FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION-PART 1 OF 3~FFRF WANTS CHICAGO HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL FIRED FOR HIS CHRISTIANITY

FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION-

PART 1 OF 3

BY DEBRA RAE

SEE: http://www.newswithviews.com/Rae/debra280.htm; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

Part 1 -“I’m Secular and I Vote” Campaign

Free thought and pride attract atheists, agnostics, and skeptics to the largest secular association in North America—the non-profit, educational Freedom from Religion Foundation. FFRF Co-President Dan Barker opines, "Much of the movement away from religion in America is being driven by Millennials, many of whom will be voting for the first time this year."[1] Hence, Parker adds, "We need secular voters to be vocal about their beliefs, or lack thereof, while rejecting efforts to push religious dogma on the nation."

This, of course, is no small effort. The Foundation boasts 23,500 members, 20 chapters across America, not to mention secular student alliances. Nearly 8,000 secular voters are reaching out to educate the public about their beliefs. FFRF awards thousands of dollars in prizes for winning student essays; and they distribute "I'm Secular and I Vote" buttons, T-shirts, bumper stickers, and educational material.[2]

What Exactly is Religion? [3]

To be freed from something requires grasp of what is being discarded. So what exactly is the illusive concept of religion? Surprising to some, whether Judeo-Christian, Marxist-Leninist, secularist, or Islamic, all worldviews by nature are religious. Each defines an ultimate point of reference that dramatically influences every possible discipline from science to the arts, ethics to law, geo-politics to economics. All speak to an ideology, or movement, that offers some overarching approach to comprehend God (god), the world, and man’s relationship to both.

“Freedom from religion” is better understood as switching religion from one brand to another. Allow me to explain. Classical orthodoxy, Christian or Jewish, broadly typifies “religion,” as most perceive it, but so does secular humanism. By definition, religion sports its own distinctive vocabulary, sacred symbolism, grand metanarrative, exclusive truth exercised by faith, code of ethics/morality, creed, rituals, evangelism, and discipleship. Logically, to discard religion is to separate from the above; secularism instead exhibits all of them.

Judicial Acknowledgment

In The Church of the Holy Trinity v. U.S. (1892), the Supreme Court ruled that our civilization and institutions are emphatically Christian.[4] In the early sixties, however, two landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases made way for secular humanism by giving the proverbial boot to traditional faith (in the form of school prayer and Bible reading). It was then that secular humanism emerged as a non-theistic religion whose organized system of beliefs is upheld devotedly by some 7.3 million humanists, and counting.[5] Both Christianity and secularism have received judicial acknowledgement.

Distinctive Vocabulary

Keep in mind humanism may or may not center on a supernatural being. Cosmic- and secular- humanism both are organized systems of beliefs and rituals upheld or pursued with zeal and devotion. Their relativistic values exalt human worth based on self-determination through reason.

By censoring God-speak and pilfering biblical phraseology, secularists craft their own lexicon. Take the word, “conversion,” meaning “a turning”—whether literally or figuratively, ethically or religiously. In the Bible, conversion is associated with repentance and faith.[6] In the secular world, Harvard Professor Steven Pinker boldly testifies, “I never outgrew my conversion to atheist at thirteen.”[7]

Honorary FFRF Board member Julia Sweeny argues, “How dare the religious use the term ‘born again’?” Sweeney reserves the phrase for fellow freethinkers who, like her, have ostensibly thrown off the shackles of religion. The Greek word for “born again,”[8] used first by Jesus and plagiarized by Sweeny, means “to beget again into a new life.”[9] More specifically, “to be born from above.”

In challenging the phrase “under God,” born-again convert to secularism Mike Newdow complained to the U.S. Supreme Court, “I am an atheist. I don't believe in God. And every school morning my child is asked to stand up, face that flag, put her hand over her heart, and say that her father is wrong.” Apparently, in Newdow’s world, affirmations other than his own are personally demeaning and, thus, universally offensive. This freethinking father knows best when it comes to a god that, in his view, doesn’t even exist.[10]

Grand Metanarrative (“Big Story”)

Defined by Huston Smith as “the clearest opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos can pour into human existence,” the religion of secularism merges symbolism with mythology and Jungian psychology espousing the “higher self.”[11] By self-identifying as “Mother Earth’s consciousness,” cosmic humanists blur the line between physics and metaphysics. Theirs is a pseudo-Christian patchwork of spirit-ism and avant-garde, “fourth-force” psychology.

For these, all life is energy; composite energy is god; and the promised expectation is “life beyond the grave” by becoming god. Most often by means of meditation, achieving an altered state of consciousness enables the Imperial Self to give way to collectivist spirituality. Cosmic humanists attain to cosmic- or group- consciousness by aligning and then fusing with the universal life force. The spiritual climb upward (evolution from embryo-god to “Christhood” through multiple reincarnations) is one grand story![12]

Secular humanists embrace perhaps an even bigger story by reasoning there once existed absolutely nothing. Nothing happened to that nothing until it magically exploded (for no known reason) and thereby created everything and everywhere. A bunch of the exploded everything unpredictably rearranged itself (again, for no known reason) into self-replicating bits, which (to make a long story short) turned into dinosaurs. This constitutes yet another tall tale, or “big story.”

In comparison, the grand metanarrative of Jews and Christian is this: “In the beginning, God.”[13]

Vision for a Utopian Ideal [14]

Simply put, the overarching vision for a Christian is humanity united with (and conformed into the likeness of) God’s Son, coupled with full restoration of the universe to its rightful order under God the Father.[15] In contrast, evolutionary theory at the epicenter of secularism self-characterizes as an expression of “merciless hate.”[16] By specifically excluding “useless eaters,”[17]“miserable, degraded savages,”[18] and those deemed “unfit and defective,”[19] the progressive utopian ideal sidesteps the Golden Rule[20] and Great Commission.[21]

In the words of the Trilateral Commission’s founding director Zbigniew Brzezinski, “Marxism represents a further vital and creative stage in the maturing of man’s universal vision.” American writer and editor Whittaker Chambers once fingered communism as the “second oldest religion.”[22]Understand that “non-sustainable non-producers” relegated to the low end of humanity’s totem pole include the elderly, stay-at-home moms, and those incapacitated physically or mentally. In the Marxist paradigm, all human rights are granted, controlled, and/or withdrawn by government consisting of elitists deemed more highly evolved and enlightened than the masses.

Conclusion

Toward developing our thesis (Freedom from religion is better understood as switching religion from one brand to another.), we’ve established that secularism and religion are accompanied by judicial acknowledgement, a distinctive vocabulary, grand metanarrative (“big story”), and vision for an ideal—all of which inform voters and influence the course of a nation.

More to follow in Part 2.

Footnotes:

1. http://ffrf.org/ (Accessed 3 April 2016)2. 'I'm Secular and I Vote' nationwide campaign launched by Freedom From Religion Foundation to engage millions of non-religious voters. (Accessed 3 April 2016)3. Scripture describes us as body, soul (i.e., mind/ feelings) and spirit (i.e., that which yearns for, and relates to, God). On the other hand, “religion” generally speaks to ritual—a means by which man seeks to please God and, thus, win over His favor by self-effort. In contrast, Christianity is a loving God’s reaching out to man. “We love Him because He first loved us,” the Bible says. Christ came to “seek and save” the lost, not to reward ritual. Many Christians (myself included) do not identify with being “religious” (representing man’s lame attempts at reaching God). We are, instead, “spiritual” in that we respond to His unconditional favor as we yearn for and relate to God “in spirit and in truth.” The Christian God initiates relationship through His son, Jesus. In a word, it’s all about Him, not human effort, although good works naturally follow faith (James 2:18).4. 143 US 457-458, 465-471, 36L ed 226, United States Supreme Court, 29 February 18925. Walter R. Martin. The Kingdom of the Cults (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., Publishers, 1977). 18-23.6. Acts 3:19 & 26, 11:21, 20:21, 26:207. http://ffrf.org/about/ffrf-honorary-board (Accessed 3 April 2016)8. http://biblehub.com/greek/313.htm (Accessed 3 April 2016)9. The classic biblical passage references a conversation Jesus had with a prominent Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, whom Jesus instructed to become “born from above,” John 3:1-21.
10. http://ffrf.org/about/ffrf-honorary-board (Accessed 3 April 2016)11. Huston Smith. The Religions of Man (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1965).11-12.12. The process of mystical (cosmic) evolution holds promise for humanity to awaken to esoteric knowledge. Presumably multiple reincarnations with upward mobility (called transmigration) provide opportunities needed for the modern mystic to ascend from embryo god to pantheistic oneness with divine essence.13. Genesis 1:114. “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he,” Proverbs 29:18. "Vision" prophecy denotes the revelation of God's will. Teaching a higher than mere human morality, prophets stood as witnesses to the power of truth. Its absence is marked by confusion, disorder, and rebellion. Uncontrolled, people fall into grievous excesses, which nothing but high principles can restrain (Pulpit Commentary).15. Introduced in Genesis 1:26, the Plan of God destines believers to spiritual maturity, wholeness, and completion (Ep. 4:13) with Christ Himself being formed within yielded vessels (Ga. 4:9) until self-life gives way to the Christ-life; and supernatural works, as His, are accomplished in and through them (Jn. 14:12; Ga. 2:20). Although, in God’s Plan, believers partake of the Divine nature (2 Pe. 1:4), God’s awe-inspiring Deity and humankind’s frail humanity remain indisputably separate. Jesus Christ receives all the glory although He honors His Bride as one whose light is like unto a stone most precious (Re. 21:11). Indeed His Name will be in their foreheads, describing well the singularly focused thought life of His devoted, loving Bride (Re. 22: 4), “whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21).16. In a 1905 speech, the great statesman, William Jennings Bryan claimed “the Darwinian Theory represents man reaching his present perfection by the operation of the law of hate, the merciless law by which the strong crowd out and kill off the weak.”17. Planned Parenthood’s Margaret Sanger presumed blacks, immigrants, and indigents to be “useless eaters,” "...human weeds,” and “reckless breeders,” “spawning ... human beings who never should have been born," Pivot of Civilization.18. On 17 December 1832, as part of his world tour aboard H.M.S. Beagle, Charles Darwin arrived in Tierra del Fuego at the southernmost tip of South America. Here he got his first view of the native inhabitants, whom he described as “miserable degraded savages,” a phrase he repeated often in his journal concerning these people. (Accessed 29 January 2013)
19. Dean Pernkopf (“National Socialism and Science”) used the phrase, “unfit and defective,” while addressing university faculty and students of Vienna, stronghold of the new Reich (from selected essays of Gerald Weissmann, 1998).
20. Luke 6:31—“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.”
21. Mark 16:15—“And he said to them, ‘Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel (good news) to every creature.’”
22. Animal Farm Revisited with "Heavy 100" Radio Talk Host, Chuck Morse, on TRUTH Talk Beyond the Sound Bite with Debra Rae. (5 April 2016).
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SEE ALSO:
http://christiannews.net/2016/05/31/atheist-activist-group-wants-illinois-principal-fired-for-promoting-christianity-to-students/
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FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION
PART 2 of 3

SEE: http://www.newswithviews.com/Rae/debra281.htm; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

“I’m Secular and I Vote” Campaign

Any religion, by definition, sports its own distinctive vocabulary, sacred symbolism, grand meta narrative, exclusive truth exercised by faith, code of ethics/morality, creed, rituals, evangelism, and discipleship. As is true with any worldview, secularism by nature is a religion. Logically, to discard religion is to separate from the above, but secularism instead exhibits them all. Hence, “freedom from religion” is better understood as switching religion from one brand to another.

In Part 1, we established that judicial acknowledgement, a distinctive vocabulary, grand metanarrative, and vision for the ideal accompany secularism and religion. All inform voters and influence the course of a nation.

The late journalist Christopher Hitchens reasoned, “Since it is obviously inconceivable that all religions can be right, the most reasonable conclusion is that they are all wrong.”[1] Of course, one could counter, “Since it is obviously inconceivable that all secularists (or progressives) can be right, the most reasonable conclusion is that they are all wrong.” But I digress.

Belief Claiming Exclusive Truth

Naturalists reproach biblical apologists for fortifying dogma by inserting “the God of the gaps”; however, in a letter to Dr. Asa Gray, their hero Charles Darwin admitted, “Imagination must fill up very wide blanks.” Despite these blanks, naturalists embrace “settled science” as exclusive truth.
Having studied under the famous scholar, Gamaliel, the Apostle Paul had legitimate claim to knowledge of truth.

Because experience shows God’s unfailing strength as perfected in weakness, Paul deemed God’s grace to be sufficient and chose wisely to “boast” in his own weaknesses so that “the power of Christ might rest upon him.”[2] In Darwin’s world, to the contrary, the weakest links are expunged as “maladjusted morons and misfits.”[3] In shunning lesser human specimens, secular elitists worship at their own makeshift altar of exclusivity.

• Exclusive Truth: Settled Science

Mind you, Darwin hated his time at school and applied himself minimally. He left Edinburgh without a degree; and, at Christ’s College, Cambridge, where he studied theology, he earned what was regarded as an “ordinary” degree. Darwin’s body of work was not wholly original, as one might expect. Instead, its borrowed tenets were lifted from a poem written by Charles’ grandfather, Dr. Erasmus Darwin. The latter practiced an 18th-century pseudo-science (Galvanism) that involved running electrical currents through corpses of dead animals to bring them back to life.

Both wellborn-and-bred British elitists of their day, forward-thinking cousins Darwin and Galton identified with the dark side of the Enlightenment. Both rejected democratic elements, but some semblance of science suited their common cause.[4] Darwin’s legendary treatise, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life, filled the bill nicely. In 1993, a number of intellectually dissatisfied scientists representing a variety of disciplines took a fresh look at Darwinism in light of ever exploding scientific knowledge. Unlike Darwin, well-studied, degreed, and highly decorated scientists found irrefutable evidence for Intelligent Design.

• Accepted by Faith

FFRF professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago, Jerry Coyne, Ph.D., authored, Why Evolution is True. For Darwin’s theory to fly, faith in random genetic changes, at every turn, must provide advantage in an organism’s struggle to survive. This is not only highly improbable; it’s impossible. Even the evolutionary apologist British zoologist Julian Huxley ceded that a mutation signifies abnormality, not evolutionary advancement. Students of Darwinian thought are expected to overlook the fact that distinctive human attributes (i.e., language, posture/gait, moral/religious sensibilities, art/music appreciation) are not explicable by variations—i.e., multiple mutations or genetic shuffling. If it isn’t observable, repeatable, and measurable, and as long as scientists ask questions and apply the scientific method, science is not settled. My point? Evolutionary theory is just that: a theory.

Given the Second Law of Thermodynamics, Irreducible Complexity, and Law of Mutation, chance takes even more faith to believe than creation by an Intelligent Designer of an astonishingly ordered universe! Professor Hoyle compared the Darwinian process to the unlikelihood of a tornado’s sweeping through a junkyard and thereby producing a Boeing 747 from materials therein! Odds of this ever happening are astronomical.

Positive Impact on Society

Wrongly so, freethinkers credit persons unconstrained by religion with most social and moral progress throughout the history of Western civilization. Marketed to appeal to man’s best intentions (the common good, survival, advanced societies), evolutionary thought instead perpetuates a host of societal ills. Whether by abortion, infanticide, forced sterilization, euthanasia, or assisted suicide, “useless eaters” are targeted for extinction; and “the unfit” remain subject to human experimentalism and pharmacological abuse.[5]

Darwin’s theory validated his “good old boys” network of British elitists; and, arguably, it spawned socio-political atrocities of monumental proportion. His flawed line of secularist, elitist thinking is precisely what spawned slavery, segregation, racist immigration laws (to turn away post-war Jewish refugees), the infamous Tuskegee Project, and application of the “one-drop rule” to ensure racial purity/ hygiene. Progress? Positive impact on society? I think not.[6]

On the other hand, Dr. James Allan Francis eloquently explained, “Today Jesus is the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind’s progress. All the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that have ever sailed, all the parliaments that have ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned—put together—have not affected the life of mankind on earth as powerfully as that one solitary life.”[7]

Sacred Symbolism

FFRF lawyers defend distribution of tracts (called “non-tracts” in the secularist’s lexicon) and activity books on display tables in public schools. Purported advocates of separation between church and state, secularists in Orlando and Denver nonetheless display pamphlets that address sex in the Bible and problems with the Ten Commandments (you know, religion). Foundation co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor assures authorities that the activity book for middle- and high school- students teaches “kindness” and, if only by limiting the satanic theme to symbols in drawings, “the basic morals that we all agree on.”[8]

Occult symbolism gets a pass, but not prayer emojis. Recently, FFRF called on Apple CEO Tim Cook to remove all prayer emojis (symbols of cruel and unusual proselytizing) from iPhones and other devices. The Foundation’s Co-President Dan Barker warns, "Apple may not be afraid of the FBI, but they should be afraid of the millions of secular consumers who can't stand these emojis."[9]

Code of Ethics/Morality

Although Paul Kurtz insists that the Humanist Manifesto is committed to reason, science, and democracy, secular humanism is really secular de-humanism. After all, Kurtz’s worldview recognizes no mandate to celebrate, facilitate, or protect life. Instead, it advances an individual’s right to “die with dignity”—whether by euthanasia or suicide. Because secularists perceive humans as mere products of time and chance, it stands to reason that life is devoid of elevated meaning. Darwinian theory defers to the paramount principle that “ends justify means.”

Freethinking poet-historian Jennifer Michael Hecht reasons, “If there is no god — and there isn't — then we [humans] made up morality. And I'm very impressed.” Claim to have created from nothing something that all can agree upon is indeed impressive—but only as a feat of fancy (a miracle, if you will). In reality, despite secular claims, basic morals that “we all agree on” don’t exist.

Creed (Dogma) and Catechism

Columnist for The Nation, Katha Pollitt regularly and energetically proclaims the atheist’s creed, “There is no God.” In accordance with this creed, secularists must transcend “inflexible moral and religious ideologies.” True to the secular catechism, believers celebrate, practice, and reward “plain speaking” on the shortcomings of religion. Accordingly, at the FFRF 39th annual convention in Pittsburgh (October 2016), theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss will be awarded the Emperor Has No Clothes Award.[10]

The Humanist Manifesto urges “people of good will” to work together toward “human ends,” but notable secularist, Oxford professor emeritus Richard Dawkins, characterizes the God of the Old Testament as “the most unpleasant character in all fiction.” While Dawkins claims for himself the right to freedom from offense, he denies Christians and Jews the same courtesy.

Conclusion

Both worldviews, secularism and religion, hold claim to exclusive truth accepted by faith, a creed (dogma), and sacred symbolism. Exercising an identified code of ethics and morality, each claims to impact society positively. To insist that secularism frees one from religion is incredulous; nonetheless, the Freedom From Religion Foundation accepts the one as truth, the other as fancy.

More to follow in Part 3

Click here for part -----> 1, 2, 3,

© 2016 Debra Rae - All Rights Reserved

Footnotes:

1. (Denton, Evolution, A Theory in Crisis, 24) and retrieved 29 January 2013. 2. 2 Corinthians 12:9—“And he said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee’: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”3. During the 1960 Presidential campaign, Margaret Sanger referred to Catholics as “black moles invading our buildings of democracy.” Sanger called for the segregation of “morons, misfits, and the maladjusted” and for the sterilization of races that she deemed to be genetically inferior (i.e., blacks).4. Chuck Morse. The Monkey Trial: Evolutionary Politics in the Post-Modern Age. (Boston: City Metro Enterprises, 2013).5. In 1961, Aldous Huxley, an important evolutionary thinker, lectured at the California Medical School in San Francisco where he stated: “And it seems to me perfectly in the cards that there will be within the next generation or so a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude, and producing a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them but will rather enjoy it, because they will be distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda, brainwashing, or brainwashing enhanced by pharmacological methods. As part of a plan to help pilots, sailors, and infantry troops become capable of superhuman performance, many German soldiers were high on Pervitin (speed) when they went into battle. However, Nazis failed to monitor side effects. (Accessed 29 January 2013). 6. Angelo M. Codevilla. The Ruling Class: How They Corrupted America and What We Can Do About It (New York: Beaufort Books, 2010), 26-51.7. http://www.changinglives.org.au/solitary-life.html (Accessed 9 April 2016)8. Colleen Slevin, Associated Press. “Satanic Book, Bible Sex Tracts Provided at Colorado Schools” (Seattle: The Seattle Times, 2 April 2016). News A5. 9. FFRF calls on Apple to immediately remove prayer emojis from all iPhones.(Accessed 9 April 2016)
10. http://ffrf.org/outreach/convention (Accessed 9 April 2016)
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FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION
PART 3 of 3

“I’m Secular and I Vote” Campaign

“Freedom from religion” is better understood as switching religion from one brand to another. Secularism and religion sport their own distinctive vocabulary, sacred symbolism, grand metanarrative, exclusive truth exercised by faith, code of ethics/morality, creed, rituals, evangelism, and discipleship. Logically, to discard religion is to separate from all of the above, but secularism instead exhibits them.

Rituals (Superstition, De-baptism, Confirmation, Invocations and Prayer)
“Luck” smacks of superstition. Even so, Freedom from Religion Foundation co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor is named as one of the “lucky” eighteen percent of fellow members who grew up freethinking. As such, she was “spared baptism by water, fire or Sunday school.” Officially renouncing the primitive rite of baptism to which “the luckless” were so cruelly subjected, participants exchange creeds, dogmas, and alleged superstitions of one belief system with those of another. This they do by obtaining genuine De-Baptismal Certificates. (No joke!)

Extracting themselves from any claims of religious affiliation or membership based on baptismal records, secularists join and pay dues (i.e., tithes and offerings) to the fellowship of Freedom from Religion. Congregants aggressively challenge prayer spaces at the University of Iowa, for example; however, following the Supreme Court’s injudicious decision “blessing” sectarian prayer, the Foundation rewards freethinkers who ask for equal time to give secular invocations.[1]

• Celebratory Music Ministry

At the Reason Rally June 2016, celebration of secularism at the Lincoln Memorial will be paired with entertainment and parties that draw hand-clapping, arm raising, closed-eyes enthusiasts eager to sway to the beat of hip-hop artist Baba Brinkman, songwriter-artist Sophia Kameron, and Keith Lowell Jensen of Atheist Christmas fame. This is one Camp Meeting secularists don’t want to miss![2]

Discipleship

In accord with the Bible, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”[3] Even as Christians serve God, secularists are busy about the work of their master, mammon—this, by vigorously contesting what they view as unsavory practices in the public forum and bad legislation.[4]

• Youth Groups

As churches target youth, so do secularists. Last year Thomas Sheedy served as event organizer for the Long Island Atheists (i.e., youth ministry). Furthermore, this high school senior was granted a student activist award of $5,000 for founding the Secular Student Alliance at Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, New York. Fifty-one students (i.e., converts) expressed interest, a teacher heeded the call to become their adviser (i.e., pastor-teacher), and goals were set (i.e., vision).

Giving Testimony; Evangelism with Promise of “A More Excellent Way” [5]

To the biblical phrase, “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God,” secularists add, “But the wise person says it out loud.”[6] Through a television ad, for example, Ron Reagan describes himself as “an unabashed atheist, not afraid of burning in hell.” In a newspaper article about his non belief, honorary FFRF Board member Daniel C. Dennett wrote, “I’ve come to realize it’s time to sound the alarm.” Heeding the call, evangelists Richard Dawkins, Mike Newdow, and Steven Pinker promote non-theism as their “critical work.”

What better way to evangelize than by campaigning through FFRF’s “I'm Secular and I Vote” Campaign? In coordination with other major free thought associations, chapters across the nation spread the word via paid digital media, national TV ads, and efforts to mobilize students on college campuses.[7]

Tax Deductible Financial Giving

FFRF is a member of Atheist Alliance International, the Secular Coalition for America, and the Richard Dawkins Non-Believers Giving Aid. As is the case with churches and their ministries, all dues and donations on behalf of “nonbelief relief” are tax-deductible.

Persecution Assuaged by Promise of a Sweet By and By

In Sheedy’s view, “Christians will not find a speck of dust on our nation's soil where they are persecuted as a group.” Many Christians (myself included) disagree.[8] Nonetheless, having abandoned his childhood indoctrination into Roman Catholicism, Sheedy sought legal aid for his struggles. In his view, every state in the country is under threat of scorn from whom he characterizes as “the losing majority.”

• Heaven/Hell

Secularists reference their own versions of heaven and hell. Indeed, FFRF conventions welcome “hell-bound atheists.” In musing about “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” freethinking lyricist Yip Harburg wishes upon a star (i.e., prays). Waking up in some ethereal place where clouds are far behind him, Yip’s troubles melt like lemon drops (i.e., heaven).[9]

Conclusion

For secularists to declare freedom from religion is folly because humanism (whether secular or cosmic) fully qualifies as a religion. As the saying goes, “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.” In America, folks are free to follow the dictates of conscience. When secularists demand a voice in the public arena, they are exercising their First Amendment right. The same right applies to Jews and Christians.

In the words of Coretta Scott King, “I don't believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others.”[10] Accordingly, Rosa Parks hoped to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free so others would be free as well.[11] For secularists to deny fellow religionists right to “free exercise” is to undercut and possibly even forfeit their own right. George Washington warned, “If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”[12] A word to the wise: Especially in an election year, even self-serving secularists do well to champion the First Amendment right for all Americans.

Click here for part -----> 1, 2, 3,

© 2016 Debra Rae - All Rights Reserved

Footnotes:

1. Secular group challenges prayer spaces at UI (Accessed 9 April 2016)2. http://www.reasonrally.org/ (Accessed 9 April 2016)3. Matthew 6:24—“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”4. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Amendment 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America (15 December 1791)5. 1 Corinthians 12:31—“ But covet earnestly the best gifts; and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.”6. Psalm 14:1, 53:1—“The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt; they have done abominable works; there is none that doeth good.” (Curiously, the Hebrew words rendered fool in the book of Psalms denote one who is morally deficient.)7. 'I'm Secular and I Vote' nationwide campaign launched by Freedom From Religion Foundation to engage millions of non-religious voters (Accessed 9April 2016)8. Persecution of Christians in America: It's Not Just 'Over There' (Accessed 11 April 2016)9. Judy Garland Lyrics (Accessed 9 April 2016)
10. Matching Quotes (Accessed 12 April 2016)11. Matching Quotes (Accessed 12 April 2016)12. Matching Quotes (Accessed 12 April 2016)

VALERIE JARRETT: "OBAMA IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE AFTER HIS PRESIDENCY"

VALERIE JARRETT: "OBAMA IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE AFTER HIS PRESIDENCY"

Valerie Jarrett says after leaving the White House (assuming he even leaves the White House at all), President Obama is going to stay in Washington.

BY MICHAEL DEPINTO

SEE: http://freedomoutpost.com/valerie-jarrett-obama-is-not-going-anywhere-after-his-presidency-video/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

Wait a second… let me get this straight… Valerie Jarrett says after leaving the White House (assuming he even leaves the White House at all), President Obama is going to stay in Washington, but he’ll, “be the former president, he’ll be a citizen just like everybody else, and as such he’ll behave accordingly. Of that, I’m sure.” Are we talking about same President Obama here? Are we talking about the one who would be wise to go straight to the airport after leaving the White House (again, assuming he leaves in the first place), and flee the country before being arrested on charges of treason? What about the same President who has had the Democrats working on various legislation for years now designed to lower the potential penalty for anyone getting caught committing treason?

Speaking of treason and fleeing the country, despite the information coming from Socha Faal, an alleged “disinformation agent,” there have been reports that Obama bought for a flight to the mansion he allegedly purchased a mansion in the NON EXTRADITION country of Dubai for $4.9 million dollars by way of the Podesta Group (John Pedesta was former Counselor to President Obama)? Non extradition? country? Really?

PARDON ME IF I CALL BS ON OBAMA KEEPING A LOW PROFILE…

HERE'S WHY:

Is Valerie Jarrett talking about the same President Obama who has been caught privately campaigning for a very big job for after his alleged term? As you’ll learn in the video below that comes from a post titled:Obama Plotting For King of the World, it is well known that Obama has been privately campaigning for the “King of the World” job, as the U.N. General Secretary. The same video also mentions one man standing in Obama's way for the job, one who plans to fight him pretty hard too if his wife wins the White House; the other person who wants the role of U.N. General Secretary is none other than Bill Clinton.

Is Valerie Jarrett talking about the same President who is featured in a video below lying to the American people like a raging sociopath as many as 65 separate times? By the way, the video was made back in 2013, so just imagine how many more lies we could add to the video now. It's amazing… Nixon lied, was Impeached, and forced to resign. George H.W. Bush essentially did not get re-elected over when he lied and said, "Read my lips, no new taxes," and there's Obama… a raging sociopath who wouldn't know the truth if it bit him most days. Wow. The following video includes 65 instances of Obama looking right into the camera and telling bold faced lie after bold faced lie…

Is Valerie Jarrett talking about the same President whose attorneys were just kicked out of federal court earlier this week for lying as many as four separate times to a federal judge? In reference to the behavior of the attorneys REPRESENTING Obama in his illegal amnesty Executive Order, the judge said the attorneys were:

“intentionally deceptive,” clearly part of a “calculated plan of unethical conduct,” and their misconduct was so “serious and material…” that they aren’t allowed back in federal court until they’ve taken a course on legal ethics? 

Think about that for a minute. Imagine you’re an attorney representing Obama in federal court on something as important to Obama as his unconstitutional Executive Order on illegal amnesty. Do you honestly believe the attorneys working on that would so much as sneeze without Obama’s ok in advance when it comes to anything as important to him as his illegal amnesty Executive Order? PLEASE! Give me a break!

Despite all that, if you doubt the sincerity of Valerie Jarrett or Obama publicly, you’ll be called the crazy one, or you’ll probably be labeled a racist. Do you know who will sincerely believes them? The same idiots that think what “Democratic Socialism” did to Venezuela, won’t do the same thing anywhere else it's tried. As if the last 7+ years haven't proven that Socialism DOES NOT WORK, there is some GREAT video in an earlier post titled, Human De-Evolution: When Radical Leftists Are Given Keys to the Kingdom. The same imbeciles who will be voting for Hillary or for Bernie, will be doing so because they actually are gullible enough to believe the line:

“But baby… it’ll be different this time… I swear…” 

Anyone voting for Hillary or Bernie makes the conscious decision to believe the NONSENSE they are spoon fed to them by the media and other known liars, despite the fact that EVERYWHERE socialistic ideas have ever been tried, they result in EXACTLY what we see in Venezuela: people starving to death, rampant crime, and thousands, if not MILLIONS dead. Sounds like it’s worth the risk right? Morons. THAT is who believes Valerie Jarrett. No one else.

GOP The Daily Dose Writes:

Valerie Jarrett told CBS’s Norah O’Donnell Barack Obama is staying in Washington after he leaves the White House in January, the soon-to-be-former president will emulate his predecessors in keeping a lower profile in terms of weighing in on issues of presidential importance.

In a clip from a forthcoming “60 Minutes” story aired Friday on “CBS This Morning,” senior adviser Valerie Jarrett was asked by Norah O’Donnell what it would be like to have the former president and his successor living in the same city.

“President Obama will be the former president. And he’ll be a citizen just like everybody else. And he’ll behave accordingly. Of that, I’m sure,” Jarrett said.

Conservative Tribune reports:

After eight years in the White House, the only problem when Obama leaves will be that he can still do damage to the country — or even the world — after he’s ceased residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

After all, some on the liberal side have put Obama forward as a possible secretary general of the United Nations or (even worse) a Supreme Court justice.

Either one of those thoughts are the kind of nightmares that have me waking up in the middle of the night.

It’s an unusual occurrence that we get some good news from Valerie Jarrett, but the top Obama adviser said in an interview with “60 Minutes” (via The Hill) that will be aired Sunday that Obama will keep a low profile after leaving office.

“President Obama will be the former president, and he will be a citizen just like everybody else, and he will behave accordingly, of that I’m sure,” Jarrett said.

“One of the things I would compliment President Bush for — and not just President Bush, but several members of his team as well, who have said to me, ‘We had our eight years and now we owe you silence,'” Jarrett added.

“And I think that’s the way the president will behave in terms of Washington. But does that mean that he has a platform on which he can do great good around our country and around the world? Sure. But he will leave being the president to the new president.”

Excuse me for a sec, I’m just going to go play the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah” about two or three or 20 times in a row on iTunes.

The thought of the most unconstitutional president in history presiding over the Constitution — a document he doesn’t even care about —  on the Supreme Court was too much to bear. The idea of a president who constantly apologizes for our country being the secretary general of the U.N. is worse.

A private citizen? That I could get used to — so long as it’s a very quiet private citizen.

PATRIOTS OBSERVE MEMORIAL DAY~REMEMBER THE SACRIFICES OF VETERANS~BUT V.A. SECRETARY INSULTS VETERANS~VETERAN REPORTER ATTACKED AT VIETNAM MEMORIAL

Trump Demands Campaign Rally Must Open With
The National Anthem

Published on May 25, 2016

Opening a campaign rally in Anaheim, California, Donald Trump claimed he was told there was "no time" for the National Anthem. He said to the crowd, "Yes, there is."

                                  
TRUMP SAYS COUNTRY COMES BEFORE TV CAMERAS
by KELLEIGH NELSON
SEE: http://www.newswithviews.com/Nelson/kelleigh312.htm;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the American soldier. —Zell Miller

National Anthem Shall Be Sung!

Last Wednesday at a campaign rally in Anaheim, California, when he arrived Donald Trump was told that they would not be singing the National Anthem as was originally planned and as is customary. The singer was there, in fact he spoke with the woman who was supposed to sing for the crowd and she told him that the reason had something to do with television cameras. That’s no reason in Trump’s book.

Trump started his speech by saying, “Here’s what happened. I got here, and they said to me, ‘We don’t have time for the National Anthem.’ And I said, ‘Yes we do!’ We have time for the National Anthem, right?” So he asked Sherry Wilkins to come up and sing the National Anthem, and she did a beautiful job of it. This is the kind of president we need, a real patriot who is proud to be an American.

Decoration Day, aka Memorial Day

There are only two holidays a year that bring me to tears. The first is Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) and the second is Independence Day, July 4th. A few years ago, I wrote an article entitled Real Americans. I told of the loss and heartbreak I felt when I saw the flags waving and heard the firecrackers. The loss of what we once were, and what we have become, is overwhelming. The same feeling is present with Decoration Day.

This weekend we celebrate those who have died for this country, those who gave all for freedom and liberty. Decoration Day started with a commemoration to the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. In the south, southern ladies' groups commemorated the fallen on different days than the holiday of the north. However, by the 20th century, all American soldiers who had fallen in war were remembered on the last Monday in May, although originally May 30th. Decoration Day meant placing flowers on the graves of the fallen. Today, those who know the true meaning of the holiday visit the cemeteries not only to decorate the graves of fallen American soldiers, as well as those who served our country, but also to remember their deceased ancestors.

Our Flag Honors the Fallen

The Memorial Day flag is to be raised briskly to the top of the pole at dawn and then lowered to half-mast until noon. This is done in remembrance. At noon, the flag is again raised to the top of the pole for the remainder of the day.

As a youngster, I always went with my grandparents to the cemetery to clean up the grave sites, place flowers, and sit a spell to remember those we lost. It was a quiet day, one that was somewhat solemn.

Today, this holiday of commemoration has become one of barbeques, picnics, baseball and swimming. It no longer is a day of solemn remembrance of our nation's loss. When I think of all those who have served, I remember those in my own dear family, and the losses.

Grief

On these holidays, I grieve. I grieve for what we've lost, what we were, what we once had, and what we've now become. I grieve for my nation, for her soul, and for her people who are too busy watching Dancing with the Stars and Survivor to see what has happened to our beloved country. I grieve because we've thrown God out of every facet of American society. I grieve because we think nothing of murdering 60 million babies in their mothers’ wombs. I grieve because I see the losses. I grieve because I know too much, and I grieve because so few are fighting to save her...our once great America and her God-given freedoms. I grieve, I mourn, and I weep, and I'm still fighting to save her. Dear God in heaven, I grieve, but…. this year...

This Year is Different

This year, for the first time in 53 years, we have hope. That hope has come to us in the form of a billionaire businessman whose plain spoken, shoot from the hip comments and policies have awakened the masses who love this country. This year, the veterans know the GOP presumptive nominee is on their side. This year, we look forward to turning the tide back to the great America we once knew. This year, we know our candidate hears us. This year we have someone who insists the National Anthem be sung at all his rallies! This year we have someone who resonates with the masses, and God willing, this year we’ll have a newly elected President who loves America and her people. Thank you Donald J. Trump for giving us renewed hope.

[P.S. In order to help Mr. Trump we need to increase the hits to reach more people. Please use this material, and call into talk radio programs (like Rush Limbaugh or Michael Savage, etc.) and mention NewsWithViews.com on the air while discussing the content of this article, write letters to newspaper editors, and speak to your friends. Spread the word, and in doing so, we have a chance to save America.]

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Memorial Day, Remember These Fallen Heroes – Obama, Don’t Apologize for Them

While President Obama traipses around the world apologizing for the greatest force for good in the history of the world, I thought it would be appropriate to pay tribute to the American war heroes who fought and died in the cause of freedom across the world.

BY PAMELA GELLER

SEE: http://freedomoutpost.com/memorial-day-remember-these-fallen-heroes-obama-dont-apologize-for-them/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

While President Obama traipses around the world apologizing for the greatest force for good in the history of the world, I thought it would be appropriate to pay tribute to the American war heroes who fought and died in the cause of freedom across the world.

The Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial is located just outside of Saint-Avold, Moselle, France. It covers 113.5 acres (0.459 km2) and contains 10,489 graves; the largest number of graves of any American World War II cemetery in Europe. Those interred died mostly in the autumn of 1944 during the Drive to the Siegfried Line and were mainly part of the U.S. Third and Seventh Armies.

The Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial is a 130.5-acre (0.528 km2) World War I cemetery in France. It is located east of the village of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon in Meuse. The cemetery contains the largest number of American military dead in Europe (14,246), most of whom lost their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

The Cambridge American Cemetery in Cambridge, England has approximately 3,812 graves of servicemen, including airmen who died over Europe and sailors from North Atlantic convoys.

The Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial is a 48.6-acre (19.7 ha) site which rests on a plateau 100 feet (30 m) above the Moselle River in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains in Dinozé, France. It contains the graves of 5,255 United States’ military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the campaigns across northeastern France to the Rhine and beyond into Germany during World War II.

The Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial occupies a six-acre site which lies on the southeast edge of the town of Waregem, Belgium. At this peaceful location rest 368 American military Dead, most of whom gave their lives in liberating Belgium in World War I.

The The Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial lies approximately 30 kilometers east of Liège, Belgium and contains the graves of 7,992 members of the American military who died in World War II. It is one of three American war cemeteries in Belgium.

The Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The cemetery, which is 50.5 acres (204,000 m2) in extent contains the remains of 5,076 American service members. On 22 occasions two brothers rest side-by-side in adjacent graves. Most of the interred died during the Battle of the Bulge which was fought nearby in winter 1944/spring 1945.

The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is located in in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City in Metro Manila, Philippines. The cemetery, 152 acres (0.62 km2) or 615,000 square metres in area, is located on a prominent plateau, visible at a distance from the east, south and west. With a total of 17,206 graves, it is the largest cemetery in the Pacific for U.S. personnel killed during World War II, and also holds war dead from the Philippines and other allied nations. Many of the personnel whose remains are interred or represented were killed in New Guinea, or during the Battle of the Philippines (1941-42) or the Allied recapture of the islands.

At the Mexico City National Cemetery there are 750 American soldiers buried that were killed during the Mexican War. Their remains were gathered in 1851, four years after the war, and buried in a common grave at this cemetery. They were not identified so they are classified as unknown soldiers. In addition there are eight veterans of the Mexican War buried at this cemetery.

The Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is a World War II cemetery which lies in the village of Margraten six miles east of Maastricht, in the most southern part of The Netherlands. The walls on either side of the Court of Honor contain the Tablets of the Missing on which are recorded the names of 1,722 American missing who gave their lives in the service of their country and who rest in unknown graves. Beyond the chapel and tower is the burial area which is divided into sixteen plots. Here rest 8,301 American dead, most of whom lost their lives nearby.

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial is a World War II cemetery and memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, that honors American soldiers who died in Europe during World War II. The cemetery is located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach (one of the landing beaches of the Normandy Invasion) and the English Channel. It covers 172 acres (70 ha), and contains the remains of 9,387 American military dead, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy and ensuing military operations in World War II. Included are graves of Army Air Force crews shot down over France as early as 1942.

The Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial is an American war cemetery in Southern France, memorializing 861 American soldiers and mariners who died in Second World War operations in that area. The cemetery covers 12 acres (49,000 m2) within the city of Draguignan. The cemetery is named for the Rhone river and its watershed, where most of those interred fought and died. Those interred were mainly part of the U.S. Seventh Army, in particular the US 45th Infantry Division, the US 36th Infantry Division, and the US 3rd Infantry Division. They died mostly in the summer of 1944 during Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of Southern France from the Mediterranean, which followed the Allied invasion of Normandy.

The Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial lies at the north edge of the town of Nettuno, Italy, which is immediately east of Anzio, 38 miles south of Rome. The cemetery covers 77 acres, rising in a gentle slope from a broad pool with an island and cenotaph flanked by groups of Italian cypress trees. Beyond the pool is the immense field of headstones of 7,861 of American military war dead, arranged in gentle arcs on broad green lawns beneath rows of Roman pines. The majority of these men died in the liberation of Sicily (July 10 to August 17, 1943); in the landings in the Salerno Area (September 9, 1943) and the heavy fighting northward; in the landings at Anzio Beach and expansion of the beachhead (January 22, 1944 to May 1944); and in air and naval support in the regions.

The Somme American Cemetery and Memorial in France is sited in the commune of Bony, on a gentle slope typical of the open, rolling Picardy countryside, in northern France. The 14.3-acre (58,000 m2) cemetery contains the graves of 1,844 of the United States’ military dead from World War I. Most lost their lives while serving in American units attached to the British Army, or in operations near Cantigny.

The St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial in France, 40.5 acres (164,000 m2) in extent, contains the graves of 4,153 of American military dead from World War I. The majority of these died in the offensive that resulted in the reduction of the St. Mihiel salient that threatened Paris.

The Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial is a United States military cemetery in the Suresnes (Hauts-de-Seine), France. It is located in a suburb of Paris on the southeastern slope of the hill below Fort Mont Valerien. Originally a World War I cemetery, it now shelters the remains of U.S. dead of both wars. The 7.5-acre (30,000 m2) cemetery contains the remains of 1,541 Americans who died in World War I and 24 Unknown dead of World War II. Bronze tablets on the walls of the chapel record the names of 974 World War I missing. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.

American Cemetery on Guadalcanal located near Lunga Point
Credit: US Army Date: 1945

The late US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens leads a delegation from the US.S. Embassy at the graves of the men of the USS Intrepid at Old Protestant Cemetery …

American war dead buried in Tripoli, Libya. They were killed in 1804 during the first foreign war, the first Barbary war, Islam’s first war on the US (not just one but two wars, the first and second Barbary war). They should be exhumed and brought home a/s/a/p.

The oldest military monument in the U.S., the Tripoli Monument, was commissioned to honor the heroes of from the age of sail. The monument was at the Washington Navy Yard until 1831 when it was moved to the west lawn of the Capitol. In 1860, the monument was moved again to its current site at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. (source)

US memorial on the Scottish Isle of Islay. It pays tribute to the US servicemen. The Kilchoman Military Cemetery contains 74 graves; 71 from the Otranto (of whom 43 remain unidentified) and 3 other casualties brought from elsewhere. The grave slabs are all similar except the one of Captain Ernest George Davidson, the captain of H.M.S. Otranto, which stands out from the rest. Shortly after the sinking of the Otranto the remains of American Troops were buried here as well but their bodies were later repatriated or reburied in the American military cemetery at Brookwood in Surrey.

SEE COMPLETE LIST OF AMERICAN CEMETERIES ON ORIGINAL POST BY P. GELLER

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VIDEOS:

Published on May 23, 2016

London Center for Policy Research Fellow Jessie Jane Duff and CVA Senior Military Advisor Amber Smith weigh in on Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald’s comments comparing veterans waiting for care to lines at Disney.

                                 

Published on May 23, 2016

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Bob McDonald is on damage control after comparing VA wait times to waiting in line for a ride at Disney. President Obama brought in McDonald in 2014 to fix wait times, but the problems have continued. 

Insulting VA Secretary Compares Veterans’ Waits for Care to Ride Waits at Disney

BY MORGAN CHALFANT

SEE: http://freebeacon.com/issues/va-secretary-says-agency-doesnt-need-measure-waits-disney-doesnt/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

The top official at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs indicated that the agency should not use the time that veterans wait for medical care as a metric of success because Disney does not measure wait times for theme park rides.

The Washington Examiner first reported that VA Secretary Robert McDonald made the comments during a breakfast meeting with journalists on Monday, more than two years after the agency faced national scrutiny when staffers were found concealing veterans’ wait times using secret lists.

“When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what’s important? What’s important is, what’s your satisfaction with the experience?” McDonald said during the Christian Science Monitor event on Monday. “And what I would like to move to, eventually, is that kind of measure.”

McDonald was tapped by President Obama to lead the agency after Eric Shinseki resigned from his post as VA secretary following the wait list scandal in 2014. Dozens of veterans are believed to have died waiting for care at the Phoenix VA hospital system, from where the secret wait lists first emerged.

This is not make-believe, Mr. Secretary. Veterans have died waiting in those lines. https://t.co/OxfT3AYzTi

— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) May 23, 2016

Wait times at the VA have endured renewed scrutiny after reports have shown persisting problems at agency hospitals despite efforts to improve veterans’ care. A Government Accountability Office report released last month found that the VA lacks sufficient oversight to ensure that veterans receive timely care.

In the face of questions about veterans’ waits for care and the VA’s lack of transparency surrounding the matter, McDonald said Monday that most veterans say they are satisfied with care at the VA and that the average time a veteran waits for care is only days.

A leading official at a veterans group advocating for reform at the VA said that McDonald should be “ashamed” of the Disney comments and that they warrant a public apology.

“This statement from Secretary McDonald isn’t just offensive–it also shows that he doesn’t even view long wait times and secret wait lists as real problems in need of a fix,” Dan Caldwell, vice president for legislative and political action at Concerned Veterans for America, said.

“To compare veterans’ experiences waiting weeks and months for care to tourists waiting in line to see Mickey Mouse demonstrates just how out of touch the secretary is with the struggles many veterans deal with while waiting for care at the VA.”

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THE REACTIONS, THE OUTRAGE:

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: I'm "pissed" off by VA Secretary

Senator Blunt: VA secretary should resign

Ryan slams VA Secretary over 'Disney' comments
"THIS IS NOT WONDERLAND"
"THIS IS NOT MAKE BELIEVE"

Refuses to Apologize

                                 

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Liberal Trolls Veteran Reporter At Vietnam Memorial

Published on May 29, 2016

While shooting a video outside the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., INFOWARS Reporter, Joe Biggs, is harassed by a social justice warrior. After being shot down on the first take, the passive trendy with a temper tries to ruin two more takes before someone else in the crowd watching tells him to to shut up!

LIBERALS ATTACK, DEFACE WAR MEMORIALS IN MANY PLACES

Published on May 30, 2016

Joe Biggs joins us via Skype from D.C. He starts by discussing the disgraceful memorial day news on Drudge, a veteran attacked with his oxygen tank, memorials defaced, etc. Memorial day is not about the politics of war, it’s about the personal decision that our bravest men and women made to defend our country whether they agreed with the battle or not, they sacrificed their lives for our liberty. 

Hamas-linked CAIR says US troops should not be honored on Memorial Day

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/05/hamas-linked-cair-says-us-troops-should-not-be-honored-on-memorial-day

GAVIN SEIM'S LETTER TO THE FALLEN