US NEWS RANKED STATES....

OKLAHOMA RANKS #49 IN EDUCATION & HEALTH CARE 

THIS SCAM WILL NOT IMPROVE EDUCATION! 

US NEWS OKLAHOMA 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a Gold Bless the USA Bible.

 (Photo: Donald Trump/Truth Social)

Holy Grift! Trump Bibles Miraculously an Exact Match for Oklahoma Public Schools Mandate

"Ryan Walters' multimillion-dollar school Bible scheme appears to be a grift to funnel taxpayer dollars to Donald Trump and his allies."

Journalists in Oklahoma revealed Friday that the Christian Bibles peddled by former President Donald Trump are potentially the only ones on the market that meet the specific list of requirements for volumes the state controversially plans to purchase for its public schools.

The Oklahoma Watch reporting sparked a fresh wave of criticism on several fronts, including the Republican presidential nominee's ongoing Bible grift; Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters' attempt to spend millions in taxpayer dollars on religious books for public classrooms; and broader efforts by Christian nationalist forces to assert themselves within the modern GOP.

As Oklahoma Watch detailed:

Bids opened Monday for a contract to supply the state Department of Education with 55,000 Bibles. According to the bid documents, vendors must meet certain specifications: Bibles must be the King James Version; must contain the Old and New Testaments; must include copies of the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights; and must be bound in leather or leather-like material.

A salesperson at Mardel Christian & Education searched, and though they carry 2,900 Bibles, none fit the parameters.

But one Bible fits perfectly: Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA Bible, endorsed by former President Donald Trump and commonly referred to as the Trump Bible. They cost $60 each online, with Trump receiving fees for his endorsement.

Mardel doesn't carry the God Bless the USA Bible or another Bible that could meet the specifications, the We The People Bible, which was also endorsed by Trump. It sells for $90.

The outlet also noted Walters' support for Trump. The official reportedly said earlier this week: "We are going to be so proud here in Oklahoma to be the first state in the country to bring the Bible back to every single classroom and every state should be doing this... President Trump praised our efforts. President Trump has been the leader on this issue."

In response to the reporting, The Atlantic's David Graham simply said, "Incredible grift."

Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall declared that "this is somewhere being hilarious and grotesque."

Activist Olivia Julianna asserted that "this cannot be legal."

Julianna may be correct. Former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, a Democrat, told Oklahoma Watch that "if the bid specs exclude most bidders unnecessarily, I could consider that a violation."

The reporting provoked praise for Oklahoma Watch's Paul Monies, Jennifer Palmer, and Heather Warlick. Arms Control Today chief editor Carol Giacomo said, "Local journalism, uncovering the facts—and the grift."

Even before the Trump Bible development, civil rights groups have spent months sounding the alarm over Walters' push to mandate Christian teachings in public schools.

On Thursday, a coalition including the ACLU and Americans United requested "records related to Walters' announced funding for the mandate, made at a September 26 meeting where the Oklahoma State Board of Education approved a $3 million budget request for the 2025-26 fiscal year 'to provide Bibles to the Oklahoma classrooms.'"

Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United, said in a Thursday statement that "Oklahoma taxpayers should not be forced to bankroll Superintendent Walters' Christian nationalist agenda."

"His latest scheme—to mandate use of the Bible in Oklahoma public school curriculum—is a transparent, unlawful effort to indoctrinate and religiously coerce public school students," Laser added. "Not on our watch. Public schools are not Sunday schools."

COMMON DREAMS

US Capitol Arrests: Christopher Madison CHRISTOPHER MADISON 36 YEARS OLD FLORIDA

 

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The party of Trump First believes America isn't a democracy. Now, it’s up to us to show them we are.

US Capitol Arrests: Traci Quimby TRACI QUIMBY 54 YEARS OLD NEW YORK

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US Capitol Arrests

by Raw News And Politics 

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Can We Reassert the Value of Immigration?

A Saturday prompt

Steven Beschloss Oct 5

Over the next month, we are likely to hear incessantly from Donald Trump that immigrants who illegally entered the country are destroying America. We will hear grossly exaggerated numbers (even as border crossings have fallen sharply). We will hear more horrific tales of criminality (even as crime by immigrants is less common than from the native born). We will hear (without evidence) that these immigrants are taking jobs away from citizens. Just yesterday, with good and unexpected news of robust employment growth of 254,000 new jobs in September, I’m reminded that Trump has ridiculously and repeatedly lied that “100 percent of the jobs created” under the Biden-Harris administration have been taken by “illegal migrants.”

In poll after poll, immigration has become a main topic of concern, even among voters who live nowhere near the Southern border. It’s unsurprising that voters—half of whom describe immigration as a “critical threat”—give the Republicans the edge in dealing with the problem, despite the fact that Trump has focused on exploiting and lying about the issue rather than solving it. The high percentage of Americans who support mass deportation—including 85 percent of Republicans—is a testimony to this repetitive exploitation and overblown attention. And it’s to Vice President Kamala Harris’ credit that she has chosen to lean into the issue of illegal border crossings and a broken immigration system rather than avoid it by offering sensible solutions. We are still paying the price for the failure of administration after administration, Republican and Democrat, to propose and pass comprehensive immigration reform.

But here’s the thing: While the system is broken, the reality of immigrants coming to—and yearning to come to—America remains one of the nation’s fundamental strengths. This diversity of people who arrive with new ideas and new culture and a readiness to work hard to get ahead has always been a critical driver of American economic growth, including more innovation, a better educated workforce and higher productivity. Moreover, nearly every one of us need not dig very deep into our backgrounds to recount proud stories from our own families of a relative who came to America from another land.

Sadly, these stories, this positive thinking about immigrants and immigration, have been poisoned by the non-stop condemnation of migrants. And I dearly hope the reality of this core American strength—amid all the challenges—can reassert itself. I see this as one antidote to the extreme grievance and determination to demonize our fellow humans and convince Americans that closing our country off from the world is realistic and good.

A decade ago, a friend of mine from Pittsburgh who was a newspaper editorial page editor, talked to me about the challenges his city faced because of an aging and declining population. Rather than look askance at migration, he told me, “You could solve a lot of the problems of the place with another 50,000 people.” That observation has been on my mind as hard-working Haitian immigrants, who have helped bolster Springfield, Ohio, have been unfairly and viciously villainized by Trump and his running mate, JD Vance.

So what do you think? Can we reassert the value of immigration? Or do you think Trump has so successfully poisoned the debate that this anti-immigrant mindset will continue to haunt and divide us for a long time? Do you worry that, as climate-related migration expands globally, this domestic conflict will grow worse? In turn, perhaps you’d like to share a positive story of an immigrant you know or an immigrant in your family’s history.

As always, I look forward to reading your observations and the opportunity for this community to learn from each other. Please do be respectful in your remarks. Trolling will not be tolerated.