Oklahoma Specs for Classroom Bibles Apparently Limited To 2 Versions Endorsed by Donald Trump [UPDATED]

As previously reported, last June the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction issued a Memo to all public-school superintendents in the state requiring them to incorporate the Bible into their schools' curriculum. On Wednesday, the Oklahoma State Department of Education issued a Request for Proposal for the purchase of 55,000 Bibles for Oklahoma classrooms. The RFP specified that bids must be for 

King James Version Bibles that contain The United States Pledge of Allegiance, The U.S. Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution, and The U.S. Bill of Rights documents.

The Oklahoman reported yesterday: 

A salesperson at Mardel Christian & Education searched, and though they carry 2,900 Bibles, none fit the parameters. 

But one Bible fits perfectly: Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, endorsed by former President Donald Trump and commonly referred to as the Trump Bible. They cost $60 each online, with Trump receiving fees for his endorsement. 

Mardel doesn’t carry the God Bless the U.S.A. Bible or another Bible that could meet the specifications, the We The People Bible, which was also endorsed by Donald Trump Jr. It sells for $90.

According to The Hill, a spokesperson for the Superintendent of Public Instruction:

There are hundreds of Bible publishers and we expect a robust competition for this proposal.

UPDATE: On Nov. 7, the Oklahoma State Department of Education amended its RFP (Attachment A) to provide that the bibles covered by the bid may have the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights bound separately rather than bound together with the Bible. This presumably opens bidding to many additional publishers. It also extends the deadline for submitting bids. Los Angeles Times reports on the change.

White House Statements Trigger Partisan Religious Controversy

The confluence this year of the dates for Easter and for the international Transgender Day of Visibility has resulted in an unusual religious controversy.  President Biden issued a Proclamation (full text) designating today as Transgender Day of Visibility, saying in part:

Transgender Americans are part of the fabric of our Nation.  Whether serving their communities or in the military, raising families or running businesses, they help America thrive.  They deserve, and are entitled to, the same rights and freedoms as every other American, including the most fundamental freedom to be their true selves.  But extremists are proposing hundreds of hateful laws that target and terrify transgender kids and their families — silencing teachers; banning books; and even threatening parents, doctors, and nurses with prison for helping parents get care for their children.  These bills attack our most basic American values,,,,

As reported by NBC News, this, along with the terms of a White House Easter Egg design contest for youths from National Guard families has sparked criticism from numerous Republican politicians. The flyer (full text) calling for youths to submit their Easter Egg designs includes in the lengthy instructions the following:

The Submission must not contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age....

The Submission must not include any questionable content, religious symbols, overtly religious themes, or partisan political statements....

A statement yesterday (full text) from the Trump campaign called Biden's Proclamation "blasphemous" and said in part:

Sadly, these are just two more examples of the Biden Administration’s years-long assault on the Christian faith. We call on Joe Biden’s failing campaign and White House to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only — the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Former Trump White House Staffers Forming New Faith-Based Initiative

Forward reports that on Thursday two former Trump-Administration White House staffers will launch the National Faith Advisory Board, a faith-based outreach initiative. Jenny Korn and Amanda Robbins Vargo, who worked in the Trump White House Office of Public Liaison, are co-founders of the new organization which is modeled on Trump's Faith and Opportunity Initiative.

Dismissal Of Suit Against Trump For Promoting Religion Affirmed By Delaware Supreme Court

In Kelly v. Trump,(DE Sup. Ct., July 7, 2021), the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal on standing grounds of two claims in a suit against then-President Donald Trump contending that he created the illusion of government sponsorship of religion, The court also affirmed the refusal to allow plaintiff to substitute President Biden as defendant because he allowed Executive Order 13798 to remain in effect.  According to the court:

[Plaintiff]  contends that the executive order “require[s] government organizations and agents to partner with churches to pay churches to perform government business for the government....  She states that the “churches create the illusion of charity while serving business greed” and that she “believe[s] people will be damned to hell for thinking business greed is charity.”...

Kelly’s claim is manifestly without merit. Contrary to her assertion, Executive Order 13798, on its face, does not prescribe any partnership between the government and any religious organization.

Trump Impeachment Lawyer Interviewed About His Jewish Religious Observance

Jewish Press yesterday carried an interesting interview (full text) with David Schoen, one of  Donald Trump's lead impeachment trial defense lawyers. The paper describes the interview:

Two weeks ago, David Schoen – the lead lawyer for Donald Trump at his impeachment trial, and an Orthodox Jew – made headlines when he asked if the president’s trial could be suspended on Shabbos. Schoen’s observance became a hot topic again a few days later when he covered his head with his hand several times as took sips of water while speaking on the Senate floor.

The Jewish Press spoke to him yesterday about these and other topics.

President Trump Declares Jan. 22 As National Sanctity of Human Life Day

Yesterday, President Donald Trump issued a Proclamation (full text) declaring January 22, 2021 as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. The Proclamation reads in part:

Every human life is a gift to the world.  Whether born or unborn, young or old, healthy or sick, every person is made in the holy image of God.  The Almighty Creator gives unique talents, beautiful dreams, and a great purpose to every person.  On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, we celebrate the wonder of human existence and renew our resolve to build a culture of life where every person of every age is protected, valued, and cherished.

This month, we mark nearly 50 years since the United States Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.  This constitutionally flawed ruling overturned State laws that banned abortion, and has resulted in the loss of more than 50 million innocent lives....

The United States is a shining example of human rights for the world.  However, some in Washington are fighting to keep the United States among a small handful of nations — including North Korea and China — that allow elective abortions after 20 weeks.  I join with countless others who believe this is morally and fundamentally wrong, and today, I renew my call on the Congress to pass legislation prohibiting late-term abortion....

President Proclaims National School Choice Week

President Trump yesterday issued a Proclamation (full text) declaring January 24-30 as National School Choice Week. The Proclamation reads in part:

In the land of the free, a child’s zip code should never determine their future....

I renew my call to the Congress to pass the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act, so we can finally take a giant step towards true liberty for students.  This landmark legislation would give more than 1 million children the freedom to attend the school that best fits their needs, and would create more than $5 billion in annual tax credits for those who donate to local scholarship funds, empowering more families to choose the best educational setting for their children.

I also call on the Congress to pass the School Choice Now Act, which will ensure every State can fund elementary and high school scholarship programs, so that students do not lose access to their school of choice because of economic disruptions.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Proclamation Issued

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and President Trump earlier this week issued the annual Proclamation (full text) declaring today a federal holiday. This year's Proclamation reads in part:

In the face of tumult and upheaval, Dr. King reminded us to always meet anger with compassion in order to truly “heal the hurts, right the wrongs and change society.”  It is with this same spirit of forgiveness that we come together to bind the wounds of past injustice by lifting up one another regardless of race, gender, creed, or religion, and rising to the first principles enshrined in our founding documents.

Religious Freedom Day Presidential Proclamaton

President Trump issued a Proclamation (full text) this week declaring December 16 as Religious Freedom Day. The date, commemorated annually, marks the anniversary of Virginia's adoption of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786. President Trump's Proclamation is largely a catalogue of steps taken by his administration to further religious freedom, saying in part:

Over the past 4 years, my Administration has worked tirelessly to honor the vision of our Founders and defend our proud history of religious liberty.  From day one, we have taken action to restore the foundational link between faith and freedom and promote a culture of religious liberty.  My Administration has protected the rights of individual religious believers, communities of faith, and faith-based organizations.  We have defended religious liberty domestically and around the world.

Religious Leaders React To Storming Of Capitol By Trump Supporters

Religion News Service has published excerpts from separate statements from over 20 faith leaders across the country reacting to the storming of the U.S. Capitol yesterday by supporters of President Trump who were seeking to stop certification of Electoral College votes. For example, Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear said:

Peaceable transitions of power have marked our Republic since the beginning. It is part of honoring and submitting to God’s ordained leaders whether they were our choice or not. We need you, @POTUS to condemn this mob. Let’s move forward together. Praying for safety.

President Trump Issues Proclamation Recognizing Anniversary of Martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket

Earlier this week, President Trump issued a lengthy Proclamation (full text) recognizing Dec. 29th as the 850th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket. The Proclamation reads in part:

Before the Magna Carta was drafted, before the right to free exercise of religion was enshrined as America’s first freedom in our glorious Constitution, Thomas gave his life so that, as he said, “the Church will attain liberty and peace.”...

When the Archbishop refused to allow the King to interfere in the affairs of the Church, Thomas Becket stood at the intersection of church and state. That stand, after centuries of state-sponsored religious oppression and religious wars throughout Europe, eventually led to the establishment of religious liberty in the New World....

As Americans, we were first united by our belief that “rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God” and that defending liberty is more important than life itself. If we are to continue to be the land of the free, no government official, no governor, no bureaucrat, no judge, and no legislator must be allowed to decree what is orthodox in matters of religion or to require religious believers to violate their consciences....

To honor Thomas Becket’s memory, the crimes against people of faith must stop, prisoners of conscience must be released, laws restricting freedom of religion and belief must be repealed, and the vulnerable, the defenseless, and the oppressed must be protected.

Trump Executive Order Provides School Choice Funding For Disadvantaged Students Lacking In-Person Schools

President Trump yesterday issued an Executive Order allowing states to use funds from Community Services Block Grants to provide scholarships to private or parochial schools, or for home schooling or or other educational services, for disadvantaged students whose public schools do not offer in-person classes during the COVID pandemic. As reported by Politico:

The move comes after the $900 billion coronavirus relief deal ... that Trump signed on Sunday excluded many of the school choice provisions that his administration and GOP lawmakers had sought to include in that sweeping legislation.

The Dec. 28 Executive Order on Expanding Educational Opportunity Through School Choice (full text) provides in part:

The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall take steps, consistent with law, to allow funds available through the Community Services Block Grant program to be used by grantees and eligible entities to provide emergency learning scholarships to disadvantaged families for use by any child without access to in-person learning.  These scholarships may be used for:

(i)    tuition and fees for a private or parochial school;

(ii)   homeschool, microschool, or learning-pod costs;

(iii)  special education and related services, including therapies; or

(iv)   tutoring or remedial education.

President and First Lady Issue Christmas Greetings Via Video

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump issued Christmas greetings in a video posted to the President's Twitter account yesterday.

President Issues Thanksgiving Day Proclamation

President Trump yesterday issued a Proclamation on Thanksgiving Day 2020, declaring today as a National Day of Thanksgiving. The Proclamation, which among other things acknowledges the "remarkable courage and boundless generosity of the American people" in battling the coronavirus pandemic, begins:

On Thanksgiving Day, we thank God for the abundant blessings in our lives.  As we gather with family and friends to celebrate this season of generosity, hope, and gratitude, we commemorate America’s founding traditions of faith, family, and friendship, and give thanks for the principles of freedom, liberty, and democracy that make our country exceptional in the history of the world.

Suit Against Trump For Misleading Christians Is Dismissed For Lack of Standing

In Kelly v. Trump, (Del. Chancery, Nov. 2, 2020), a Delaware Chancery Court Master recommended dismissing as legally frivolous a suit against President Donald Trump alleging that he violated plaintiff's free exercise and Establishment Clause rights. The court said that plaintiff "has not shown an actual or concrete injury to her caused by Trump’s conduct....  Her contentions are too remote and vague to be actionable."  The court described plaintiff's allegations in part as follows:

Kelly’s main theory of her case is that Trump creates the illusion of being a devout Christian, while engaging in acts that Kelly contends are against the main tenets of Christianity. She claims that his actions substantially burden and injure her “free exercise of religion”... by [his] increased threat of government sponsored religious persecution.... Kelly alleges that ... he is misleading people, deceiving them to sin, and dooming them to hell. The primary harm Kelly claims is that, because Trump is leading people to hell, Kelly will not be able to love them for eternity. She also alleges that she is persecuted ... because of Trump’s support for one religious belief, and suppression of others....

President Sets Refugee Numbers for FY 2021 With Emphasis On Persecuted Minority Religions

In a Memorandum (full text) issued on Oct. 27, President Trump set the number of refugees to be admitted to the United States in FY 2021 (July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021) as 15,000.  Of this number, 6,000 are unused spaces from FY 2020 that were not used because of the COVID-19 crisis.  The Presidential Determination set out in the Memorandum places particular emphasis on refugees who are the subject of religious persecution. 

5,000 of the spots are designated for refugees who have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of religion, or who are admissible under the Lautenberg and Specter Amendments. Those amendments cover, among others, religious minorities in Iran.

4,000 of the spots are designated for refugees covered by the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007 (12 Stat. 395). This includes Iraqis who were employed by the United States and Iraqis who are members of a persecuted religious or minority community.

5,000 of the spots are designated for others admitted under the United States Refugee Admissions Program.

The President's Memorandum also provides:

Additionally, I specify that persons from certain high-risk areas of terrorist presence or control, including Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, shall not be admitted as refugees, except those refugees of special humanitarian concern:  (1) who have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of religion; ... [and certain other exceptions].

Trump Sends Message To "The Return"

 As reported by CBN News, thousands of Christians gathered on the National Mall today for The Return: National and Global Day of Prayer and Repentance.  The event was organized by Messianic Jewish pastor Jonathan Cahn and featured numerous Christian speakers, including Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of evangelist Billy Graham. (CBN News). President Trump sent a written message (full text) to the event, which read in part:

On this inaugural National Day of Prayer and Return, the First Lady and I join millions of Christians here in the United States and around the world in prayer, as we turn our hearts to our Lord and Savior....

The trials and tribulations the American people have faced over the past several months have been great.  Yet, as we have seen time and again, the resolve of our citizenry—fortified by our faith in God—has guided us through these hardships and helped to unite us as one Nation under God.

Trump and Barr Speak At National Catholic Prayer Breakfast

Yesterday both President Trump (in a pre-recorded address-- full text) and Attorney General William Barr spoke at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, held online this year (video of entire breakfast). In his remarks, President Trump said in part:

Today I am announcing that I will be signing the Born Alive Executive Order to ensure that all precious babies born alive, no matter their circumstances, receive the medical care that they deserve. This is our sacrosanct moral duty. We are also increasing federal funding for the neonatal research to ensure that every child has the very best chance to thrive and to grow.

Attorney General Barr was presented the Christifideles Laici Award. In his acceptance speech (full text), he said in part:

That crucial link between religion and liberty, so well understood at the Founding, is all too often forgotten today.  In American public discourse, perhaps no concept is more misunderstood than the notion of “separation of church and state.”  Militant secularists have long seized on that slogan as a facile justification for attempting to drive religion from the public square and to exclude religious people from bringing a religious perspective to bear on conversations about the common good.

Yet as events like this one remind us, separation of church and state does not mean, and never did mean, separation of religion and civics... 

Unfortunately, in the last half century, that foundation of our free society has increasingly been under siege.  Traditional morality has eroded, and secularists have often succeeded not only in eliminating religion from schools and the public square, but in replacing it with new orthodoxies that are actively hostile to religion.  The consequences of this hollowing out of religion have been predictably dire....

Wherever we are in life, it is never too late to work in the Lord’s vineyard.  Our spiritual renewal, and the renewal of our national character, depend on it.

President Issues Rosh Hashanah Message

 Today the White House released a Presidential Message on Rosh Hashanah, 2020, which begins this evening. It reads in part:

The First Lady and I wish our Jewish brothers and sisters Shana Tova and hope the millions observing this sacred day in America and around the world have a blessed start to the High Holy Days....

This year’s High Holy Days come with a sense of optimism for the people of Israel, as my Administration continues to make great strides in securing a more stable, prosperous, and peaceful Middle East region...

Report Contends UAE-Bahrain-Israel Deal Could Change Status Quo On Temple Mount

Relying on a Report from the NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem, Al Jazeeera says that a clause in the UAE-Bahrain normalization agreements with Israel could lead to a change in status of the Temple Mount/ Al-Aqsa compound. Under the current status quo arrangements, only Muslims can pray on the Temple Mount/ Al-Aqsa compound.  President Trump's Middle East Peace Plan called for the Temple Mount to be open to worshipers of all faiths. However a later clarification by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman  said: "The status quo, in the manner that it is observed today, will continue absent an agreement to the contrary." Recent statements by the UAE and Bahrain are now being seen as signaling a breach of the status quo arrangement.

Donald Trump's Peace Plan carefully referred to the Temple Mount as "Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif."  The August 13 Joint Statement by the UAE, Israel and the United States as well as the September 11 Joint Statement by Bahrain, Israel and the U.S. include the following statement which refers only to Al Aqsa Mosque:

As set forth in the Vision for Peace, all Muslims who come in peace may visit and pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalem’s other holy sites should remain open for peaceful worshippers of all faiths.

According to the Terrestrial Jerusalem Report:

Israel defines Al Aqsa as the structure of the mosque, as does the wording of the Statement, whereas Muslims define Al Aqsa as the entire esplanade of Haram al Sharif/the Temple Mount. Consequently, according to Israel (and apparently to the United States), anything on the Mount that is not the structure of the mosque is defined as "one of Jerusalem's other holy sites", and open to prayer by all – including Jews. Accordingly, Jews may now be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount, just not in the mosque....

Both the Israeli Prime Minister and the US negotiating team fully understand the significance of every word and every nuance relating to Jerusalem in general, and to the Temple Mount/Haram Al Sharif in particular. Consequently, this choice of terminology is neither random nor a misstep, and cannot seen as anything but an intentional, albeit surreptitious attempt to leave the door wide open to Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, thereby radically changing the status quo.