You can view an HTML version of this email at the following address:
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=FhxoNIsVTf1SjtqkeH18ug..
August 29, 2007
Americans United Protests Presidential Snub Of Wiccan War Widow
AU's Lynn Says Bush Should Apologize For Mistreatment of Stewart,
Affirm Respect For Americans Of All Faith Perspectives
Americans United for Separation of Church and State today blasted President
George W. Bush for shunning a war widow who successfully challenged the
administration's refusal to allow the use of the Wiccan symbol of faith on
government-issued grave markers.
On Tuesday, following an address to the American Legion's national
convention in Reno, Bush met with northern Nevada family members of
soldiers who have perished in combat. Roberta Stewart, whose husband, Sgt.
Patrick Stewart was killed in combat in Afghanistan, was not invited, even
though other relatives of Sgt. Stewart were.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sgt. Stewart's parents and
brother were invited to the brief, private meeting with the president. So
was the widow of one of the other National Guardsmen killed with Sgt.
Stewart when their Chinook helicopter was shot down.
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, condemned
Bush's snub of Stewart.
"The president should issue an apology to Roberta Stewart," Lynn said. "She
stood courageously for religious freedom for all soldiers, and the
president was wrong to treat her so shabbily."
In 2006, Americans United sued the VA in federal court representing
Stewart, two other Wiccan widows, Circle Sanctuary and Isis Invicta
Military Mission. AU argued that the VA's refusal to recognize the pentacle
as a symbol of faith violated the religious liberty rights of Wiccan
service members and their families and subverted the separation of church
and state.
Earlier this year, the VA settled the lawsuit and announced it would
include the pentacle on its list of religious symbols that are permitted on
soldiers' gravestones, markers and memorials.
During the litigation, AU attorneys unearthed evidence that the VA's
refusal to recognize the pentacle may have been motivated by bias toward
the Wiccan faith. It appeared that the VA did not want to recognize the
faith, which President Bush has publicly derided in the past.
Lynn said the president's snub of Roberta Stewart smacked of retaliation
for her public and successful stand against the administration policy.
"President Bush seems to be continuing a pattern of hostility toward the
Wiccan faith," he said. "That's an outrage. America is a nation of great
religious diversity, and all public officials, especially the president,
have an obligation to serve all of the people. Our Constitution mandates
equal treatment of all faiths."
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington,
D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the
importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
Read the full press release:
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=0VWD3LqAfmd9nCYC7ohbiQ..
***************************************************************
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Historical Reality SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote
"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"
That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.
It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.
*****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************
.
|
