Posted on 12/27/2013 8:15:41 PM PST by lowbridge
The national commander of the American Legion is demanding answers from the Veterans Administration after hospitals in three states placed restrictions on Christian volunteers, including a group of schoolchildren who were told they could only perform Christmas carols from a government-approved list.
"Every Christmas, every religious holiday, Christians are more and more often targeted for censorship and restriction at VA facilities," American Legion National Commander Daniel Dellinger said. "Veterans in these hospitals fought to protect such freedoms."
In Iowa City, American Legion members were told they could not hand out presents to veterans if the wrapping paper said Merry Christmas.
In Augusta, Ga., the VA told a group of students from a Christian school that they could not sing religious-themed Christmas carols. Instead, the students were presented with a list of government-approved, secular songs.
And in Dallas, the VA hospital refused to allow children to distribute Christmas cards to patients because the cards included phrases like "Merry Christmas" and "God Bless You."
The American Legion has asked the VA Central Office for an explanation of why it appears Christians are being singled out for restrictions.
"First of all, VA's decision to prohibit the delivery of Christmas cards that mention Christmas is ludicrous,” Dellinger said. "Second of all, VA has been down this road before, and recently. VA has been warned through a federal court decree to stop denying freedom of religious expression at its facilities. It’s pretty obvious the Dallas VA did not get that memo."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Obama.
I stopped taking the American Legion magazine because every issue had an Obama kiss ass story. We all know Obama’s attitude toward the military - active and inactive - and organisations like American Legion and the VFW play politics with Obama’s policies.
This has to do with the local VA hospital administration. Some VA hospitals are controlled by obamaite apparatchiks. Those are the bad ones.
It’s pretty amazing that schools and churches don’t know their own rights by now, either. These spotty “rules” are not lawful, but we show up unprepared, without chapter and verse of state and federal law to enforce those rights.
The few VA’s throwing Christ out into the street should have been handed a copy of the court order on the spot when arrangements were initially made. Yes, it’s getting that bad.
I’m amazed that General (retired) Shinseki is permitting this to happen. But then since he is now the VA secretary under bh0, perhaps “I am only following orders.”
I’ll have to dig out a number of one of his folks I use to work for, when both of us were in the “old Army” and ask him what is going on.
Go back to court and find them in contempt.
In each of these cases, the American Legion should find out — by name — who issued these unconstitutional restrictions and file lawsuits against them, personally.
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