This is part two of our conversation with Keith Comer who operates Respect Public Schools that tracks released time religious instruction programs around the country with a focus on Lifewise Academy, the Christian Nationalist program spreading around the country. The last episode was part 1 of our talk focuses on classroom disruption and recruitment. Comer says taking elementary students out during the school day disrupts instruction, especially when programs target specials, lunch, or recess. LifeWise’s goal is not simply to offer a class, but to increase church attendance and recruit children at a young age. Then we addressed LifeWise’s finances and political connections. So if you want the whole picture check out the previous episode either before or after this one.

In part two we get into hidden costs to tax payers even though the court case allowing RTRI programs require no tax money be spent. Then we cover some of the church and state violations that Lifewise and many RTRI programs are known to do then we also look at other RTRI programs that compete with Lifewise. Some have been around for 60 years or more. We finish up with discussing important red flags that parents and others concerned about the indoctrination should look into if we in fact want to protect our children while they attend a public school.

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It has been two years since Christian Nationalists pushed through a change in the Ohio Released Time Religious Instruction law to benefit the religious group LifeWise Academy. Their main plan is to indoctrinate and recruit public school children by removing them from school in the middle of the day for bible classes.

Our guest is Keith Comer from Respect Public Schools has been tracking the moves of Lifewise and other RTRI programs in the state and the country.

We start by reviewing key Supreme Court cases and related law. We mentions Everson v. Board of Education, McCollum v. Board of Education, and Zorach v. Clauson, describing the last case as allowing off-campus religious instruction if parents agree and public funds are not used. We also explains that Ohio later passed a law in 2014 providing a framework for these programs.

Keith Comer of Respect Public Schools describes how he became involved after seeing Ohio House Bill 445, which would have required schools to cooperate with LifeWise. He explains that he created an online map using public information from LifeWise’s website. Comer says parents can always remove their children from school for religious instruction, but schools are not constitutionally required to coordinate these programs unless state law forces them to do so. He says LifeWise sought such laws in several states after encountering resistance.

Part 1 also focuses on classroom disruption and recruitment. Comer says taking elementary students out during the school day disrupts instruction, especially when programs target specials, lunch, or recess. LifeWise’s goal is not simply to offer a class, but to increase church attendance and recruit children at a young age.

Then we address LifeWise’s finances and political connections. Comer says the group collects substantial money, sends a significant portion to headquarters, and works with organizations such as the Family Research Council, Alliance Defending Freedom, and Moms for Liberty.

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We reflect on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 by revisiting live news coverage from that day. We discuss the amount of misinformation, speculation, and confusion that appeared in early reporting, and we contrast that with later coverage and memorial material.

We then turn to the security and surveillance systems expanded after 9/11, including Homeland Security, the TSA, the Patriot Act, surveillance courts, and rendition. We argue that these measures did not keep people safe in the way they were presented at the time, and we connect that to how those tools are being used by President Trump today against his political opponents.

A local television report about a deadly crash in Ohio involving an undocumented driver with a Connecticut driver’s license exposes the continued racist attacks on undocumented people by the Republicans panicking over election losses in November.

We fact check a National Republican Senatorial Committee mailer attacking Sherrod Brown over transgender issues and drag story time. The claims not only misrepresent Brown’s record and a community event at Harmony Project and the mailer uses falsehoods and culture-war messaging instead of addressing policy issues.

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