May 25, 2009 Has anyone in your organization actually spent time in the military? If so, post your notarized DD214 online to give validity to your claims. [name withheld] A MRFF Volunteer's Response: May 25, 2009 Mr. [withheld], Thanks for taking the time to write Mr. Weinstein and address your concerns about MRFF. I recently received the above copy of your message. Mr. Weinstein does his level best to answer as much correspondence personally as he can, but his time is very limited by his heavy schedule. In fact, many of the MRFF staff, who are for the most part volunteers (like me), from Mr. Weinstein on down, have spent anywhere from a hitch to a full career in various branches of the military. Please allow me to introduce myself, since I am an example of the MRFF volunteers. My name is Jim Taylor, and I served in the US Marines, a family tradition going back to at least WW I, where my great-uncle was wounded. My father was a Marine in the Pacific in WWII (also WIA). One of my uncles was captured on Corregidor (also WIA) and was a Japanese POW for the duration. After his recuperation, he was among those who were mobilized by General MacArthur for Korea. He landed at Inchon, and later fought at the famed Chosin Reservoir under the famed Marine Chesty Puller, along with another of my uncles. Towards the end of his long career, he served in Vietnam during the early advisory period. My younger brother served during the Reagan era, and was a mmber of the MSG at NSB Bangor (WA). My first wife also served before and during Gulf I. My family members have also fought in every major war this country has engaged in since the Revolution. During the course of my own service, I was engaged in several of the major operations in Vietnam (1967-68), including close personal ground combat at Khe Sanh before and during the Siege, and in the Hue-Phu Bai area. I later served in various infantry units incl. E 2/2, M 3/9, and as MSG at CINCLNTFLT, and in Reconnaissance (1st and 3rd Battalions) in capacities up to and including acting platoon commander. (I was a SNCO at the time.) I was career-oriented, but was later given an enforced medical retirement following the loss of a limb. (I imagine they'd have kept me now, given the situation in the armed forces.) I give you this information not to "give validity to my claims" (which none of us really feel the need to do), but to help you to understand my own and my family's historic military background, which is fairly extensive. Though baptized and raised a Catholic, I left the church in my mid-teens, and am an agnostic, but I feel every person should be free to believe as he or she chooses, as long as they don't intrude their beliefs on others who don't wish to discuss it, especially during duty hours. Now I'd like to acquaint you with Mr. Weinstein's own military and civilian background. He and his family have a distinguished U.S. military history spanning three generations of military academy graduates and over 130 years of combined active duty military service, stemming from World War I to the current Global War on Terror. Mr. Weinstein's father was a distinguished graduate of the United States Naval Academy. Mr. Weinstein himself was a 1977 Honor Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He has been married for 31 years to his wife, Bonnie, and they have two sons and one daughter. His oldest son and daughter-in-law are 2004 Air Force Academy graduates, and his youngest son also graduated from the Academy (Class of 2007). He was the sixth member of the Weinstein family to attend the Academy. Mr. Weinstein spent 10 years in the Air Force as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) military attorney, serving as both a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney. A registered Republican, he also spent over three years in the West Wing of the Reagan Administration as a legal counsel to the White House. In his final position there, Mr. Weinstein was named the Committee Management Officer of the much-publicized Iran-Contra Investigation in his capacity as Assistant General Counsel of The White House Office of Administration, Executive Office of the President of the United States. He also held positions in corporate America as a senior executive businessman and attorney. After stints at prominent law firms in New York City and Washington D.C., he served as the first General Counsel to Texas billionaire and two-time Presidential candidate H. Ross Perot and Perot Systems Corporation. He left Mr. Perot's employ in 2006 to focus his full-time attention on the nonprofit foundation he founded - The Military Religious Freedom Foundation - which he set up in response to his growing awareness of serious systemic problems involving freedom of conscience in the military. Mr. Weinstein was named one of the 50 most influential Jews in America by the Forward, one of the nation’s preeminent Jewish publications, and has also received nomination for the JFK’s Profile in Courage Award and received the Buzzflash Wings of Justice Award. Mr. Weinstein is Jewish. His wife is a convert to that faith, and his family (and the MRFF) includes both observant Jews and Christians. Mr. Weinstein and MRFF are not opposed to religion - they are opposed to people in the service being force-fed religion against their will by people in positions of power over them who should ostensibly be looking out for them. When he first started this campaign, Mr. Weinstein thought that all he need do was to call official attention to the problems, and they would be addressed by the system that he had so long supported and been a part of. However, since setting up MRFF and campaigning for the Constitutional right of service members to freedom of conscience, Mr. Weinstein has found the problems to be far deeper and more embedded than he had ever imagined, and that the personnel and officials responsible for dealing with the issues were actually part of the problem - up to and including flag officers and Inspector Generals. In addition, he and his family have received numerous vitriolic threats from people (who call themselves "Christians") on an almost daily basis. These include death and dismemberment (often in obscene ways), threats to rape and kill his wife, etc. They have also had their home vandalized and daubed with feces, painted with swastikas and other such hate symbols, had their tires slashed, and in general been subjected to a campaign of hate and vitriol hardly to be imagined in this day and age. However, instead of being cowed by this hatred, he has been galvanized by it. Each vicious and hateful threat and act makes him more resolute. He has resolutely sacrificed his personal safety, security, peace of mind and fortune (and that of his family) to fight for the Constitution and the right of ALL people of faith (or no faith) to be free to believe as they please. MRFF was not founded to persecute Christians or force them to be other than what they choose to be - quite the opposite - it was founded to protect service personnel of ALL beliefs from being persecuted for their beliefs, or forced to attend or participate in specific programs contrary to their conscience and in clear and often flagrant violation of military regulation, Federal law, and the Constitution. When Christian service members come to MRFF with a problem, they are given the same attention and assistance as any other person. In point of fact, 96% of all cases being handled by MRFF currently are people who self-identify as Christians of varying sects. This includes Protestants of all sorts, Catholics, and a handful of Eastern Orthodox. Many are forced to seriously restrict their communications, as they would suffer serious blow-back from their commands, which are dominated by the people MRFF generally opposes in these cases - Domininionist / Reconstructionist fundamentalists. About 4% are other faiths - Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and at least one Sikh, as well as some self-identified pagans, atheists, and agnostics. Most of the problems MRFF have been addressing have come from a very specific source - i.e., the radical far-right and extremely militant wing of the Christian evangelical movement, especially the Dominionist / Reconstructionist elements (led by Gary North and the late RJ Rushdoony, among others), who have slowly infiltrated the military and the government for years. These groups openly avow the take-over of the United States, the disestablishment of the Republic and all forms of democracy, and the establishment of a theocracy governed by their warped vision of an Old Testament form of Sharia on steroids. If you are not familiar with these movements, I urge you to study them and their aims and goals, which, like Hitler's in Mein Kampf, have been clearly stated. I hasten to add these are not just a few whacked-out, wild-eyed looney-tunes Elmer Gantrys - there are many of them, and they have many "fellow-travelers" some knowing, some merely dupes. Many are educated, polished, and sophisticated, and they operate in many high circles all over the US and indeed the world. They have a clear agenda, and are following a game plan to arrive at their ultimate goal. Dominionists / Reconstructionists encompass a number of essentially fundamentalist-extremist religious groups, whose collective agenda includes ultimately gaining control of the US by exploiting the democratic process, and installing a theocracy based on their interpretation of "God's law" cognate with Muslim Sharia. Essentially, they are an "American Taliban" as they have been called elsewhere. These people are not in favor of democracy OR a Republic. In fact, they have often written that democracy and Christianity are incompatible. They are theocratic totalitarians who seek to take political control of first the US, and then the world. In the words of one of their late leaders, RJ Rushdoony, they plan to "...lead them to Jesus - in chains, if necessary." They want to establish an Old Testament-based theocracy and law that would include public stoning, burning at the stake, or death by the sword of "transgressors." Rushdoony listed eighteen "capital crimes", including blasphemy, witchcraft, astrology, adultery, promiscuity, incorrigible delinquency, homosexuality, and (for women only, of course) unchastity before marriage. Their theology dictates that, among other things, women may not wear red dresses; all kitchens be Kosher; slavery be allowed; and women and children become once again chattel property. Punishment for non-capital crimes includes whipping and / or indentured servitude or slavery. Prisons would only be temporary holding tanks while prisoners awaited sentencing. Legal systems would be forced to comply with the Reconstructionist interpretation of Old Testament Biblical Law. Rushdoony's Chalcedon organization helped establish a radical right legal organization, The Rutherford Institute, to promote, through the courts, the Religious Radical Right agenda. They also plan to "convert" (by force, if necessary) or "eliminate" all who refuse to accept their warped version of Christianity. In other words, as they have been so aptly described elsewhere, they are an American Taliban, practicing a "biblical" form of Sharia. Their "fellow travelers" extend to public officials, as mentioned. Gov. Huckabee (in many other respects an admirable man) stated publicly during his recent campaign that he would find it "easier to re-write the Constitution to reflect God's Law" rather than the other way around. Even given the fact that he is a former minister, the idea that a man aspiring to the highest office in the land, who would have taken a solemn oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, was willing to "re-write" it in such a way as to completely overturn it shocked me to my core. They have slowly been infiltrating government, the military, and other areas of power for over fifty years. These far right-wing zealots are now deeply embedded in all branches of the government and the military, and have worked or schemed their way into positions of great authority. They are now in positions of power at all levels, especially since the advent of the Bush regime. The difficulty is that even many more mainstream Christians who are associated with them (people such as I presume you may be) are totally unaware of what is going on - not just in this matter but in many areas. Many Christians (even those in some "stealth" Dominionist sects who are not in the inner circles) don't know what is really afoot unless they achieve the "inner sanctum." Even in my day, "prayer breakfasts" were known as a good thing for promotion and preferment in some units. As to the "proselytization" - it is ILLEGAL to do so in uniform, and especially to command your subordinates to do so, according to the UCMJ and other military regulations. I might add that your position that it is "okay" because a majority of the personnel are Christians is also untenable. First, there are people of ALL faiths and NO faith in the service, and even among Christians, there are scores or even hundreds of splinter sects or beliefs which have many different interpretations of the Bible and what Christian belief should be - many of these are mutually incompatible even with other Christian sects. However, they all have rights under the Constitution, and these include the right to believe (or not believe) as they please. However, a group of ultra-radical, far-right militant evangelicals and their fellow-travelers are trying to force THEIR narrow brand of belief on others - even other Christians who don't meet THEIR standards (which surprisingly might include YOU!) They argue that they can do as they please, because they are a "majority" in the US. (Which doesn't mean anything anyway, according to our Constitution, which guarantees freedom of conscience, and protection of all citizens.) Now, put the shoe on the other foot - if 86% of the country were Muslims, Jews, atheists, Wiccans, or whatever, (even another "Christian" group your sect disagreed with), and were trying to cram THEIR form of religion (or a-religion) down YOUR throat, would you or other Christians be OK with "sitting down and shutting up" as some right-wing Christians suggest we do? No. They would (rightly!) cite their Constitutional rights to practice and believe in their faith. We are not talking about "gentle persuasion" here - we are talking about in-your-face, aggressive, and highly obnoxious tactics by highly disciplined and well-organized hard corps of aggressive Reconstructionist / Dominionist radical right "ministers" and officers and SNCOs to proselytize not only the "unchurched" and other non-Christians, but even members of less radical, mainstream Christian sects. They have used organized verbal and even physical harassment, issuing of illegal orders and threats (including in some cases death threats!), vindictive "dirty" assignments to those who don't knuckle under (including in combat zones, assignment to potentially deadly missions), withholding promotions or awards, etc. - much of it from SNCOs and officers, the people charged with upholding the rights of their troops and responsible for the maintenance of good discipline and morale. The govt. - both parties - seem for the most part to be either afraid of these people or cooperating willingly with them either for ideological or political reasons. If these people gain ultimate power, the non-religious of any description will of course be first to be dealt with, one way or the other - atheists, agnostics, etc. Then the non-Christian religious such as Muslims, Buddhists, etc. I imagine the Jews would be next, and then, of course, their fellow travelers and dupes in coalition organizations that support their ends, will soon find themselves the next targets. Christians who are not of the "right" type - i.e., those who don't adhere to the American Taliban's "biblical" Sharia - will be next to be carted off to the public stoning or burning sites - or merely mass-murdered by Dominionist storm-troopers. They now have "Christian" versions of the extremely violent video game genre. One such was designed and released by a company headed by Troy Lyndon, reportedly a close associate of Rick Warren, leader of the "mega-church" at Saddleback. The game is set in a post-Millenial New York in which part of your "duties" as a member of the "good guys" (called the "Christian Tribulation Forces") are to either convert or kill non-Christian people, who are all considered forces of the "Anti-Christ's Global Peacekeeping Force" (obviously the UN). See: http://www.religioustolerance.org/hatevgame.htm for details. It has apparently also gotten support and good reviews by Dr. Dobson's group, Focus on the Family (who normally rail against vid game violence) and other purportedly "Christian" groups. I have also seen some web-based "games" of this nature, and other sites - one specifically by and for US Special Forces and SEAL members, quite a number of whom are also involved in this cult - which encourages them to be preparing to murder "unbelievers." I could go on at great length, but it would take longer than I have to detail everything that is already going on behind the scenes. It boggles the imagination. The MRFF was founded to counteract these people - and to force the military and the government to enforce the Constitutional boundaries established by the Founders, and protect people of ALL faiths or no faith - including Christians whose sect or personal beliefs don't meet the "standards" of ultra-radical evangelicals (maybe even you) - from being harassed by these far right-wing radical sects. It is also trying to stop the erosion of our Constitution and infiltration of our armed forces, judiciary, and legislative bodies by these same Dominionists, who view this as an important step to their eventual takeover. I am afraid that you, like many of your peers, labor under a misapprehension of both the nature of the Constitution and the intent of the Founders. The American Republic was a product of a broad new flowering of thought among the intellectual elite of European philosophers from about the middle of the 17th century to the early 19th century known as the "Age of Enlightenment" (sometimes included with its early 17th century predecessor, the "Age of Reason"). Its principles were based on reason and intellect instead of illogic, irrationality, and superstition, and sought to replace both the aristocracy and established churches, which were viewed by them as reactionary and oppressive. Many of these philosophers were not religious at all. In America, many of the men who became the Founders were followers of this movement. Though most were nominally raised as Christians of one sect or another, others, such as Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, and Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, The Age of Reason, and Rights of Man (among others) were Deists at best, eschewing the "miraculous" elements of mainstream religion. Many (including Washington) were Masons, who, while publicly announcing belief in a higher power, were definitely not mainstream Christians. They therefore set this into law in the Constitution and its amendments. The "No Establishment" and "No religious test" clauses are, (or should be) crystal clear. In case you are unfamiliar with or have forgotten these clauses, I quote the relevant aspects here: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." ". . . no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." (Article VI, Section III, US Constitution) That clearly means what it says - that NO religion is or shall be preferred or made THE state religion over any other (and that includes Christianity), but that free exercise of ALL religions (including Judaism, Islam, and any others, or NO others) shall not be prohibited. That means we all have freedom of conscience - you, me, the Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Mormons, Culdees, Amish, Branch Davidians (Oops! Not them, I guess - they were wiped out by a benevolent govt.), Pagans, Wiccans, Flying Spaghetti Monster Pastafarians, or any other religion, creed, or cult - or NO religion - have equal rights to practice (or not) as they choose. Here are some further quotes to further assist you in understanding the Founders' intent: Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, and who was heavily involved with the Constitution and Bill of Rights, was a Deist with a belief in the moral teachings (though not the divinity or miracles) of Jesus. Writing in his autobiography about the passage of the Bill Establishing Religious Freedom in his home state of VA, he said: James Madison expressed a similar sentiment when describing the same incident. Jefferson commented a good deal on religion. Here are a handful of his quotes which should serve to elucidate the case; "Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity." - Notes on Virginia, 1782 "They [clergy] believe that any portion of power confided to me, will be exerted in opposition to their schemes. And they believe rightly; for I have sworn upon the altar of god, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, Sept. 23, 1800 "In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own." - letter to Horatio G. Spafford, March 17, 1814 Thomas Paine wrote in The Age of Reason; "I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church. All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit." MRFF is opposing the attempt by elements of a far-right, anti-democratic, group who call themselves "Christians" to impose not only their beliefs but their will on the members of the US Armed Forces, as well as elected and appointed officials, and ultimately upon the nation and the world - and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what their ultimate goals are, especially since they have clearly stated them. I hope this helps clarify your understanding of the MRFF and Mr. Weinstein's goals. He is not out to destroy or persecute Christians or anyone else - merely to fulfill the oath he and the rest of us took when entering service to "...uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." We took that oath seriously, and I wrote my country a blank check on my life for it. Not for the "flag" not for a politician, and most definitely not for some mythology - but to support the best work ever produced by imperfect humans in an imperfect world - to the death, if the need arises. I still take that oath very seriously - as I do any threats to that country or that document, whether by foreign fighters or terrorists, or domestic theocrats. If the latter really want to live in a theocracy replete with Bronze Age laws and punishments - let them move to the best example of that in the modern world - Iran. They will only establish it here over my dead body. Very Sincerely, F. J. Taylor A response from the detractor: May 26, 2009 If your diatribe was meant to elicit sympathy or support it has failed. Our volunteer's final response: May 26, 2009 Mr. [withheld], Thanks for your prompt response - I was hoping you'd write back, because I forgot to mention in my earlier letter that in addition to Mr. Weinstein and myself, MRFF staff, volunteers, and supporters proudly include active duty, reserve, and retired military personnel from all branches and eras, holding a variety of decorations and awards, ranking from E-1 through O-10, and representing many collective years of service, so we really don't feel that we have any "validity" issues - at least not with anyone who actually knows us. I did discuss your suggestion with Mr. Weinstein and some of the others, but the consensus was that posting our "notarized DD 214s" on the Net is neither necessary or desirable. In the first place, as stated, we don't have a validity or credibility issue with those whose opinions we actually care about, and even if we did as you suggest, it would not serve any logical purpose - our personal information would then be on the Net - not a great idea security-wise, I think even you will admit (unless that was your purpose in proposing it). Also, I have no doubt that you or others like you would in any case accuse us of posting phony versions, or tell us our service "doesn't matter" because we believe differently from you (which has already happened to some of us). There is thus no point in acceding to your request, since either way we gain nothing. (I might point out that we still have no idea who you actually are, or what military service, if any, you have.) As to my letter - I hadn't considered or intended it as a "diatribe" at least in the primary modern definition of that word as "a bitter, abusive denunciation or criticism" - although I suppose one could make an argument for its older use as "a discourse, short ethical treatise or lecture, debate, argument." However, it appears that is how you chose to see it. My letter was merely intended as an explanation of our position and a statement of the facts. What you choose to do with those facts is entirely up to you. As to "eliciting sympathy or support" - while the MRFF always welcomes support from any who care to freely give it, we certainly don't need or solicit sympathy - which, as we used to say in the Corps, "lies in the dictionary between shit and syphilis." Nor do we fear opposition from any quarter, least of all from anonymous Net bravos. If we did, we wouldn't be engaged in this work, which is stressful, costly, and occasionally physically dangerous. We are forced to assume from your response that you are either an ally of the Dominionists or a similar cult, or some other opposition group. That is entirely your choice. However, if you are aligned with those we oppose, and mean us ill, it may be appropriate to quote the specter which, according to Roman tradition, appeared to Brutus before his last fatal fight; "Farewell. We will meet again at Phillipi." There is obviously nothing further we have to discuss, and while we would have been happy to gain your support, we most certainly don't fear your opposition or sanctions, so I deeply regret having wasted our mutual time trying to give you a civil, adequate and intelligent response, but I always feel that is worth trying - once. I have had several successes with it - when dealing with intelligent, fully-functioning human beings who are willing to listen with an open mind. However, I have the feeling that any response from anyone would not be acceptable to you. One is reminded of Twain's drollery; “Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.” I shan't make the same mistake twice, and will recommend to the others that they do as I plan to do - mark your messages as spam and bounce them without reading. F. J. Taylor SUPPORT MRFF As we continue to fight in the courts, the media,
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