Airman Told To Recite ‘So Help Me God’ Or Leave Military
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D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Real news. With snark, invective, and lots of links. Guaranteed behaving badly.
edmeyer_able September 6th, 2014 at 8:43 am
Thank you scotus for re-affirming sharia law. This is not how we should be spending our time or resources.
Larry Schmitt September 6th, 2014 at 9:26 am
I don’t think they have heard this issue yet. And I don’t know why it is an issue. Most (possibly all, I don’t feel like researching it) courts allow witnesses to “affirm” instead of swear an oath, so I don’t know why that can’t be used in every case.
Dwendt44 September 6th, 2014 at 12:13 pm
The phrase is expressly absent in the oath of office for the President of the United States, why should lesser positions be any different?
mea_mark September 6th, 2014 at 8:43 am
Sounds like someone wants an all christian military. Is this an important step in turning America into a theocracy? Should we accept a military that doesn’t abide by the constitution and the requirement to keep church and state separate? Is it time to throw out the constitution and replace it with the Bible? Oh, Sky Daddy I hope not.
Larry Schmitt September 6th, 2014 at 9:27 am
Remember the former AF Academy football coach? He had banners in the locker room with bible quotes, mandatory prayer meetings, all kinds of crap. If there’s one place that doesn’t belong, it’s in the military.
MIAtheistGal September 6th, 2014 at 8:50 am
If our own military doesn’t understand the first amendment, we’re in trouble.
Shades September 6th, 2014 at 9:03 am
Excuse me, did I accidentally stumble into the dark ages?
Larry Schmitt September 6th, 2014 at 10:01 am
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?
— Epicurus (341-270 BCE)
Dwendt44 September 6th, 2014 at 12:12 pm
One wonders why he created evil in the first place.
Larry Schmitt September 6th, 2014 at 12:12 pm
Maybe he didn’t, because maybe he’s not there?
uzza September 6th, 2014 at 11:20 am
Can’t figure this out. It doesn’t seem like the AF can unilaterally change stuff and then say only Congress can change it back.
AFAIK, US Code section 502 requires the phrase “so help me god” and has ever since 1962.
At some point in the past somebody amended Air Force Instruction (10)A to make the phrase optional, and in Oct2013 the Academy went with that (after Mikey sued them) and they(whoever ‘they’ are) have now changed it back to being mandatory again.
I assume the US Code overrides AF Instructions, so making it optional was a mistake, and they are correct that it needs an act of Congress to change this.
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 2:16 pm
The Air Force Academy is full of religious loons
M D Reese September 6th, 2014 at 11:49 am
Why do christians need to force their fantasies into every aspect of our public lives? I hope he does sue, and retires on the settlement.
edmeyer_able September 6th, 2014 at 12:16 pm
The military should know by now that all the oligarchy cares about is someone is willing to die to protect the fortunes they have amassed.
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 2:14 pm
Wish I had know about that 45 years ago
edmeyer_able September 6th, 2014 at 2:35 pm
Would have saved Ted a sh!tload of problems.
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 2:53 pm
Hell every draftee and those that were coerced into the service
would have all left….my dog tag still says NONE for religion….had to spell it out too.
tiredoftea September 6th, 2014 at 3:07 pm
It was less of a problem then.
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 3:17 pm
60,000 people a month thought IT WAS A REAL PROBLEM…check out the wall next time you are in DC
fancypants September 6th, 2014 at 3:33 pm
before or AFTER the viet-nam war ?
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 3:48 pm
Do the math 45 years….don’t challenge yourself
fancypants September 6th, 2014 at 3:54 pm
if I thought this was an issue during a draft WW 1 or 2 maybe we would be speaking german by now ?
btw no math was needed
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 4:06 pm
German was almost the official language of the colonies
fancypants September 6th, 2014 at 5:09 pm
I hear the same about Spanish and French
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 5:25 pm
Do your homework
Larry Schmitt September 6th, 2014 at 5:39 pm
According to Snopes, it didn’t happen.
http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/german.asp
Candide Thirtythree September 6th, 2014 at 5:32 pm
Both of my children were in the military and they both were punished every single Sunday that they were in boot camp because they would not go to church. They made them clean bathrooms or paint rocks or some other stupid thing while the rest were in church.
My youngest got out 4 years ago, I doubt it is any better today.
Larry Schmitt September 7th, 2014 at 4:50 pm
But that’s not what they want to do. They want to turn the people already in the military into christians. Or at least make them follow christian practices.
Bunya September 8th, 2014 at 11:37 am
I know. We have sharia law practiced in the military.
I say let the pentagon send the Christian military personnel to fight/die in Iraq and Israel and keep the Atheists here to guard our country. Let’s see how long it takes for so-called Christians to denounce their faith.