Back in the holiday season, You probably remember Bill O'Reilly making reference to Ridgeway Elementary in Wisconsin 'changing the words of Silent Night' as evidence for his make-believe 'War on Christmas'. O'Reilly sourced his story about Ridgeway on a
press release from the Florida-based Liberty Counsel. This story was picked up by every right wing whacko intent on 'proving' that war was in fact being waged on Christmas. Not so often reported, was that the entire thing was
completely false. But that didn't stop the Liberty Counsel from bearing false witness and issuing
another press release claiming 'victory'.
Well the Dodgeville School District is fighting back.
In a sharply worded letter from its lawyer, the district this week demanded a widely distributed apology, a retraction of claims the school's policies are "hostile" to the U.S. Constitution, and $23,899.48 in damages from the Liberty Counsel.
...
"Your dissemination of false and misleading information and your threats of specious and frivolous litigation resulted in enormous cost to the district. You have yet to present the facts either through a press release, one of your 'alerts' or through any other means. You used this red herring to attempt to collect money through the form of donations," the district's lawyer, Eileen A. Brownlee, wrote in a letter to Mathew D. Staver, president of the Liberty Counsel.
Christmas may be over, but this story is not.