{"id":26647,"date":"2013-11-07T02:16:18","date_gmt":"2013-11-07T05:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/?p=26647"},"modified":"2016-11-26T00:27:13","modified_gmt":"2016-11-26T03:27:13","slug":"chris-rodda-pens-3000-word-diatribe-tldr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/07\/chris-rodda-pens-3000-word-diatribe-tldr\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Rodda Pens 3,000-Word Diatribe. TLDR."},"content":{"rendered":"

Chris Rodda, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s paid research assistant, writes an occasional article for Weinstein’s MRFF.\u00a0 Rodda considers herself a history buff, and her writings reflect that.\u00a0 She is also exceedingly<\/em> verbose, with many of her articles going on for pages even before she says ‘the reason I’m writing this….’<\/p>\n

She recently struck again, in a letter to USAFA Superintendent LtGen Michelle Johnson that was co-signed by Weinstein.\u00a0 The letter was clearly hers, as it lacked\u00a0the alliterative vitriol or the acidic hyperbole characteristic of Weinstein’s writing.\u00a0 (It also contained no gratuitous ellipses or the pastel colored font Weinstein so favors in his emails.)\u00a0\u00a0She wrote it, ostensibly, to rebut a letter written by the ACLJ’s Jay Sekulow and Skip Ash:\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Dear Lt. Gen. Johnson,
\nYou recently received a letter, dated October 24, 2013, from Jay Sekulow of the…ACLJ. This letter was on the subject of the words \u201cSo help me God\u201d being added to oaths…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Notably, Sekulow spent less than 2 paragraphs on the history of “so help me God” in American government\u00a0while Rodda intoned on and on for more than 3,000 words<\/em> on a topic that LtGen Johnson probably found completely irrelevant — if she even bothered to read it.\u00a0 In short, Rodda’s letter was a waste of time.\u00a0 (The letter can be read here<\/a>, if you’re a glutton for punishment.)<\/p>\n

Sekulow, for his part, spent some of his<\/em> letter (PDF here<\/a>) on the legal analysis of “so help me God,” but took the larger part of his letter to warn LtGen Johnson of “Weinstein’s agenda” [emphasis added]:<\/p>\n

Mr. Weinstein and the MRFF routinely use bigoted, over-the-top language<\/strong> as they accuse others<\/em> of making offensive and bigoted comments. Without citing a single example<\/strong> of any military leader in any U.S. Service who has espoused the view that the U.S. military should be controlled by any…religious group, Mr. Weinstein nonetheless compares Christian believers with whom he disagrees to al-Qaeda and the Taliban…<\/p>\n

Assuming Mr. Weinstein’s claims to be even remotely true, one wonders where all the forced conversions are<\/strong> that such a view implies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Weinstein’s unsupported declarations that Christians are trying to take over the military and start a nuclear war<\/a>, and his practice of labeling people with religious beliefs<\/a> based on no evidence whatsoever<\/em>, have been noted here before.\u00a0\u00a0Finally [emphasis added]:<\/p>\n

Mr. Weinstein’s numerous, erroneous demands invite extreme caution on the part of all those who are targets of his periodic tirades…lest the recipients become unwitting pawns in Mr. Weinstein’s strategy to eviscerate religious freedom in the Armed Forces…He is already publicly suggesting that you are dancing to his tune<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Yet, be prepared. Once you reject the truth as Mr. Weinstein defines it, you, too, will become an active target of his frequent invective.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(The warning is reminiscent of the ACLJ’s caution to Col Brian Duffy in August<\/a> — just before Col Duffy reversed the action he had taken at Weinstein’s MRFF demand.)\u00a0 Sekulow’s words were prescient, as Weinstein has now turned on LtGen Johnson<\/a>, in whose office he just recently sat [emphasis added]:<\/p>\n

Weinstein had harsh words for Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson…<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is the fourth superintendent we\u2019ve met with, and she seems to be the worst of all<\/strong>\u201d in terms of her willingness to engage MRFF on their concerns, Weinstein said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Worse even than General Gould, whom Weinstein called “Gen Ghoul?”<\/a>\u00a0 Kind of makes you wonder if Weinstein has an equally affectionate appellation for LtGen Johnson — or if he’s afraid to do it for fear he’ll be accused of being sexist.<\/p>\n

For USAFA’s part, it seems they, too, have learned the Weinstein Lesson<\/a>.\u00a0 Again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Rodda’s 9-page, single spaced selective history lesson, she nowhere discusses the legal issues surrounding the phrase “so help me God,” nor her own MRFF’s sullied reputation on religious liberty.\u00a0 With no offense intended, LtGen Johnson — who earned a BS in Ops Research at USAFA — probably doesn’t care one wit about Rodda’s citation of General James Mitchell Varnum nor will her decisions be affected by Rodda’s mention of the Lancasterian method.<\/p>\n

The USAFA Cadet Honor Oath has not changed.\u00a0 The phrase “so help me God” mirrors that which cadets will say when they are commissioned — when they repeat an oath that is governed by Federal law<\/em>, not LtGen Johnson.<\/p>\n

Rodda’s letter may be cute to some, but few probably read it, save a poor Lieutenant in the USAFA Supe’s front office.<\/p>\n

As the kids say these days, TLDR.\u00a0 LOL.<\/p>\n

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