Military-church separation group says placing wreaths on vets’ graves an ‘atrocity’

American Military News ^ | 12/06/2021 | American Military News

[VMI70]

I have been giving to Wreaths Across America for years. This year my donation doubles. Thanks for the inspiration, Mikey.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Evergreen boughs during the winter have always been an ancient tribal custom. You know, diversity 'n' stuff.

[Mr. Blond]

Weinstein hates Christmas.

[lastchance]

Wreaths have long been a graveside tradition. There need not be any religious significance to it. In fact I am pretty certain ceremonial and memorial wreaths predate Christianity.

[PapaBear3625]

“MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein”

Some Jews seriously hate Christianity.

[GMThrust]

He’s been very successful at it. I believe his group is responsible for removing the bible from POW/MIA tables on Air Force bases. They had one at Patrick AFB chow hall, then one day the bible disappeared, and we were told this clowns organization sued or threatened to sue. Then again, Patrick was home to the DOD DEOMI (Department of Defense’s Equal Opportunity Management Institute (I think that is what it stands for)). Let that sink in for a bit.

[Sequoyah101]

Bugger off, mikey.

You need to be dropped into a combat zone with a spoon. See how fast you can dig a hole.

[AF_Blue]

My paternal grandfather, who died from health issues when my father was a boy, was a Coast Guard veteran and is buried in the Long Island National Cemetery, in NY. A couple of years ago, my Dad (in FL) wanted to check an item off his bucket list, so my older brother and I (in VA) went on a road trip with him to visit the grave. It was December, and Wreaths Across America had been through and placed wreaths on all the graves. They were beautiful! I can only imagine how long it took the volunteers to place the wreaths, and the expenses of creating and transporting the wreaths to the cemetery, and this [expletive that will get me banned from FR] individual wants to end it.

I agree, some people have too much time on their hands.

[SES1066]

Mikey Weinstein and his Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), if there is any real separation between the two, is not always successful. Like PETA, these organizations are better with releasing public condemnations than in winning contested court cases.

A recent example is the 2019 US Supreme Court decision on the Bladensburg, MD "Peace Cross" honoring WW1 Soldiers. While originally erected on private land in 1925 by the American Legion, due to extraneous reasons, the land became owned by the State of Maryland in 1961 and maintained by the same.

In 2015 the MRFF joined with the American Humanist Association (AHA), an atheist advocacy organization, to order the removal of this 40 foot "Christian monument on government property". In 2018 the 4th Appeals Circuit had agreed with these plaintiffs (8-6) to remove the "Peace Cross".

Successfully appealed to SCOTUS, the US Supreme Court ruled 7 to 2 that this was more of a War Memorial than Christian monument and thus could remain, unmolested! Justice Alioto wrote the decision and Justices Ginzburg & Sotomayor were the dissenters.

[dragnet2]

Make it simple, have those who don’t want wreaths call
1800-GET-ALIF and they’ll receive a small “No wreath” sticker to be placed on the grave marker, and as a bonus they’ll each receive a free toilet plunger.

[SunkenCiv]

“The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.” – Montesquieu

[Albion Wilde]

Mikey needs a new hobby. He’s becoming more paranoid, cranky and bitter than Dave Letterman, and that’s saying something.

[Albion Wilde]

“to blanket them without permission of the surviving families is unconstitutional”

And if volunteers put Christmas-style wreaths only on the headstones with crosses and ignored the ones with Stars of David, Mikey wouldn't be happy about that, either. He's a bitter, bitter man. And petty.

[gitmo]

to blanket them without permission of the surviving families is unconstitutional,

Ah yes. People tend to ignore the wreath clause of the Constitution.

[V_TWIN]

“He’s a bitter, bitter man. And petty”

Sounds like most atheists I’ve run across