182 Comments

This is just another reason why charter schools are a bad idea and never should have been accepted in the first place. Even allowing private companies to provide public education has the same pitfalls allowing religious institutions to provide public education. The companies have their own agenda. They focus on profits, why else would the Catholic Church for this school complain about competition with other private schools. That statement was pretty telling when it comes to motivations.

How does taking education away from a diverse population only to offer a religious indoctrination expand religious freedom? You are literally forcing your religion on people who do not want it.

And then the “it’s a hypothetical situation, I can’t address that” is laughable. Your whole school is hypothetical at this point, but the disabled students who will have no other options when you destroy their schools are very real.

The push for this will only end badly. What protections do they have for the children from priestly inappropriate attention? The Catholic Church has too large an issue to assume this won’t happen at this school. Even if it is online.

If people want a religious education, they will seek it out. Stop pushing it on them. Learn to take no for an answer. But that is antithetical to Catholic and general Christian doctrine.

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Aug 2, 2023·edited Aug 2, 2023

Providing an education 'away from a diverse population' is the entire point of charter schools. They are White Flight, Round 2.

I predict conservatives in state legislatures and the judiciary will go to the mat over the idea that religious charter schools can pick their attendees (i.e. no gays, in this case no handicapped, etc). Whether SCOTUS lets them fund religious classes with tax money is secondary: the real goal here is to finally regain the ability to create legally segregated schools funded by taxpayer dollars. So that their kids can be kept away from 'undesireable' people and ideas.

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Unfortunately, you are exactly right.

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If Christian’s took No for an answer, there wouldn’t be many sexual assault cases.

And we know how THAT turned out.

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Aug 2, 2023·edited Aug 2, 2023

It is NEVER the job of our secular government, or our public schools to backstop anybody's religion. America's economic competitors around the world break into their happy dance any time they read about Republicans trying to imporove education in this country.

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We the people decide what the job of government is. However in Oklahoma's defense, it really sounds like in this case the people of Oklahoma decided this was not government's job, and a few biased and corrupt elected/appointed officials chose to ignore that.

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"a few biased and corrupt elected/appointed officials"

IOW, repukelicans.

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More proof of my reasoning that no Republican should EVER be allowed to into any position of power higher than unpaid janitor.

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Benjamin Franklin was right. Any religion that calls on the Civil Power for help is a bad religion.

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“Any religion——-is a bad religion.”

FTFY

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Bad Religion...is on tour this summer.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eW9dXruGvc

Lemmy had religionistas pegged.

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"Don't need religion" is another great Motorhead track on the subject.

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And here I thought it was Rob Halford who was the Metal God. :)

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He has yet to gift part of his ashes and his boots to the Hellfest 😁

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Not as good as Bad Wolves.

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Thank you. I stand corrected. :)

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This case really winds me up. This constant clawing at the wall of separation is unpatriotic and criminal. When I was a believer I was still a proponent of the separation because that is a basic tenant of our nation. It's what makes America great. The idea that we listen to opposing viewpoints instead of one man claiming he talks to God and therefore we have to listen to him is not the America I want, nor have I ever wanted that. These Christian Nationalist want to go back to a land of rule by divine right not because they believe there is a man in the sky that tells us what to do but because they know there isn't. The true believers don't want that wall to come down. They don't want their churches to pay taxes. They don't want the government telling them what to believe. They don't want rule by divine right by what is clearly non-believers. Yes, I get that the majority of Christian Nationalist are believers. They are the believers that are easy to lead around by the nose. They are believers that are indoctrinated so far that we may not be able to save them. But the Christian Nationalists that are in power can't believe. If they did they would not do the things they do for fear of retribution. Instead they are using the easily led to grab as much power as they can because they are afraid of the power of the people.

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Separation of church and state people long ago decided that churches don't have to pay taxes because participating in the shared maintenance of our nation would violate that principle. Now they go after our dwindling public school resources while not paying their share into the system in the first place. If the wall of separation is going to come down then tax the church.

This really is the modern Republican party, take from the poor and give to the rich.

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I have no problem with churches not paying taxes as long as they abide by the same rules as other tax-exempt organizations. The law should be applied evenly, not have special exceptions for religion and religion alone. No explicitly atheist charity could get out of filing the appropriate forms, but churches are given a free pass. It is telling that they fight laws that give transparency to their finances.

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That's why we see TV preachers with multi-million dollar homes and private jets.

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As a former pastor I know a lot about how churches operate. I would require churches to

monetize and give tangible proof of spending on charity. I would allow them to add their operating costs, and anything over that would be taxed as profit.

But I was a generic Mainline (United Methodist) pastor, I traveled coach, and lived in parsonages that were not nearly as nice as my parishioners' houses!

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It's how it's work here + catholic church must rent churches build before 1905. There is no lack of religious organisations nor religious schools funded by the state and having to follow the same curriculum public schools do lack students.

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Aug 2, 2023·edited Aug 2, 2023

𝐻𝑒 𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑠𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙.

That's because he doesn't care, as long as he can force Christianity into the curriculum. Even in SBC territory, where they don't accept the fact that Catholics are Christians, this gives him a wedge to do the same for his Baptist brethren. This is yet another Christian Nationalist who thinks the establishment clause only prohibits declaring one denomination to be the official Church of the United States.

Christian Fucking Privilege needs to end.

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They also utterly ignored their own law: “A charter school shall be nonsectarian.” I can just imagine someone on the board saying, “Oh, but that doesn't count in THIS case.”

Uh-huh ... SUUUUUUURE it don't, cupcake.

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"Yeah, non-sectarian. That means *I* don't have a problem with it, not you people."

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founding

So ALL taxpayers, regardless of their views will be forced to pay for teaching children that one religion is correct and all others are incorrect, and forced to pay for indoctrinating children with homophobia, misogyny, and medieval superstition.

If you explain it in those terms, it has more impact than invoking an abstract-sounding phrase such as "separation of church and state."

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Fuck this sideways, the RCC can afford to fund it's own schools. It's saving tons of money by doublefucking it's victims that won in court, how many solid gold Jesus buttplugs does the pope need?

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You may have something here. catholic church claimed bankruptcy in several states in order to have to pay less to the victims. Them funding schools is contracdictory to their whining of poverty. Indoctrination is the cherry on thr cake.

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The RCC should never be allowed to claim bankruptcy at any level, in any circumstance, until the point where the Popemobile is in hock and they've had to mortgage the Vatican.

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Aug 2, 2023·edited Aug 2, 2023

Half of the Vatican consists of “treasure rooms”. The Poop sits on a throne made of literal gold, jewels, and precious metals.

Claiming they can’t afford to pay compensation to their victims is just spitting acid on them after stabbing them in the back with their jewel-encrusted gold knives.

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Sometime their wealth is not so evident. How many people will pay attention to liturgical clorhes most likely hand embroidered with gold or silk thread ?

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I mean, that jewel-encrusted gold throne and the jewel-encrusted gold sceptre tends to draw peoples' attention away from the clothes.

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Dare to dream.

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Says Ryan Walters: "It is time to end atheism as the state sponsored religion."

OK, Groomer. It's not atheism that tries to push its way into every aspect of public and private life through legislation. That's religion's schtick. Especially Christianity's. You are projecting.

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They always do.

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They rival IMAX. Their projection can be seen from space.

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Yeah... but their talking points are decidedly obsolete, so I prefer to compare them to one of these:

https://rcspecialevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Overhead-Projector_site_imagedis.jpeg

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Gods, I remember those from school. I suddenly feel ancient. 🙂

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Yeah, like I remember the old 16mm Bell & Howell projectors we used to show films on ... and yep, yours truly was the A/V guy! 😁

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Aug 2, 2023·edited Aug 2, 2023

I still have my projectionist certificate somewhere – on the Bell and Howell and something else that I can't remember.

Actually it's not a certificate so much as a little card, and it was if not exactly compulsory then strongly suggested at teacher training college years ago.

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Did that gig myself. 🙂

To quote Weird Al (parodying the Beatles):

🎶 "Geeeeeeeeeee, I'm a nerrrrrrd..." 🎶

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I think mine was the last generation to actually use them. And chalkboards (good riddance). 'Twas the era of laserdisc, monochrome computer screens, and first-gen graphing calculators, as kids began to trade in their tape decks for CD players (and then, a few years later, iPods), and the digital age briefly- but memorably- intersected with the analog technology that came before...

I kinda miss the schizo-tech madness that was the '90s.

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If you are above 50 you are not. Chalkboard in the 80's, projectors in the 90's and this model of modernity still in the 90's https://images.app.goo.gl/CESAW8uaei19qaAF9

My middle school finally bought a tape player in 1994 or 1995.

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I have to admit I'm a bit curious about the two other 'flippers' on the board.

Original vote: Beauchamp, Sanders, Strawn, Franklin and Pearson all vote no.

Redo vote: Bobek, Sanders, Strawn vote yes. Franklin, Pearson vote no.

So Bobek is the shill. But what happened with Sanders and Strawn?

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Money? Or threats?

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It is difficult to see how SCOTUS would exempt this school from such nondescript and neutral legal violations such as 'voucher schools must have wheechair ramps; this one doesn't,' or 'voucher school boards and administrations can't be run by their educational management organizations; this one's is.'

But I'm sure they'll find a way. They'll probably "what-hump?" it: approve while simply pretend those violations don't exist.

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Wheelchair ramps are Abominations Unto ̶N̶u̶g̶g̶a̶n̶ Yahweh.

(He made 'em the way He wanted 'em, how dare mortals try to improve their station in life.....)

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alliance defunding freedom woud just have ro bring a hypothetical plaintiff with a forged case (like a certain website designer) and hop, ça passe crème.

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“It is time to end atheism as the state sponsored religion,”

Oklahoma is 4% atheists. They do a crappy job of teaching atheism.

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Wanna bet the school becoming a major hotbed for child abuse of all kinds including sexual if it finally opens to the public?

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OK isn't. They're already ranked 48th in Education. They aiming for dead last now? Damned Christians.

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If you can't aim for the top, rocket to the bottom?

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That tracks with their antivaxx stance: if you can’t get 100% protection, then go for 0%.

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Go, Ms. Remini

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The craziest stunt that Tom Cruise could ever hope to pull off is to ditch Scientology.

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Catholic schools shouldn't be allowed to exist in the first place, but stopping Child Rapists R Us from parasitizing our tax dollars even more is definitely a good thing.

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