Jesus for President?

Fri May 18 05:47:29 PDT 2007

Clearly he neither sees a violationa, nor believes that there should be a separation.

Paul Finkelman
President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
     and Public Policy
Albany Law School
80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, New York   12208-3494

518-445-3386 
pfink at albanylaw.edu
>>> susan.freiman.law.65 at aya.yale.edu 05/18/07 4:10 AM >>>
Surely you should be allowed to say any prayer you want, in private. To 
give a Christian prayer in church is no problem for me, and if you pray 
to Jesus in a military service for Christians, fine.

To pray to Jesus in a general military service is improper, and I see 
problems with any law which expressly allows you to do that.

I respect your feeling deeply about what you see as an important issue. 
Allow me to feel equally deeply about your imposing a Christian prayer 
on non-Christians. You don't see a violation of the separation of church 
and state here?

Susan

Gordon James Klingenschmitt wrote:
> Since Eugene gave us the green light to talk politics....
> Below is my op-ed for today's Worldnet Daily, explaining the likely 
> views of four Presidential candidates (Clinton, Obama, Brownback, 
> Hunter) on a military chaplain's right to pray publicly "in Jesus name."
> Jesus for President?
> http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55725
> Enjoy!
> Chaplain Klingenschmitt
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> WND Exclusive Commentary
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Jesus for president?
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Posted: May 17, 2007
> 1:00 a.m. Eastern
>
> By Gordon James Klingenschmitt
> OK, I admit, Jesus Christ is not running for president this year. He 
> promised to return soon enough, to assume public office, but 
> meanwhile, where do the 2008 presidential candidates stand on a 
> military chaplain's right to pray publicly "in Jesus' name"?
> I'm not naming names, but let's start with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
> When the Navy punished me, a chaplain, for quoting the Bible in the 
> chapel during optionally attended Christian worship, I faxed a formal 
> whistleblower complaint to my New York senator, asking for help. Did 
> she protect her evangelical chaplain? No.
> I called her office nearly every day, but nobody returned my phone 
> calls for weeks, until finally, I voice-mailed her press secretary 
> about my interview with "Jewish Week" newspaper 
> <http://www.persuade.tv/againstgoliath/JewishWeekStewartAin3Jun05.pdf>, 
> telling how I was punished for requesting Kosher meals for my Jewish 
> sailor. "Shall I tell them Senator Clinton doesn't care about Jewish 
> service members?" I asked. Fearing bad press, Clinton signed a "letter 
> of inquiry" to the Navy 
> <http://www.persuade.tv/againstgoliath/Senators.pdf> for me that same 
> day.
> But later, after Navy officials justified to her how I was also 
> "properly punished" for praying "in Jesus' name" and how chaplains 
> really should pray "non-sectarian" prayers in public, my sources 
> witnessed Sen. Clinton taking bold action /against me/. Opposing a 
> House bill to let chaplains pray according to their faith 
> <http://www.persuade.tv/Frenzy6/WarnerSpeech2.pdf>, Clinton personally 
> attended meetings to block our legislation, preferring to let the 
> Pentagon censor our prayers.
> Sen. Barrack Hussein Obama wasn't any better.
> While campaigning in Iowa last month, Obama was asked his opinion 
> about Judge Roy Moore, who couldn't display the Ten Commandments in 
> the courthouse, and about me, a chaplain who was discharged for 
> praying in uniform.
> First, Sen. Obama falsely claimed he wasn't aware of "the chaplain 
> situation," when I'd personally faxed my whistleblower complaints to 
> his office <http://www.persuade.tv/frenzy10/ChapsToObama.pdf>, and his 
> staff acknowledged placing them on his desk.
> Even worse, Obama disrespected the Ten Commandments, claiming, "If you 
> are not a believer, there would be a feeling that you wouldn't be 
> treated as fairly as a Christian. We want everybody to feel they are 
> treated equally." 
> <http://thechurchreport.com/news_article.php?day=16&mon=04&yr=2007>
> Apparently, Obama believes God's Ten Commandments are unfair since 
> they might hurt people's "feelings" (as if his pro-abortion laws don't 
> hurt the "feelings" of the unborn).
> Would President Obama appoint judges who oppose Roy Moore and would 
> jackhammer the 44 displays of the Ten Commandments from our U.S. 
> Supreme Court? He still won't debate Judge Moore on the subject 
> <http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/04/judge_roy_moore_says_obama_nee.php>, 
> yet Barrack Hussein Obama campaigns like a good Christian, 
> soft-pedaling his Muslim upbringing.
> Conversely, Sen. Sam Brownback votes like he says he believes.
> When I first came to Washington, D.C., Sen. Brownback welcomed me to 
> speak at his weekly Values Action Team meeting, where I enlisted 
> dozens of pro-family groups and senators to vote for allowing prayers 
> in Jesus' name.
> Brownback personally wrote President Bush to help chaplains, and when 
> our legislation came to the Senate, Sam Brownback again reminded 
> Values Action Team members to stand up for religious liberty. (But 
> he'd never brag about this; he's too humble.) If elected, I've no 
> doubt President Brownback would immediately sign an executive order 
> protecting all chaplains' right to pray according to their faith.
> Presidential candidate Duncan Hunter also went to bat for chaplains.
> Leading 75 members of Congress with Walter B. Jones, Rep. Hunter (then 
> chairman of the House Armed Services Committee) personally wrote and 
> passed a House bill to let chaplains pray according to their faith. 
> But when his bill got blocked by liberal senators, did he quit? No.
> Fighting to the last, Duncan Hunter helped negotiate a compromise with 
> the Pentagon, forcing them to rescind their bad Navy prayer policy, 
> even letting Air Force chaplains pray publicly "in Jesus' name." As 
> commander in chief, I've no doubt Duncan Hunter would force the 
> Pentagon to respect the 1860 law and once again let chaplains pray 
> freely.
> Will our next commander in chief protect chaplains? Although Jesus 
> isn't running for president, I remember his warning to discern true 
> prophets from false: "By their fruit ye shall know them." The fruit of 
> these candidates * Clinton, Obama, Brownback, Hunter * may be clearly 
> seen by their stand for (or against) public prayer in Jesus' name.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> /Gordon James Klingenschmitt is a former Navy chaplain who sacrificed 
> his career to help change national policy, allowing military chaplains 
> to publicly pray "in Jesus name" * even in uniform. He continues his 
> fight to be reinstated. Klingenschmitt is available to speak and can 
> be reached via email at: savechaps at hotmail.com 
> <mailto:savechaps at hotmail.com>. He encourages readers to sign his 
> petition to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates: /
> https://secure.responseenterprises.com/DF_InJesusName/petition.php?a=
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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