[Doofy]

US 'wastes' billions on Sesame Street for Pakistan and the effect of cocaine on birds' sex lives | Mail Online

OK, so it's the Mail. So not the most accurate reporting. But...

The Air Force Academy spent $51,474 on a Stonehenge-like worship centre for students there 'whose religions fall under the broad category of "Earth-based"'.

Ummm. Separation of state and religion?

Here's the PDF.

[osiris]

Those kooky guys in Washington spend money like a lady of leisure on a shopping spree. Either way you're getting screwed hard...

But when will they ever approve my experimental 100 user super bong project to highness, dammit.

[ebuddy]

Merry Christmas to all those on Sesame Street and in Pakistan.

[ghporter]

The Air Force Academy has some "making up" to do for non Christian cadets. Seems a former commandant allowed his staff and instructors, and by extension the senior cadets, to pretty much push Evangelical Christianity as a "norm" among the student body...and they got caught red handed. Now, instead of just helping "non-mainstream" religious groups find spaces to worship, they're sort of going overboard in the other direction.

On the other hand, $51k is chump change for a place like USAFA, where the budget is around $350 million anually.

Related note: DoD is actually starting to acknowledge that it is a Bad Thing to exclude people from service because of their religion. If one's beliefs forbid really short hair or no beards on guys, up until recently one was flatly excluded from service. It's only been in the past decade (to my knowledge) that a formal rule on allowing observant Jews to wear yarmulkes has been published. So USAFA has plenty of catching up to do on the whole "freedom of religion" thing.

[Athens]

So with the freedom of Religion thing for the Air Force do you propose allowing Sikh Turbans under fighter Jet Helmets or the lack of use of the helmet all together, what about beards when it comes to the face masks pilots need to breath?

I mean its one thing to exclude some one because of religious reasons but its another thing to try to accommodate incompatibilities that conflict with religion too.

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by ebuddy 

Merry Christmas to all those on Sesame Street and in Pakistan.

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Athens 

So with the freedom of Religion thing for the Air Force do you propose allowing Sikh Turbans under fighter Jet Helmets or the lack of use of the helmet all together, what about beards when it comes to the face masks pilots need to breath?

I mean its one thing to exclude some one because of religious reasons but its another thing to try to accommodate incompatibilities that conflict with religion too.

For the record, I do not know of any individuals who were qualified for such duties requesting waivers for religious attire or facial hair. And one of the rationales for being fairly clean-shaven is that beards prevent a successful seal by gas masks, oxygen masks, etc. (Which is 100% true.) The "tradition" thing, however, is the more telling drive here, as the American military has been fairly consistently beardless for over a century (with the exception of some sea duty sailors).

By the way, the US Army has been allowing Sikhs to serve and retain their beards and turbans for almost two years now...though you can't really see a turban under the guy's helmet in the picture with the article. They're not dancing, by the way, they're training to use hand grenades.

[ebuddy]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

Why, so you can Occupy™ it? No thanks.