In an effort to both maintain and restore some sanity, I took a rare week off from covering the "Look! Oklahoma State School Ryan Walters Is An Insane Lunatic" beat.
Unfortunately, Ryan continued to beat on and on and on, like a Harbor Mountain Coffee Shop barista making a beaten coffee.
While I was watching high-production OU football propaganda that will surely come around to bite us on constant repeat, Ryan was hard at work misspelling the names of "sacred" US government documents in tweets designed to stir up support from theocrats, Christian Nationalists, and other people who shop at Hobby Lobby.
Check this out:
Yep, move over out-of-state teachers' unions, out-of-state liberals, and out-of-state governors from California!
Just in time for Halloween, Ryan has a new boogie man designed to scare the crap out of right-wing homeschool moms, elderly voters, and other people who don't send students to public schools – "out-of-state atheists."
You know, those hell-bound hoodlums that can easily be spotted standing on street corners holding a copy of the Origin of Species, spewing controversial hot takes on topics like science, except on Sunday mornings when they're sleeping in.
In case you weren't aware, Ryan's criticism of "out-of-state atheists" is part of his renewed push to free Oklahoma students of liberal indoctrination by – checks notes – indoctrinating them in Christian theology, and requiring all students of various faiths to read from ancient religious texts and pray to a vengeful, all-powerful deity who demanded and encouraged human sacrifice, including that of his own son… because he loves you.
In fact, Ryan even went so far as to provide a prayer that teachers could say with their students following the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens near the Gaza Strip.
I live thousands of miles away from the Middle East, and I'm very aware that the news I do get about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is generally biased and affected by propagandists on both sides of the equation. As a result, I try my best to avoid making grandstanding hot-take statements an a complex issue that I, and most people, don't fully understand.
That being said...
Shouldn't we be praying for all the innocent people who have died, and who are going to die, as a result of this seemingly never-ending conflict?
I think Hamas and all terrorist groups should be eradicated, but for a lot of Palestinians, their only mistake was being born a Palestinian in an outdoor prison city that's governed by a ruthless terrorist organization.
While you ponder that, I thought it would be a good idea to provide a prayer that Oklahoma teachers can recite to get Ryan Walters to step down as public school superintendent…
Dear Oh Holy Christian God. Let us offer prayer and safety for Oklahoma public school students forced to endure Ryan Walters as State School Superintendent. We pray that his constant attacks against Oklahoma teachers, students, and schools stop, and that a time of healing occurs for those directly impacted by his remarks. We pray for our legislature to impeach this false prophet sent by the devil to destroy Oklahoma public schools and stop any future attacks against Oklahoma students. Amen.
That's not bad, is it? Who knew praying could be so fun!
Anyway, if you're a teacher and want to distribute that prayer to Oklahoma students feel free. Even if out-of-state atheist groups come after you, Ryan will obviously not waste any resources to defend you since you're praying to the Christian God.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We'll keep you advised.