Atheist Soldier to be subject of CBS Morning News Show

[Synnical]

http://www.cjonline.com/stories/042508/loc_271942878.shtml

Atheist soldier gains attention
Fort Riley specialist to be subject of upcoming CBS News story
By Barbara Hollingsworth
The Capital-Journal
Published Friday, April 25, 2008

A Fort Riley soldier who has served in Iraq is becoming the national face of one organization's push for religious freedom in the military

The story of Spc. Jeremy Hall has appeared in media outlets nationwide and soon will be the subject of a story on CBS News' "Sunday Morning."

"What we've discovered is that within the U.S. military those who do not agree with the very specific religious views of a significant number of high-ranking officers are treated unequally," said Pedro Irigonegaray, one of Hall's attorneys. "This is an effort to bring about equal treatment under the law to all soldiers, to protect all soldiers' right to their individual faith and to ensure that the U.S. military does not endorse a particular religion."

Irigonegaray has been interviewed by "Sunday Morning" and expects the segment will air this Sunday or next.

Hall, an atheist, has sued, saying that Christian religion was pushed on soldiers while attempts to discuss his atheist views were met with threats to his military career by a superior officer. His initial suit, filed last year, was dropped. It was refiled last month with new allegations that he was passed over for leadership positions because of his beliefs and the opinion that they would be "a constraint on Army morale and would limit plaintiff Hall's ability to bond with his troops."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is among the defendants.

More at link

-Cindy in Fort Lauderdale

[rexcat]

1. It is "illegal" to be gay in the military...

now it looks like the career military nuts want it to be illegal to be an atheist! I was in the military 35 years ago and things have not improved and even seem to have deteriorated.

[and-justice-for-all]

2. Well, from the very start they have fucked this up...

"...one organization's push for religious freedom in the military" and "This is an effort to bring about equal treatment under the law to all soldiers, to protect all soldiers' right to their individual faith and to ensure that the U.S. military does not endorse a particular religion."

This is a fair treatment issue and have nothing to do with 'religious freedom' other that the 'freedom from religion'; there is also no faith involved here whats so ever and it pisses me off when they try to corner Atheism as a faith of any sort. Either they are too stupid to understand Atheism or they do their other trick of just ignoring the facts.

"threats to his military career by a superior officer" Harassment, period.

"passed over for leadership positions because of his beliefs" That should be LACK OF BELIEF "and the opinion that they would be "a constraint on Army morale and would limit plaintiff Hall's ability to bond with his troops." that is only an assumption and more likely a blatant lie, given that he was never able to prove himself in that position they have no justification for this assertion. Also, Atheist do not work on a recruitment bases, we will discuss it when put in the position to do so but we are not like the religious nuts who do in fact recruit people by false information, superstition and manipulation.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

3. I saw it

I was not surprised.

It was infuriating to see just how the military is adopting Christianity to turn our military into holy warriors.

[Synnical]

4. CBS: Fighting For God And Country

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/27/sunday/main4048492.shtml?source=mostpop_story

Sunday Morning: Are Service Members Discriminated Against By Evangelists Within The U.S. Military?
April 27, 2008

When it comes to the role of religion in the military, a famous saying from World War II seems to sum things up:

"There are no atheists in foxholes."

Immortalized in the 1942 film "Wake Island," the line reinforces the idea that there' s just nothing quite like bombs and bullets to convert a non-believer.

Whoever decided that owes Jeremy Hall an apology.

Army Specialist Hall was a turret gunner who has been deployed to Iraq twice. His Humvee came under fire - a bullet nearly killed him - but he didn't find God, and he wasn't looking…

"I'm an atheist," Hall told Spencer. "I just don't have any belief in supernatural, any forces - deities, luck, fate, destiny - that's about it really. It's very simple."

[QueenOfCalifornia]

5. Cindy

That was the one line I thought about the longest - The famous no atheists in foxholes crap.

I have been in life threatening situations and never called out to a God for help. I may say something like "Jesus fucking christ" or something but that is a throw-back to a cussing bad habit and not trying to conjure up Jesus by swearing at him...

Blah, dee, blah... Just more brain ooze