HOUSTON – At least two members of Congress have called for the termination of the director of Houston National Cemetery amid allegations of religious censorship.

“I am deeply troubled by the allegations that were brought to my attention when I met with members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Houston,” said U.S. Rep. Ted Poe (R-Houston).

Poe called for Arleen Ocasio’s firing days after several groups in Houston sued the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The lawsuit claims Ocasio told them to stop saying “God bless you” at the funerals of veterans.

Ocasio came under fire in May after a Houston pastor claimed she asked him to edit the words “Jesus Christ ” out of his Memorial Day prayer service.

The federal government changed its position after the pastor sued the Department of Veterans Affairs and a federal judge interceded.

“They’re experiencing the grief of having to bury a loved one and it’s really hard to have to deal with static when they’re already dealing with so much negativity,” said Trey Gonzales, director of Veterans Funeral Services. “I think that there [are] a lot of people upset with the way things have been happening across the street and I think that the change is inevitable and I think it will happen.”

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Houston) told KHOU 11 News he supported Congressman Poe’s call for Ocasio’s termination.

“This is shocking,” he said. “[It is] really abhorrent to our veterans that they can’t have a proper military burial and not refer to God or Jesus Christ.”

To read the rest of this story, click here.

Here is the Fox News version of the story:  Military Funerals

Bill set me an article on Reed’s latest group and I was going to post it.  However, Bill then asked me to post it to his site so I’m linking instead. I think it is interesting, especially in light of the current Tea Party movement.  Here is the story.

The image is eerily familiar: a bearded young man with flowing curly hair. After lying for nearly 2,000 years hidden in a cave in the Holy Land, the fine detail is difficult to determine. But in a certain light it is not difficult to interpret the marks around the figure’s brow as a crown of thorns.

The extraordinary picture of one of the recently discovered hoard of up to 70 lead codices – booklets – found in a cave in the hills overlooking the Sea of Galilee is one reason Bible historians are clamouring to get their hands on the ancient artefacts.

If genuine, this could be the first-ever portrait of Jesus Christ, possibly even created in the lifetime of those who knew him.

Discovery: The impression on this booklet cover shows what could be the earliest image of Christ

The tiny booklet, a little smaller than a modern credit card, is sealed on all sides and has a three-dimensional representation of a human head on both the front and the back. One appears to have a beard and the other is without. Even the maker’s fingerprint can be seen in the lead impression. Beneath both figures is a line of as-yet undeciphered text in an ancient Hebrew script.

Astonishingly, one of the booklets appears to bear the words ‘Saviour of Israel’ – one of the few phrases so far translated.

The owner of the cache is Bedouin trucker Hassan Saida who lives in the Arab village of Umm al-Ghanim, Shibli. He has refused to sell the booklets but two samples were sent to England and Switzerland for testing.

A Mail on Sunday investigation has revealed that the artefacts were originally found in a cave in the village of Saham in Jordan, close to where Israel, Jordan and Syria’s Golan Heights converge – and within three miles of the Israeli spa and hot springs of Hamat Gader, a religious site for thousands of years.

To read the rest of this story, click here.

The blog has been amazing that way.  I have met a lot of people because of it—sometimes that has been a real blessing and other times not so much so, like ET.  But overall it has been a great experience, especially when I finally get to meet someone who I have corresponded with for a couple of years and probably talked with on the phone.  That happened the other week with the person responsible for bringing the whole Doreen Boxer situation to light.

Then sometimes I hear about someone who reads the blog and it makes me cringe.  That also happened a couple of days ago.

My old timers know my father was a minister and I was raised Pentecostal.  I have really struggled with my faith for the past few years.  And it has showed in some very dramatic ways on the blog.  So imagine my dismay when a friend told me he was meeting with his pastor, who happens to pastor the largest church in the high desert, and the subject of iePolitics came up.  Seems the pastor reads the blog on occasion.  Oops.  I would like to say I cringed just a little, but in reality, I cringed a whole heck of a lot.

So, I’m thinking to myself I should spend more time listening to my Casting Crowns or Third Day CDs and less time to John and Ken!   I always used to write a Sunday post and took some criticism for it but decided to get back to it just a bit.  So, for this Sunday, I came across this video that could be said to be political and religious at the same time:

Those who know me well know that I have some pretty strong religious beliefs although I’m not much better than most in practicing them.  I have found it especially tough when I’m going through periods of extreme depression.  But then I’m not running for office or in a leadership position, not that that is an excuse.

At the local level one campaign in particular seems to have a lot of “Christians” vying for the office and that is the 59th Assembly District.  At the forum sponsored by the High Desert Republican Women Federated a few weeks ago, I think all but one of the candidates invoked God in one way or another.  Several talked about their beliefs quite freely.  And for those of us that lean that way, it was refreshing.

What is not refreshing is the level to which the 59th Assembly District campaign has sunk.  And the acrimony has all originated with a single group of people divided between two candidates:  Barb, ET Snell, Al Vogler, Paul Bosacki, Chris Lancaster and Ken Hunter.  This group claims to be fighting corruption and yet has used the single most bigoted approach I have ever witnessed in politics.  Their propaganda is filled with a level of hatred that reminds me of the Taliban or Muslim extremists.  I don’t think I have ever seen people so obsessed with destroying others as these five individuals are.  Somehow, I have a hard time believing God is on their side.

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