State’s bid cites requirements that $60 Trump-endorsed God Bless the USA Bible appears to be tailor-made to meet
Oklahoma’s top education official is seeking to buy 55,000 Bibles for public schools and specifying that each copy contain the Declaration of Independence and US constitution, which are not commonly found in Bibles but are included in one endorsed by former president Donald Trump.
The request is part of Republican state superintendent Ryan Walters’ ongoing efforts to require Bibles in every classroom, which has been met with resistance by some of Oklahoma’s largest school districts.
Walters is seeking to spend $3m in state funds for Bibles that fit a certain criteria, including that the pages are supplemented with US historical materials. The Bibles must also be “bound in leather or leather-like material for durability”, according to state bidding documents posted this week.
Okay not Christian but isn’t this heresy?
At this point in history … the only legimate way to be a Christian is to just say you’re one. It’s about the only criteria anyone goes by now.
It used to mean something a hundred years ago … it doesn’t mean much any more
It’s about the only criteria anyone goes by now
as opposed to what?
You can’t just say you are Jewish. The Jewish community well not accept that.
Used to be kinda like that
You can’t just say you are Jewish. The Jewish community well not accept that.
That highly depends on the Jewish community. There isn’t just one.
Plenty of ultra-Orthodox Jews would say I’m not Jewish despite being born to two Jewish parents, having a Bar Mitzvah, etc. because I don’t fit into their weird little mold.
On the other hand, at the temple my mom goes to, they wouldn’t care who your parents are. If you say you’re Jewish and go through the motions, they’ll accept you as Jewish.
On top of that, there are Jews who would say I’m not a Jew because I’m an atheist and others, like myself, who consider it an ethnicity as well as a religion and argue that if those Jews are right, Larry David isn’t Jewish either. Neither are Billy Crystal, William Shatner, Sarah Silverman, and so many other people that Jews often claim as their own.
I’ve been called an antisemite by Jews that support Israel when they find out I don’t. That’s how messed up it all is.
actually believing in the religion’s stuff
As opposed to actually practicing being kind to your neighbor. Stuff like that.
When in the entire hostory of Christianity was that ever the metric?
Amongst christians I think there’s a general consensus that they’re the good guys.
Right, that’s how they rationalize the atrocities.
Invading jerusalem, burning witches, stuff like that.
:-)
Deus vult intensifies.
pretty sure there have always been, probably always will be, people who say “i’m christian” just because that’s what they’re supposed to say.
“i’m christian” has literally never made someone a good person just because they slapped that label on themself. if anything, if someone is one of those “i’d be a bad person if not for religion,” then that person is still not a good person
Yes, in multiple ways… adding to the scriptures, promoting a man-made government, and the state government promoting a religion, which is barred by the first amendment.
Not a US citizen either but isn’t this a first amendment violation?
I’m an American ex Christian and yeah it’s definitely both
“Golden Calf? No you’re the golden Calf”
the source material is all created and editted by men under orders from the king of england at the time. inasmuch as it was a royal effort i suppose it could be considered heretical but not in an ecclesiastical sense
55k would make one helluva beautiful bonfire
Still can after the fact too
The shipments of the Koran and Torah are on the way too, right?
And the Satanic Bible of course. And Nietzsche for the atheist philosophers, prose and poetic eddas for us heathens, some text or another for Wicca, and a Latin edition of Ars Goetia… right? No? Then I smell religious favoritism worthy of the supreme court.
$60 for a Bible? $60? I mean I knew it was a scam but that’s like a triple scam.
All the weird shit aside this is exactly the problem with school funding in our country. It’s usually not this blatantly obvious and corrupt but this happens all the time. So many schools spend millions of dollars on teaching resources another nonsense that’s just direct handouts for political purposes. Every year teachers and Librarians are just inundated with garbage that the district spend obscene amounts of money on that nobody needs or wants. It’s all dirty politics.
What a waste of money.
Thank god no kids are getting fed at school with that money!
-Republicans, presumably
Quick, someone run a Kickstarter for leatherette bound “Bibles” that meet the criteria and unfold into a doormat
Got less than 2 weeks to fill the RFP. He made it a narrow window.
I’m so glad I don’t live in that shithole
This comes out to $55/book. Outrageous!
Misappropriating funds to buy religious texts for a public school while insisting that the text includes the constitution that makes it misappropriation in the first place is some next level bullshit
…and doing it with requirements that funnel state education funds to a political candidate is just…chef’s kiss
Walters in June ordered public schools to incorporate the Bible into lessons for grades five through 12. The bidding documents also specify that the Bibles include both the Old Testament and New Testament, the Pledge of Allegiance and the Bill of Rights.
Seems like it’s time to publish an annotated Bible that meets the criteria and costs much less than Trump’s bible.
They thought of that and don’t allow any other commentary in the book, otherwise I could see a great opportunity for the satanic temple to get into book publishing.
Hmm, going to need to review the bidding documents, but I’m sure we can find an opportunity to make him regret being so specific.
Edit: After reading the bidding documents, there’s a number of opportunities for malicious compliance. They don’t specify a size, a language, or anything more than the contents. So it might be tempting to make one that’s floormat sized or printed in a font that fits on a single page of water-soluble paper bound in leatherette.
But I think the better thing would just be to print the books as requested. Make a KJV Bible with the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and whatever other bullshit they asked for, get it printed exactly to spec, and do it for a fraction of the cost of the Trump bible. It won’t coat $55 to produce them, and then Oklahoma won’t be able to justify spending a premium to buy from Trump.
Then donate all of the money to actual education programs.
Yeah, undercutting in price is probably the best approach. If they still pick Trump’s book there’s probably legal options.
Exactly. We know this is transparent corruption, but they’re going to get away with it because it’s a garbage state nobody cares about. But it’s still America.
Spread the word!
I really would rather my taxes not go to dipshit Donald or geriatric Joe. There are roads that need fixing and libraries that need funding.
Doesnt seem like news to me. Neither truly new/interesting or impactful. 3 m$ is less than a Cent per person.
$3 million from a state with a population of 4 million
Every single word of this is horribly disappointing. Even words like ‘the’ and ‘an’ are ashamed to be associated with this story. Jesus wept.
I heard it has a copy of the constitution/bill of rights in it, missing amendments 11 - 17, because a lot of those prevent his coup, and allow for his prosecution.
Those morons probably get the Ten Commandments and the Amendments confused if they’re missing that many.
It’s not that they cut any in particular, they just only included the Bill of Rights, which isn’t uncommon when pairing them with the Constitution. Not defending them, still a grift going on here, but that particular detail isn’t as nefarious as some people want to think. At least, not on its own.
It’s definitely a bad way to handle the constitution though. Not saying it’s not common, but the repeal of the 18th amendment is just as much a part of the constitution as the right to bear arms and the duties of the legislature
He does know that Trump isn’t going to pay him the kickback promised for this deal, right?
Well, he’s Trump. He’s like the anti-Lannister. A Trump never pays his debts.
Well it’s a cult, so I doubt any kickback was promised.
