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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.

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[–] andmonad@lemmy.world 1 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

I love the article, it involves the highest to the lowest levels and touches on religious hypocrisy, corruption, ass kissing. Basically every defining aspect of the republican way of life plays a role in such a tiny little story.

[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 80 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

it doesn't matter how the books are printed or bound....

THIS is the problem:

spend $3m in state funds for Bibles

[–] explore_broaden@midwest.social 49 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

The point is the requirements have been tailored so that they aren’t just buying bibles for schools (already bad), but their only option meeting the requirements will be the Trump one.

[–] seaQueue@lemmy.world 7 points 9 hours ago

The grift that keeps on grifting

[–] undercrust@lemmy.ca 75 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

What a weird, sad, loser Ryan Walters is.

Man the United States really IS a shithole third world now.

[–] joekar1990@lemmy.world 28 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

The 3rd world country with a Gucci belt*

[–] undercrust@lemmy.ca 20 points 22 hours ago

*knockoff Gucci belt from Temu

[–] NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 66 points 22 hours ago (4 children)

Okay not Christian but isn't this heresy?

"Golden Calf? No you're the golden Calf"

[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 34 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

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

[–] solsangraal@lemmy.zip 7 points 21 hours ago (4 children)

It’s about the only criteria anyone goes by now

as opposed to what?

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 19 points 20 hours ago (5 children)

As opposed to actually practicing being kind to your neighbor. Stuff like that.

[–] solsangraal@lemmy.zip 4 points 19 hours ago

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

[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 7 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Invading jerusalem, burning witches, stuff like that.

:-)

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[–] owsei@programming.dev 4 points 19 hours ago

actually believing in the religion's stuff

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[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 5 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

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

[–] sushibowl@feddit.nl 5 points 5 hours ago

Not a US citizen either but isn't this a first amendment violation?

[–] andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 54 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

I called it once they announced the bible thing lmao:

https://sh.itjust.works/comment/14286107

It's such a transparent grift I just can't.

[–] seaQueue@lemmy.world 13 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Wait until you hear about the $100k concepts of a watch they're selling worldwide for cash OR bitcoin. It's basically tailor made to allow foreign agents to send money to trump anonymously.

[–] andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 4 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I saw the ad but missed a piece about bitcoin. Probably because I was overwhelmed with their worse-than-parody looks and presentation.

[–] seaQueue@lemmy.world 6 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

The more you look into it the better it gets. It's basically a drop ship scam run out of a random office in Wyoming (? IIRC) where the only other registered business sells honey to treat erectile dysfunction.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

And from what I've read by people who really know watches, they're pieces of shit too.

[–] seaQueue@lemmy.world 8 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I mean, yeah, it's a drop ship front designed to be a money laundering pipe for foreign agents to send money to a Trump business. The product doesn't actually matter.

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[–] andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 2 points 8 hours ago

Say whaaaaaa

We are on the ride to hell, but goddamit they have amusing sights on the way.

[–] Kalkaline@leminal.space 49 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

He does know that Trump isn't going to pay him the kickback promised for this deal, right?

[–] kobra@lemm.ee 6 points 18 hours ago

Well it’s a cult, so I doubt any kickback was promised.

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 6 points 16 hours ago

Well, he's Trump. He's like the anti-Lannister. A Trump never pays his debts.

[–] RegalPotoo@lemmy.world 28 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

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

[–] Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 7 hours ago

...and doing it with requirements that funnel state education funds to a political candidate is just...chef's kiss

[–] Big_Boss_77@lemmynsfw.com 24 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

The shipments of the Koran and Torah are on the way too, right?

[–] name_NULL111653@pawb.social 14 points 21 hours ago

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.

[–] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 23 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] Gork@lemm.ee 7 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Those morons probably get the Ten Commandments and the Amendments confused if they're missing that many.

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[–] fine_sandy_bottom@lemmy.federate.cc 22 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I know I shouldn't be but I'm just kind of astonished.

I get that some states are predominantly red voters, but how many people must be involved in this process, and among them not a single person with a shred of integrity. I'm a lefty, but I'd like to think that if I was in a position to have any input into a process like this, I'm pretty sure I would be screaming blue bloody murder, even if the money was going to my own preferred party.

It's just so embarrassingly obviously corrupt. I would be genuinely ashamed to be involved, even if my involvement was simply not saying anything.

[–] madcaesar@lemmy.world 8 points 8 hours ago

The problem is that you are not involved. Most normal honest people want nothing to do with politics, so we are run by corrupt pieces of shit.

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 21 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

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.

[–] jonne@infosec.pub 6 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 7 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (2 children)

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.

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[–] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 19 points 23 hours ago

Every single word of this is horribly disappointing. Even words like ‘the’ and ‘an’ are ashamed to be associated with this story. Jesus wept.

[–] hate2bme@lemmy.world 13 points 21 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

Thank god no kids are getting fed at school with that money!

-Republicans, presumably

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 11 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

55k would make one helluva beautiful bonfire

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[–] 5opn0o30@lemmy.world 9 points 21 hours ago

This comes out to $55/book. Outrageous!

[–] seaQueue@lemmy.world 5 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Quick, someone run a Kickstarter for leatherette bound "Bibles" that meet the criteria and unfold into a doormat

[–] adub@programming.dev 1 points 3 hours ago

Got less than 2 weeks to fill the RFP. He made it a narrow window.

[–] molten@lemmy.world 3 points 19 hours ago

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.

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