I tried to take a break from Oklahoma politics, but I just can’t help it. Ryan Walters is at it again, and my friends have called forth the Spirit of Iomidae to defend the innocent. Sadly, the answer to their prayers was me. I’ll let other people debate the theology, I’m just going to dig into the topic.
Walters has attracted my ire before. Pretty sure he’s lost a lot of sleep about it. I’ll leave those links here in case someone wants to refresh their memories, or if you are new to the blog and just want to be all OCD about how you read stuff…you get the point. Before he was just the side note, my main issue was Governor Stitt. This post I intend to stay laser focused mainly on Walters. For my own reasons, in this post let’s pretend I am the Highlander and Stitt is on holy ground.
But Walters is not. I intend to write a two or three article series about what a tool bag and dipstick he is.
https://wordpress.com/post/tiredmidnightblogger.com/3797
https://wordpress.com/post/tiredmidnightblogger.com/3883
https://wordpress.com/post/tiredmidnightblogger.com/3956
Let’s dig in.
Here I will share the sources I am getting my information from:
An email shared from a teacher from precollegiateprgrams@ou.edu
https://www.okgazette.com/news/i-alone-will-indoctrinate-your-kids-10631719
https://twitter.com/GeeGeeAkili/status/1561900488609726465/photo/1
https://thelostogle.com/2023/01/20/ryan-walters-ends-remote-work-at-oklahoma-department-of-education
“Where chaos and anarchy roam.”
The state of the Oklahoma educational system has been suffering for a long time. We had a controversial strike a few years back. My best friend was a leader in that movement, both in the effort to acquire the raise, but also in the effort to keep the movement from going off the rails. One of my other friends who is also very close to me was not in any way supportive of the movement. I think these two friends pretty solidly represent intelligent Oklahomans. One side believes that Oklahoma needs to be more competitive when it comes to teacher compensation, the other side believes that teachers are paid enough, if not too much, and is upset that the teachers went on strike. My intent (yeah, I know, likely an impossible dream) is to show respect to both perspectives. I’m neither coming out in support of, nor against teacher pay raises. As usual I’m just trying to tell both sides: Ryan Walters is a disgrace to Oklahoma education, no matter what side of the debate you are on.
I first learned of the intrepid Walters during the election. My best friend was doing all he could to spread the word, first hoping against hope that Shawnee Public Schools Superintendent April Grace would defeat him in the primary runoff so the Republican Party, which owns this state, would have a solid candidate who would be good for students, teachers, and Oklahomans. But she was honestly a lame duck. She only had 30 years of experience in education, as opposed to Walters wopping eight years! Read ’em and weep boys. In Oklahoma, we want frest blood. Eight years teaching SURELY outpaces 30 plus years. How in Sam Hill did Walters beat her in a Republican election?
A certain insanity shows…
Ok, right or wrong, we the people of Oklahoma voted him in. So why am I hopping mad about him? He’d already proven himself incompetent with the mishandling of the covid-19 funds. I sang about that on TikTok. But him in his crazy ass car talking about made up crap on the internet…that is what gets views. That is what gets votes. Let’s not even care about that (the voters don’t). Let’s not care about invented crises of porn books that were never in the Oklahoma library, invented crises of fictional children identifying as cats and defecating in kitty litter tubs provided, I guess, by the malignant teacher unions. Let’s ignore the irony of blaming (even if rightfully) the left for the crises mongering during the Covid crises yet turning around and making up crises ourselves to get votes because we don’t have anything of substance to say or contribute.
Let’s not debate at all in fact. Let’s just decide that the people we govern, in Walter’s instance, the teachers and children of Oklahoma, are the enemy. Let’s start by labeling them terrorists. I know it won me over to the Democratic party during the Covid crises. Jesus wept!
And it’s booky, I bite cause I’m bored
Not long after the election, Walters started ruling education from his car making TikTok videos (transportation laws be damned). His favorite thing was to ban books by decree from Oklahoma libraries that actually were never there to begin with, because Oklahoma librarians are not left coast librarians and have the common sense NOT to stock their shelves with porn.
Channel 5 in OKC shared the story but failed to mention a few details.
“Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters said he wants to crack down on inappropriate materials in school libraries.
“Walters made the announcement after social media erupted with reports of books showing graphic sexual acts being available at a library in the Oklahoma City Public Schools district.”
Ok…I am no fan of censorship, but I also don’t want grade or high schools stocking the shelves with porn. Hopefully actual biology text books which would likely have some anatomy, and some art books which likely have some nudes, would not be banned. But this sounds like out and out….oh wait…The Lost Ogle, the more successful and more professional OKC version of Tired Blogging, shares the details channel 5 left out.
According to the lost ogle: “Yep, that’s a pretty strong response to finding a dirty book in the library. The only problem is the book has already been banned from the library.
“If you remember correctly, back in July, right-wing culture war-fighting theocrats unearthed copies of “Gender Queer” in some public-school libraries. Like “Let’s Talk About It,” it had some sexually explicit drawings that any prude and pious parent question why it’s in a public-school library.
“Instead of running to her car and filming a video vlog to grandstand on the issue, then Oklahoma State School Superintendent Joy Hofmeister respectfully issued a memo to school districts asking them to conduct an audit of their catalogs for the upcoming school year and to “remove any inappropriate materials.”
Say what you will about Hoffmeister (and I know a fair number of my readers don’t like her), she didn’t make a big stink and go on TikTok and beat her chest and threaten and try to show us who’s boss. She….just…got…. the damned…. book…out….of the library…. end of story. Till Walters got all excited.
Who knows, maybe if she HAD done more grandstanding, SHE would have been the governor. And is it just me…or do the people who do the most grandstanding mainly just have political aspirations? Better watch out Stitt! I think someone intends to be the next governor after you. Don’t trust the bastard Stitt! The guy just has “weasel” written all over his snake oil salesman face. Mark my words Stitt, if the man EVER finds any real dirt on you, he’ll stab you in the back quicker than you can say “liberal.”
In the next post, I will write about Walter’s obsession with porn, combined with his inability to tolerate any disagreement in the ranks of education, and point out how he is a friggin’ hypocrite.
Yes, I know I haven’t discussed solutions yet. Hopefully that comes in the next post or the one thereafter. Please let me know what you think and share any information you think is relevant to this topic. Thanks, and have a wonderful weekend.
Tired Midnight Blogger (What Blogs at Midnight) 