Truthout Report on Military "Spirituality Test" Featured by Keith Olbermann (Video)

Thursday 06 January 2011

by: Keith Olbermann | MSNBC Countdown With Keith Olbermann

Truthout Report on Military "Spirituality Test" Featured by Keith Olbermann (Video)
(Photo: Wikimedia)

Truthout's reporting on the Army's so-called "spiritual fitness" test was featured on Thursday by MSNBC host Keith Olbermann on Countdown.

Mikey Weinstein, president and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, discussed Jason Leopold's report detailing the forced spiritual testing of over 800,000 uniformed soldiers as part of the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program.

The original report by Leopold can be viewed here.

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Comments

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American Crusaders . . .

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:56 — Anonymous (not verified)

American Crusaders . . .

Decades and decades ago, I

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 16:25 — Russ (not verified)

Decades and decades ago, I was in the military. When I enlisted, I had to state my religion in writing and that information was stamped on my dog tags. I wrote "Protestant" on my enlistment papers. The military stamped "no preference" on my dog tags. For six years I tried to get them to change that. They refused. Their interpretation reins supreme.

Reminds me of Arlo Guthrie's

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 17:46 — Brian Flaherty (not verified)

Reminds me of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's RTestaurant". . .

"Sargeant, you got a lot a damn gall to
ask me if I've rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I'm
sittin' here on the bench, I mean I'm sittin here on the Group W bench
'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough join the army, burn women,
kids, houses and villages after bein' a litterbug."

Absurdity rules! Except that "it" kills people. . .And, it ain't funny, McGee

"Revolt in 2100"----Robert

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 19:22 — Anonymous (not verified)

"Revolt in 2100"----Robert Heinlein. Nehemiah Scudder awaits....UGLY!!!!!

I guess if you are

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 21:55 — DEGoodman (not verified)

I guess if you are "spiritually-fit" enough to MURDER innocent men, women, and children, you are "spiritually-fit" enough to be in the Military? Quite frankly, the "new rules" makes me want to throw-up. It's "ok to be gay" as long as you are "spiritually-fit" enough to MURDER? That sounds "Christian" to me alright. Here comes yet another INQUISITION!

WHAT EVER HAPPENED to "Thou

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 22:00 — DEGoodman (not verified)

WHAT EVER HAPPENED to "Thou shalt not kill?" IF....you are indeed "Spiritual" you cannot, in good conscience "kill" anyone! Only "Abraham-based" religion, believes in MURDER, as a "means to an end."

Keith's guest says that 5 ½

Sat, 01/08/2011 - 06:46 — Anonymous (not verified)

Keith's guest says that 5 ½ years ago the U.S. Air Force said it was going reserve its right to evangelize anyone it deemed to be "unchurched." I do not recall any regulation, law, or policy of the U.S. or the UCMJ that gives the USAF any "right" to evangelize any U.S. military personnel. I was not in the USAF but was in the USN, and such a right was never in my military contract or the UCMJ. Neither the USAF or any other branch or arm of the U.S. Federal government may under the Constitution or under former pResident George W. Bush, VP Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Gates, or under any other authority cannot evangelize or religify, religiize, force any faith or spirituality upon any other U.S. citizen or non-citizen soldier. In fact, the 1st Amendment expressly forbids any such coercion of conscience, as our Founding Fathers termed it.

DC Goodman, you left out

Sat, 01/08/2011 - 15:32 — photon's feather (not verified)

DC Goodman, you left out rape and other assaults that regularly occur in areas around our foreign bases in nations with whom we are 'at peace.' Our agreements with nations 'hosting' our foreign bases require the host country to give up all jurisdictional rights concerning crimes committed by members of our armed forces and other US citizens posted on foreign bases - and culprits/suspects are whisked away almost immediately upon complaints being lodged. Trials? Uh, well...

To David Wheeler: Those were

Sun, 01/16/2011 - 17:22 — Halbert Trimble (not verified)

To David Wheeler:
Those were two very excellent, insightful, and dead-on posts. Unfortunately, there were a lot of mis-spellings. Please do us all a favor and spellcheck first. It will give you more credibility. I of course don't know you but agree with most of what you wrote. I just had a hard time getting through the typos.
Excuse me for being forward.

Halbert