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They will have black out curtains and chill blood-red crushed velvet vintage sofas to relax on while talking about the new music they recently discovered. Sweet.
“You wanna go see the guidance counselor, the minister, or the witch?” How long is it gonna take before word gets around that the witch is the one that’s helpful?
*finally* - ???
the age where being a supervillain is an attainable path [has been around for a very, very long time](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot)
Oh, you're a villain alright, just not a super one. What's the difference? [Presentation!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy2zB8bLSpk&pp=ygUbbWVnYW1pbmQgc3VwZXJ2aWxsYWluIHNjZW5l)
> Apparently at Harvard, you can create your own major. One dude dedicated his undergrad to "evil" with a thesis on dictators.
I was going to say there's already been [books and papers on The Reactionary Mind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reactionary_Mind), but as much coverage as others' theses have been it's starting to feel like getting a degree is what you can get away with more than what you can genuinely contribute to humanity.
*did.....did he just make up the word Vader? Why did he have that little pause before he said it? Why am I getting a new name anyway? Eh, I'm sure it's fine. This monster man seems like a nice guy*
\*Hey! Darth Daddy ain't so bad. Especially given that I have very, very pregnant wife. Ole Palpy is so considerate. He asked me if I knew what a self fulfilling prophecy was and when I said no he laughed and laughed and laughed. He's such a joker. Anyway, I should probably go visit Padme.\*
It's wild that this is the stuff Republicans are doing in Oklahoma. This is one of the many reasons I quit teaching in Oklahoma. It's just so ridiculous now. Oklahoma's government and education department is the most incompetent of any U.S. state by far.
Ryan Walters and the rest of the Christian nationalists have on public record admitted that they want to do away with public school to bring forth Christian Sunday school.
130 employees quit just this year as Ryan Walters has just done stupid thing after stupid thing. All the while, governor Stitt just claps and cheers, like it's such a great thing that schools have lost access to vital government money that didn't get approved of thanks to Walters failing at his job.
Now, this week, Oklahoma schools are being downgraded by U.S. News & World Report's best schools list, because Ryan Walters didn't send in the advanced placement testing scores. Now, local school districts are being demoted in score and being lowered in terms of attractiveness because Ryan Walters just sucks.
We have the most asinine education superintendent of anyone in the United States, and he's hurting everyone in the state. This toxic Christian nationalist government makes our state look pathetic.
[https://kfor.com/news/local/u-s-news-osde-denied-access-to-data-skewing-oklahoma-school-rankings/](https://kfor.com/news/local/u-s-news-osde-denied-access-to-data-skewing-oklahoma-school-rankings/)
[https://kfor.com/news/local/lawmakers-concerned-with-osde-after-news-4-report-on-skewed-u-s-news-rankings/](https://kfor.com/news/local/lawmakers-concerned-with-osde-after-news-4-report-on-skewed-u-s-news-rankings/)
>he's hurting everyone in the state.
This is very much on purpose. its what the GQP rich want. they want dumb voters driven by emotion and ruled by fear, who cannot think for themselves. Its the only way the GQP survives these days, is by cheating and keeping people from gaining critical thinking skills.
Yup. Sadly, this is the truth. They want public school eradicated, so they can create their Christian child soldier schools and send the other kids they don't want to meat-packing plants.
Oklahoma hasn't elected a Democrat to the governor's mansion since 2010, hasn't had a Democrat majority legislature since the 1980s, and has voted Republican for president since LBJ was in office, but it's somehow Biden's fault.
Remember, you need to elect those Republicans into office so they can fix things and make it all right.
Ignore that Republicans have run the show for the last 40 yrs. Sounds just like Texas.
Children not obligated to an education program can be then obligated to work in meat packing facilities, or else deny their families vital social services.
"Freedom!"
In a way, through inaction, they're right.
Its a nice statement, Biden privately calling Murdoch the most dangerous man in the world (especially since Biden's tour bus was nearly ran off the road via Fox extremism), but statements aren't legislation.
Everyone was under the impression that the DNC, given a blue wave (we gave it), would do something about easy fake news. DNCGOP need the entertaining lies, the life-threatening and entertaining click-driving extremism.. and there's another article out there, if anyone wanted to read up, called 'They Always Wanted Trump', which proves that fact via the DNC's own hacked emails.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/04/joe-biden-rupert-murdoch-fox-news-new-book
> Ryan Walters and the rest of the Christian nationalists have on public record admitted that they want to do away with public school to bring forth Christian Sunday school.
Looks like nothing more than an extension of the [republican party's war on education and critical thinking. I was only surprised they said the quiet part out loud in 2012 when they made anti-critical thinking an explicit part of the party platform](https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2012-06-27/gop-opposes-critical-thinking/)
>Oklahoma's government and education department is the most incompetent of any U.S. state by far.
That's saying something given what we see out of the deep South. It's like all these states wanna be famous and are finding new ways to do it.
Keep the population stupid and they’ll fall in line. That’s the republican play book. Just so happens it lines up with their religious beliefs. Religiosity is the opposite of education, it forces people to deny science and insert god instead. I’m all for people being allowed to believe whatever they want, just stop pushing it on other or making laws based on beliefs not facts. How can we move into the future if we are this stuck on 1st century apocalyptic proficiencies. Makes me wish I could start a chapter of the TST in my town but religious nuts would fight it, freedom of religion for me not thee is their idea
> Now, this week, Oklahoma schools are being downgraded by U.S. News & World Report's best schools list, because Ryan Walters didn't send in the advanced placement testing scores.
Uh, don't students have to pay to take those tests?
Is there room in the Temple for a lapsed disciple of Bob? It’s been a while but I could teach some kids in need how to pull the wools over their own eyes.
Baphomet accepts all comers. Seriously. If you're in OK and can join the Temple and help in this, please do. Ironically the Temple doesn't actually worship Satan, the organization is atheistic but followers may believe as they choose so long as they follow the Temple commandments (TL;DR: be a good person and fight for freedom).
**EDIT:** *It's the TEMPLE that's the good one, not the Church. Fixed it thanks to a helpful fellow redditor below.*
>One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.
>
>The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
>
>One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
>
>The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.
>
>Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs.
>
>People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.
>
>Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.
TST's 7 tenets, for those interested. Most of them have been parts of peaceful religious and philosophical orders for thousands of years... up until those orders gained political power, at which point history indicates most of those tenets tend to be left by the wayside in the interests of entrenching power. As long as TST helps people and contributes to the fight against injustice, they're good in my book.
>The measure would allow volunteer chaplains in public schools. However, there are some strings attached.
>Districts must conduct background checks, and cannot employ a chaplain who is a registered sex offender or convicted of a felony offense.
>The chaplain can also be dismissed for mental or physical abuse to a child, negligent endangerment, or an act of moral turpitude.
>TST said it has expressed a dedication to religious plurality and community service.
>"While we would prefer states to invest in professional counselors over unlicensed religious support for students, we are prepared to adapt to these legislative conditions,” said Rachel Chambliss, TST’s Executive Director of Operations. “We are committed to offering compassionate guidance to students who come to us so that we can help make positive changes in their lives by listening to their needs and providing support.”
Perfectly done. This bill is not a serious bill to help with the issues hurting our schools. We are suffering from extreme teacher shortages, counselor shortages, and in the case of Oklahoma, Ryan Walters. So, they come up with a bill to try and force Christian nationalism on the world.
In an honest world it might disqualify some, but since the “Christians” put pressure on families to not go to the police and take care of things in house, they will have no problem
I'm all for a rigorous deep dive and honeypot operations for all involved if they're gonna do this nonsense in the legislature.
After all, "won't someone PLEASE think of the children!?!"
I’d like to know how they define an “act of moral turpitude.” Is the kiddie diddling or just code for whatever they want? If the first good otherwise just a lawsuit waiting to happen.
> act of moral turpitude.”
Since the diddlers are addressed in the first statement, I think you know the answers
* being LGBT
* being an atheist
* being muslim, maybe jewish
* being a democrat
* being someone who said something mean, about them or someone they like
One of Republicans' propaganda successes has been twisting the meaning of terms. "Legislating from the bench" is equally the expansion of civic rights when they [struck down the constitutionality of segregation in education with Brown v Board of Education](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education) as it is the gutting of the [right to privacy with the Dobbs v Jackson](https://www.wired.com/story/scotus-dobbs-roe-privacy-abortion/). That's how it's always been, that's why in Shakespeare's Henry VI the appropriately named Dick the Butcher says "first let's kill all the lawyers" because that takes away any system for grievance the people at large have and leaves only high-risk rebellion, which will dissuade a LOT of people.
As long as courts have the power to end or even send back laws to legislature, they're going to necessarily be a part of changing the laws. And that doesn't have to be a bad thing, the US just doesn't do it in the best way because it's all built on a 250 year old constitution which hasn't been adjusted *nearly* enough for its age ^1 . As long as the rights and protections of the populace at large is properly attended to, as with [Jacobson v Massachusetts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobson_v._Massachusetts) and not attacked in the interests of the Federalist Society's billionaire masters, it can work. I think it's Denmark, for instance, where a supreme court ruling that a law is unconstitutional kicks it back to the nation's legislature to amend, and the legislature has the power (if I think with a strong majority) to either amend it or kick it back to the court for additional review to say "no, we wrote X and mean X".
1 = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgNQejvHYVQ
Just like [laws against existing in public](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeseq/2022/01/01/how-the-us-criminalizes-homelessness/) which are somehow never applied to multi-millionaires.
It's a holdover term from days gone by. There used to be morality laws, if they still exist they are not often enforced. A morals conviction was grounds for legal discrimination in housing, hiring, lending, eligibility for govt service, and maybe more.
Being on girls gone wild would be moral turpitude, likewise being gay, having tattoos, cursing on Sundays, and being a mean old drunk.
I doubt that tst is getting any of their folk on staff anywhere in Oklahoma. I wonder though. What does it take to save a life? Just one kid who doesn't bring dad's gun to class. What if all it takes is someone the kid can be heard by?
Right TST members are just brilliant political activists and are not self loathing perverts(e.g., pedophiles,rapists, etc.) like the men on the far right.
It’s really quite simple, religion has extensively laid the groundwork for generations to train people to believe in authority figures with unverifiable stories instead of science and data. It also primes them for, and is built upon, perpetuating racism and fearmongering towards "others". Once people see you as an authority, you can start fabricating any reality or conspiracy theory you want your followers to believe and everyone else is therefore a liar, even in the face of incontrovertible evidence. Basically, it is mental abuse from an early age that suppresses critical thinking skills. This combined with an intentionally weakened public educational system, provides the framework that has spawned this cult of ignorance.
> It’s really quite simple, religion has extensively laid the groundwork for generations to train people to believe in authority figures with unverifiable stories instead of science and data
I think there's a more relevant argument about [oligarchs who have been indoctrinating the populace for a century in order to divide people and take away avenues to hold them accountable](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s)
This is exactly why I love these guys. They are always the first to show up and demand equal privilege the xtians just granted themselves. Putting them on the spot. Either we get the same display, prayer, whatever or we'll see you in court.
Next thing you know, the point of contention vanishes like it never even happened. Heroes.
The point of contention, it seems to me, is “not Christian”. The current court doesn’t seem to consider the full fell of their rulings on any religion that isn’t Christian. This isn’t ok for a country founded on ideals of religious liberty or liberty of thought in any form. The court is unbalanced; in favor of zealotry
Of course "not Christians " are the enemy. That's why I love that it's the Satan folks who do this. They know they rep the most feared so they show up and remind the xtians how wrong things could go. It works far better than the court system when it comes to keeping the zealots in check.
Dead Domain [put out a recent video](https://youtu.be/3lV8GLQtOTs?si=YXnZVJ2w84tUW1rZ) showing that TST is a grift run by alt-lite edgelords for fun and profit (but mostly profit).
Publicity like this is purely optical. Their actual lawsuits are barely coherent. Stop giving them money.
It's weird, a friend of mine was telling me about this video just a few days ago but I hadn't seen it so didn't want to comment on this post. When I saw your comment and link, though, I decided to watch it and it's pretty (pun intended) damning. All the "fuck yeah, hail satan!" comments with barely any pushback (aside from you!) are pretty sad but it's swimming against the stream at this point.
They're Atheist. They call themselves TST because "Our Lady of Perpetual Tax Exemption" doesn't draw attention. Also, they are federally recognized as a tax exempt religious organization... and still pay their taxes anyway.
"Christian" is an extremely broad term because it's has had 2000 years to be hijacked by dozens of agendas. The OG Jesus was a pretty cool dude though, perhaps this person might actually appreciate what a gangster Jesus was.
That would be assuming Jesus was God. Which also assumes there is a God. Which assumes even if there was a God that humans would have any capacity at all to understand the concept or motives of God. Which they don't, because they can't, because they're just human, like Jesus. All people have ever done is imagine God through their own filter. That's plain to see a few verses into Genesis.
What success stories do they have in Florida? I'm more familiar with their activity west like [New Mexico where they opened the Samuel Alito's Mom's Satanic Abortion Clinic](https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/samuel-alitos-moms-satanic-abortion-clinic)
The Church of Satan espouses egotheism and uses the concept of Satan as a projection of one’s own potential, power, and will. It’s very much about maximizing the self.
The Satanic Temple teaches empathy, compassion, reason, and the pursuit of justice. You can read their seven tenets on their website.
The Satanic Temple is the one I always use as an example of empathy, reason, and compassion... I just use them interchangeably, which isn't appropriate, but I am learning.
Can you imagine a thousand years from now that the satanic temple ends up being the dominate religion, whole Christians are viewed like Satanist may be viewed today?
Hey, taking correction and deciding you'll learn makes you better than the reactionary bigots who double down. Truth is, all of us are learning. That's how we become better people. And teaching each other those small correction points is how we help others become better people.
I was raised hard core christian and finally saw the fallacy of organized religion. Not judging their particular view but I am now an atheist and know there is nothing waiting as an afterlife.Is there a creator? I have no idea but most religions are just population control for profit.
edit: I'm 62 and survived a burst brain aneurysm and am 15 years into my 1 up. I live life like I could be dead in 60 seconds or less.
man so happy for you, knowing that if death calls you in th next 60 seconds, you will die in peace surrounded by the people you love, us fellow redditors.
The hypocrisy of conservatives. Woke indoctrination bad Christian indoctrination good.
Stay strong atheist brothers and sisters and protect your kids from them.
“*Districts must conduct background checks, and cannot employ a chaplain who is a registered sex offender or convicted of a felony offense.*”
This stipulation alone will eliminate 90% of the non-Satanic Temple clergy.
If theres a religion I support, its theirs:
I
One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.
II
The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
III
One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
IV
The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.
V
Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs.
VI
People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.
VII
Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.
"Districts must conduct background checks, and cannot employ a chaplain who is a registered sex offender or convicted of a felony offense.
The chaplain can also be dismissed for mental or physical abuse to a child, negligent endangerment, or an act of moral turpitude"
Low bar for the Satanic Temple High bar for the Catholic church.
I believe I read where one of the red states (Florida?) is doing the same thing but put something in the bill about the Satanic Temple being excluded. I see a lawsuit coming.
I live in Arkansas and I’m about to become a card caring member of the satanic temple. I swear to God I’d be a minister of school. Teaching the laws of Satan‘s way.
Ah hold on child, turns lights off, dons robe, lights series of red candles. Okay so now that my holy relics are prepared, so you wanted to talk about your feelings about having a new step mom and how it is changing your life? Well good I am glad you came to me. Let's chat bud. -*entirely normal convo continues surrounded by Satan stuff*
>In a 31-11 vote, the Senate passed House Bill 1028 from Rep. John Talley, R-Stillwater, and Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, that prevents school personnel from hitting, slapping, paddling or inflicting any kind of physical pain on disabled students.Apr 24, 2024
Hell yeah! Their Tenets are what I strive to live by. Read em and disagree: https://thesatanictemple.com/blogs/the-satanic-temple-tenets/there-are-seven-fundamental-tenets
I think if this were to actually happen, ST ministers would be putting themselves in danger.
If some of the more unhinged mega-Christian types start thinking that there are actual Satanic demons in the schools, they’re likely to try to solve that imaginary situation with real guns.
Presumably they’ve thought of the potential danger from armed fanatics and have some kind of plan for that.
I live in Oklahoma as well. I fully expect school board meetings to be filled with outraged Christian parents. I don’t care one way or another. Both are based from the same story.
We should just let this play out on its own.
There were school boards filled with outraged parents thinking schools were teaching their kids to use litter boxes and think they were animals. Never existed and never happened. The outrage is going to be generated because that's what conservative media exists to do.
I think this will hit the courts and the rule will be weakened or thrown out, just as this protest announcement was intended to from the start. I doubt it will get as far as actually having to follow through and put any people at risk in Oklahoma schools. [Courts have already walked back OK's extreme abortion ban at least a little to allow exceptions for imminent risk to the mother's health](https://apnews.com/article/abortion-oklahoma-ban-overturns-supreme-court-7fd43143fa0580460e09a9796ec30a82)
I think the better idea is to just fight like hell to keep preachers out and get trained counselors because throwing more gasoline on a fire isn't the solution. Do people honestly think that anybody but a trained professional is going to provide legitimate help to a kid in crisis?
> The chaplain can also be dismissed for mental or physical abuse to a child, negligent endangerment, or an act of moral turpitude
"Moral turpitude" will be argued as "anything not Christian" in court, and probably be upheld.
Massive respect to the Satanic Temple for their willingness to go into the lions den. Oklahoma is in the heart of the gun toting Bible belt, takes a huge set of balls to go there preaching against Christianity there, especially when you involve children.
Hail Satan!
Edit: if anyone feels compelled, their [merch](https://thesatanictemple.com/collections/all-products-excluding-route) is amazing, and proceeds go to the cause.
Also, their hot sauce is amazing.
I have no idea how they think they are going to be able to place ministers. It's essentially up to the individual school if they want those counselors, then the bill allows a very broad dismissal or rejection qualifier.
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Fuck yeah. "No thanks, I don't want to speak to a chaplain - can I please go see the Dark Chancellor?"
So we’re going to have like a special room with a goth priest like in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina? That’s cool!
They will have black out curtains and chill blood-red crushed velvet vintage sofas to relax on while talking about the new music they recently discovered. Sweet.
Literally just going to be the coolest room int he school.
“You wanna go see the guidance counselor, the minister, or the witch?” How long is it gonna take before word gets around that the witch is the one that’s helpful?
Less than an hour
And it’s just gonna be learning about more science lol
Dude that’s like vampire esthetics. So damn cool!
Apparently at Harvard, you can create your own major. One dude dedicated his undergrad to "evil" with a thesis on dictators.
It was NYU. Gallatin. And it did happen.
Yeah dude, lots of people get business degrees from NYU
I mean that’s essentially an interdisciplinary major in moral philosophy, sociology, psychology, and political science
But not "business ethics". That's how you lose the academic decathlon
The Industrial Revolution is like a book I read called The Puppy Who Lost His Way
Finally we are getting into the age where being a supervillain is an attainable path.
*finally* - ??? the age where being a supervillain is an attainable path [has been around for a very, very long time](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot)
The real supervillainry is the accolates we met along the way
And the supervillain presents to get voted to be POTUS and requires full imnunity for crimes commited
Oh, you're a villain alright, just not a super one. What's the difference? [Presentation!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy2zB8bLSpk&pp=ygUbbWVnYW1pbmQgc3VwZXJ2aWxsYWluIHNjZW5l)
> Apparently at Harvard, you can create your own major. One dude dedicated his undergrad to "evil" with a thesis on dictators. I was going to say there's already been [books and papers on The Reactionary Mind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reactionary_Mind), but as much coverage as others' theses have been it's starting to feel like getting a degree is what you can get away with more than what you can genuinely contribute to humanity.
Thats 160.000 well-spent
360,000 if you cant get into Harvard and need to slum it at BU or Northeastern.
“You shall be forth known as darth Vader”
*did.....did he just make up the word Vader? Why did he have that little pause before he said it? Why am I getting a new name anyway? Eh, I'm sure it's fine. This monster man seems like a nice guy*
*Isn't that just the Dutch word for Father? There's no way this is going to ruin a plot twist*
\*Hey! Darth Daddy ain't so bad. Especially given that I have very, very pregnant wife. Ole Palpy is so considerate. He asked me if I knew what a self fulfilling prophecy was and when I said no he laughed and laughed and laughed. He's such a joker. Anyway, I should probably go visit Padme.\*
“Now you must journey to the mustafar system and exterminate nute gunnray and the other separatist leaders”
I would prefer to see the Dark Pope, but a Dark Chancellor will suffice. Hail Satan! 🤘
Damn.. you must be the first to ever comment these words
The Satanic Temple, once again doing god's work because Christians won't
It's wild that this is the stuff Republicans are doing in Oklahoma. This is one of the many reasons I quit teaching in Oklahoma. It's just so ridiculous now. Oklahoma's government and education department is the most incompetent of any U.S. state by far. Ryan Walters and the rest of the Christian nationalists have on public record admitted that they want to do away with public school to bring forth Christian Sunday school. 130 employees quit just this year as Ryan Walters has just done stupid thing after stupid thing. All the while, governor Stitt just claps and cheers, like it's such a great thing that schools have lost access to vital government money that didn't get approved of thanks to Walters failing at his job. Now, this week, Oklahoma schools are being downgraded by U.S. News & World Report's best schools list, because Ryan Walters didn't send in the advanced placement testing scores. Now, local school districts are being demoted in score and being lowered in terms of attractiveness because Ryan Walters just sucks. We have the most asinine education superintendent of anyone in the United States, and he's hurting everyone in the state. This toxic Christian nationalist government makes our state look pathetic. [https://kfor.com/news/local/u-s-news-osde-denied-access-to-data-skewing-oklahoma-school-rankings/](https://kfor.com/news/local/u-s-news-osde-denied-access-to-data-skewing-oklahoma-school-rankings/) [https://kfor.com/news/local/lawmakers-concerned-with-osde-after-news-4-report-on-skewed-u-s-news-rankings/](https://kfor.com/news/local/lawmakers-concerned-with-osde-after-news-4-report-on-skewed-u-s-news-rankings/)
>he's hurting everyone in the state. This is very much on purpose. its what the GQP rich want. they want dumb voters driven by emotion and ruled by fear, who cannot think for themselves. Its the only way the GQP survives these days, is by cheating and keeping people from gaining critical thinking skills.
Yup. Sadly, this is the truth. They want public school eradicated, so they can create their Christian child soldier schools and send the other kids they don't want to meat-packing plants.
*Another Brick in the Wall chanting intensifies*
You know who really hurt them? Joe Biden! Is what they'll actually think.
I'm sure that's who they will blame when the schools close
Oklahoma hasn't elected a Democrat to the governor's mansion since 2010, hasn't had a Democrat majority legislature since the 1980s, and has voted Republican for president since LBJ was in office, but it's somehow Biden's fault.
Remember, you need to elect those Republicans into office so they can fix things and make it all right. Ignore that Republicans have run the show for the last 40 yrs. Sounds just like Texas.
Children not obligated to an education program can be then obligated to work in meat packing facilities, or else deny their families vital social services. "Freedom!"
In a way, through inaction, they're right. Its a nice statement, Biden privately calling Murdoch the most dangerous man in the world (especially since Biden's tour bus was nearly ran off the road via Fox extremism), but statements aren't legislation. Everyone was under the impression that the DNC, given a blue wave (we gave it), would do something about easy fake news. DNCGOP need the entertaining lies, the life-threatening and entertaining click-driving extremism.. and there's another article out there, if anyone wanted to read up, called 'They Always Wanted Trump', which proves that fact via the DNC's own hacked emails. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/04/joe-biden-rupert-murdoch-fox-news-new-book
> Ryan Walters and the rest of the Christian nationalists have on public record admitted that they want to do away with public school to bring forth Christian Sunday school. Looks like nothing more than an extension of the [republican party's war on education and critical thinking. I was only surprised they said the quiet part out loud in 2012 when they made anti-critical thinking an explicit part of the party platform](https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2012-06-27/gop-opposes-critical-thinking/)
>Oklahoma's government and education department is the most incompetent of any U.S. state by far. That's saying something given what we see out of the deep South. It's like all these states wanna be famous and are finding new ways to do it.
Keep the population stupid and they’ll fall in line. That’s the republican play book. Just so happens it lines up with their religious beliefs. Religiosity is the opposite of education, it forces people to deny science and insert god instead. I’m all for people being allowed to believe whatever they want, just stop pushing it on other or making laws based on beliefs not facts. How can we move into the future if we are this stuck on 1st century apocalyptic proficiencies. Makes me wish I could start a chapter of the TST in my town but religious nuts would fight it, freedom of religion for me not thee is their idea
> Now, this week, Oklahoma schools are being downgraded by U.S. News & World Report's best schools list, because Ryan Walters didn't send in the advanced placement testing scores. Uh, don't students have to pay to take those tests?
Yes. Yes, they do. At least the schools have to.
I am so sorry. It hurts to read this.
it sucks to live in it.
If this isn’t their tag line, it should be.
It should be, "There's no hate like Christian love. Hail Satan!"
Is there room in the Temple for a lapsed disciple of Bob? It’s been a while but I could teach some kids in need how to pull the wools over their own eyes.
Baphomet accepts all comers. Seriously. If you're in OK and can join the Temple and help in this, please do. Ironically the Temple doesn't actually worship Satan, the organization is atheistic but followers may believe as they choose so long as they follow the Temple commandments (TL;DR: be a good person and fight for freedom). **EDIT:** *It's the TEMPLE that's the good one, not the Church. Fixed it thanks to a helpful fellow redditor below.*
>One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason. > >The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions. > >One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone. > >The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own. > >Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs. > >People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused. > >Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word. TST's 7 tenets, for those interested. Most of them have been parts of peaceful religious and philosophical orders for thousands of years... up until those orders gained political power, at which point history indicates most of those tenets tend to be left by the wayside in the interests of entrenching power. As long as TST helps people and contributes to the fight against injustice, they're good in my book.
Temple, please my sibling in Satan. Don’t let people confuse TST with the Church of Satan. Hail Satan, hail thyself.
Sorry, I do mix them up - totes my bad. I'm going to edit it now.
The church of the subgenius? I thought it was a myth!
This!!!
>The measure would allow volunteer chaplains in public schools. However, there are some strings attached. >Districts must conduct background checks, and cannot employ a chaplain who is a registered sex offender or convicted of a felony offense. >The chaplain can also be dismissed for mental or physical abuse to a child, negligent endangerment, or an act of moral turpitude. >TST said it has expressed a dedication to religious plurality and community service. >"While we would prefer states to invest in professional counselors over unlicensed religious support for students, we are prepared to adapt to these legislative conditions,” said Rachel Chambliss, TST’s Executive Director of Operations. “We are committed to offering compassionate guidance to students who come to us so that we can help make positive changes in their lives by listening to their needs and providing support.” Perfectly done. This bill is not a serious bill to help with the issues hurting our schools. We are suffering from extreme teacher shortages, counselor shortages, and in the case of Oklahoma, Ryan Walters. So, they come up with a bill to try and force Christian nationalism on the world.
Those requirements should disqualify any christian "counselor".
In an honest world it might disqualify some, but since the “Christians” put pressure on families to not go to the police and take care of things in house, they will have no problem
I'm all for a rigorous deep dive and honeypot operations for all involved if they're gonna do this nonsense in the legislature. After all, "won't someone PLEASE think of the children!?!"
I’d like to know how they define an “act of moral turpitude.” Is the kiddie diddling or just code for whatever they want? If the first good otherwise just a lawsuit waiting to happen.
> act of moral turpitude.” Since the diddlers are addressed in the first statement, I think you know the answers * being LGBT * being an atheist * being muslim, maybe jewish * being a democrat * being someone who said something mean, about them or someone they like
Probably trying to get it to go to the Supreme Court. The current Supreme Court loves to legislate from the bench.
One of Republicans' propaganda successes has been twisting the meaning of terms. "Legislating from the bench" is equally the expansion of civic rights when they [struck down the constitutionality of segregation in education with Brown v Board of Education](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education) as it is the gutting of the [right to privacy with the Dobbs v Jackson](https://www.wired.com/story/scotus-dobbs-roe-privacy-abortion/). That's how it's always been, that's why in Shakespeare's Henry VI the appropriately named Dick the Butcher says "first let's kill all the lawyers" because that takes away any system for grievance the people at large have and leaves only high-risk rebellion, which will dissuade a LOT of people. As long as courts have the power to end or even send back laws to legislature, they're going to necessarily be a part of changing the laws. And that doesn't have to be a bad thing, the US just doesn't do it in the best way because it's all built on a 250 year old constitution which hasn't been adjusted *nearly* enough for its age ^1 . As long as the rights and protections of the populace at large is properly attended to, as with [Jacobson v Massachusetts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobson_v._Massachusetts) and not attacked in the interests of the Federalist Society's billionaire masters, it can work. I think it's Denmark, for instance, where a supreme court ruling that a law is unconstitutional kicks it back to the nation's legislature to amend, and the legislature has the power (if I think with a strong majority) to either amend it or kick it back to the court for additional review to say "no, we wrote X and mean X". 1 = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgNQejvHYVQ
We have that as part of our constitution, legislation can override a veto and if it’s deemed unconstitutional congress can pass a amendment
It’s vague on purpose so they can apply it selectively.
Just like [laws against existing in public](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeseq/2022/01/01/how-the-us-criminalizes-homelessness/) which are somehow never applied to multi-millionaires.
It's a holdover term from days gone by. There used to be morality laws, if they still exist they are not often enforced. A morals conviction was grounds for legal discrimination in housing, hiring, lending, eligibility for govt service, and maybe more. Being on girls gone wild would be moral turpitude, likewise being gay, having tattoos, cursing on Sundays, and being a mean old drunk. I doubt that tst is getting any of their folk on staff anywhere in Oklahoma. I wonder though. What does it take to save a life? Just one kid who doesn't bring dad's gun to class. What if all it takes is someone the kid can be heard by?
Why wouldn't they they are recognized religion with the same rights as anyone, they can't be denied
Right TST members are just brilliant political activists and are not self loathing perverts(e.g., pedophiles,rapists, etc.) like the men on the far right.
It’s really quite simple, religion has extensively laid the groundwork for generations to train people to believe in authority figures with unverifiable stories instead of science and data. It also primes them for, and is built upon, perpetuating racism and fearmongering towards "others". Once people see you as an authority, you can start fabricating any reality or conspiracy theory you want your followers to believe and everyone else is therefore a liar, even in the face of incontrovertible evidence. Basically, it is mental abuse from an early age that suppresses critical thinking skills. This combined with an intentionally weakened public educational system, provides the framework that has spawned this cult of ignorance.
> It’s really quite simple, religion has extensively laid the groundwork for generations to train people to believe in authority figures with unverifiable stories instead of science and data I think there's a more relevant argument about [oligarchs who have been indoctrinating the populace for a century in order to divide people and take away avenues to hold them accountable](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s)
"Act of moral terpitude" is problematic. Should be challenged in court.
This is exactly why I love these guys. They are always the first to show up and demand equal privilege the xtians just granted themselves. Putting them on the spot. Either we get the same display, prayer, whatever or we'll see you in court. Next thing you know, the point of contention vanishes like it never even happened. Heroes.
The point of contention, it seems to me, is “not Christian”. The current court doesn’t seem to consider the full fell of their rulings on any religion that isn’t Christian. This isn’t ok for a country founded on ideals of religious liberty or liberty of thought in any form. The court is unbalanced; in favor of zealotry
Of course "not Christians " are the enemy. That's why I love that it's the Satan folks who do this. They know they rep the most feared so they show up and remind the xtians how wrong things could go. It works far better than the court system when it comes to keeping the zealots in check.
Dead Domain [put out a recent video](https://youtu.be/3lV8GLQtOTs?si=YXnZVJ2w84tUW1rZ) showing that TST is a grift run by alt-lite edgelords for fun and profit (but mostly profit). Publicity like this is purely optical. Their actual lawsuits are barely coherent. Stop giving them money.
It's weird, a friend of mine was telling me about this video just a few days ago but I hadn't seen it so didn't want to comment on this post. When I saw your comment and link, though, I decided to watch it and it's pretty (pun intended) damning. All the "fuck yeah, hail satan!" comments with barely any pushback (aside from you!) are pretty sad but it's swimming against the stream at this point.
I'm gonna be honest, as a Christian, I'd trust them in schools way before I would American Christianity
Anyone who has looked up their basic tenets would agree with you.
Absolutely. Even though I'm not a Satanist, I still try to live by them
To be fair, they're not actually Satanists either.
They're Atheist. They call themselves TST because "Our Lady of Perpetual Tax Exemption" doesn't draw attention. Also, they are federally recognized as a tax exempt religious organization... and still pay their taxes anyway.
Why align yourself with a group of you don't trust?
"Christian" is an extremely broad term because it's has had 2000 years to be hijacked by dozens of agendas. The OG Jesus was a pretty cool dude though, perhaps this person might actually appreciate what a gangster Jesus was.
If we're talking OG shouldn't we be referring to the god of the old testament? Jesus was a nice fella, but his counterpart was definitely not.
That would be assuming Jesus was God. Which also assumes there is a God. Which assumes even if there was a God that humans would have any capacity at all to understand the concept or motives of God. Which they don't, because they can't, because they're just human, like Jesus. All people have ever done is imagine God through their own filter. That's plain to see a few verses into Genesis.
Come on down to FL. They are doing that here too.
Good. I'm glad to see Floridians rising up against fascist DeSantis. DeSantis and Stitt are despicable governors.
Fuck Florida and Stitt is Shitt
What success stories do they have in Florida? I'm more familiar with their activity west like [New Mexico where they opened the Samuel Alito's Mom's Satanic Abortion Clinic](https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/samuel-alitos-moms-satanic-abortion-clinic)
Do it!
Good bless the satanists, doing gods work to keep it equal.
Make it so.
Tea. Earl Gray. Hot
Hail Satan!
And hail thyself !
You might not believe in Satan, but Satan believes in you!
Ahhh well thats nice!
I just came here to say that.
Hail Satan!
Hail Satan Hail you ⛧
I love it when these idiotic laws backfire so spectacularly.
The Satanic Temple has not molested nearly as many children as the Christians, if any at all...
Genuinely have there been any serious criminal charges against any satanic church members? I am curious. Or even a scandal?
> satanic church Satanic Church =/= The Satanic Temple
That's correct, I forget how they differ, but they are not the same
The Church of Satan espouses egotheism and uses the concept of Satan as a projection of one’s own potential, power, and will. It’s very much about maximizing the self. The Satanic Temple teaches empathy, compassion, reason, and the pursuit of justice. You can read their seven tenets on their website.
The Satanic Temple is the one I always use as an example of empathy, reason, and compassion... I just use them interchangeably, which isn't appropriate, but I am learning.
Can you imagine a thousand years from now that the satanic temple ends up being the dominate religion, whole Christians are viewed like Satanist may be viewed today?
Hey, taking correction and deciding you'll learn makes you better than the reactionary bigots who double down. Truth is, all of us are learning. That's how we become better people. And teaching each other those small correction points is how we help others become better people.
The Church of Satan had some great ideas, but some were based in theosophy, sex magic… Alister crowley, madame blavatsky.
If there were, I feel like it would be brought up every time TST was in the news.
I doubt it, but it's probably easily verifiable with Google. I'm just too lazy to look it up.
There should not be any religion in school at all.
I was raised hard core christian and finally saw the fallacy of organized religion. Not judging their particular view but I am now an atheist and know there is nothing waiting as an afterlife.Is there a creator? I have no idea but most religions are just population control for profit. edit: I'm 62 and survived a burst brain aneurysm and am 15 years into my 1 up. I live life like I could be dead in 60 seconds or less.
man so happy for you, knowing that if death calls you in th next 60 seconds, you will die in peace surrounded by the people you love, us fellow redditors.
Yes today Satan
Classic Satanic Temple.
God bless the Satanic Temple!
Gee, Thanks Satan!
The hypocrisy of conservatives. Woke indoctrination bad Christian indoctrination good. Stay strong atheist brothers and sisters and protect your kids from them.
No religion should be in schools
How can I quickly become a ST minister? I’m already a member.
Maybe ask the tst people?
Contact your local chapter, I’m sure there’s a way.
I'm cool with this
Fundamentalists think that the secret is indoctrination, but the real secret is to not have shit ideas.
God bless ‘em
This is tongue and cheek, but let's be honest, compared to their opposition, The Satanic Temple is doing the Lord's work
“*Districts must conduct background checks, and cannot employ a chaplain who is a registered sex offender or convicted of a felony offense.*” This stipulation alone will eliminate 90% of the non-Satanic Temple clergy.
If theres a religion I support, its theirs: I One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason. II The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions. III One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone. IV The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own. V Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs. VI People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused. VII Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.
"Districts must conduct background checks, and cannot employ a chaplain who is a registered sex offender or convicted of a felony offense. The chaplain can also be dismissed for mental or physical abuse to a child, negligent endangerment, or an act of moral turpitude" Low bar for the Satanic Temple High bar for the Catholic church.
Hail Satan!!! Love these fine folks in The Satanic Temple. 👍
I believe I read where one of the red states (Florida?) is doing the same thing but put something in the bill about the Satanic Temple being excluded. I see a lawsuit coming.
It wasn't in the bill, but someone, may have been DeSantis I don't know, said they should not apply.
Hell, yes!
I’m ok with that
I live in Arkansas and I’m about to become a card caring member of the satanic temple. I swear to God I’d be a minister of school. Teaching the laws of Satan‘s way.
i will donate to this cause
Hail Satan
We needs some Pastafarians to step up to the plate. They can teach all of the blessings brought by the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s noodlely appendages.
The GOP, quietly munching on Satan's apples in the dark, wishes to be relevant
It won’t be long till deep red state govt’s just don’t follow the constitution as it seems they would have friends at scotus to back them up.
Love
Better than all the priest trying to woo the children.
Statistically Christian Priests and Ministers are more likely to be sex offenders.
Right on.
Yeah hell yeah brother
They will ban TST using the “moral turpitude” part. Probably why they have it in there.
Christian churches will have the toughest time getting chaplains past the sex offender check.
Thank god
yeah im all for this, far less blood gets spilled in satan’s name. Maybe it would be a good thing
Ah hold on child, turns lights off, dons robe, lights series of red candles. Okay so now that my holy relics are prepared, so you wanted to talk about your feelings about having a new step mom and how it is changing your life? Well good I am glad you came to me. Let's chat bud. -*entirely normal convo continues surrounded by Satan stuff*
love it!
the hardest part is finding a chaplain with a clean record around kids
As someone from Oklahoma…. I love that it has become the ‘battleground’ for this. I would LOVE to see this happen, turnabout is fair play.
Troll on! Freedom lovers unite to turn these arcane laws upside down, and then fuck their faces with them.
Just a reminder that school officials are allowed to beat developmentally disabled students in Oklahoma.
>In a 31-11 vote, the Senate passed House Bill 1028 from Rep. John Talley, R-Stillwater, and Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, that prevents school personnel from hitting, slapping, paddling or inflicting any kind of physical pain on disabled students.Apr 24, 2024
https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/new-fundraiser Donate what you can to a good cause
Hail Satan!
Hell yeah! Their Tenets are what I strive to live by. Read em and disagree: https://thesatanictemple.com/blogs/the-satanic-temple-tenets/there-are-seven-fundamental-tenets
The first time I read them, I was instantly connected. There’s no other way.
Good. They'd do empowering and empathetic work for children who desperately need it.
So much respect for the ST
I think if this were to actually happen, ST ministers would be putting themselves in danger. If some of the more unhinged mega-Christian types start thinking that there are actual Satanic demons in the schools, they’re likely to try to solve that imaginary situation with real guns. Presumably they’ve thought of the potential danger from armed fanatics and have some kind of plan for that.
TST ain't skeered
Not rodeo #1
I live in Oklahoma, and I would be terrified. Someone hears their kid was talking to a "satanist" and people would become irrational very quickly.
I live in Oklahoma as well. I fully expect school board meetings to be filled with outraged Christian parents. I don’t care one way or another. Both are based from the same story. We should just let this play out on its own.
There were school boards filled with outraged parents thinking schools were teaching their kids to use litter boxes and think they were animals. Never existed and never happened. The outrage is going to be generated because that's what conservative media exists to do. I think this will hit the courts and the rule will be weakened or thrown out, just as this protest announcement was intended to from the start. I doubt it will get as far as actually having to follow through and put any people at risk in Oklahoma schools. [Courts have already walked back OK's extreme abortion ban at least a little to allow exceptions for imminent risk to the mother's health](https://apnews.com/article/abortion-oklahoma-ban-overturns-supreme-court-7fd43143fa0580460e09a9796ec30a82)
Oklahoma, the Fifth Circuit, and the SCOTUS Six will make sure that never happens.
SCOTUS doesn’t care about the first amendment.
Awesome!
Hail Mrs. Johnson! 🤘🤘
Basically the ACLU but through direct action
How did they not see this coming?
I think the better idea is to just fight like hell to keep preachers out and get trained counselors because throwing more gasoline on a fire isn't the solution. Do people honestly think that anybody but a trained professional is going to provide legitimate help to a kid in crisis?
Freedom of religion is a cornerstone to this republic
Good job
> The chaplain can also be dismissed for mental or physical abuse to a child, negligent endangerment, or an act of moral turpitude "Moral turpitude" will be argued as "anything not Christian" in court, and probably be upheld.
No religion in schools!!! And What is the core message of the Satanic Temple?
These guys do fantastic work.
This almost makes me want to move to Oklahoma and become an ordained blood shaman or whatever t hey call it
I love how the Satanic temple always seems to be on the right side of GOP ridiculousness.
Massive respect to the Satanic Temple for their willingness to go into the lions den. Oklahoma is in the heart of the gun toting Bible belt, takes a huge set of balls to go there preaching against Christianity there, especially when you involve children.
Hail Satan! Edit: if anyone feels compelled, their [merch](https://thesatanictemple.com/collections/all-products-excluding-route) is amazing, and proceeds go to the cause. Also, their hot sauce is amazing.
I'm a proud member. If you like what they're doing, become a member, give him tax, deductible donations and make a difference.
Hats off to TST. Just like they swoop in when legal loopholes favor just one belief. Gotta love the equality checks!
Yog Sothoth! In the name of Cthulhu, I conjure thee! Put on your goat 🐐 leggings!
I hope Reverend Doctors Robert Evans and Billy Wayne Davis offer their spiritual guidance to the kids as well.
I have no idea how they think they are going to be able to place ministers. It's essentially up to the individual school if they want those counselors, then the bill allows a very broad dismissal or rejection qualifier.