MRFF and Veterans for Common Sense Take a Stand, Send Letter in Support of Religious Freedom Policies at Houston VA Cemetery
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July 7, 2011
The Honorable Erik Shinseki
Secretary
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
Dear Secretary Shinseki;
Veterans for Common Sense and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation are closely following the troubling developments at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) cemetery in Houston, Texas. Our non-profit, non-partisan organizations provide public relations and government relations advocacy to protect the civil rights and civil liberties which our service members and veterans fought to preserve and enhance.
VCS and MRFF are alarmed at the shocking level of misinformation and legal ignorance of the Liberty Institute and the Tea Party extremists. After reviewing VA’s policies, we agree with and support the expression (or lack of expression) of religious preferences by families. Our organizations also forcefully denounce the transparent and crass opportunism of the Liberty Institute and Tea Party to create a controversy where none existed. The organizations are fostering fear with their baseless allegations of religious censorship, when, in fact, there is an abundance of religious freedom. We strongly object to their hidden partisan agenda of using VA facilities to proselytize on hallowed grounds before, during, and after funeral services for our honorable veterans and their loving family members.
VCS and MRFF urge VA to continue to publicize the agency’s policy of “respecting every veteran and their family’s right to a burial service that honors their faith tradition,” especially when no religion or religious preference is chosen by the deceased and his or her family. Thank you for your continued successful advocacy for our veterans.
Sincerely,

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

Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
Veterans For Common Sense
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Mikey
Thanks for this letter. I’ve been following this as well. Here is my post on the Houston VA website
Director Muro
Thanks you for this explanation on VA policy on the use of”God” and “Jesus “in VA burials. My Father and Mother are both buried in Arlington National Cemetery and I found the claims that these words were not allowed in the Houston cemetery to be puzzling to say the least. It just did not add up given my own experience with Veteran burials (I am a Viet Nam vet with combat experience). I was made aware of the situation by a Facebook friend. His conclusion was that Obama’s Marxist agenda was responsible for this action in an effort to end religious freedom. Furthermore he described Obama appointee Sec Eric Shinsiki as the poster child in the assault on our religious freedoms and liberty. In other words this West Point Grad who was wounded three times in Viet Nam, whose men apparently loved him for his bravery and valor and who rose to the rank of four star General and Army Chief of Staff is a trader. If you look at the video of the protest rally and read the blogs on this issue there is a common political theme – the current administration (you included) is anti-Christian anti freedom and anti-American
Sir, you and the VA are being demonized unfairly. The initial reaction of your accusers was not a request for clarification but rather they found an opportunity to seize a moment for political gain. But there are many deeply religious people responding to this action not concerned about political gain and want a meaningful explanation. They are deeply offended. While your statement is good for me the saboteurs will not rest. If you don’t put this to bed they will bury you so go on offense.
With Respect
Ted Puryeaer
PS if this Director is rouge with these policies she needs to go
1984 going down…New World Order going down…Banker cartel going down…nazi Talmudic-piggie-jews going down…
eheheheh…You had the last 250 years, now its our turn.
“The Bible says that the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous. It is high time that we have top Christian businessmen, businesswomen, bankers, you know, who are men and women of integrity, running the economics of our nations. That’s what we are waiting for. That’s part and parcel of transformation. If you look at the Israelites, you know, that’s how they won. And that’s how they are, even today. When we will see that, you know, the talk transport us in the lands. We see, you know, the bankers. We see the people holding the paths. They are believers. We will not have the kind of corruption that we are hearing in our societies.” – Thomas Muthee
OINK! OINK! Talmudic-piggy going OINK! OINK!
Keep up the great work, Mikey. People like the douchebag whose comments are above will meet theirs one day when they face God and he sends them straight to Hell for their racist, anti-Semitic insanity. If people like this, especially the scum of the Westboro Baptist Church, ever show their faces at any veterans final resting place out here in the Oregon desert, they will not leave here. There are so many places where you can disappear in the desert.
In response to Thomas Muthee;
Are you trying to tell us that christians are more ethical, incorruptible people that there are? This is one of the most incredible statements I’ve heard lately. There are a great many “christians” doing decidedly un-christian things. To name just a few, Ted Haggard, remember him? Taking dope with a male prostitute. Jerry Falwell? Busted with a prostitute. Jimmy Swaggert? Same thing. The fellow who gunned down a physician named Tiller in a church in Kansas, because he was doing “The Lords Work” in killing a doctor who performed abortions, I guess he felt that doing it on “Holy Ground” would get the lord’s attention.
I could go on, but I think they have a word limit on these posts.
Thanks, Mikey, for all your work.