Chris Rodda seems to have returned from her apparent exile from the MRFF by posting a blog at the Huffington Post — about a really old story. In a move unusual for the normally verbose Rodda, the article was relatively concise. In typical Chris Rodda fashion, however, it relied heavily on playing loose with the truth.

Referring to a months-old controversy, Rodda’s article was entitled “Apparently, the American Legion Hates Jesus” and described the American Legion’s use of a POW/MIA remembrance table that does not include a Bible:

According to the fundamentalist Christian outrage brigade, not having a Bible on a POW/MIA table can only be the work of the most diabolical of anti-Christian organizations. Obviously, only an atheist group, or, according to Fox News’s Todd Starnes, “a special kind of low-life,” would remove God’s Word from the display!

So, I guess this means that the American Legion, with its Bible-free POW/MIA table item list, must be an anti-Christian, atheist organization, right?

As with Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, the truth is insufficiently sensational, so Rodda has to spice it up.

Contrary to her claim, no one has ever complained about a POW/MIA remembrance table “not having a Bible.” There is no perpetually-offended Christian organization scouring the country for POW tables that don’t have Bibles. There are no threats of legal or other action against organizations that don’t have Bibles on POW tables. Rodda’s argument is predicated on a strawman of her own making.

Note that she quietly makes a false analogy as she transitioned from “not having a Bible” to “remov[ing]” a Bible. That is a very different thing. When a group, organization, or institution — particularly a government one — targets a religious text because it is religious, then it is likely acting in a discriminatory manner hostile to tolerance and liberty. That is something legitimate religious liberty organizations — and US Congressmen — have spoken out against.

Conveniently for her, Rodda is able to avoid that thorny issue because she ignores it, claiming her MRFF is being criticized because displays do “not hav[e]” Bibles — which isn’t what happened at all.  So score one for Chris Rodda, who managed to successfully take down an argument made by exactly one person: Chris Rodda.

Of course, this is all old news, having dropped out of the media cycle months ago, and its unclear — outside of woefully missed deadlines — why Rodda is resurrecting it at all.

If she really is just playing catch up, she has a lot more old news stories to go, and they’ll likely continue the previous pattern and practice of her body of MRFF work.

In other words, her accusations, arguments, and positions probably won’t be true.

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