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Letter to the Editor 9.19.2013

I recently read the letter to the editor by Carol Boeddeker-Genet and found it very interesting not to mention the outrage I felt about what is happening in our country today; but wait… where were her facts coming from?   So I sat down at my computer and started “Googling” her “facts”.  Here are some of the things I found.

I found on FactCheck.org website that the seven Alaskan Islands Obama allegedly gave to Russia were never claimed by the U.S. as they are closer to Siberia than Alaska.

She says that Chaplains are not allowed to pray in the name of Jesus Christ.  U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black speaking at the Heritage Foundation on April 29, 2013, as quoted from The Christian Post website on this very issue says:

“During the question and answer session, Black was also asked whether military chaplains should be allowed to pray in the name of Jesus.  Black explained that he has prayed thousands of times in the name of Jesus in his 30 years as a military chaplain.  There were only certain occasions when he found it appropriate to say a prayer that would be inclusive of other faiths.

“Black provided two examples.  First, if a Muslim marine were killed and he was saying a public prayer, he would use more inclusive language out of respect.  Second, if he were praying over an intercom on a ship full of sailors of different religious backgrounds, he would pray a more inclusive prayer.  In that situation, one cannot avoid listening to the prayer, so Black thought it important to be respectful of everyone’s beliefs.

“The times when military chaplains are told not to pray in the name of Jesus are few and far between, Black explained. “I don’t see it as a serious problem.

“Black served as the Navy’s Chief of Chaplains in his last military position before becoming the Senate’s 62nd chaplain.”

Her claim that Muslims are leaders in our departments of defense, education and national security seemed to ignore the fact that the Department of Defense is headed by Chuck Hagel, a Roman Catholic; Department of Education by Arne Duncan, a Catholic; and National Security by Janet Napolitano, a Methodist.

Checking about the National Day of Prayer being canceled and replaced by Muslim Day of Prayer, I found that the National Day of Prayer was first established in 1952 by Truman as an annual observation for people of all faiths.  In 1988, President Reagan signed a resolution designating the first Thursday in May as National Day of Prayer, and every president since then, including President Obama, has recognized that day according to FactCheck.org.

According to Politifact.com the word “dhimmitude” is not in Obamacare (as also pointed out in Keith Moore’s column), and Muslims are not specifically exempted from the law.  It is further noted that if anyone is exempted, it’s a small number of Christian groups.

These are just a few of the items that I found in error in Carol Boeddeker-Genet’s letter to the editor.  What I have learned from this exercise is that anytime one sees an article, gets an e-mail, or hears a newscast that seem absolutely outrageous, we should check out those outrageous claims from unbiased sources like Politifact, Snopes, or FactCheck.org.  In virtually every case I’ve discovered that the outrageous statements were either absolutely false or such twisted versions of the trust as to be unrecognizable.

Jeanne Scrivner

Ava, Mo.