Todd Starnes report

Published On: December 7, 2014|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|0 Comments|

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Mike,

This was just posted my Todd Starnes on his FB page, I am sure Mikey would revel in this, but a lot of the comments by current and former military says that this soldier has a credible complaint if he wants to file it against this female officer. I guess we can thank Mikey for wanting our military to become like this officer.

I just received an email from one of our readers who was on board a military transport. He was reading a copy of my book, “God Less America.”

He told me an officer scolded him for reading the book and ordered him to put it away. She accused him of attempting to proselytize while on board a military aircraft.

The reader did as he was told. Later in the flight he began reading on his Nook. The same officer demanded to know what he was reading.

“So long as it’s not the same book, I’m satisfied,” she said.

This is what I meant when I wrote in “God Less America” that President Obama was turning our military into a social engineering petri dish.

(name withheld)


Hi Bob –

In order to reply to your comments about the Todd Starnes piece, I’ll have to start with a generous assumption that the information provided by Starnes is accurate and truthful. I say this not to be unfair to Starnes, but because his track record is poor. He regularly produces pieces that are misleading at their best, dishonest at their worst. Two recent examples are his commentary about the Coeur D’Alene wedding chapel, and the Wheaton College ROTC program. But rather than just dismiss your inquiry because the source is not entirely trustworthy, I’ll answer in a manner that assumes Starnes isn’t being fanciful in his ‘reporting’ again.

Your assumption that Mikey, or anyone else associated with MRFF, would “revel in this” or would want “our military to become like this officer” only confirms your bias (and lack of understanding) about the mission and goals of MRFF. If the story is accurate as reported by Starnes, and the military member was simply reading a book of his choosing while riding as a passenger on a military transport, then the action of the officer seems inappropriate to me. The further assertion that the officer supposedly challenged what the military member was reading on his Nook (when it would be impossible for anyone to even know what he was reading) is nearly beyond belief. But if an officer actually did challenge the military member as claimed, then that would be an overreach on the part of the officer, as well.

Of course, I can easily think of several variations of this scenario where it could be entirely appropriate for a leader to expect a subordinate to be doing duty-related activity and not personal reading (regardless of the content of the book). But without knowing more about what may or may not have actually happened, it’s difficult to offer conjecture.

The bottom line is that MRFF is not interested in eliminating Christianity, or any religion, from our military. Quite the contrary, we are “dedicated to ensuring that all members of the United States Armed Forces fully receive the Constitutional guarantees of religious freedom to which they and all Americans are entitled by virtue of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.”

If the military member in this case actually is actually a real person and not a Todd Starnes construct, and if he were to contact MRFF, he would be treated in the same manner as any military member who contacts our organization. If examination of his situation were to reveal that his individual right to religious freedom was being threatened by a leader who is pushing a sectarian agenda, then the military member would be supported in the same manner as any MRFF client.

As for Starnes, I’m sure he hopes that his courageous reporting about this alleged, awful treatment of his book will help to boost lagging sales, so at least he’s got that going for him.

Peace, Mike

Hi (name withheld) –

In order to reply to your comments about the Todd Starnes piece, I’ll have to start with a generous assumption that the information provided by Starnes is accurate and truthful. I say this not to be unfair to Starnes, but because his track record is poor. He regularly produces pieces that are misleading at their best, dishonest at their worst. Two recent examples are his commentary about the Coeur D’Alene wedding chapel, and the Wheaton College ROTC program. But rather than just dismiss your inquiry because the source is not entirely trustworthy, I’ll answer in a manner that assumes Starnes isn’t being fanciful in his ‘reporting’ again.

Your assumption that Mikey, or anyone else associated with MRFF, would “revel in this” or would want “our military to become like this officer” only confirms your bias (and lack of understanding) about the mission and goals of MRFF. If the story is accurate as reported by Starnes, and the military member was simply reading a book of his choosing while riding as a passenger on a military transport, then the action of the officer seems inappropriate to me. The further assertion that the officer supposedly challenged what the military member was reading on his Nook (when it would be impossible for anyone to even know what he was reading) is nearly beyond belief. But if an officer actually did challenge the military member as claimed, then that would be an overreach on the part of the officer, as well.

Of course, I can easily think of several variations of this scenario where it could be entirely appropriate for a leader to expect a subordinate to be doing duty-related activity and not personal reading (regardless of the content of the book). But without knowing more about what may or may not have actually happened, it’s difficult to offer conjecture.

The bottom line is that MRFF is not interested in eliminating Christianity, or any religion, from our military. Quite the contrary, we are “dedicated to ensuring that all members of the United States Armed Forces fully receive the Constitutional guarantees of religious freedom to which they and all Americans are entitled by virtue of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.”

If the military member in this case actually is actually a real person and not a Todd Starnes construct, and if he were to contact MRFF, he would be treated in the same manner as any military member who contacts our organization. If examination of his situation were to reveal that his individual right to religious freedom was being threatened by a leader who is pushing a sectarian agenda, then the military member would be supported in the same manner as any MRFF client.

As for Starnes, I’m sure he hopes that his courageous reporting about this alleged, awful treatment of his book will help to boost lagging sales, so at least he’s got that going for him.

Peace, Mike

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