Wiccans Unite!

This story has appeared numerous times in the last six months, and it's time that it was brought out of the shadows and into the forefront. This is an inexcusable case of religious discrimination and it needs to stop RIGHT NOW! http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/11/13/widows.suit.ap/index.html There is no reason why the VA should hinder this request for one more second.

Here is a short list of "excuses" they have come up with so far:

1. Wicca has no central headquarters, and no national spokesperson for the faith. The VA cannot be reasonably sure that the pentacle will be acceptable to all Wiccans.
2. The VA has revamped its proceedures for the application process and simply hasn't gotten around to the request yet.
3. Wicca isn't considered to be a religion because their are so many variants Wiccan tradition, it is hard to define what exactly their basic tenets are.
4. (and my personal favorite) Other families of soldiers who have died would be offended at having to see a Wiccan Pentacle on a gravestone next to their loved one.

Ok, here are my answers to each:
1. Athiests have a symbol. It is an atom with a letter A in it. Where exactly is their national headquarters, and who voted in their spokesperson?
2. Other religious organizations have had their symbol approved since the Wiccan request was first received OVER NINE YEARS AGO. They seemed to have made it through the "application process" just fine.
3. Wicca has been a protected and recognized religion since 1985. It has tax-exemption status with the IRS and First Amendment protection. At least a couple thousand soldiers practice Wicca in the armed services, and have it chosen as their religious preference on their dogtags. Many more thousands decline to name themselves as affiliated for fear of persecution and discrimination within the ranks.
4. I'm sure that alot of Christians are buried next to Muslims, Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and many various believers of different religious philosophies. Being buried next to someone who is not a fellow believer of your faith doesn't "infect" you with their belief system, and I'm sure the VA isn't going to start segregation based on religious preference within the cemeteries all over the U.S. And, in the CNN poll, a whopping 76% of those voters uphold the rights of Wiccans to have the symbol of their faith on the headstone.

What is the damn problem over there at the VA? Is their a right-wing nut-job at the decision making desk? Is he the guy that admitted Eckankar and some other very little known religious emblems to the list? Did they have to prove to him that they were ligitimate religions first?

Completely infuriating, folks. That's all I have to say about it.