OCPAC - OK Supreme Court Bans Thanksgiving
John Michener
1. OK Supreme Court Bans Thanksgiving
2. Program Nov. 25: Ralph Bullard, Thanksgiving
3. Immigration or Importation?
1. OK Supreme Court Bans Thanksgiving
On Friday 20 November 2015 the
Supreme Court of Oklahoma, in a 9-0 opinion, said, “We hold that the Thanksgiving
holiday violates Article 2, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution. Therefore, all rights and privileges appertaining
thereto must be removed.” Writing for
the court, Chief Justice John Reif continued, “We must be consistent with our
Ten Commandments opinion. The many official
proclamations and declarations of a national day of Thanksgiving reference both
‘prayer’ and ‘Almighty God.’ These terms
are clearly religious in nature.
Therefore, any official acknowledgement of Thanksgiving by the State of
Oklahoma would be supporting a religion. The Court hereby orders all state agencies, bureaus,
commissions, and departments to keep normal business hours during the final
full week of any November, beginning with November 2015. Furthermore, no state employee who is on the
job is allowed to talk about Thanksgiving, joke about Thanksgiving, or even say
the word Thanksgiving. Finally, be it so
ordered that no private citizen shall say the word Thanksgiving on state-owned property. Violators will be subject to arrest, fined up
to $66, and imprisoned up to six days.”
When Reif was asked for further comment, he said, “No Thanks.”
So, that did not really happen, but it begs the question, Is Thanksgiving a state holiday or a religious holiday? It is officially recognized by government, but the government resolutions and proclamations which recognize it reference “Almighty God.” If we use the logic of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, this would be an unconstitutional holiday in Oklahoma.
Here is something that really did happen last week: the state placed a large Christmas tree just below the south steps of the capitol building. I hope the governor does not allow it to be spirited away in the middle of the night.
2. Program Nov. 25: Ralph Bullard, The Thanksgiving Story
Yes! We will be meeting the day before Thanksgiving at Mama Roja. Our speaker will be Ralph Bullard, the former Headmaster and current grandfather of Christian Heritage Academy. Ralph will tell of the providential beginnings of the American colonies. His folksy style is reminiscent of Garrison Keillor’s tales from Lake Wobegon. If you attend this meeting, you will leave with a better understanding of why Americans give thanks to God and a deeper appreciation for America’s greatest holyday—Thanksgiving.
3. Immigration or Importation?
White woman speaks with forked tongue! One tongue of Governor Mary Fallin calls on Obama to stop importing so-called Syrian refugees. Governor Fallin’s other tongue says she welcomes these imports to Oklahoma. We must demand an end to the double-speak. Please call the office of Governor Mary Fallin at 405-521-2342 and the office of Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb at 405-521-2161. Ask them to protect us from Federal malfeasance.
Please understand that there is a
difference between immigration and importation.
Any individual who makes her way to Canadian County and wants to live
there and work there ought to be free to do so, as long as she is not a known
criminal, a fugitive from justice. We
believe in liberty. This is immigration.
Normal immigration is not the situation we now face. Our federal government is spending more than a billion dollars to actively recruit, feed, house, and transport tens of thousands of foreigners to our shores. This is massive importation, funded by stolen tax dollars. This importation is in opposition to most of those whose money is being used. The federal government should not be in the business of importing anyone.
We can address the refugee problem the same way we should properly address any matter of charity—privately, with private funds. Anybody could personally take responsibility for one or more refugees. That is their prerogative. It would be similar to going oversees to adopt a child. But this is not the job of governments.
Obama may not understand these principles, but we need to explain them to Governor Mary Fallin. She should not aid and abet the President’s plan. It’s bad enough that our federal tax dollars are used to put us at risk. Must our state dollars and resources be used the same way?
The views expressed in this email are the personal opinion of John Michener and do not necessarily reflect the views of OCPAC, its leadership team, or its members. We currently meet on Wednesdays at noon at Mama Roja Mexican Kitchen, 9219 Lake Hefner Pkwy, OKC. To become a member of OCPAC, follow the instructions in the online newsletter.