Liar, Liar, Twitterpants on Fire (A Little Knowledge Is A Dangerous Thing, Part Three)

November 17, 2016August 10, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

“My client wasn’t even IN the bar the evening of the murder, and if he WAS there, he doesn’t even OWN a gun! If he DOES own a gun, he didn’t have it with him that evening, and if he DID have it with him, it wasn’t loaded! Even if it WERE loaded, he didn’t use it – he didn’t even KNOW the victim. If he DID know the victim, he liked him, and if he didn’t like him, he at least didn’t kill him. But if he DID kill him, it was self-defense. And if it wasn’t self-defense, he still had a very good reason. Otherwise, he’s crazy and can’t be held accountable. Come on, he was carrying around a loaded gun – what sane person DOES that?!
I’ve told you that one way or the other he’s innocent – and all you can do is call me names? That’s so hurtful!”

It is difficult for those of you with the slightest shred of decency to appreciate how the law and politics work. They do not operate according to anything most of us consider reasonable, moral, or even explicable. In the past they didn’t have to. Those affected had little expectation of being fully informed and no real control of the outcome.

Modern American politics has even less decency, but for different reasons. Most of us are too busy to keep up or sort it all out, and too quick to share or retweet anything with a headline confirming what we want confirmed or feigning outrage over whatever we find outrageous. Or maybe we’re just too stupid and easily distracted.

Not criticizing here – just keeping an open mind about possible explanations.

It’s amazing to me how easily we roll our eyes or exclamate our declamations over things done in the past – successfully, for centuries – and yet find it inconceivable the same things may be happening today, because… well, that’s CRAZY!

What, exactly, is it you think has changed about either mankind or the nature of power? Please – I’ll wait.

…

Hello?

The South attempted to secede and lost. The war destroyed lives and property on both sides, but the South had the worst of it by far. Reconstruction began, things got weird again.

And then the South began writing the history of the war and the events which led to it. The war they’d lost. The one fought over a variety of issues, but in which slavery and its continuation were central and essential as defined by the South in the very documents they issued to justify their cause.

Only suddenly the war hadn’t been about slavery at all. In fact, the South was collectively rather wounded at the suggestion! Slavery?! You think – you think this was about SLAVERY?

Imagine what’d they’d have rewritten if they’d WON?

No less an authority than Jefferson Davis began cranking out volumes on the REAL story of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. Others picked up the theme, and before long their United Daughters (still active today) were tea and cookie-ing this theme across the land.

Historians still argue about the war (they’re allowed to do that still, outside of Oklahoma and Texas) – that’s fine, it’s what they’re supposed to do.

What’s less tolerable is the fervent hurt and chagrin evidenced by the South’s defenders at the very suggestion that secession had ANYTHING to do with slavery. It’s not that they wish to lay out a reasoned argument, you understand – it’s that they’ve reshaped history and historiography solely through repetition and strong emotion.

“To suggest secession was about SUH-LAVERY, well it it it’s it’s just… *sniff* DISHONEST!”

The rest of the nation has cooperated, by the way – we don’t like acknowledging our role in making chattel out of humans with souls any more than they do. Better to focus on tariffs and elections and economies and cultures – all persuasive alternatives, since all were involved.

The best deceptions are mostly true, after all – or true but for omissions. That’s how laws are made and history written – so be it.

Why does it matter if the South wishes to save a little face? What’s so wrong with simply focusing on the good parts in our collective history? I mean, the naysayers won their little war and got their way, didn’t they?

Can we at least keep the damn flag without everyone having a hurt-feelings-fit every time?

My favorite hockey team captain after a tough loss and horrible officiating: “There were some tough calls, but the real problem is that we didn’t take care of business in our own end. We let too many pucks get past us and didn’t take advantage of our opportunities.”

I hated the poor play, and the poor officiating even more – but my decisive and lingering memory is how much I love the class of my team.

Also, he’s pretty.

More importantly, the team is able to go into practice the next day aware of the things they CAN control, and which led to problems. By acknowledging what they did wrong, instead of merely casting blame, they can improve – or at least that’s the goal.

You may remember the contrast between how Kanye and Beyonce handled this situation:

Swift seems to have recovered and keeps recording albums that sell zillions and zillions of copies. Beyoncé called Swift up to the stage later in the evening to give her back her moment in the spotlight. And West… well, he’s still Kanye (or not – he sometimes likes to go by “Tigerlily” or something else I can’t remember).

The lingering perception is that Kanye is a nut, Beyoncé is a class act, and that apparently Taylor Swift is a country artist (as she mentioned in the full version of her pre-interrupted speech). Reality may differ, but what we remember is what shapes events going forward.

It matters what happened and how it’s remembered because we can’t learn from mistakes we don’t think we made. Left uncriticized, Kanye is just a fighter for justice and Swift a bewildered blonde. Without her subsequent efforts to make things right, Beyoncé could just as easily been remembered as a sore loser, despite winning bigger better things that same night.

If the war was about slavery, and slavery is evil, and the South lost, then the reasonable thing to do is to start trying to repair some of the damage done by slavery. If the war was about a race-based chattel system, then we have some serious introspection to do about ourselves as a people and the extent to which we’ve failed to live up to our own ideals.

Of course, if the real issues were states’ rights-ish, that’s not as bad. Federalism is about balance, after all, and if perhaps the South got out of balance, that’s clearly rectified now. If anything, the central government is much stronger than originally intended as a result!

We can spend some time trying to Reconstruct the South and push for some reforms, but at some point we’re going to need to get back to being a country again. We’ve made our point – let’s let them rebuild and trust whatever gradual progress can be made in terms of race and society.

If the war was about slavery, then both Lincoln and John Brown were right – we’ve paid for our national sin with national bloodshed. Time for a new birth of freedom.

If the war was about different understandings of the Constitution, then might makes right and we won by decimating our enemies by any means necessary. Next time the meaning of our founding documents may swing back a bit the other direction.

If the war was about slavery, then Black America may well need time and support to recover from a sort of collective PTSD. There would be imbalances to correct and scars which may never be quite healed. If we’re willing to go to war with ourselves to keep an entire race of people in degradation and servitude, what must we confess and how might we repent to set a better future course?

If 620,000 men died over tariffs or electoral procedures, then our nation is charted by whichever political and popular mechanizations produce the desired result. If the war was about anything other than slavery, maybe Black people need to just get over it and be less, you know… ‘Black’ about everything.

If our ideals are as flawless and our procedures as sound as we clearly wish to promote, then inequity and suffering must stem from personal or cultural failures. If America is ‘exceptional’ in the way those now in power demand we acknowledge, whatever failures have occurred within it are individual and not national. Potential solutions or cures must, logically, come from the same. Anything else is charity. Or enabling. Or corruption.

We can’t repent of sins we can’t confess, or repair that we are unable to see as broken. This applies across any number of historical and national issues. If we build our actions and beliefs on a foundation of national amazing-ness, the ramifications are much, much larger than which textbooks we adapt or which tests we take to graduate. Conversely, if we believe the human heart – even the American heart – is desperately wicked, and deceitful above all things… who can know it? Well, that leads to humility and grace as we push forward, aware of what we are capable, for good or ill.

I’ll close with a little Bible talkin’, since that seems to be such a motivator for those pushing a better whitewashing for our lil’uns. Whatever we may disagree on, I wholeheartedly concur that we’ve lost much in our upbringing if we feel the need to run from the wisdom found in small red print:

“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
(Luke 18:9-14, KJV)

If there’s an argument to be had, let’s have it. But let’s base it on our best understanding of the truth and the wisest possible course consistent with our proclaimed ideals – not on what best covers our collective behinds and casts the remaining blame on those least able to carry the burden.

{This Post is Recycled – Reworked from a Previous Version and Reposted In It’s Updated Glory}

RELATED POST: History Songs

To Get Better Republicans (You Might Have To Vote For Some Democrats)

October 13, 2016June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

I haven’t done a very good job being diplomatic this election season. I’ve been too annoyed, too frustrated, and at times a bit too idealistic. It feels like we have the best chance in a generation to make a real difference in state elections this November, and…

We won’t. I’m pretty sure we won’t.

I don’t even know what counts as success in my mind. I’m certainly happy that a few of the crazier options were eliminated in primaries. Several existing problems termed out. The activism and commitment of #OklaEd has already made a difference, right?

Just… agree. Please.

Along the way I’ve been accused of being all kinds of things – some with elements of truth, others simply bizarre. My favorite, though, is being called a socialist. A crazy godless liberal, out to destroy American culture and undermine the One True Faith along the way.

Because those are the two options, apparently – borderline fascist, or jobless hippie reprobate.

The thing is, as I communicate with various legislators and edu-candidates in my efforts to brainwash the masses for #OKElections16, the majority of them don’t really fit their respective party’s supposed mold. There are few true progressives in the mix – Representative Emily Virgin would proudly wear that moniker, I suspect. Candidates Paul Sullivan and Jason Lowe might fit that description. But they’re in the minority.

But most of our Democratic candidates have strong ratings from the NRA. Several are pro-life and pro-traditional family. Very few are running on social issues – the handful who want to legalize marijuana are far more interested in its potential as a revenue source than freeing anyone’s minds and hoping the rest will follow. Most simply want the legislature to meet its basic obligations under the Oklahoma Constitution and stop telling people what they can and can’t believe or who they can and can’t fall in love with.

Asking the government to stick to the constitution and stay out of people’s business used to be a conservative position, didn’t it?

As much as it pains me to admit, there are also more sensible Republicans out there than you’d think. Some currently hold office, others are running – or were, until primaries were settled.

The GOP currently holds substantial power at the state level, and the pressure can be brutal for anyone unwilling to fall into goosestep. Some, like Lisa Kramer and Tom McCloud, were defeated in primaries – essentially at the bidding of their own parties. Their sins weren’t letting gay people have a place to pee, or taking anyone’s guns. They were both pro-life, pro-capitalism, pro-fiscal responsibility candidates… they simply refused to fall into line with ALEC and OCPA marching orders regarding manufactured austerity and elitist, destructive policies towards public education and basic government services.

They let reality and the good of the whole interfere with ideology and the will of their out-of-state fiscal overlords.

I look at other Republican candidates who don’t seem like bad people, or sitting legislators who seem to genuinely want what’s best for Oklahoma and all of its citizens, and I catch glimpses of the sorts of pressures they’re under to swing further and fuhrer towards the Cliff of the True Believers. Some don’t survive challenges from their own parties, while others jerk to the right repeatedly – like a bad shopping cart – in order to save their capital for a handful of issue they consider most essential.

This strategy on the part of the GOP works for several reasons. First and foremost, the extremists have all the money. People with interests far beyond the 4-day school week or whether or not SoonerCare should cover single mothers write big, big checks for scary platforms. Second, primaries – and thus elections in general – are largely controlled by the extremes. Primary voters tend to be the most involved, and they vote at every opportunity.

But it’s the third reason that has me most discombobulated at the moment. And, my Republican friends, I’d like your help recombobulating – together, perhaps.

Tell me if this pattern sounds familiar:

Several Republicans run for the same office – state legislator, governor, whatever. One is crazy right-extreme, one is fairly average as Oklahoma Republicans go, and one is relatively moderate by state standards.

Because it’s primaries – where extremes tend to win out – the candidate running furthest to the right wins the nomination. He or she may represent a very small percentage of Republicans in their realm, but the rest didn’t vote. They have jobs, or don’t like to think about politics because it’s depressing, or otherwise simply don’t get involved. If they DO get involved, it’s not until the “real” elections.

Between the money and the nature of primaries, average or moderate candidates are destroyed – and not just in terms of tallied votes. Their character is maligned, their qualifications belittled, and their right to absorb oxygen the rest of us could be breathing severely questioned.

Soon, most decent Oklahomans not interested in spending tens of thousands of dollars just to have their families strained, years of their lives exhausted, and their character and qualifications assassinated, quickly learn not to get involved in politics.

Leave it to the crazies, in other words.

Then, come November – when a slightly larger percentage of the potential voting population is starting to pay attention – voters are left without moderate choices. Many will show up and mark (R) without a second thought, then turn around and vent on social media about THOSE IDIOTS IN CHARGE OMG WHO ELECTS THESE PEOPLE?!

Ask from whom this hell polls, friend – it polls from thee.

Others will pay slightly more attention and realize they are left with two options – a right-winger they may not really like, and who they don’t believe represents their attitude or goals, and someone with a (D) next to their name who they can only assume wants to initiate state-wide orgies, legalize heroin, make everyone use the same restrooms, and open our borders to any terrorists willing to immediately apply for welfare.

They’ll hold their nose and vote for the guy on the far right. It’s not that much different from what we hear in Presidential elections every year – “I’m not voting FOR X; I’m voting AGAINST Y.”

How do we change this?

First, we need to get involved in state level elections at the earliest possible stages. As soon as candidates file in April, we should be researching, writing, and then volunteering and donating. At the very least, we need to consistently vote in primaries, and get our friends, co-workers, and loved ones to vote as well – even in those damned runoffs, if they happen in our district.

In other words, if you want better choices, you need to do something about it.

Second, and more radically, we need to be willing to vote for that scary (D) person on the ballot if the alternative is more of the same. I assure you, the Left is NOT taking over Oklahoma if you do. I doubt they’ll even be able to muster a good pagan orgy or two in their first term.

More Democrats would merely put some drag on the more extreme behavior of the state GOP. It would be slightly harder to pass blatantly unconstitutional, red-meat bills. It would require slightly more compromise to cut basic services. It wouldn’t be a true balance, but there’d at least be a few more voices at the table.

More Democrats would make it slightly more difficult for the state to do those crazy things you said weren’t your idea and stop-blaming-me-we’re-not-all-like-that-I-don’t-know-who-elects-these-people. A few unexpected (D) wins would say to the powers-that-be that you demand better options if you’re to remain loyal to your party. More reasonable options. People more like… you.

Pay attention to your choices on November 8th, starting now. There’s a good chance that “other” choice on your ballot isn’t the lefty nightmare you picture, but a rational, educated individual. He or she may not believe exactly as you do, but then again – neither do the people you’ve BEEN voting for. The question is, which one is more likely to lead to positive change?

The Republicans used to be the party of facts, even if they hurt your feelings, and accountability, even if it proved uncomfortable to assert. You want a better Republican Party? Expect more of it, starting November 8th.

I Read The News Today, Oh Boy… (6/5/16)

June 3, 2016June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

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The 2016 Legislative Session is over, more or less – although we’ll be suffering from the fallout for at least another year.

If you’re aware enough of what’s going on statewide to be annoyed, but haven’t had the time or inclination to read up on every issue, here’s the Blue Cereal Guide to the Latest Oklahoma Clusterfoolery – State Budget Edition. You’re welcome.

The State Budget / Tax Polices

Because “throwing money at a problem doesn’t solve it,” our legislative leadership argues, eliminating all revenue and funding for constititutionally mandated functions MUST be the solution. Oklahoma Logic.

‘Behind Smoky Doors’: Last-minute bills breed public distrust – David Blatt, Oklahoma Policy Institute (6/2/16) – “In May, most of the rules go out the window. Brand-new bills can be introduced, amended, and approved with lightning speed, with little if any opportunity for the public – and most legislators – to understand what’s going on.”

This part of the budget deal may be the greatest threat to Oklahoma’s economy – Gene Perry, Oklahoma Policy Institute (6/2/16) – “The link between education levels and state prosperity is clear. That’s why it is especially troubling that the long-awaited budget proposal from the Oklahoma Legislature and Governor Fallin would decimate funding for higher education.”

Two Things: Not A Flat Budget; Please Vote – Rick Cobb, OKEducationTruths (5/31/16) – This… “budget” our legislature finally threw together at the last minute is a mess, and not even faking it very well.

Oklahoma Makes the Poor Poorer – The New York Times Editorial Board (5/28/16) – Our legislature this session was embarrassing and horrifying enough to grab attention in NEW YORK. Think about that for a moment.

With colleges and universities taking harshest budget cuts, leaders worry about future of higher ed – Kathryn McNutt, The Oklahoman (5/29/16) – Why? Because these schools have been reckless and irresponsible enough to bank some of their resources. Fiscal responsibility is UNFORGIVABLE to the Oklahoma Legislature of 2016.

Where next year’s shortfall starts: Budget counts on $600-$750 million in one-time revenues – David Blatt, Oklahoma Policy Institute (5/27/16) – “Ultimately, the Legislature failed to make those hard choices and instead slapped a bunch of band-aids onto gaping wounds.”

New details: State budget agreement slashes funds for school activities and textbooks – Andrea Eger, The Tulsa World (5/27/16) – And before you ask, yes you can teach w/o textbooks. But that means you need other resources or tech instead – the sorts of things schools usually buy with – wait for it – “textbook money”.

Republicans Willing to Let Oklahoma Burn – Arnold Hamilton, The Journal Record (4/28/16) – The entrenched right wing is willing to take a few lumps if it means clinging to their faith in destroying all public sector spending for their fiscal overlords. It’s almost a religion for them.

Ten Things: OCPA Math – OKEducationTruths (4/19/16) – If you simply make up stuff and choose numbers that sound like they fit, things are actually going pretty well…

The Best Resources For Understanding Why Money Matters To Oklahoma Public Schools – Oklahoma Education Journal (4/20/16) – A links page specific to an important topic, with just enough info to help you find what you need? What a great idea!

The Facts About Oklahoma Education – Oklahoma Education Coalition

Just Teach the Curriculum (Leave That Other Stuff At Home) – Blue Cereal Education (4/16/16) – My take on all this ‘wasteful spending’ on ‘non-teaching positions’ schools are doing, according to those needing a few more distractions.

Oklahoma’s Revenue Options for the Budget Emergency – Oklahoma Policy Institute (4/11/16) – Here’s a crazy place to start: PUT DOWN THE SHOVEL.

Aides, supporting positions proliferate at Oklahoma public schools – Ben Felder, The Oklahoman (4/10/16) – WHY do schools keep hiring people who don’t actually TEACH?! It turns out there are some pretty good reasons…

Why tax increases would be less harmful to Oklahoma’s economy than budget cuts – Gene Perry, Oklahoma Policy Institute (3/7/16)

Oklahoma’s Real Gamblers – Rob Miller, A View From The Edge (3/2/16) – Hint: they’re the ones playing games with YOUR money…

The tax shift rears its head – Gene Perry, Oklahoma Policy Institute (2/16/16) – When tax cuts for the rich don’t work, cut taxes for the rich MORE and go after the poor. What could possibly go wrong?

10th Amendment & #OklaEd – David Burton, Idealistically Realistic (2/11/16) – With States’ Rights comes States’ Responsibilities… this is one of my favorite posts EVER on the subject of state government and public education

Oklahoma state agencies give raises despite executive order – Randy Ellis, The Oklahoman (2/7/16) – This was the trigger for a complete and meltdown on my part. But I was right.

This chart shows why Oklahoma schools are broke… – Lucas, The Lost Ogle (1/26/16) – It’s sad when the humor sites make so much more sense than the ‘experts’ and those in power.

Teacher Pay / Teacher Retention

One way to deal with a shortage of teachers is to crash and burn the budget so we can’t afford more than one adult for every hundred or so kids – not MY favorite solution, but it’s something.

I’m bewildered that the state had to form a 60-member commission to study this issue for a year in order to come up with a few common sense measures (make it easier to move your certification here from other states) and some truly inane ideas (how about some ‘How Great It Is To Teach!’ flyers w/ pictures of happy educators on them?) That’s nothing compared to the ridiculous slew of promises from the Governor and any number of legislators this session that TEACHERS were all getting this GINORMOUS raises because they just LOVE us SO MUCH! It’s prettty hard to insult Oklahoma teachers more than the state leadership normally does, but that pretty much did the trick.

NO EDUCATOR ANYWHERE IN THE STATE believed for three seconds that any of this was even remotely plausible. Now, it’s always difficult to tell when our elected leaders are being cynical to the point of viciousness and when they’re simply so delusional that they probably shouldn’t be left home alone – at least not without removing all sharp objects and turning off the gas. But I for one grew weary of that particular brand of salt being constantly rubbed into our other wounds.

State Could Fall to Bottom in Average Teacher Salaries – Jennifer Palmer, Oklahoma Watch (5/27/16) – “Boren and other supporters acknowledge that a higher sales tax is not the preferred solution to education funding, but say they have no other choice because state lawmakers refuse to address an education crisis that could harm the state for generations.”

Cuts to education spending hurt more than just our children (Guest post: Christiaan Mitchell) – Christiaan Mitchell, Oklahoma Policy Institute (4/21/16)

Teacher pay raise proposals probably going nowhere this session – David Blatt, Oklahoma Policy Institute (2/18/16) – Which is probably better than “we’re cutting your insurance and charging you for rolling chairs but on paper we’ll be able to claim you make more.”

A Plan to Plan to Plan – Rick Cobb, OKEducationTruths (1/25/16) – A $10,000 raise for teachers without any new taxes? That’s… that’s… not how numbers work.

Teacher recruitment legislation not enough to fix Oklahoma’s teacher shortage (Guest Post: Jennifer Job) – Jennifer Job, Oklahoma Policy Institute (12/17/15)

Oklahoma’s teacher shortage is not just about salaries (Guest Post: John Lepine) – John Lepine, Oklahoma Policy Institute (12/14/15)

I know it’s a lot to process, and you don’t have to read it all at once, but this is YOUR money, YOUR state, and YOUR kids’ future – short and long-term. Have a friend do the same, then talk about it and see if you’re coming up with the same interpretations. Heck, get a little circle together and divide them up – an adult version of the ‘jigsaw’ strategy every teacher knows in some form or another.

GET INVOLVED. GET THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU INVOLVED. VOTE LIKE IT MATTERS.

Because, you know… it does and all.

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Open Letter to Legislators: Should You Legislate the Bible?

May 24, 2016June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal ~ 2 Comments

This post is addressed primarily to Oklahoma legislators or other office-holders in my poor, dysfunctional state. Since most of them won’t openly admit they read this blog obsessively – although obviously they must – loyal readers should feel free to send it to them or ask them these questions when calling or visiting their offices. I suspect some of our colleagues in neighboring states might find it relevant as well.

Ask not for whom the blog posts; it posts for thee.

Any Oklahoma politician – current, previous, or aspiring – who wishes to respond is welcome. The comment section is always open, but if you have more than a few hundred words, I welcome you as a Guest Blogger – whether I agree with you or not.

Dear Legislator:

Should you legislate the Bible?

I ask because it seems every time we read about something controversial being pushed through the legislature, the story is accompanied by a quote from the bill’s sponsor blaming God.

We’ve been told that Jesus is against handgun registration, that the Bible frowns on people of different genders using neighboring bathroom stalls, and that while God doesn’t want young ladies to know where babies COME from, He DOES insist they know how magical and special the little critters are up until they’re born, at which point He loses complete interest in them.

Jesus never did like children, as I recall.

Just last year we were assured that God wanted us to fudge our own history in order to play Him up – that He’d overlook our failings if we’d only brag about our national infallibility a bit more boldly. As it says in His Word, “Pride cometh before even more things to be proud of.”

He’s apparently uninterested in our tax policies, health care, or how we treat widows and orphans, but was QUITE worked up about Common Core for fear that someone at some point might read a dirty book – something inconceivable under existing guidelines. There’s simply no good reason to write about lust, rape, family dysfunction, or other perversion; such things suggest we are a fallen people in need of redemption. Better we stick to wholesome, happy stories like those in the Bible.

Our Legislators seem to have difficulty distinguishing between Yahweh, the “I Am”, and Tinkerbell, whose very existence hangs by the thread of our applause. Other times they treat the Lord Their God as a sort of corporate sponsor, demanding more patches and stickers pushing His brand or He’ll withdraw His funding. Neither makes sense to me based on the Bible I remember from my days of faith, so I’m hoping you can help me clarify.

Should you legislate the Bible?

If not, would you maybe briefly address what role faith should play for public office-holders in an intensely religious state such as ours? After that, thank you for your time – we’re good.

If so, would you please explain how this is consistent with the First Amendment and established Case Law regarding separation of church and state? How do you justify citing the Holy Book of one specific faith – one whose meaning is regularly debated even by those who accept it as divine – to make secular law?

How do you reconcile your Oath of Office (“I… do solemnly swear… that I will support, obey, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma…”) with elevating your personal theology above either constitution? Did you lie when you took the oath, or do you consider yourself above keeping your word? If you believe the Bible is a higher authority than secular law, shouldn’t you have objected to taking this oath as a matter of principle?

If you support legislating the Bible, could you give us an idea of which parts you believe are appropriate to be written into secular law?

There’s been quite an obsession lately with having the Ten Commandments posted at the Capitol. Maybe we could start there.

One – “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Should this be secular law? No ‘gods’ before the Jewish god? How might we enforce that?

Two – “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…”

This one’s tricky. God isn’t apparently opposed to statues in general, only those which become objects of such obsession that the symbol takes focus off relationship with the divine – ceremony over substance, as it –

Oh! Um… guess I answered my own question there.

Awkward.

Three – “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” For some reason this is commonly interpreted as exclusively about swearing. Sounds to me it pretty clearly includes those who claim to be acting in God’s name for selfish ends.

Four – “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns…”

Why is this not law? This one would be so easy. And obviously it’s important to God – he made sure this was one of the TOP TEN, while stuff like homosexuality or handgun regulation didn’t even make the list. I assume you’re working on a bill of some sort…?

Five – “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” I’m open to suggestions on this one.

Six – “You shall not murder.” Hey, this is a good one! This is already against the law, right? Score one for the Commandments!

Seven – “You shall not commit adultery.” Biblically this includes divorce and remarriage. How many of your peers in the legislature are on their second spouse? How many have had pre- or extra-marital sex? I’m asking because, as with stores being closed on Saturdays, God obviously considered this one WAY more important than some of the stuff being legislated in His name. I just wondered why this one keeps getting skipped.

Eight – “You shall not steal.” Too many easy jokes to be made here when the state is involved. Instead, we’ll count this one as another win for Commandments as Secular Statute. That’s what, two?

Nine – “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” So… lying about someone else? Like, how you get elected, I guess? Or the various political games which are considered the norm ‘round those parts? Or the way various demographics or professions are caricaturized across the state and the nation, not because it’s true but in order to justify mistreating them?

Hello?

Ten – “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Coveting is like desiring, or lusting, yes? But in a negative way? I’m not sure how you legislate away want. We seem intent on creating it, actually.

There are entire books in the Old Testament dedicated to rules and laws – would you clarify which you believe should be enforced today? Incest is in there, and still a ‘no-no’ all these years later. Eating shrimp is also a severe offense – why are we letting that slide? Homosexuality is arguably frowned on in the Old Testament, as is wearing mixed fabrics or allowing women to go about their business in the community while they’re on their period. Should we pick and choose, or just put all three into one bill?

Finally – and please, pardon my ignorance – why is it that nothing from the New Testament ever seems to be cited as justification for state legislation? Do we not believe the New Testament any longer, or is there something else I’m missing?

Liberals love to talk about Jesus’ treatment of children and the poor and such when it’s time to make public policy, at which point we’re firmly assured by those in power that such issues are best left to the church, the home, and private agencies. Could you help me understand why the ‘Thou Shalt Not’s are so essential, while anything helpful to the hungry, thirsty, foreign, poor, or sick – are clearly off-limits?

I wish there’d been professional law-makers and interpreters around while Jesus was physically walking the earth. They could have had these sorts of conversations and – assuming someone was willing to devote some papyrus and ink to recording them – we’d have a MUCH clearer understanding of how this whole law/grace balance is supposed to work.

Forgive my not being more up-to-date on my Bible scholarship. I’m sure there are good reasons to ignore Matthew 25:31-46 while focusing on the extensive time Jesus spent worrying about bathrooms, sexual immorality, handgun restrictions, and inadequate border patrol. That’s why I’m asking.

The most likely explanation is that I’m missing something obvious to you and your legislative peers. Otherwise, the rhetoric coming for OKC over the past several years would be nothing but a stream of self-serving cynicism, glaring contradictions, and rampant hypocrisy.

I look forward to better understanding this complex and emotional issue. Thank you for your time.

I Read The News Today, Oh Boy… (5/15/16)

May 14, 2016June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

Sometimes your mind and your emotions reach a point that they click ‘off’ as a sort of survival mechanism. That’s what happened to me this week as I sat at Mom’s Family Diner (41st & Mingo. Oh My-Baby-Elvis-in-a-Manger IS IT GLORIOUS!) catching up on the week’s news.

Clearly I should have been drinking something stronger than coffee. Then again, it was 6:30 in the morning.

A film about Oklahoma oil giant and later governor E.W. Marland is coming out this week. An earlier version was scrapped after the Marland Estate discovered the filmmakers had juiced up the plot a bit.

For those who don’t know, Marland had made and lost a fortune before coming to Oklahoma in the 1920s. He negotiated unheard of concessions from local tribes in order to drill, controlled 10% of the world’s oil supply for a time, built a mansion on the Oklahoma praries, brought fox-hunting and other upper-crust vanities to the plains, instituted health coverage and other worker benefits decades before anyone DID that, and then fell prey to a hostile takeover by J.P. Morgan and his financial machine, losing everything. He later came back as the Governor who brought the New Deal to Oklahoma.

Not intriguing enough? I left out that he and his first wife adopted the son and daughter of her sister. After his wife died, Marland had the adoption of his daughter, Lydie, annulled so that he could MARRY her. It was quite the scandal. Not Kardashian enough for Hollywood, though. *sheesh*

The new one is apparently much more on target, for those of you hung up on facts and reality. Unlike, for instance…

Our State Legislature, which is having trouble coming up with a solution to having so much of the weird crap they pass declared unconstitutional.

No, no… they’re not going to start writing constitutionally viable legislation – don’t be stupid. They’re trying to change the process so that the current bi-partisan Judicial Nominating Committee has only a symbolic role, and the legislature itself gets to pretty much pick appellate judges across the state.

Which would be, arguably, unconstitutional. Our state constitution has this whacky idea about three branches of government, balancing one another in some convoluted way. It wouldn’t matter, though, because – well, you get the idea.

I realize the courts and all those civil liberties are a nuisance. How are we supposed to get anything done if we have to remain consistent with our founding values? Speaking of which…

Sally Kern gave her farewell speech this week. She’s term-limited, along with dozens of other current legislators. I don’t know if they all make dramatic exits, or just the most loathsome of them.

Kern wanted to make sure to emphasize one last time that gays are worse than terrorist. That the ‘gay agenda’ (also known as ‘The Bill of Rights’) has destroyed more lives than, say, Timothy McVeigh.

There are 19 undersized chairs not far from where she gave this speech representing families who might disagree.

She trotted out the usual “public schools spend all day every day trying to turn your kids into trannies” argument. No wonder they resent funding us.

I particularly liked this bit:

“The problem is we’re trying to change the definition of what sin is, when God is not changing the definition.”

That, in a nutshell, is the mindset of far too many of our elected leaders. But it’s not their job to define sin and write it into or out of law. There is no scenario in which a governmental body in the United States has any business claiming to act on God’s behalf; our legislature does it with such regularity that it hardly even registers.

I’m telling you, religious folks – it’s not doing your faith any favors to sign it over to a bunch of small-town rodeo clowns. Surely the Lord made some sort of provision for you to find your eternal way besides the legislative brilliance of Josh Brecheen or John Bennett?

While Kern & Co. are condeming the gay community in the name of the public good, one prominent lesbian was instead doing public good. Ellen DeGeneres checked in with her favorite librarian this week – Kirby Mackenzie at Union’s McAuliffe Elementary – to learn more about the slashing and burning of public ed in Oklahoma.

Yes, once again we’re making national news for something horrifying.

Ellen gave McAuliffe $25,000 to help keep their summer reading program going. Of course we know what’s really behind this – liberals and their *shiver* books. Books are worse than terrorism.

You know the rest of the news.

We’re cutting teachers. We’re cutting activities. We’re cutting support positions. We’re destroying what was a struggling educational system to begin with, all so we can maintain the cascading series of cuts for the wealthiest across the state – cuts which are still deepening as the pillaging and burning increase.

In case you haven’t noticed, the prosperity hasn’t yet “trickled down.”

Don’t worry, however, that our state legislators are feeling the slightest burden or concern over the destruction they’ve wrought – because American Ninja Warrior is coming to the Capitol!

Thank God Oklahoma is currently so prosperous and problem-free that our legislature – with very few days left in the handful they’re actually expected to work – has time for this. I’d hate for there to be any, like… issues distracting them right now.

And yes, I am hostile about it – thank you for asking.

From The Oklahoman:

The show got a free permit to use the public grounds outside the Capitol. A state tax credit will help defray some of the production costs. There are about 200 people involved in the shoot.

We’re paying them to come here and shut down the Capitol for a week to use as a playground. What a comfort to all of those kids who can no longer take art, band, or athletics – at least SOMEONE still gets activities and playtime at taxpayer expense. They’re just much older.

“This brings a lot of people and a lot of investment into Oklahoma City and that’s good in itself, but I think the real value is the exposure this continues to give our city around the country,” Holt said.

I’m trying to think of a nice way to put this. A professional way. A family-friendly way. One that doesn’t start with a ‘B’ and end with an ‘ullsh*t’.

Public education is an “investment.” Infrastructure is an “investment.” Time spent actually dealing with the issues you were elected to deal with is an “investment.”

This is a state-financed circus for legislators who’ve destroyed the economy and refuse to take the least bit of responsibility, instead shifting the fallout onto children, the elderly, and the poor, in order to maintain their groveling obeisance to their fiscal overlords. “Investment?”

I got into a bit of a Twitter argument with Senator Holt over this. He was a bit condescending, but not everyone sees me as the lovable, provocative, voice-of-the-people type I really am.

He insists a few shots of the Capitol in the background will make people want to vacation here and stuff. He then told me if I’d read the papers I’d see that our legislature is working plenty hard to revive the economy without doing so almost entirely at the expense of the weakest members of society.

He and I must read different papers.

“There’s no down side to the show being here,” said Sue Hollenbeck, director of sports business for the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s a family friendly, positive show. It’s about good quality competition. It’s about fitness.”
She said it even feels a little “Land Run-ish.”
“You’re running as fast as you can to get what you can.”

Did we seriously just compare this Ninja Warrior TV show to the Land Runs? I mean… I suppose there are a few similarities.

The Land Runs were promoted as events of amazing opportunity, when in reality they primarily served those already in power. Much of the best land was pre-claimed by surveyors, soldiers, and other government employees who used their connections and power to beat the system. We don’t celebrate that part as much, other than adding ‘Sooner’ to ‘Boomer’ in that song, but 3 out of 4 people who ran went away empty-handed, often thwarted by those who’d never broken a sweat. They didn’t need to – they were already hooked up by the folks making the rules.

As The Lost Ogle documented, our Congress is similarly giddy over the chance to use even more of your tax dollars getting private tours of the set and meeting sweaty people in tights. If there are a few leftovers, they’ll allow a few members of the public to somehow benefit from this spectacle.

Like the show, the Land Runs celebrated the fastest and the strongest – but especially those willing to step over anyone between them and what they wanted. They were in some ways the ultimate homage to the Social Darwinism of the times – to hell with the community, I’m getting MINE.

That’s fine for a game show, or a sporting event, or whatever this is. I wish it weren’t such a celebrated norm for the folks supposedly representing the rest of our state.