Oklahoma Once Again Dominates National Headlines for Worst Possible Reasons…

Say what you want about living in a right-wing theocracy where taxpayer dollars fund religious indoctrination and modern-day political immigration Gestapo police run unchecked — our state sure is good at getting national attention!

Just this past week, Oklahoma found itself at the center of not one but two national news frenzies — the St. Isidore online religious charter school case argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, and a late-night ICE raid on a metro home occupied by a family who made the tragic mistake of moving to Oklahoma.

I know “Florida Man” is a gator-eatin’, swamp-water-drinkin’ super boss, but on a per capita basis, does any state make national headlines with more flair than Oklahoma?

Seriously, for such a small state, we punch way above our weight. I’d love for some bored university media scientist — or WalletHub intern — to run the numbers and let us know where we rank.

Out of the two stories, St. Isidore is making the bigger waves, as it could — and likely will — reverse decades (centuries?) of established legal precedent that keeps religion out of taxpayer-funded institutions like public schools.

By now, you probably know the details.

Oklahoma — always a historically welcoming state for Catholics — is trying to become the first in the nation to launch a religious-themed, taxpayer-funded online Catholic charter school.

The case has made its way through the legal system over the last couple of years, and the only thing that seems to stand in its way? The perspective of a conservative white man appointed to the bench by the most damaging American president since Herbert Hoover.

Via SCOTUSblog:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday was divided over a Catholic virtual charter school’s bid to become the country’s first religious charter school. With Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused from the case, the outcome appeared to hinge on the vote of Chief Justice John Roberts, who asked probing questions of both sides but did not make his position clear.

I operate under the belief that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment — in some dusty old document called the U.S. Constitution — clearly prohibits the government from establishing a religion or giving public funds to a non-taxpaying church to indoctrinate schoolchildren.

But as Noam Chomsky says, “A good lawyer can argue anything.”

Based on his past rulings, I'd bet that Roberts will find a creative way to justify opening the Noah's floodgates for big religious government to leak into every corner of American life.

You know, just like George W. Bush would’ve wanted.

Ryan Walters, Kevin Stitt, and the rest of Oklahoma’s holy-rollin’ theocrats seem to agree with me, and are taking to social media to share their joy and excitement.

Opening up public education dollars to religious instutions that don't pay taxes has been a goal of theirs since they learned to read from thje bible, so I guess you can't blame them.

While Stitt and Walters were busy gloating about forcing religion onto schoolchildren, KFOR’s Spencer “The Menacer” Humphrey dropped a report about the New American Gestapo — or, as the newspeak folks call it, Homeland Security.

Apparently, they and their FED buddies raided a home in NW OKC and seized cash and possessions from a family who, it turns out, wasn’t even who they were looking for.

I’m pro-immigration, pro-civil rights, and pro-human decency. So when I watched Spencer’s report, I was pissed. Just like every other botched police raid, it was a sick, despicable overreach of law enforcement. We deserve better.

That being said…

When I heard the victims A) had a pile of cash on them, and B) claimed they “moved to Oklahoma for a better life,” my B.S. meter flickered.

I mean — there are reasons to move to Oklahoma. But that ain't one of them.

So, I held off on making sweeping judgments. The left-wing flack machine, however, showed no such restraint.

The story blew up on social media and — despite several unanswered questions — was quickly spun into viral, righteous outrage. One congresswoman even brought it up in a Capitol Hill hearing:

Just as Newton’s Third Law predicts, the right-wing outrage machine clapped back just as hard. The media flacks, agency flacks, and other spin masters circled the wagons to defend the raid.

Homeland Security even posted a flurry of tweets claiming the house was owned by alleged human traffickers — and casting doubt on the family's innocence.

Let’s be honest: a family moving cross-country with a duffel bag full of cash, who just so happened to rent a house owned by alleged human traffickers? That’s either wildly unlucky… or there’s more to the story than they’re letting on.

That being said, in a Trump 2.0 world where due process is optional and you can have your life torn apart for having tacky knuckle tattoos, I’m siding with the family on this one.

Say what you want, but if you’re a sane, semi-literate person who’s read at least one book, you probably agree it’s not great that our federal government is starting to resemble early 1930s Nazi Germany… or that the Christian Nationalist Right is one court ruling away from turning the state into a good old-fashioned Puritan theocracy.

But hey — as long as it keeps Oklahoma trending, that's cool... right?

Who knows? Maybe one day, our state’s influential history will be taught in a taxpayer-funded Catholic charter school. Or a Baptist one. Or maybe just a Prager U re-education camp sponsored by Hobby Lobby.

Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.