I still have a request in for an official response on the Houston controversy. I'm guessing this is probably all I'm going to get back, at this point.
I'm guessing what follows (from the VA public affairs folks) is the agency's official response to Fox News "breaking" (snerk - it's been in the blogs for a while now) the story about the Houston VA Cemetery and their rules about religious utterances during interments. Mind you - as far as I know, we've only heard the aggrieved side - not from Ms. Ocasio in Houston (however, I spent the weekend focused on Celebrating the 2nd on the 4th that I may well have missed any news dumps.
From Mr. Steve Muro, Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs at the VA:
Added emphasis is mine. One of the things that struck me, when reading the initial story, was the potential for miscommunication/lack of communication between the VA, families, and the service organizations that provide honors.
Since the VA serves the nation, that means they also bury pagans, wiccans, jews, and muslims, etc, all of whom might find overtly Christian usages anywhere from just inapt to offensive, causing the seemingly heavy-handed response of Ms. Ocasio.
Regardless - the VA should have jumped on this earlier and gotten their story out, before everybody else shaped the media battlefield for them. But that kind of nimbleness isn't usually forthcoming from government or even large corporate entities. The dinosaurs just twitch their tails at the flies until they realize they're actually wasps, coming in a swarm.
I'm guessing what follows (from the VA public affairs folks) is the agency's official response to Fox News "breaking" (snerk - it's been in the blogs for a while now) the story about the Houston VA Cemetery and their rules about religious utterances during interments. Mind you - as far as I know, we've only heard the aggrieved side - not from Ms. Ocasio in Houston (however, I spent the weekend focused on Celebrating the 2nd on the 4th that I may well have missed any news dumps.
From Mr. Steve Muro, Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs at the VA:
Our focus at the National Cemetery Administration always has been and always will be on Veterans and their families—and how we can best serve them in their hour of need. VA operates 131 national cemeteries across the country and conducts over 111,000 interments a year. In each case, the wishes of the Veteran’s family come first. Families decide whether and what type of religious service will take place.
More than 70 percent of NCA employees are Veterans, including me. We take seriously our Sacred Trust to honor Veterans and families with final resting places in national shrines. This includes meeting families’ needs and respecting their wishes regarding their loved one’s committal service.
We cherish the religious freedoms our Veterans secured for us. At all VA national cemeteries, families are free to choose and use the burial rites and rituals that are meaningful or sacred to them. During interments, the name of God or Jesus is not only allowed, it is freely spoken at VA national cemeteries across the country. Families are equally free to have a service without religious references.
Whatever type of service the family chooses for their loved one, we both share a common goal: to ensure a dignified, committal service worthy of their loved one’s service and sacrifice to our Nation.
VA national cemeteries are hallowed grounds in honor of all who have served and sacrificed on behalf of our Nation. VA ceremonies are inclusive and honor the faith traditions of all Veterans.
I am proud that VA’s national cemeteries are nationally-recognized for their commitment to excellence and top-rated customer satisfaction. For the past 10 years, the American Customer Satisfaction Index has rated VA National Cemeteries as the top-performing organization in the federal government. These high customer service satisfaction ratings are reflected every day by the service our employees and volunteers provide to Veterans and their families.
A career VA employee, Steve Muro is VA’s Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs. He is also a Vietnam Veteran.
Added emphasis is mine. One of the things that struck me, when reading the initial story, was the potential for miscommunication/lack of communication between the VA, families, and the service organizations that provide honors.
Since the VA serves the nation, that means they also bury pagans, wiccans, jews, and muslims, etc, all of whom might find overtly Christian usages anywhere from just inapt to offensive, causing the seemingly heavy-handed response of Ms. Ocasio.
Regardless - the VA should have jumped on this earlier and gotten their story out, before everybody else shaped the media battlefield for them. But that kind of nimbleness isn't usually forthcoming from government or even large corporate entities. The dinosaurs just twitch their tails at the flies until they realize they're actually wasps, coming in a swarm.
But then we have the "Bill of Rights", "First Amendment" which reads as follows-
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for redress of grievances."
What am I missing?
It would seem that Ms. Ocasio is a prime example of Calviarias Lithicus Bureaucratica. She displays the common symptoms, including a zero-tolerance policy, a rigid (and unthinking) interpretation of the rules, and an unthinking adherence to the principle "that which is not prohibited is compulsory."
Or is my argument flawed?
Where the Houston National Cemetary Director got this wild hare up her fundus is beyond me. The San Antonio National Cemetary personnel were thoughtful and professional. I don't understand what is going on in Houston.
When questioned about this, VA spokeswoman Jessica Jacobsen said that the chapel had been closed shortly before Memorial Day until some renovation work could be completed. When reminded that the chapel had been closed for two years -- well before any renovation work had been scheduled, let alone started -- she had no answer other than the chapel would be re-opened in September, after the renovation was complete. -- extracted from the Houston Chronicle, June 28, 2011, 9:48PM, reported by Lindsay Wise.
Which can mean only one of two things: either Ocasio lied to her superiors about the reason and length of time the chapel was closed, or her superiors are willing accomplices in the lie.
I wonder if Ms. Ocasio had any Blue-Suit connection -- in 2005, the USAF issued “Interim Guidelines Concerning Free Exercise of Religion in the Air Force,” which, despite its title, effectively prohibits USAF chaplains from performing anything but generic, non-denominational prayers outside of a normal chapel service or mass.
PC has run amok in this country long enough. When you take the oath to protect and defend the Constitution of your country, and then your country's representatives turn around and tell you that *you* can't exercise your rights under that same constitution, it's pushback time.