Bryan Fischer
The Pentagon owes AFA and FRC an effusive apology
By Bryan Fischer
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"
Lt Col Jack Rich falsely and slanderously labeled both the American Family Association and the Family Research Council as "domestic hate groups" in a 14-page email sent to several dozen army officers.
It seems he could hardly wait to demonize both AFA and FRC, targeting us on the second page of his rant. He erroneously accuses us of "defamation" when we do nothing more than tell the truth about homosexual behavior. And he wildly accuses us of "disseminating disparaging 'facts' about gays" (the scare quotes are his), when we say nothing that cannot be backed up by Scripture, history and research.
Rich veers off into malicious charges of racism when he says our assertions "are remarkably reminiscent of the way white intellectuals and scientists once wrote about the 'bestial' black man and his supposedly threatening sexuality." This is utterly unfounded and malicious character defamation to an alarming degree, and the fact that it is being done under color of law and military authority is exceedingly disturbing.
Rich shamelessly and incorrectly accuses the AFA and FRC of being groups that "do not share our Army values." The truth, sadly, is that it is Lt Col Jack Rich who does not share the values of the military he serves. In fact, it seems apparent that the AFA "shares Army values" more than Lt Col Rich does.
Army values, according to its own website, include such things as loyalty, duty, honor, respect, selfless service, integrity, and personal courage. Well, LTC Rich has been flagrantly derelict in his duty to tell the truth, shows no respect for pro-family organizations, and demonstrates a clear lack of integrity by his misrepresentations of both FRC and AFA.
He even clusters FRC and AFA with the Westboro Baptist Church, even though our message to homosexuals is exactly the reverse of Fred Phelps's cult. While Westboro declares ad nauseum that "God hates fags," FRC and AFA constantly declare the truth of Scripture that God loves homosexuals and wants to see them set free from the bondage of a self-destructive lifestyle.
LTC Rich to his embarrassment is depending upon misinformation about AFA and FRC promoted by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a "charity" that, according the Weekly Standard, has stockpiled $256 million in donor money and has received the grade of "F" from the nation's leading charity watchdog.
Although LTC Rich has denied drawing his information from the SPLC, he directly references the group on page 3 of his 14-page memo as a source of information about what he calls "anti-immigrant" groups, and then cites the SPLC again later in the memo.
The Standard article exposes the SPLC as little more than a fund-raising scam that shamelessly uses fear-mongering to scare up donations from gullible leftists.
The SPLC, in fact, is a hate group in its own right. It publishes a "hate group" map which led domestic terrorist Floyd Corkins right to the front door of FRC last summer on a mission to take out as many supporters of natural marriage as he could in a homicidal rampage.
AFA supports the very values that the Army has always recognized as central to its strength as a fighting force, values such as faith and family. The Army from the days of George Washington has supplied chaplains to its troops in recognition of the central role that faith in an almighty God has always played in our military endeavors.
The Army has always recognized the central role that marriage and family play in keeping soldiers strong and focused and motivated. That's why even despite the shifting winds of popular culture, adultery and fraternization are still crimes under the UCMJ and sexual scandals can end the careers of even outstanding soldiers like Gen. David Petraeus.
The bottom line: Lt Col Rich deserves a demotion for this egregiously offensive communique, and the Pentagon owes AFA and FRC a direct and effusive apology. And as Winston Churchill would say, we need "action this day."
© Bryan Fischer
April 11, 2013
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"
Lt Col Jack Rich falsely and slanderously labeled both the American Family Association and the Family Research Council as "domestic hate groups" in a 14-page email sent to several dozen army officers.
It seems he could hardly wait to demonize both AFA and FRC, targeting us on the second page of his rant. He erroneously accuses us of "defamation" when we do nothing more than tell the truth about homosexual behavior. And he wildly accuses us of "disseminating disparaging 'facts' about gays" (the scare quotes are his), when we say nothing that cannot be backed up by Scripture, history and research.
Rich veers off into malicious charges of racism when he says our assertions "are remarkably reminiscent of the way white intellectuals and scientists once wrote about the 'bestial' black man and his supposedly threatening sexuality." This is utterly unfounded and malicious character defamation to an alarming degree, and the fact that it is being done under color of law and military authority is exceedingly disturbing.
Rich shamelessly and incorrectly accuses the AFA and FRC of being groups that "do not share our Army values." The truth, sadly, is that it is Lt Col Jack Rich who does not share the values of the military he serves. In fact, it seems apparent that the AFA "shares Army values" more than Lt Col Rich does.
Army values, according to its own website, include such things as loyalty, duty, honor, respect, selfless service, integrity, and personal courage. Well, LTC Rich has been flagrantly derelict in his duty to tell the truth, shows no respect for pro-family organizations, and demonstrates a clear lack of integrity by his misrepresentations of both FRC and AFA.
He even clusters FRC and AFA with the Westboro Baptist Church, even though our message to homosexuals is exactly the reverse of Fred Phelps's cult. While Westboro declares ad nauseum that "God hates fags," FRC and AFA constantly declare the truth of Scripture that God loves homosexuals and wants to see them set free from the bondage of a self-destructive lifestyle.
LTC Rich to his embarrassment is depending upon misinformation about AFA and FRC promoted by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a "charity" that, according the Weekly Standard, has stockpiled $256 million in donor money and has received the grade of "F" from the nation's leading charity watchdog.
Although LTC Rich has denied drawing his information from the SPLC, he directly references the group on page 3 of his 14-page memo as a source of information about what he calls "anti-immigrant" groups, and then cites the SPLC again later in the memo.
The Standard article exposes the SPLC as little more than a fund-raising scam that shamelessly uses fear-mongering to scare up donations from gullible leftists.
The SPLC, in fact, is a hate group in its own right. It publishes a "hate group" map which led domestic terrorist Floyd Corkins right to the front door of FRC last summer on a mission to take out as many supporters of natural marriage as he could in a homicidal rampage.
AFA supports the very values that the Army has always recognized as central to its strength as a fighting force, values such as faith and family. The Army from the days of George Washington has supplied chaplains to its troops in recognition of the central role that faith in an almighty God has always played in our military endeavors.
The Army has always recognized the central role that marriage and family play in keeping soldiers strong and focused and motivated. That's why even despite the shifting winds of popular culture, adultery and fraternization are still crimes under the UCMJ and sexual scandals can end the careers of even outstanding soldiers like Gen. David Petraeus.
The bottom line: Lt Col Rich deserves a demotion for this egregiously offensive communique, and the Pentagon owes AFA and FRC a direct and effusive apology. And as Winston Churchill would say, we need "action this day."
© Bryan Fischer
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