesus the less will be in hell a flame in tormant. What can you and your followers not understand about this mercy? Far be it from the MRFF to ever try to stop a jew or moslem or atheist or queer right? Of course you do fully understand it all. We know you do. Your a lost one as being a jew. And give a jew a chance to lend a hand to satan and the jew will follow his lying devil nature. As our Savior already predicted in John chapter eight, verse forty four* you Mr. Wienstein will do your father satans bidding. Oh you think you won today at the pentagon? You did. But only for satan your father and the sire of all jews. Our soldiers battle with Satan continues. And all you do is help the evil one. By stopping Christ's leaders on fallen earth. Their blood is on your hands and the hands of the MRFF. And when your blood is spilt whose hands will it be on then jew?

(Emphasis added by MRFF)

* John 8:44 (KVJ): Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.




"MRFF's Dirty, Thankless Job"

From: (Email address withheld)
Subject: MRFF's Dirty, Thankless Job
Received: Monday, November 26, 2012

Dear Mikey,

I need to take a moment and thank you and MRFF, and to sound a call to action. I've been in the military for over 20 years – National Guard and Active Duty, enlisted and officer. I have been to Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. I have seen my brothers killed and wounded, and I've had stuff blowing up around me. In these places, religious extremism is the order of the day, and it's easy to see the chaos, madness, and ruin that result from it. It is truly ugly.

Unfortunately, we have a similar brand of religious extremism in America, with legions of organizations dedicated to transforming the military into divine warriors. Many of us have suffered civil rights abuses at the hands of these organizations and their minions in the ranks. This is unacceptable, and while many servicemembers see that extremism for what it is and have a strong desire to fight back, we simply can't afford to engage in a public scuffle. You and MRFF have bravely stepped up and accepted the dirty, thankless job of fighting that extremism on the home front.

The latest battle involves Ray Giunta showing up as the guest speaker at a Pentagon prayer breakfast. This guy is a Christian fundamentalist, and a known liar and con artist, yet the Pentagon chaplain's office still wants him to come! I am appalled that the military would willingly associate with this fraud. It's disgraceful, and his presence there makes a mockery of the freedoms I have fought for. Please do everything in your power to convince the Pentagon to rescind Giunta's invitation.

Thank you Mikey and MRFF for giving us a voice. Thank you Mikey and MRFF for giving us a way to push back. Thank you Mikey and MRFF for taking up the fight.

(Active Duty U.S. Army Officer's name, rank, MOS, assigned military unit and military installation all withheld)

(Emphasis added by MRFF)


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