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Bush Apologizes to Wiccan Widow
UPI ^ | Sept 2, 2007 | UPI

Posted on 09/02/2007 1:34:34 PM PDT by DogByte6RER

Bush apologizes to Wiccan widow

Published: Sept 2, 2007 at 10:16 AM

WASHINGTON, Sept 1 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush apologized to a Nevada Wiccan who was left out of a presidential meeting with relatives of soldiers killed in combat.

Rebecca Stewart, who sued to have the Wiccan symbol placed on her husband’s grave marker in a military cemetery, told The Washington Post the president called her to apologize. She said she explained to Bush the faith she and her husband shared.

Sgt. Patrick Stewart was killed in Afghanistan in 2005.

Stewart said she heard about the private meeting from her mother-in-law, who was invited. The president visited Nevada to speak at the American Legion convention.

Stewart told the Post she believed she had been excluded from the invitation list because of the lawsuit she filed to have the Defense Department place the Wiccan symbol -- a five-pointed star inside a circle -- on her husband's grave. She won the suit and the government added the Wiccan symbol to 38 others that were previously recognized, including a symbol for atheism.

While other Wiccans are known to be serving in the military, Stewart is believed to be the first to die in combat.

(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 1stammendment; afghanistan; apology; bush; devilworship; diversitygods; fallen; freedomofreligion; freeexercise; fundamentalists; godisdead; highplaces; hypocrites; multicult; paganism; pagans; pc; potus; satanicsymbols; spiritualtrojanhorse; symbolicgestures; wiccan; witchcraft; wot
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To: jude24; Starwolf; P-Marlowe
The First Amendment unambiguously forbids both hostility towards and support for any particular religious viewpoint.

In the chaplaincy, at least in my years in it, there was recognition of protection against expressions of religion that required the demeaning of other religions in its own practice.

This was upheld in a number of reviews.

Therefore, any religion that used anti-semitic symbols (white aryan religions) could not claim equal protection. The same with Satanism...so much of their practice was actually contra-Christian, for example, desecrated religious symbols of Christianity. There was no equal protection for it.

There is a very sharp eye out in the military for "movements" that are, on their face, absurd. Rostafarian claims of rites requiring reefer were not even considered valid for a moment, and would have been denied automatically.

121 posted on 09/02/2007 6:10:01 PM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain And Proud of It! Those who support the troops will pray for them to WIN!)
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To: I got the rope
Man our President has sure lost his way. What moronic thing to do.

Actually, Senor Jorge Bushovich lost his way long ago. This is just another moronic step he has taken. Man, I cannot wait till his time is up and he goes wherever the hell he is going to go. We desperately, very desperately, need a true conservative to save this Republic. Jorge weren't it. The only thing I can find that the Marxist's said that was true, was, that Bush lied. He lied that he was a conservative. He ain't, never was.

122 posted on 09/02/2007 6:13:55 PM PDT by RetiredArmy (The American Republic is slowing dying, and no one cares.)
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To: LilAngel

Does that include Catholics, Buddhists, and any other non-evangelical Christians? Would you be comfortable with someone putting the seal of their patron saint or the Vatican on their gravestone next to the cross?

Arlington cemetery isn’t a Christian cemetery - it’s a national cemetery. Your right to exclude people who disagree with your views isn’t more righteous than mine. If I decided that, as a hypothetical, only Catholic symbols belong on sacred ground, how would that go over?

Suppose I find your interpretation of Christianity to be inaccurate and a poor reflection on Christ. Given your interpretation, I should have a veto right on your free expression of religion. It doesn’t work like that here. If you want things to work like that, proceed at your risk, though I doubt you’ll enjoy seeing the American version of the European bloodshed between Catholics and Protestants.


123 posted on 09/02/2007 6:15:26 PM PDT by cynicalstuff1
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To: BfloGuy

“Wrong. It was exactly the right thing to do. The man’s religion (or his wife’s) has nothing at all to do with the fact that he gave his life for his country. It reinforces my faith in the President after a time where it’s been sorely tested.”

There’s no question about that. The issue is whether or not the President is willing to recognize the right of his enlisted men and women to freely exercise their religion as they so choose. If there was simply some mix-up with the paperwork or something, that’s one thing, but to laud an effort to undermine the right of man (who, I might add, died honorably for his country) to freely exercise his religion is an insult to this nation and the principles upon which it was founded. The First Amendment didn’t have a clause in it that excluded the free exercise of religions that other citizens find incorrect. That would give each citizen the right to veto one another’s free exercise of religion.


124 posted on 09/02/2007 6:15:30 PM PDT by cynicalstuff1
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To: Drew68
"The only thing moronic about this story is that it took a lawsuit in order for this woman to get the symbol of her husband's faith placed upon his gravestone."

Oh give me one big, honkin' break.

125 posted on 09/02/2007 6:17:30 PM PDT by RightOnline
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To: LilAngel
I stand by my own statements.

You and your ilk are the reason I have so little respect for Christianity. I'll take Sgt Stewart and his "Satanism" over you any day. He's a hero...you're just a jerk.
.
126 posted on 09/02/2007 6:18:50 PM PDT by radioman
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To: xzins
In the chaplaincy, at least in my years in it, there was recognition of protection against expressions of religion that required the demeaning of other religions in its own practice.

How well does that work when Islam is clearly anti Bahai and arguably anti Christian anti Jewish?

As a chaplain would you consider Wicca as Satanism?
127 posted on 09/02/2007 6:34:22 PM PDT by Starwolf
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To: newzjunkey
As far as the marker, the real point of contention was the foot-dragging over adding a Wiccan symbol to the already approved list. The excuse was the lack of a central or governing body for that faith. I guess this ultimately comes down to "free exercise thereof" and this I'm not surprised she was ultimately victorious in getting the symbol on the marker.

I would be curious to know where you got that data from, since some of the ones that do have symbols make Wiccans look positively well organized.
128 posted on 09/02/2007 6:38:44 PM PDT by Starwolf
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To: Starwolf

The religious worship of Islam does not involve desecration of the Bahai, Jewish, or Christian faith.

Wicca is a relatively new phenomenon, and, as a recently created “faith,” it is subject to the whims of its many creators.

One cannot say that this, that, or the other is an historic Wiccan text, or practice, or ritual. It’s all made up recently.

Therefore, some of those doing the creating had a bent toward the dark side, and all of them had a bent toward the mystical/occult side.


129 posted on 09/02/2007 6:41:49 PM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain And Proud of It! Those who support the troops will pray for them to WIN!)
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To: xzins
The religious worship of Islam does not involve desecration of the Bahai, Jewish, or Christian faith.

I would disagree with you there. Dhimmi status is certainly denigration of the Jewish and Christian faith. The hatred of Bahai faith is an integral part of Islamic teaching. I can believe that those portions are left out of the portions of Islam supported/allowed in the military, but there is no mistaking that it is part of the full gospel of Islam

At my local base, the Catholic services were moved to the local church...but there is still on base services for Islam. Many of us found it interesting until it was explained that there was not enough interest in Islam in the local area, so for the handful of followers in the military, the base had to provide facilities.
130 posted on 09/02/2007 6:59:49 PM PDT by Starwolf
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To: Starwolf

You can argue all you want, but Islamic services do not take the items of worship of other religions and desecrate them as part of their practice.

I have not said at any point that those who disagree with one another, or who have a lesser opinion of one another, are denied equal protection.

What base, what town, is there a locally assigned chaplain priest, and is there a locally assigned chaplain imam?


131 posted on 09/02/2007 7:14:00 PM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain And Proud of It! Those who support the troops will pray for them to WIN!)
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To: radioman
You and your ilk are the reason I have so little respect for Christianity.

I agree wholeheartedly. The contempt these so-called "Christians" show towards the family of slain servicemen who do not share their faith is deplorable. "Ilk" is a good word to describe these very small, insignificant, little people.

132 posted on 09/02/2007 7:18:44 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: xzins

I now understand what you meant, my apologies for the confusion. My point was Islamic teachings vice worship services.

We have a single chaplain (O-4/Baptist IIRC) no imam or rabbi. Local jewish group is lead by a layman (if that is the correct term in Judiasm) who is a friend of mine with participation from the base and town. Islamic services are lead by a mid grade NCO with no participation of local civilians (no local muslims).


133 posted on 09/02/2007 7:27:03 PM PDT by Starwolf
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To: Killborn

my mistake should have included radical islam


134 posted on 09/02/2007 7:31:19 PM PDT by alchemist54 ((for those who fight for it freedom has a taste the protected will never know))
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To: Starwolf; P-Marlowe

If this were an Army post, then first we’d have to acknowledge that it is a small post, and that the religious coverage is limited. In the military, the denominations of the assigned chaplains pretty well dictate the nature of the services that will be offered.

With just one chaplain, and that being a baptist, then you can have only these chaplain led services: A “General” Protestant service AND a Baptist denominational service. If he needs more than one of each of these, then there could be more, but of no different variety. A Baptist chaplain cannot run a Catholic, Jewish, Islamic, or Episcopal service....he is not of their groups, so it is impossible (and forbidden.)

His responsibility to those other groups is to arrange for them to have services. He can contract with local clergy, he can use reservists in the area, he can coordinate services if lay leadership request them and are approved by higher ups.

With no Catholic chaplain, I’d say the Catholics were moved to town, because the priest either changed his contract or no longer wanted one. The NCO Muslim is leading because he’s some variety of acknowledged lay leadership and has been approved by higher HQ.


135 posted on 09/02/2007 7:34:43 PM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain And Proud of It! Those who support the troops will pray for them to WIN!)
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To: Drew68
I agree wholeheartedly. The contempt these so-called "Christians" show towards the family of slain servicemen who do not share their faith is deplorable. "Ilk" is a good word to describe these very small, insignificant, little people.

They preach love while they practice hate...revolting.
.
136 posted on 09/02/2007 7:36:33 PM PDT by radioman
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To: xzins

wicca was the creation of Alister Crowley and Gerald Garner they took aspects of several earlier belief systems and blended them into wicca. There are only the two creators of wicca but each person sets his own path.Others who also wear the pentagram are Pagansand even early christains wore the pentagram to repersent the 5 wounds of christ. The symbol for the worship of satan is an inverted cross


137 posted on 09/02/2007 7:40:20 PM PDT by alchemist54 ((for those who fight for it freedom has a taste the protected will never know))
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To: xzins
In the chaplaincy, at least in my years in it....
There is a very sharp eye out in the military for "movements" that are, on their face, absurd.


Who decides what is absurd?
You need to clean up your own house, Reverend, before you cast stones at others.
.
138 posted on 09/02/2007 7:41:11 PM PDT by radioman
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To: Tijeras_Slim

I’ll bet twenty-five cents it’s Crayola.


139 posted on 09/02/2007 7:45:37 PM PDT by xc1427 (It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees...Midnight Oil (Power and the Passion))
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To: radioman
"Absurd" means: absurd ( ) adj. Ridiculously incongruous or unreasonable

Commanders in the military decide. The commander owns all religious programs that exist within his command. This is because in time of war, military necessity overrides religious necessity.

If you present an absurd notion to a commander, I guarantee you that if he doesn't laugh at you when in his office, he'll laugh after you leave. Then he'll deny access.

As I said, Rostafarian is an example.

140 posted on 09/02/2007 7:48:04 PM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain And Proud of It! Those who support the troops will pray for them to WIN!)
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