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Jun 28·edited Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

An Oklahoma superintendent, Ryan Walters, has declared that "Every teacher, every classroom in the state, will have a Bible in the classroom and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom." Here is Stonekettle's response on FB this morning:

Good Morning, Children. Please open your Bibles to Ezekiel 23:19-21.

"Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.”

Your assignment is to ask your parents to help you write a 500 word essay on what you think that means. Illustrations optional.

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These people LOVE to cherry-pick the parts of the Bible that matter, but I think it would be epic for parents to send their children to school armed with verses like these. Or even better, send them to this sanctimonious fuck and ask him to explain them.

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Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

Pretty confident that did make Speaker Johnson's johnson jump up and take notice.

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Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

🤣🤣🤣 They're fucking crazy!!

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Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

Well, most of the kids in Louisiana won't be able to read them anyway. They are 48 or 49th in the country in illiteracy. Louisiana is not a place that lifts families or anyone up for that matter who isn't a wealthy, white lying Bible thumper. Functional illiteracy is the name of the game here. Because, the people keep voting for the same fucking useless feckless dumb incompetent asswipes. It's working for the GQP. Red hats just replaced white pointy hoods.

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Right? I have family in Louisiana. Hell, I set part of my first book in Louisiana, so I've spent no small amount of time there. It always blows me away that the impulse purchases next to the Wal Mart checkout are a wall of booze. That I can go to a restaurant and order one margarita and be served the equivalent of three (in a plastic go-cup that will fit in my car console cup holder for me to drink while I drive.) That I can drive my car through a two-sided daiquiri stand and buy a booze soaked beverage and drink it while I drive. That everyone can carry guns everywhere, even Bourbon Street where most people are falling-down drunk and absolutely not capable of managing a deadly weapon. That priests can molest children for DECADES and avoid consequences with the help of judges and legislators. And these holier-than-thou, sanctimonious, smug, supercilious hypocrites want to make public school kindergarteners read the 10 Commandments.

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Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

You covered it 100%!!!

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Jun 29Liked by Andra Watkins

Well said!!!

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Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

I'd yank my kid out of that school so fast the poor child's head would be spinning. Then again, I wouldn't be living in such a place. Three years of living in Oklahoma was enough for me!

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It's coming to that, I'm afraid. Once we are done with our red state, I will not visit one again.

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Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

Agreed. I’m in Texas for now. I will do what I can for while here. We will eventually move to a Continuum of Care facility in VA as we age. It’s close to DC. 👍

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Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

What do I think of Louisiana’s Ten Commandments…?

I think, I lived through this same Louisiana crap in freaking grade school.

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author

Me too. Americans don't want a repeat of what we lived through.

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Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

I am pretty darn close to wit’s end, if any and all here want to come hear Brent Allpress knowledgeably speak on Sunday on these very real life issues, I would greatly like that.

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Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

Thank you for your “centering” video” and your article. Appreciate all you do Andra. 🌻👏🥰

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I woke up at 3:42am (the shit show - I refuse to call it a debate - started at 3am for me, so I passed). But I made the mistake of checking a couple of Substack live chats about the debate and never went back to sleep. I made the video for myself as much as for everyone else. I think the one I shared with my followers from the Guggenheim today makes better points. At least, as well as I can make video points. I'm glad it helped you a bit, Marcy. Thank you for everything you're doing in a tough red state. You're a warrior.

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Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

You are welcome. I watched debate and the substack chats. The chat ramped up my anxiety 😬. It was moving at lightning speed. ⚡️

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author

Every chat I visited was really bad. I won't look at another one.

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Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

Nor will I. 😖

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founding
Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

Do we know if their education 'reforms' poll as poorly as their actions on reproductive health care? It probably hasn't been tested much but I'm curious whether or not the numbers would be very similar.

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I don't know the answer. Bookmarking to look for data.

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I can tell you the voucher program is popular in Fl. There are no income limitations and the majority of schools accepting vouchers are unaccredited and religious. Most recent data shows 81% using vouchers are attending religious schools.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2023/04/24/florida-private-school-voucher-expansion/11688114002/

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Christian school education has long been popular in the south. Because those schools are full of white people.

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Jun 29Liked by Andra Watkins

As far as billboards, the phone interview and local reporting with the Acadiana Bishop seems to make a whole lot of sense:

“… J. Douglas Deshotel had some strong comments about Gov. Jeff Landry blocking $1 million that was earmarked for Catholic Charities of Acadiana to help the homeless and citing the Catholic Church's stance on immigration policy as a reason for the veto.”

Reclaiming the tenant, pretty much the entire fucking tenant of the New Testament, of Faith, Hope, and Charity, as opposed to the altered reality of Faith, Hope, and Patriotism, does seem to make some fucking sense.

Audio:

https://www.kadn.com/news/only-on-news15/bishop-sounds-off-about-louisianas-catholic-governors-cut-in-funding-to-acadianas-homeless/article_abac86f0-355f-11ef-bf76-ffd5a0530c23.html

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Thanks for sharing this link with me. I'm going to do something with this.

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Jun 29Liked by Andra Watkins

I would like to see their collective reaction to a teacher in the classroom putting up, besides the 10 Commandments, Jesus's New One Commandment:

"...so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." —John 13:33–35 (KJV, also on Catholic bible as well)

Also, the Beatitudes:

"3Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

4Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the Earth.

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be satisfied.

7Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called the Sons of God.

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you..."

(Matthew 5:3–12)

Better yet, put both on billboards alongside main highways.

Jesus said it so it should be OK, right?

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I'm going to go in a different direction.

I think Democrats should buy billboards in Louisiana and other red states. (The billboards I'm about to describe are part of a VERY southern tradition.)

I think they should list one commandment like "Thou shalt not commit adultery," like these Republicans have. Then show a picture of the face of every Republican adulterer relevant to that state. Since the Bible also teaches that to divorce someone's spouse and marry another is adultery in the eyes of God, we have a lot of options for Republican adulterers by applying the standards they want to force everyone to live by.

Democrats should take this as a great opportunity to offer sex education in areas that woefully lack it. Another set of billboards could list the commandment "Thou shalt not commit adultery" and define adultery so well a 5-year-old can understand what it means. "Adultery means a married person has sex with a person they aren't married to. Sex happens when a boy puts his private parts into a girls' private parts to feel good and/or make babies."

We should preemptively roll out these billboards in every Christo-fascist red state.

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Jun 29Liked by Andra Watkins

WHY are they still getting federal school funding?? It's outrageous.

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I'm not sure how the federal government will handle this, though I suspect them to join the lawsuit that's been filed (if that hasn't already happened.)

In many of these cases, red states are giving state taxpayer funds to religious organizations. (See crisis pregnancy centers and vouchers for public school and similar.) The monies may not be federal, but I think the federal government owes it to us to make sure they aren't reappropriating federal dollars for religious programs. I think residents of these states should also be filing class action lawsuits for damages for their states violating the Establishment Clause.

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Jun 29Liked by Andra Watkins

Yeah I'm aware of the vouchers, I was referring to federal money that goes to each state to support public schools.... that money should not be used to establish religious ideology of any kind in public schools. Ten Commandments, prayer, bibles, etc in public school is a blatant violation.

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Jun 29Liked by Andra Watkins

Thank you Andra! We all need to take a beat. It’s not over. There is still time to beat the “No P2025” drums loudly. I feel hopeful in this moment. Have a great weekend everyone ❤️

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Exactly. Now that I've allowed myself time to process, I'm more determined than ever to beat these monsters.

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Jun 28·edited Jun 28Liked by Andra Watkins

Andra, excellent video !! I talk to voters almost daily here in MAGA-ville, FL. “What do you value?” Is a great question to ask!

Intended to unplug for the entire day to silence the debate noise but decided to plug back in and watch Biden at his Raleigh rally today. It was such a spirit booster. He was strong and on fire.🔥 He starts about 1:30.

“When you get knocked down, you get back up.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDKIILMeZfk

Substack is “jumpy” today…or most likely operator error !

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I’d love to hear what people say. I’m not sure many Americans have sat with that question in a while. Or ever.

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