Federal government bans flag-folding recitations
#1

AFA - Flag Folding

 

Federal government bans flag-folding recitations following one complaint

 

It is time for Christians to say enough is enough

 

October 26, 2007

 

In the latest attack on Christianity, the U.S. government has banned the flag-folding recitations at all 125 national cemeteries. The banning came as the result of one complaint! The situation is similar to that in which one person removed prayer from schools.

 

This article from The Associated Press explains the situation:

 

Complaints about religious content have led to a ban on flag-folding recitations by Veterans Administration employees and volunteers at all national cemeteries.

 

At thousands of military burials, VA volunteers have folded the American flag 13 times and recited the significance of each fold to survivors. The 11th fold glorifies "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.†The 12th glorifies "God the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost."

 

Citing a need for uniformity, the National Cemetery Administration has prohibited unpaid VA volunteers as well as employees from conducting the recital at all 125 national cemeteries.

 

American Legion attorney Rees Lloyd calls it "another attempt by secularist fanatics to cleanse any reference to God."

 

Following one complaint, the Veterans Administration has made anti-Christian bigotry the law of the land. The U.S. government has bowed to pressure from one radical anti-Christian secularist. Allowed to stand, the action by the Veterans Administration, in essence, means that anti-Christian bigotry is now the accepted and approved law of the land.

 

 

===============================

GOOD GRIEF! Now if we complain, what will they do? :armata_PDT_19:

Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
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#2

M1, if WE complain, they'll do NOTHING! :armata_PDT_19::armata_PDT_19:

They only respond to Anti-Christian, Anti-GOD voices.

If the VA volunteers showed up wearing burkas, there wouldn't be a PEEP,

but references to God during a funeral? No, that has to be stopped!

 

:( sad & scary!

 

m2

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#3

It really is both sad and scary, and it comes at a time when one of the strongest Christian voices in America has been silenced..... Doctor D. James Kennedy.

 

Dogdaddy

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#4

Trust me, no one except for people such as ourselves, see the corealation to Hilter and his kind. Next they'll be burning Christian books out in the streets. People are so stupid, so naive to what's happening. They sit back and say, it's for everyone's good. Look back a mere few decades you a-holes! Let a few talk for the thousands and millions again. Look, see and become awake before it's too late! Shall we let them wash away democracy like your next load of laundry?

 

Oh it's so scary being me sometimes, and knowing what I know. Isn't it scary being YOU and watching the same things happen again? God help us all! :armata_PDT_23:

Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
Reply
#5

People are really stupid, M. When was the last time you saw a story on TV about the Nation of Islam responding to victims of hurricane,floods,fire or any other natural disaster?? Answer is Never for those who are still scratching their heads. Despite the millions of people around the world who have benefited from Christian charities for decades there are people who rally around the human failings of some Christian leaders who are in the public eye rather than acknowledge the vast amount of goodwill done annually by people who believe in,and try to do the work of Jesus Christ here on Earth.

 

Dogdaddy :woof:

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#6

LOTS of us mad about this :armata_PDT_19:

American Legion members are flooding National HQ about it! (thank God!)

Honor Guard is deciding whether to defy it! :armata_PDT_37:

 

 

This from Fox News :

 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,306186,00.html

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#7

M2 thanks!

 

I am going to print it right here for all to read too:

 

A group of congressmen has asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to reconsider its ban on the flag-folding ceremony at military funerals after the agency decided last month to streamline burials at federal cemeteries.

 

"The flag folding recitation is a longstanding tradition which brings comfort to the living and honor to the deceased," Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., writes in his letter Tuesday signed by 11 other congressmen. "The recitations accompanying each fold pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of our veterans and their families, the nation they proudly serve, and the beliefs that they hold dear."

 

Veterans Affairs made the new policy decision last month, after a complaint was filed to the White House. Steve L. Muro, the director of the National Cemetery Administration's field programs office, ordered cemetery directors to stop the readings.

 

Click here to read the memo (pdf).

 

"There are no federal laws related to the flag that assign any special meaning to the

individual folds of the flag," Muro wrote in a memo obtained by FOXNews.com. "The National Cemetery Administration must not give meaning, or appear to give meaning to the folds of the flag by endorsing or distributing any handouts on 'The Meaning of Each Fold of an Honor Guard Funeral Flag.'"

 

And though the next-of-kin can request the reading at the service, the ban has caused a furor among veterans. Members of the American Legion have been flooding national headquarters since the decision, according to Ramona Joyce, an organization spokeswoman.

 

"To me, it's a slap in the face for every veteran, every member of the Memorial Honor Detail and every family of the deceased veteran," said Rees Lloyd, a member of the American Legion's Memorial Honor Detail for services at Riverside National Cemetery in California.

 

At issue are secondary meanings attached to the folding of the flag. As the honor guard makes the 13 folds — traditionally representing the original colonies — they recite "the first fold of our flag is a symbol of life, the second fold is a symbol of our belief in the eternal life, etc."

 

A complaint about the recitation for the 11th fold — "in the eyes of a Hebrew citizen, represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon, and glorifies, in their eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" — garnered a complaint and prompted the ban.

 

The Sept. 27 ban was an effort to create uniform services throughout the military graveyard system, spokesman Mike Nacincik said, adding the 13-fold recital is not part of the U.S. Flag Code and is not government-approved.

 

"We definitely think is a matter left up to the families," Joyce said. "It's a nice ceremony; we've been doing it for years. Our honor guards have been doing it.

 

"It's respectful and it's something the family should be able to choose to have done if they so wish for their veteran," she continued.

 

Lloyd thinks it's a matter of political correctness gone wild.

 

"The entirety of this issue is an absurdity that shows political correctness and secular cleansing run amok," Lloyd said. "This is about families of deceased veterans putting to rest their loved ones. No one should interfere with their choices."

 

The 12th fold recitation is geared to Christians, saying the fold "represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in their eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost."

 

In the Legion's burning ceremony for the dignified disposal of unserviceable flags, a chaplain invokes the name of God with lines like "as they yield their substance to the fire, may your holy light spread over us and bring our hearts renewed devotion to God and country," Joyce said.

 

"When we got back from the war, we didn't ask for a whole lot," said Bobby Castillo, 85, a World War II Navy veteran. "We just want to give our veterans the respect they deserve. No one has ever complained to us about it. I just don't understand."

 

Lloyd and Castillo are part of a 16-member detail that have performed military honors at more than 1,400 services. They were preparing to read the flag-folding remarks at the Riverside cemetery when graveyard staff stopped them.

 

Charlie Waters, parliamentarian for the American Legion of California, said he's advising memorial honor details to ignore the edict.

 

"This is nuts," Waters told the Press-Enterprise by telephone from Fresno. "There are 26 million veterans in this country and they're not going to take us all to prison."

 

Nacincik said that while the flag-folding narrative includes references to God that the government does not endorse, the main reason for the new rules is uniformity.

 

"We are looking at consistency," Nacincik said. "We think that's important."

 

Rabbi Yitzhak Miller of Temple Beth El said he understands the ban.

 

"It is a perfect example of government choosing to ignore religion in order to avoid offending some religions," Miller said. "To me, ignoring religion in general is just as problematic as endorsing any one religion."

 

Shuler's letter urged Veterans Affairs to change its mind.

 

"Please reconsider the policy and allow the Memorial Honor Detail volunteers to perform the traditional flag-folding recitation if requested by the family of the deceased," he wrote.

 

Lloyd said the honor guard would decide whether to defy the ban next Tuesday, when it will serve at more military funerals.

 

"We are going to abide by the wishes of the families," Lloyd said. "Not some bureaucrat in Washington, D.C. Period."

 

FOXNews.com's Sara Bonisteel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
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#8

NEWS!!!

 

Public outcry brings resolutions involving flag-folding ceremony, monument cap

Allie Martin

OneNewsNow.com

October 31, 2007

 

 

Officials with the Veterans Administration (VA) have clarified a directive limiting the use of a religious recitation at flag-folding ceremonies during military funerals. And a replica of the cap on the Washington Monument will be rebuilt so a God-honoring phrase is visible. The founder of the American Family Association (AFA) credits public outcry in both cases.

 

Last month, a senior VA official told directors of the agency's 125 cemeteries not to distribute or post non-government handouts on "The Meaning of Each Fold of an Honor Guard Funeral Flag." The memo also said the handout should not be recited at graveside services by cemetery workers or by VA-sponsored volunteer honor guards. The recitations include references to "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" and to "the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."

 

Public outcry was swift, with more than 200,000 emails sent to the VA. Now a VA spokesperson says volunteer honor guards may recite any text requested by next of kin.

 

AFA founder Don Wildmon says prompt public outcry made the difference. "The censoring of Christianity, making Christianity officially hostile to the federal government, has been seen," argues Wildmon, "and the Christian community and fair-minded people in our society are not going to allow this to happen anymore."

 

He cites another recent example of the influence of public outcry, noting that the National Park Service (NPS) has said it will rebuild a replica of the cap on the Washington Monument so that the Latin phrase "Laus Deo" -- meaning "Praise be to God" -- is not hidden from public view. The current display was moved in recent years so the phrase was facing a wall and not visible to the public.

 

A spokesman with the Park Service says the placement of the replica was not intentional, and that it will be moved to another location in the center of a room where all inscriptions will be easily viewed. The 100-ounce aluminum cap at the top of the monument has engravings on all four sides.

 

Wildmon says the NPS responded to the public, resulting in what he considers a great victory. "There was an outcry," he explains. "Over a hundred-thousand people contacted the National Park Service, and they rescinded that, [saying they were] going to put it back just like it was" so people can read it.

 

The pro-family leader believes many citizens are getting tired of efforts to eradicate references to God from the public square -- and that frustration, he says, is demonstrated by their willingness to get involved and express their displeasure when those efforts are brought to light.

 

 

Editor's Note: The American Family Association is the parent organization of the American Family News Network, which operates OneNewsNow.com.

 

 

All Original Content Copyright 2006-2007 American Family News Network - All Rights Reserved

Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
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#9

Great news M1!!!! :armata_PDT_37:

I saw Col David Hunt on Fox & Friends this morning with a

VA official. Col Hunt told him that it was great that they

admitted there shouldn't have been any ban on religious

recitation during the flag folding ceremony, but why did it

happen in the first place!!!!????

 

Of course, the official gave no answer to THAT! :armata_PDT_19:

 

m2

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#10

Dear M2:

 

Saw that too my dear. It is heart-warming to know that three verdicts were over-turned within the last week or so. WE still can make a difference and we should ALL stand up and be heard. Let's knock out this crap and idiocy right now!

 

:armata_PDT_37:

Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
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