Interesting News That Needs Reading Today

Oklahoma Voice gets the prize for having the most interesting reads in one place this week.

When I opened the email today I was pretty surprised at the topics they’d covered.

Panasonic to delay production at Kansas battery plant as electric car sales decline, policies shift – Oklahoma had tried to land this plant, offering nearly $700M in incentives.

Why is this important? Because of the tag line – Oklahoma was going to offer SEVEN HUNDRED MILLION of YOUR tax dollars to get the plant here. Fortunately, everyone and their dog in Topeka, Kansas, offered more taxpayer dollars than Oklahoma and the plant went to Topeka.

As so many of us fighting the ‘green agenda’ have said – most of these deals are done via non-disclosure-agreements (NDA’s) that leave neighbors of the plant/project/etc. almost completely in the dark as to what has been promised to the plant/project/etc., though the neighbors (i.e. tax payers) are paying for it and will have to live with it as part of the “people in their neighborhood“.

Here we have a plant that was ready to go, but then had to scale back because people are deciding to scale back on EV purchases and because President Trump has put the kibosh on EV subsidies through the Big Beautiful Bill. The plant has already spent taxpayer dollars to get up and running. What’s going to happen to the rest of Panasonic’s community promises of jobs, etc. with the scaleback?

This is just one of the many reasons why OKLAHOMA should NOT be pumping taxpayer dollars into private businesses – in so many cases, taxpayers aren’t getting what they paid for. But who cares, right? It’s not the Governor’s money, or the Commerce Department’s money…

Oklahoma parents, faith leaders drop lawsuit over Catholic charter school

There’s no reason to sue when the Supreme Court has said that taxpayer funds can’t fund religious education.

“The plaintiffs and their legal counsel — who include attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation — declared victory while dropping their case”. The Oklahoma Parent Legislative Advocacy Coalition was also involved.

Sadly, these are all left-of-center organizations that hate Christians and religion. I’m a conservative Christian, so they don’t represent me – other than my viewpoint that the state should not fund religious schools. Here’s why:

My God is a jealous God and if I had autonomy over my purse I would not ever financially support another religion. It’s America. You do your own religion. But don’t do it on my dime. When the government takes my money by force and gives it to a church outside the sphere of my religious belief, I’ve funded a religion whether I meant to or not. I vote. The government is of the people, by the people, for the people. How I can say I have absolutely no say against that is mind-blowing.
The government controls what it funds. During COVID, lots of churches closed down because their state told them to. People quit going to church because they were simply told, “you can’t” and lots of people listened. I do not want my government controlling religious institutions of any kind. Churches are to be the pillar of the state. They can’t be that when the government tells them “you can’t”. Churches should make the state accountable to the people and to God. They can’t if the government tells them, “you can’t”.
It is against the Oklahoma State Constitution to use tax dollars to subsidize religious schools. How did a bunch of attorneys decide that the highest land in the nation can just change Oklahoma’s Constitution and not its people. Who knows? Maybe Oklahomans would decide to change the state Constitution to allow that, but we wouldn’t have known because Oklahoma school choice pushers – Governor Stitt, etc. – wanted to remove The People from the government by making an end-around to the Supreme Court. Nope.

So, obviously, I’m thankful the Supreme Court deadlocked and the School Choice pushers were thwarted.

Former Oklahoma agency head prohibited from working for state, under settlement agreement

Well, the Ethics Commission actually did their job and slapped Shelley Zumwalt on the wrist.

In a story that personifies – for me – the absolute horror show that is the Oklahoma government revolving door of agency heads making the round of government agencies (Stitt appointed Zumwalt to three positions: the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation, Secretary of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage – a Cabinet secretary position), Zumwalt was fined $20,000 by the State Ethics Commission and told she can’t work for the state FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS. Just enough time for Governor Stitt to be removed from office by term limits (thankfully) so that he can’t appoint her to anything else.

As the head of the OESC, Zumwalt created contracts with a business run – in part – by her husband. But don’t worry, neither she nor her husband benefitted, according to Zumwald and the Ethics Commission.

About this situation, AG Drummond said, in April of 2024: “This level of self-dealing represents an unforgivable breach of trust that disqualifies Ms. Zumwalt from overseeing the expenditure of our tax dollars,” Drummond said. “She should resign immediately and cooperate fully with my office as I seek to determine whether any Oklahoma statutes were violated.”

But, never fear, our intrepid AG will not now investigate Ms. Zumwalt because he’s satisfied – after the Ethics Commission ruling – that no crimes were committed here. Come on. Seriously? State Auditor Cindy Byrd’s office found that she violated the rules on conflict of interest by issuing contracts to a company of which her husband was vice-president.

So, breaking the rules isn’t committing a crime? Rules put in place to protect taxpayers from contract-fixing? Why have rules then? What are those supposed to do exactly? Provide a typist somewhere something to do entering it into a database? Again. Slap on the wrist. Yawn. Sigh. Who cares? It’s just taxpayer money…

State board calls for investigative audit of Epic Charter School – Mismanaged budget resulted in mass layoffs at Epic, state officials say

Why has somebody at the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board not created an agenda item for closing Epic Charter Schools? My word. This school has been mismanaged from the word “go” and cost taxpayers MILLIIONS and MILLIONS of dollars. Why does this keep happening? Why is the OSCSB LETTING it happen?

First there was State Auditor Cindy Byrd’s scathing audit of Epic which showed that, “since 2015, Epic was allocated $458 million in tax dollars, with $125.2 million funneled to a private company owned by Ben Harris and David Chaney, according to the audit“, though AG Drummond has declined to prosecute the men since taking the case over in 2023. Now, there are massive layoffs and a $30 million shortfall.

Cindy Byrd’s office performed the original audit. Now, Chair Bryan Shellem and the OSCSB have decided to hire an outside auditor to examine the school’s books. This is concerning. The ‘right’ auditor has to be found. So many state agencies and governments use auditors to obtain generalized information that doesn’t provide meaningful results to taxpayers. It will be interesting to follow this story to find out how EPIC will be audited now – and by whom.

FAMILY ORIENTED INFORMATION –

Porn and marijuana are hurting our boys. Parents and schools need to speak up.

“They smoke to relax. They watch to escape. They become lethargic, less motivated, more isolated. Not because they don’t care; but because they’re chemically rewarded for not caring.”

This is a HUGE and IMPORTANT statement. In point of fact, every dad (and mom) needs to read this OpEd in the Daily Oklahoman today and ACT ON IT. Young men in our society are being turned into zombies and we’re effectively letting this happen. Unfortunately, too many parents don’t care as much as this letter-writer. Please read this short editorial and take it to heart.

2025 Homeschool Curriculum Picks and Practical Planning Tips – Aby Rinella and Yvette Hampton

We’ve had Yvette on the show before. She and her husband produced the movie, “Schoolhouse Rocked: The Homeschool Revolution“, a documentary about the rise and possibilities of homeschooling.

Yvette – and Aby Rinella – just released this list of homeschool curriculum picks and planning tips! JUST IN TIME FOR YOU TO DECIDE TO HOMESCHOOL INSTEAD OF GOING BACK TO YOUR PUBLIC SCHOOL!

Check these out and opt for staying home with your kids. It was the best thing I EVER did and I wouldn’t take it back for all the money in the world. In fact, the only downside I EVER found to having my kids with me 24/7 was that when they finally grew up and flew out of the nest, it was just SO LONELY. Having them around was just the best! I recommend it HIGHLY.

July 15, 2025 0

Weekly News Headlines And Commentary – Week of March 10, 2025

ROPE2.org

SB224 And SB141 Are Unnecessary; The WAVE (SLDS) Captures Student Data On Education And The Workforce – AND WAY MORE – Already

I have absolutely no idea why this legislation was proposed. I need to make an appointment and go talk to the author and ask, but this makes no sense. Since 2013 we’ve had a State Longitudinal Database System (SLDS) and it’s still working because I went out to the OSDE website and found all the new fields they’re adding to the School Interoperative Framework (SIF) to collect new data. This article describes the SLDS and why we don’t need a bill for something we already have.

Parent Who Posted Now-Viral State-Approved Waurika Psychology Assignment To Her Facebook Page Speaks Out

Last week I interviewed Ashlyn Jade, the mother who posted the now-viral AP Psychology worksheet given to 11th graders at Waurika Public Schools. She had no intention of running down the coach that produced the worksheet and handed it out, she was simply posting the worksheet to let parents know what was going on. Instead of parents being concerned and wanting to know what was going on, they essentially turned on Ashlyn and dogged her on social media for getting the coach ‘fired’. As our friend V1SUT has pointed out, for some reason, parents in small towns seem to circle the wagons around the school and throw whistleblowers under the bus. This seems to be happening here.

A Discussion About Oklahoma Homeschool And Other Education Legislation

Michael and I talked to Jana Belcher and Robert Scott about some legislation being floated this year. At the end, Robert talked about the tax credits being offered to homeschoolers. The state keeps all the data on all the many tax credits they hand out – and that includes the homeschooling credit and the tax credit for the Parental Choice educational credit – where your name is publicly listed in the Oklahoma Tax Commission data report. Robert essentially makes the point that, if you’re homeschooling, it’s likely that you don’t want your child to be tracked by the government. However, if you take the tax credit, the government not only tracks you, they release your name as well.

Citizen Lobbying 101 – Learning How To Work With Legislators On Important Issues

Our discussion with Carolyn McLarty of Eagle Forum (and former Oklahoma State Republican Committee Woman for 12 years) was a lot of fun. We talked about how citizens should go about dealing with their elected representatives and talked about how people who’d like to go to the Capitol could connect with her through Eagle Forum. It’s always a lot more effective to have more than one person lobby on an issue and Carolyn can help you with that.

Kaiser Partners With OK To Fund Birth To Three ‘Early Education’ Collecting Data On Babies For Tax Dollars To Justify Putting Them In Daycare

All the work I’ve been doing on the SLDS this week got me very concerned when I found that organizations are keeping data on babies at the taxpayer expense. Of course it all stems from money ‘gifted’ to the state in a public/private partnership to ‘help’ the underprivileged in our state. Unfortunately for babies and families, this money comes from the George Kaiser Family Foundation. This is truly a huge problem, taking babies and toddlers away from their parents to be raised by the state while the state collects data on them that they then use to justify getting more tax dollars to keep babies and toddlers away from their parents. Please read this and pass it on to others. It needs to stop.

LEGISLATION

Next week, all the bills must change houses – House bills that have been voted off the floor of the House must go to the Senate and vice-versa. At this point, we will look at the bills that have been passed and make a list of the ones that need to be stopped and the ones that need to be passed. We should have that for you by next week’s news wrap up.

OKLAHOMA SUBSTACK AUTHORS

V1SUT – This week, our friend Mary had two great articles, but the last one is definitely an issue everyone needs to know about. OK Speaker Hilbert Pulls Shady Bill Flip in Gov Stitt’s Ongoing War Against Supt Walters’ Board of Ed tells the tale of gutting one bill and dropping new language into that bill. From the substack: “After 5:00 pm on Wednesday, March 4th, that amended bill was gutted and replaced with language giving Stitt’s new appointees control over the State Board of Education agenda, a right and responsibility historically reserved for the State Superintendent as the only member of that board elected by We the People.” Read the rest of her article to find out why this is bad.

The Sooner Sentinel – Author Marvin Goodman writes multiple times a week so it’s hard to put all his substacks in each week, but PLEASE check out the one he wrote yesterday. It. Is. Scary. The Invisible Eye in the Sky: Dirtbox and the Silent Expansion of Surveillance in 2025. Americans are being heavily surveilled to the point that it’s out of control. We need legislators who have the guts to protect WE THE PEOPLE from these constant invasions of our 4th and 1st and 5th Amendment rights. Please read. I had no idea about any of the things he wrote about here and I’m imagining maybe you might not either and knowledge is power.

Restore Liberty Oklahoma – Wendi Montgomery Dial writes often about election issues. Her latest, is an audio note posted the 7th where she discusses the Make Elections Secure Act (MESA) and what Oklahoma can do to get rid of it.

The Oklahoma State Capitol – Author Jason Murphy’s last post was about the passing of Governor David Boren. Did you know that during his time as Governor he was a staunch advocate of transparency? I didn’t. Check out his substack on Boren for more information.

David Arnett – David is the publisher of Tulsa Today and also writes on his personal substack. Check it out.

Shooting The Oklahoma Breeze – Oklahoman Ryan Kester is sick of the ‘green agenda’. As he has time, he writes about it. Check out his latest post, Another Mirage.

Critical Thinking Still Matters – Okie Author J Ossenkopf writes about various subjects pointing to the lack of critical thinking we humans seem to display currently as a general rule. Her latest is, “The Golden Age of Common Education Funding and Union Influence (Not Academics, Students, Families) in Oklahoma” and it’s a really great summation of all the educational BS that’s been going on and why it is meaningless to outcomes of students. Lots of great data here to mine!

LOCAL MEDIA

Governor calls for audit of Oklahoma mental health agency, says it may need additional funding

Oklahoma Voice: In a shocking turn of events, we find that government misuses the money that is stolen from taxpayers. Worse, we’ll have to pay even more out of the treasury to keep open a government office that has no business being a government office in the first place. Once, long ago now, churches and other private organizations took care of the mentally and physically infirm and little ones. Now, Big Brother does it for us and we’re shocked when we find out they not only don’t do the jobs they were appropriated to do, they misspend they money stolen from us for the cause.

Regent says employee tip led to internal OSU audit that showed alleged misspending

The Oklahoman: Rinse and repeat from above. Government money means little to people using it who often like to believe it’s ‘their’ money.

Governor’s DOGE-OK initiative takes shape ahead of reporting deadline

The Frontier: So, Oklahoma’s very own DOGE is up and running. Here’s a quote from the article: “Stitt appointed Marc Nuttle, a businessman and political insider who worked on the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan and Pat Buchanan, to administer DOGE-OK. Nuttle also coordinated fundraising efforts for Stitt’s inauguration as governor.”

SD 8 GOP primary: Bryan Logan, David Nelson advance to runoff

Non-Doc: BOY WAS THIS GREAT NEWS! Bryan Logan knocked it out of the park with a whopping over 40% in the primary. Now, we’ve just got to stay focused and help him finish out the homestretch on May 13th. (Let’s not ask why our Governor took so long to call this election, since the people of SD8 will have had no representation through nearly the ENTIRE legislative session – and let’s not ask why Senator Roger Thompson had to throw such a baby fit and quit and leave his district without representation for nearly the ENTIRE legislative session.) Let’s also remember that the swamp would prefer Bryan’s opponent, so all the stops will come out before May. Here’s an interview we did with Bryan for our Candidate Corner. Please share.

NATIONAL MEDIA

Chris Wright: “We need more energy. Lots more energy.”

Robert Bryce Substack: Bryce quoting Wright, “Everywhere wind and solar penetration have increased significantly, prices on the grid went up and stability of the grid went down.” Now, can we convince our tax-credit-happy Governor to get away from the stupidity? Who knows, but we can’t quit trying.

Breaking News: South Dakota Governor Signs HB 1052

FreeSoil Foundation: “South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden signed HB 1052 to protect property rights and prohibit the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipeline projects.” This is great news for SD and I’m hoping that, not far behind, will come a real repudiation of the whole C02 carbon credit scheme that’s driving so much of this stuff from Harold Hamm (Continental Oil) down.

With lawyers and judges like those the American Bar Association advances, the United States will quickly discard what’s left of our constitutional order

The Federalist: Hopefully, people are learning that nearly ALL the organizations they had believed to be at least politically ‘neutral’ have been taken over by leftists. Look at the AMA and other US medical groups. A study just last year found that, “Overall, activism is common across specialty medical societies. Among the 26 societies that take stances, 23 (88%) do so on multiple issues.” From the Federalist article, “By endorsing race and sex discrimination, presidents unilaterally changing the Constitution, and forbidding elected executive control of unelected executive bureaucrats, the ABA has disqualified itself as a legal organization or any kind of legitimate player in American public life. No elected official who has made a public vow to preserve and protect the Constitution should give this anti-American pressure organization the time of day.”

Honors Student Sues After Graduating Without Being Able to Read

The Liberty Sentinel/Alex Newman: From the article, “Despite graduating from high school with “honors” and being accepted into the University of Connecticut on a scholarship, 19-year-old government-school victim Aleysha Ortiz cannot read or write. At all. Literally. And she’s hardly alone. Now, with help from an attorney, Ortiz is suing the city and the school board. And the national media is paying attention.” I knew social promotion was happening back in the early 2000’s – it’s one of the reasons I left public school teaching. We can write laws against social promotion all we want, but it’s still done and it will CONTINUE to be done until parents wake up and decide to take an interest in what their kids are learning at school. As our friend Kendra Wesson has said before, all it takes is a parent who will listen to a child read on a regular basis to tell how well they’re doing in school. If you can’t do even that, you’re dooming your child to this same outcome. That is a parental responsibility and until parents accept their responsibilities, they don’t have parental rights.

March 10, 2025 0

Weekly News Headlines And Commentary – Week of March 3, 2025

Oh my gosh. Lots and lots and lots of news from last week!!! So many things going on to try and follow – including legislation!

ROPE2.org

Colonel Jim Putnam, Candidate for Edmond School Board – Virtual Presence Is Actual Absence

Colonel Jim Putnam is running for Edmond School Board. We interviewed him on the podcast, Wednesday, February 26th, and had such fun. That guy is smart and tough and tested and has the right idea about school boards – they control the school! I made a couple video clips from our interview which I hope everyone will share with people who live in the district. Edmond Public Schools would absolutely be a better place with Colonel Jim on the Board! Make sure you click on the link to see the videos. In one, he tells a story that is just hysterical. It’ll start your week off with a giggle.

Governor Stitt (R) Warns Trump Not To Dump Green Subsidies.

While I was researching something else this week, I accidentally came upon an interview that Governor Stitt had done with the online rag (I mean mag…LOL) POLITICO. Yes, POLITICO. I guess they wanted to talk to him because our Governor now sounds more like a Democrat than a Republican. The article was a mess, but even worse was the video interview he did with them. The interviewer was HORRIBLE and Governor Stitt honestly made a fool out of himself talking about the free market while giving tax subsidies and other handouts like candy. Links to the articles and the interview is in the piece – including a video I put together SHOWING that our governor literally loves green energy and has no clue what ‘free enterprise’ and ‘picking winners and losers’ means.

Guest Don Spencer, OK2A President Wows Us With Some History And 2A Legislation

Former Representative, Jason Murphy knows a lot about the legislature, having served there a full 12 year term. Today, he is making the most of that knowledge by writing a Substack called, “The Oklahoma State Capitol“. He joined Michael and I on the podcast last week to talk about how the legislative process – at least the way its been run in recent history – is simply a shell game to keep the citizenry appeased and the lobbyists/big business interests that run the state, happy. You’ll want to read the blog to see who all these interests are so you can keep your eye out for them.

Former SD15 Candidate Robert Keyes, His Fight For Election Integrity, The Evidence In His Case And SB654 To Remove The Election Law At The Center Of It All

Friday morning (2.28.25), we had President of OK2A, Don Spencer on to talk about gun bill legislation going through the capitol this session. It was a really great conversation – especially when he talked about the Oklahoma Constitution and why Don and his group are still having to work so hard on firearm legislation. See the article for video clips. We also talked to Michael’s brother Mark about the federal Department of Education employee who got busted by Project Veritas for admitting that they protected illegal aliens from ICE. Mark also talked a bit about when he was a professor.

Who’s Running The Show? Oklahoma Carbon Capture, Part 2

Those of you who read Part 1 in my Oklahoma Carbon Capture series might be interested in Part 2. In this segment, I outline the people who are ‘invested’ (for lack of a better word) in Oklahoma’s carbon capture plant – the biggest one in the US. I’m not sure it’s who you think it might be, but you might have pegged the fact that they are a group of elitists who care about making money off the backs of taxpayers while ‘saving the planet’. They could care less if you want to farm or have an unobstructed view of the prairie, you’re just the little people who don’t really know what you want any more than to be guided by their much smarter (and richer) hands. This is a good one to share with friends and family who still think we’re a red state.

LEGISLATION

Much legislation has been passed through Committees this session, with more coming up this week. The cell phone bill was the first bill passed off the floor, unsurprisingly, since the Governor and the House and Senate leadership all want this STUPID bill (Usurping Local Control – Cell Phone Restrictions In Oklahoma – NO on SB1389 and HB1276). That article goes over the many reasons this is such a BAD bill and why it needs to be voted down by the House and Senate both.

As usual, the two-tiered committee system in the House is making it very hard to see which bills are out of committee and going for the floor. The week of the 3rd is the last week for bills to be heard in committees. After that, all the bills will finish up their hearings on the floor of the Senate and the House. We’ll have a pause then, to take stock of the bills that have passed BOTH houses, so we can put our heads together and determine which bills must be stopped (or passed) in committee on the other side of the capitol. We’ll publish the list at that time so EVERYONE can keep them on their radar!

I have to say that I felt so much more informed when I was just following education legislation. Trying to keep up with bad bills in all the legislative sectors is making my head spin!

OKLAHOMA SUBSTACK AUTHORS

Don’t forget to check out our Substack authors this week!

The Oklahoma State Capitol by Jason Murphy

The Sooner Sentinel by Marven Goodman

V1SUT Vantage by ‘Mary’

LOCAL MEDIA

The biggest local news of the week was the TULSA PUBLIC SCHOOLS audit by our fabulous State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd. Here is the link to the actual 60-page audit. I suggest you at least scan it.

State audit finds culture of poor financial transparency at Tulsa Public Schools

Oklahoma Voice – We intend on having SAI Byrd on the ROPE Report Live podcast as soon as she’s able to talk to us in depth about this audit. There can’t be enough said about what a big deal it was. In fact, one of the biggest findings showed how the school board was left out of the administrative process altogether, while administrators created the school culture they wanted using lots of loopholes. It also shows the problem with public money being ‘given’ to private organizations which were used extensively at TPS. Now that the audit is through, we need to keep an eye on what happens next. If there are no arrests or prosecutions in this case, Oklahomans should throw up their hands in disgust and Tulsans should get a new DA as soon as possible. There is no reason for the SAI’s office to work this hard on an audit only to have the audit offenders in the same positions they were in BEFORE the audit. Prosecutions MUST be made for taxpayers, parents and the community to get any real relief.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Counties and Townships Authority to Zone, Permit, and Approve Certain Wind, Solar, and Other Green Energy Construction Projects

AG’s Office – This document is from the Oklahoma AG’s office. It’s a series of questions and answers about different types of local governments and what they can and can’t do so that citizens will know how to properly petition them for redress of local issues related to green energy projects.

Report shows $19.3M in Oklahoma’s private-school tax credits went to wealthier households

The Oklahoman – We’ve said it SO many times – the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit was going to be a boondoggle for Oklahoma taxpayers. It’s already caused private school tuition to go up – which we hypothesized it would – and now we find that nearly 25% of all the scholarships are going to people who can afford to send their own kids to private school if they really wanted to do so – families who made more than $250,000. Yes, Democrats are opposed to the voucher system because they claim it takes money away from public schools, but Conservatives like us rail against it because it violates the two biggest tenets of Conservatism – it grew government and it takes from one set of taxpayers to give to another. Only those people making over $250k are an actual tax credit – and even then, depending upon their income, they may have exceeded their tax credit and need a voucher for a second or third child’s tuition. Just a horrid plan. The legislature should quit giving public schools money carte blanche and make them actually perform to get paid. THAT would straighten them out, but our legislators are too chicken to even try the one thing that would make schools responsible to parents instantaneously.

Bixby superintendent Rob Miller announces run for state superintendent

News 9 – Back in the day, Rob Miller actually helped ROPE stop Common Core. We still have the video of Miller testifying before the House Common Ed Committee in November 2013 on our YouTube channel. Unfortunately, since that time, Miller has veered off the more conservative track. In fact, in Bixby, a group called Bixby Parents Voice has had to fight Miller’s leadership on a number of issues, including disgusting literature and parent comments at school board meetings. We’ll have to keep an eye on this situation and maybe even ask Miller to come on the podcast…

Could Oklahoma schools start offering free three-year-old pre-k?

KGOU – “House Bill 2395 by Rep. Brian Hill (R-Mustang) would amend existing law to allow schools to offer half-day or full-day pre-kindergarten for three-year-olds.” ABSOLUTELY NOT – UNDER NO CONDITIONS. Number one, schools are now going to have to possibly find day care teachers to change the diapers of toddlers in public school? Isn’t that what day care centers are for? If it’s to help parents who can’t afford day care, there are (of course) taxpayer subsidies to help with that. Secondly, it takes SMALL KIDS AWAY FROM PARENTS and makes the SCHOOL THEIR PARENT! We’re not going to get any closer to a world where we have happy families with children who can think for themselves if we’re going to allow government schools to start raising kids at younger and younger ages. NO NO NO NO NO!

Supreme Court sets date to hear whether Oklahoma can open publicly funded religious charter school

KOCO 5 News – The Supreme Court has set April 30th as the date when it will hear the case of St. Isadore Catholic school receiving taxpayer dollars as a private, religious charter school. This situation actually violates the Oklahoma Constitution, but apparently, in their desire to completely begin to fund ALL KINDS of religious schools with taxpayer funds, the state could care less. They’ve had to drag it to the Supreme Court. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will put the Supreme kibosh on this idea, because my God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14) and I can’t imagine having to fund a Madrasa or a school of Satan via my tax dollars.

NATIONAL MEDIA

IMMIGRATION

I’m lumping several articles together here because I think they’re important as a group.

DHS will require migrants without legal status to register with U.S. government – Oklahoma Voice

Maine’s Schools Collapse as More Migrants Pour In – Breitbart

Hispanic Americans Eager for Bold Immigration Reform – The Washington Stand

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt Signs Illegal Immigration Bill Only To Open Door To VISA Taskforce

For those who may not remember, last week, Governor Stitt – angry over a State School Board agenda item to allow schools to simply count the number of illegal students – fired the three board members who voted for it and replaced them with three other picks. Please note the Breitbart article, which essentially says that Maine’s schools are collapsing under the weight of illegal students who can’t take tests in English but are required to, who can’t communicate with their teachers – which means they can’t learn anything – and who need so much remediation that Maine is having to spend more and more money just to keep their heads above water. No one is helped in this situation – not the students, the families, the schools or the taxpayers, but Governor Stitt simply wouldn’t entertain the notion that Oklahoma is having the same problem and needs to get a grip on the problem – the first start of which would be to see how many illegal students there are in the Oklahoma public education system.

This was more of a problem under the Biden administration because the Democrats were not only allowing illegal immigration, they were continually promoting it. Now, with Trump in office set on stopping the rolling tide of illegal immigrants to the US by creating policies like that of forcing illegals to register, it shouldn’t be rocket science to at least count the number of illegal students in order to try and help schools appropriately help non-English-speaking students.

According to the article in the Washington Stand, legal Hispanic citizens don’t want the effects of illegal immigration any more than any other citizens in this country legally. We had an entire podcast about that fact with two legal Oklahoma citizens of Hispanic origin. Why Governor Stitt had such a fit over this issue is a complete mystery – or is it? We’re investigating that now.

Examining a new method of estimating homeschool participation

Thomas Fordham Institute – Put under the category “scary”. Why it is that so many people feel as though they need to know exactly how many families are doing the most normal thing in the world – educating their own children just like their forefathers did? But then again, it scares authoritarians when they can’t make everyone do what they want, so I guess it’s not so shocking. I would just suggest that no one needs to know how many homeschoolers are out there for any reason at all and leave it at that.

Apple Rejects Attempts To Protect Children From Online Sex Abuse, Repeal Harmful DEI Policies

The Federalist – Alliance Defending Freedom worked to introduce resolutions at Apple’s shareholder meeting that would protect children from online sexual abuse and remove DEI programming and all four were voted down. I know so many people just can’t live without their I-whatever, but this is truly bad news and should make Apple owners think twice.

Poll: Rate of People Who Identify as LGBTQ at Record High

The Washington Stand – “Gallup chalked up the trend to an uptick in younger, liberal women identifying as bisexual during the years of the Biden administration.” In the last two years of the Biden administration alone there was a sharp increase, with the percent of Gen Z that identified as LGBT going “from an average of 18.8% of Gen Z adults in 2020 through 2022 to an average of 22.7% from 2022 to 2024.” Yet another concerning trend.

March 3, 2025 0

Oklahoma Legislation Affecting Homeschool Or Education Autonomy To Support Or Oppose

Below are the bills which would affect homeschooling families in one way or another. The RED are not supported by home educators and the GREEN are supported by those who educate their children at home without government assistance. This list was compiled by homeschool educator Robert Scott.

In order to help you read this list better, you can click in the document and it will take you to our SCRIBD site. You may also print out this PDF. Below is a list of just the bills.

Also, HJR1010 by Jim Shaw which would provide constitutional protection for homeschools and private schools. A Joint Resolution directing the Secretary of State to refer to the people for their approval or rejection a proposed amendment to Section 4 of Article XIII of the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma; stating certain parental and legal guardian rights; limiting certain school regulations; providing ballot title; and directing filing.

February 3, 2025 0

National School Choice Week Is A Taxpayer Scam

All one has to do is type in the two-word phrase “school choice” in our website’s search box to know that I’ve thought the idea of ‘school choice’ to be a scam for a very long time. Oklahoma HAS already has school choice. We have a Constitutional provision for homeschooling, we have charter schools and magnate schools and neighborhood schools and private schools and online schools – OKLAHOMA HAS IT ALL. Every Oklahoman has the ability to make whatever ‘choice’ they want by which to educate their children.

The part of the ‘school choice’ idea I DESPISE, is the part where government tells taxpayers that they’ll take our money by force and then give it to other taxpayers who ‘can’t afford’ to put their kids in a private school because public schools are so bad – the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Program.

Why do I hate this plan? Well, again, you can always search the website to get the full scope and picture, but this post is going to include a few screeds I’ve posted to my Facebook page in the past couple days.

This is the original post. There are lots and lots and lots of comments on this post, so I suggest you peruse it. Lots of good discussion. And I’ll remind you – you may not agree with me – and that’s okay, but we’ve GOT to have discussion on this topic before it gets any further out of hand. Don’t forget, REPUBLICANS – supposed bastions of limited government – are pushing this concept hard and have been for over a decade. This is a HUGE problem.

But back to my screeds. WordPress will not let me embed the post, so you’ll just have to click the link and navigate to the post. Sorry. Stupid WordPress.

But here’s the post for today (1.28.25) copied below. It’s based in part on the conversations we were having on that post.

I’m going to go ahead and try this one more time. And I’m not being ugly here, I’m simply being stoic and direct. Some of you will think I’m ‘mean’ – and that’s fine – everyone is entitled to their opinions, however, thinking I’m ‘mean’ doesn’t invalidate my argument or the personal observations that spawned them.

It’s not up to taxpayers to ‘fix’ public schools – it’s PARENTS. Parents have all control over their own children – and I’ve argued that when legislators come in to try and ‘fix’ schools, they end up removing parental control which makes parents and their children, more wards of the state than they are already. The more the government parents parents, the less they’ll parent themselves. It’s simple human nature.

If parents were really interested in their children’s educations because they believed they could give their children something better than the education they’re getting in government schools, there would be few government schools with large student populations at this point.

For those who are compassionate about parents who are poor and have no real choices other than government-funded education – (BTW; government should be completely immune from ‘compassion’ – that’s a perspective for individuals, not governments who operate solely with money taken by force from its citizens) – then you need to be compassionate with your own dollars. You should start a school in your community that you fund – either yourself or with enough individuals willing to help out of private pocketbooks – so that poorer community members have the opportunity to attend a government school alternative.

Here’s what will happen with the majority of attendees to this school (because I found the exact same thing when I moved from being a ‘regular’ school teacher to a ‘charter’ school teacher); parents will be very motivated/active for a short time, then, they’ll stop coming to meetings and will only be reachable when their child has problems. At that point, they’ll find a way to blame you – or the school – for their child’s actions because their child wouldn’t ______ (fill in the blank). (Incidentally, I also found this at my youngest son’s homeschool co-op as well. A parent would bring their child who had been kicked out of government school to the co-op – they’d just open the car door and drop them off – when most parents would stay. There, the kid would cause problems for everyone else in the classroom and eventually be removed from the co-op too.)

Most parents today don’t want CHOICES – they want someone to take care of their children for them – they want a babysitter and/or a bankroller. Oh, they’ll fight that statement tooth and nail and scream and holler about how mean it is to say something like that, but actions speak louder than words. Why are government schools (even those in expensive neighborhoods) stuffed with parents that won’t take even a night out of their schedules to go to their school board meetings or attend a parent/teacher night? Why? Because by and large, parents are happy with whatever is going on in the school until something goes bad – their child is failing, or is being sidelined on a sports team, or is creating issues in the classroom – and once there is a problem, it suddenly becomes the school’s fault, or the teacher’s fault and SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE.

Everything goes back to FREE WILL. We all have it – and as Christians, we should be pointing to that fact over and over and over again. If people want to do things, they do them. If they don’t, they won’t. The ‘compassion’ of using tax dollars (someone else’s money) to send kids to private schools won’t fix that.

As Jesus said in the New Testament – the poor will always be with us (Mark 14:6). Jesus knew that some people won’t make good CHOICES and that some people are too lazy, uncaring, or improperly educated enough to make good choices. Taking tax dollars from one person (maybe a person like me who homeschooled their kids and still had to pay for public schools too) and giving it to another (to do the same thing I did without ‘government help’) won’t make them CARE for their children any more than they already do. It doesn’t work, but by creating and perpetuating this system, one of the things you will do – is violate my religious conscience by sending my tax dollars to a Madrasa or a Satanist school. I’ve read the Bible. My God is a jealous God. Is it right for me to pay for the teaching of another religion?

In fact, isn’t this the same argument people (Christians?) use against the giving of public tax dollars to Planned Parenthood to perform abortions? Yup. It’s the same argument and people should realize that there is no difference in philosophy between paying for abortions and paying for people to send their kids to private schools – people just don’t want to confront the ugly truth; a large percentage of parents aren’t willing to make more of a commitment to their children’s education than what is found in their local public school. Period. That’s not an excuse for government intervention at any level.

So, look, the bottom line is this – we Republicans are either going to follow the path of limited government like has been embedded in our Platform since its near inception – or we’re going to abandon the idea of Party altogether. Right now – in my opinion – saying I’m a Republican is meaningless. I believe in the Constitution – as written, not as litigated in a court of law – and LIMITED GOVERNMENT. I also believe that any legislator who believes that taking money from citizens by force and then giving it to other taxpayers to fund an activity they could work out for themselves without access to my tax dollars is WRONG. Period. Sadly, this puts me out of sorts with so many people who believe themselves to be Republican – but that’s a problem for ALL Oklahomans – not just me.

January 28, 2025 1

New Feature: Weekly News Headlines And Commentary – Week of 12.30.24

Every week for our newsletter, I compile a list of news articles and add a bit of commentary. Because I just need another thing to do in the week, I’m going to begin posting those here on the website as well. Hopefully, this posting will make it easier for readers to share!

PS: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Are state report cards too good to be true?

KTUL Tulsa – A really good story about how Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters has allowed school report cards to be changed to show students performing MUCH better than they are in reality. This is truly awful and yet, not only has it happened, but even after the public has been notified, nothing appears to be in the works to restore transparency and solve the problem.

The New House Committee System of Consolidated Power: A Death Blow To Real Wind Turbine Reform?

Jason Murphey – Recently, our new speaker-elect, Kyle Hilbert, chose to make sweeping changes in the way committees in the House are constructed. Murphey explains the problem with the new system – basically that the people will be locked out (which is what Representative Tom Gann warned when he ran against him for Speaker). Please read and share.

Gann Proposes Sweeping Reforms To Restore Transparency To House Of Representatives

Oklahoma House Media – Tom Gann essentially explains what he would have done if he were speaker and what SHOULD be done now that speaker-elect Hilbert will take the reins of the House (unless there is a mutiny and the House members turn on Hilbert and vote for Gann – I suggest we all get on our knees and pray for that outcome). Again, please read and share. Knowledge can translate to power if it is used correctly.

Oklahoma To Obtain Drone Monitoring Systems After Mysterious Sightings In Other States

Oklahoma Voice – From the article: “Drones and unmanned aerial systems are an exciting new industry here in Oklahoma,” Stitt said. “We want to make sure that industry has room to thrive.”

Because the technology is new, the state doesn’t have all the measures in place to ensure protection from those who wish to cause harm, Stitt said.

“The activity happening in New Jersey and across the country is unsettling,” Tipton said in a statement. “While we’ve only had a few reports of drone activity in Oklahoma, we want to be ready in case the need arises.”

If you don’t see how absolutely RIDICULOUS the nonsense in yellow is, I’m not sure what to do to help you. Drones are absolutely the WORST for breaching personal liberty/privacy and here is our Governor using unknown tax dollars for unknown surveillance purposes. FILE UNDER REALLY BAD FOR OKLAHOMAN’S PERSONAL LIBERTY AND PRIVACY.

‘Godfather of AI’ Geoffrey Hinton Warns of Existential Threat to Humanity Within A Decade

Breitbart – If you’ve not seen the movie Terminator (and if you haven’t, where have you been?) you’ll not really understand the horror AI can become. Once Skynet became aware, it declared war on humanity, creating robots with titanium skeletons covered in human skin, to seek out and destroy any humans who had survived the nuclear war it started to remove them from the earth.

I get it. It was a movie. But I would like to draw attention to one thing – a person actually – George Orwell. If Orwell could so accurately predict the hell of authoritarian government that today we’re able to describe many government programs as ‘Orwellian’, let’s not be so quick to overlook Cameron and Gayle Hurd’s tale of computer programming gone awry.

Not only that, but AI is a HUGE energy hog and will require “even more energy than we thought“. Where will that come from? Wind turbines? Solar installations? Toxic lithium batteries? Oklahoma legislators must get a handle on this NOW and we must make sure they do.

Osage Tribe Wins Again, Federal Judge Orders “Ejectment” Of 84 Wind Turbines By Next December

Robert Bryce; Substack – While this is certainly a win for the Osage tribe, who have been fighting this fight for years apparently, this is also a spectacular win against WIND ENERGY if for no other reason than this; Enel (the Italian wind energy company responsible for the turbines) has said it will take 300 million dollars to remove 84 turbines. That’s 3.6 million dollars per turbine.

Now think…you are a landowner who signs a contract for a wind turbine on your property. Are you going to be required to come up with 3.6 million dollars to remove that turbine once it’s broken beyond repair? Food for thought, huh?r

Blue Whale Materials Bartlesville expansion moving forward

FOX 23 News – So THIS is why Governor Stitt was in South Korea recently – to sign yet ANOTHER OUT OF STATE company to come here. So glad Oklahoma is “open for business”, Governor Stitt. Thanks to the dispersal of MORE tax dollars to new, private businesses – this time by the DOE in the amount of 100 million dollars – Blue Whale Materials can come into Bartlesville and recycle lithium batteries. Lithium is toxic to humans and the environment and has been the cause of numerous fires from solar installations to airplanes. Why do we keep chasing the GREEN AGENDA and putting Oklahomans at risk? I’m gonna guess dollars, because Blue Whale is – at best – only going to employ 100 people. But then, isn’t that what Canoo said, only to leave Oklahoma high and dry on every one of its promises?

What Homeschoolers Need To Know About the “Make Homeschool Safe Act”

HSLDA – Representative Amanda Swope and former Representative Joe Dorman of the Oklahoma Institute For Child Advocacy (I won’t help them out by providing a link to their organization), spent an entire interim study warning legislators about the hidden dangers of homeschooling, more than likely in preparation for legislation to curtail the practice in order to ‘make Oklahoma children safe’. Of course this is nonsense. Oklahoma is the only state in the union that promises unfettered homeschooling by way of its constitution and if you don’t believe me, visit our friends at the Constitutional Home Educators Alliance. Homeschoolers aren’t the ones in the news on a continual basis facing allegations of sexual – and other – misconduct with students. We need to watch out for this kind of legislation that would stifle the liberty Oklahoma homeschool students are famous for. Amanda Swope has since left the legislature, but OICA will not rest until the practice of schooling our own children has been hamstrung in the name of…wait for it…’safety’. Please continue to follow us for updates.

Recent Studies Freeze Climate Alarmist Claims

PJ Media – Just another reason why Governor Stitt should abandon his whole, “more of everything” approach to energy in Oklahoma. CO2 is good. Climate changes on a regular basis. End of discussion.

Seifried files bill empowering schools to adopt ‘bell to bell’ cell phone policies

Oklahoma Senate Media – Legislators to anyone asking them for public school legislation that would stop Common Core, or SEL, “We believe in LOCAL CONTROL. That’s for the school board to decide.” Oh, okay, WELL WHAT ABOUT THIS THEN? Massive overreach. Individual school boards should decide cell phone policy. What a giant bunch of baloney! Let’s make sure to tell Ms. Seifried that school boards decide school policy and that she should quit meddling in school board business.

December 31, 2024 0

Homeschoolers Want End To Educational Tax Credit

Long-time homeschoolers Jana Belcher of Oklahoma Constitutional Home Educators Alliance and homeschool dad, Robert Scott, joined Michael and I to talk about homeschooling in Oklahoma.

In the clip below, our guests tell us what homeschooling is and why it’s important for children and families.

As we said numerous times during the podcast – what the government funds, the government will control and that alone is why many homeschooling families want lawmakers to remove homeschoolers from the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit passed this last session.

In the clip below, Jana and Robert talk about why this tax credit is so harmful to the freedom homeschooling families in Oklahoma enjoy now and have enjoyed since statehood – a greater level of freedom, in fact, than most, if not all states.

For those of you interested in helping Oklahoma homeschoolers get out of the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit, if you would like to sign a petition that will be taken and presented to lawmakers next session, please reach out to Andrea Scott on Facebook. The petition has to be signed in person, so she – or another volunteer – will have to meet you to sign it.

You can also visit the Oklahoma Coalition To Protect Constitutional Homeschooling on Facebook as well. There, you can get more information on this effort and get plugged into the community of homeschoolers who want to protect Oklahoma’s history of ZERO regulation for Oklahoma homeschoolers.

November 13, 2024 0

Home Education Bills Oklahomans Need To STOP NOW.

Jenni White 2.11.24

Last week, we had our friends Jana Belcher and Carrie Bertrand from the Constitutional Home Educators Alliance, to talk about some REALLY HORRIBLE bills that have been filed which would adversely effect home education here in Oklahoma.

Below are a couple of video clips from that interview, with captions so that you know what was discussed in each. Bottom line, you may or may not homeschool, but homeschooling in Oklahoma is the freest form of education not only in our own state, but in much of the country as well. If Oklahoma homeschool freedom goes – individual freedom will eventually go too as we’re all funneled into government schools.

If you want to read about each bill after you watch the videos, you can find all the information on the CHEA website here.

See what bills CHEA opposes and how to find them on their website. Also, don’t forget the Legislative Impact Day at the State Capitol, Monday, February 12th.

Legislators need to protect the rights of ALL Oklahomans – including homeschoolers! Tyranny for homeschoolers can become tyranny for everyone…

February 11, 2024 0

Swope’s Swoop: An Oklahoma Legislator’s Attempt to Make Homeschoolers into Children of the State

Guest Post By Ann Kerr

swoo͞p: v. 1. To make a rush or an attack with a sudden sweeping movement. 2. To seize or snatch in a sudden sweeping movement.

So long homeschooling parents! We don’t need you anymore. You do not know what is best for your kids, and we are going to tell you what is best. Until further notice, all of your children’s future will rest with the State. If you still want to try to direct their education and act as their parent – EVEN though the State knows best – then you can put in a request. We promise not to send it to File 13. We will look it over, look you over, look all of your children’s various teachers over and then we might look a little more deeply. We really want to get to know you before we would allow you to teach your own kids.

We want a file on you.

If this seems a little onerous…well…you know, you don’t really have to go through this. We have some other options already in place, and we will even pay you to use them. We have those old-fashioned brick and mortar learning centers (or the more recent version – [sheet metal and bolts), we have those more modern public (charter) schools that are not bound by local school boards, which many people believe are actually for homeschoolers, (eh, eh) and now we even have private schools under our wings. Our money is flooding their pockets – and you know what that means. (Or, at least you should.)

We want total control of your children. If you won’t give it to us, we will take it.

This is the power that is hoisted by House Bill 4130, filed by Representative Amanda Swope, Democrat, District 71.

Here are some of the tidbits in the Swoop.

Rep. Swope is classifying all homeschooling children as deprived or potentially deprived children, simply by injecting her proposal into a bill filed to amend the law regarding “Children and the Juvenile Code.” More specifically, right in the middle of a lot of definitions regarding child neglect and abuse, Rep. Swope plops in some terms to define pod schools and microschool, which completely ignore Oklahoma Constitutional law and contradict the definition of students learning “by other means.”
To make this clear, Rep. Swope takes Oklahoma’s Constitutional Right to educate “by other means,” changes it name and puts it in a child abuse and neglect law. This is a sudden and significant departure from the rule of law and from parental rights in Oklahoma.
Even more staggering is Rep. Swope’s next move to re-write the Juvenile Code section regarding records for deprived children. In an added section, Rep. Swope, evidently hopes to pass the following and make it the law of the land in Oklahoma:
- Require parents to submit a letter of intent to the Department of Human Services in Oklahoma in order to homeschool, pod school or micro school per the new, added definitions.
- Require parents to give not only names, but also Social Security numbers, children’s names, addresses, everyone else who lives in the home, everyone who might teach the children, and a statement regarding homeschooling.
- Require parents to submit subsequent letters of intent with any change of schooling.
- Require parents to submit to criminal background checks.
- Require others in the home to submit to criminal background checks.
- Require anyone else associated with the child’s schooling to submit to background checks and, guess where all of the information from this gross invasion of your privacy and your family goes? Rep. Swope has it covered. It will not go missing.

Rep. Swope proposes that the government be required to compile a Database of individuals, facilities and organizations that perform or assist with homeschooling, pod schooling, or microschooling.

That’s you, homeschool parents.

Rep. Swope wants all of the information on you. Meanwhile, it will just sit in an encased, secure database preserved for posterity with your beautiful signature on it, or will it? If you learned your history, you will remember that more than one country has decided that its Uncle Sam or variation thereof is better enabled to raise children than the parents.

And, what has happened, as a result?

Children were cut off from families. Children were cut off from religious training. Parents were denied any rights to raise their children according to their values.

These results are hallmarks of a communist society.

As Karl Marx and Engel’s said in the Communist Manifesto –

Communists: “Abolition of the family! …
Citizens: But, …[communists] destroy the most hallowed of relations, when we replace home education by social [education].
Communists: “The…clap-trap about the family and education, about the hallowed co-relation of parents and child, … [is] all…disgusting…”

And, so is Rep. Swope’s swoop.

February 4, 2024 0

Tag

homeschool

Panasonic to delay production at Kansas battery plant as electric car sales decline, policies shift – Oklahoma had tried to land this plant, offering nearly $700M in incentives.

State board calls for investigative audit of Epic Charter School – Mismanaged budget resulted in mass layoffs at Epic, state officials say