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	<title>Veteran Veritas &#187; Houston VA and God</title>
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	<description>Hang out for combat veterans and families.</description>
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		<title>Texas VA Secedes From God</title>
		<link>http://veteranveritas.com/?p=589</link>
		<comments>http://veteranveritas.com/?p=589#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Jul 2011 08:56:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Brewer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Veterans Benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Houston VA and God]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tucsoncitizen.com/veteranveritas/?p=589</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Of all places in the nation to pull this off&#8230;Texas! The home of more Christians per inch than most of the 50 states.  This lady Arleen must be planning on funding from China. Does she not know that God owns oil in Texas! Sure gonna be more fun than a hog sloppin&#8221; in the mud &#8230; <a href="http://veteranveritas.com/?p=589" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Texas VA Secedes From God</span> <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>Of all places in the nation to pull this off&#8230;Texas! The home of more Christians per inch than most of the 50 states.  This lady Arleen must be planning on funding from China. Does she not know that God owns oil in Texas! Sure gonna be more fun than a hog sloppin&#8221; in the mud to see how this one turns out.</div>
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<div><span style="color: #3333ff;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small"><span style="color: #000000">VA Bans Mention  of God at Funerals for Vets &#8220;The hostile and discriminatory actions by the  Veterans Affairs officials in Houston are outrageous, unconstitutional and must  stop,&#8221; said Jeff Mateer, Esq., general counsel of Liberty Institute. June 30,  2011</span></span></div>
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<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small">The Department of Veterans Affairs and its Director of the  Houston National Cemetery, Arleen Ocasio, are engaging in religious viewpoint  discrimination in violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom  Restoration Act, by adding new incidents of religious hostility. </span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small">Director of the Houston National Cemetery, Arleen Ocasio  <strong>Since taking the directorship of the Houston facility in April, 2010, Arleen  Ocasio has used her position to bully Christians, repeatedly trampling on the  religious liberties of Veterans of Foreign Wars District 4, The American Legion  Post 586, and the National Memorial Ladies. </strong></span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small">On March 15, Director Ocasio told Nobleton Jones, Honor Guard  Junior Vice Commander, that he couldn&#8217;t say &#8220;May God grant you grace, mercy and  peace&#8221; to grieving families. </span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small">&#8220;The hostile and discriminatory actions by the Veterans  Affairs officials in Houston are outrageous, unconstitutional and must stop,&#8221;  said Jeff Mateer, Esq., general counsel of Liberty Institute. &#8220;Government  officials who engage in religious discrimination against citizens are breaking  the law. Sadly, this seems to be a pattern of behavior at the Houston VA  National Cemetery.&#8221; </span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small">Our friends at Liberty Institute have amended an earlier  lawsuit against the VA that states the new violations against religious liberty  include: </span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small"><strong>• VA Forbids Mention of God at Funerals for Veterans and  Requires Families to Submit Prayer for Approval to the Government </strong></span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small"><strong>• VA instructs the VFW and a Private Funeral Home that they  may not present the option of prayer to families </strong></span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small"><strong>• VA Tells Volunteers to Remove &#8220;God Bless&#8221; from Condolence  Cards to Grieving Families </strong></span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small"><strong>• VA Closes Cemetery Chapel; Uses it for Storage </strong></span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small">You can read Liberty Institute&#8217;s detailed report of Director  Ocasio&#8217;s offenses <span style="color: #3333ff"><a title="http://libertyinstitute.org/current_cases.php?category=6&amp;article=220" href="http://libertyinstitute.org/current_cases.php?category=6&amp;article=220" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline">here</span></a></span>. </span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small"><strong>TAKE ACTION </strong></span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small">Director Ocasio has already been successfully sued this year  for religious discrimination. Obviously, she is not qualified to be the director  of a National Cemetery and should step down. </span></div>
<div><span style="color: #3333ff;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small"><a title="http://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/TakeAction.asp?id=399" href="http://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/TakeAction.asp?id=399" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Send an email to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs secretary  Eric Shinseki</span></a><span style="color: #000000">. Ask him to 1) stop his department&#8217;s  religious discrimination and 2) relieve Director Ocasio of her duties. </span></span></div>
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<div><span style="color: #3333ff;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small"><a title="http://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/TakeAction.asp?id=399" href="http://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/TakeAction.asp?id=399" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Take Action Now</span></a><span style="color: #000000"><strong>Send an email to  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki now! </strong></span></span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small">It is very important that you forward this alert to your  friends and family members. </span></div>
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<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small">Sincerely, </span></div>
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<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small">Tim </span></div>
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<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small">Tim Wildmon, President </span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000000;font-family: Verdana;font-size: small">American Family Association <strong> </strong></span></div>
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