21 - Time to Panic, or Time to Take a Breath?

Whether you're talking about politics in Oklahoma or nationally, it seems to be a time of confrontation, hysteria, or despair - depending on your political tribe. In this episode, Emily and James run down a variety of political news that have people talking in Oklahoma and across the nation.In Oklahoma, primary elections saw a Texas millionaire waste a lot of money in an unsuccessful bid to unseat U.S. Rep Tom Cole (OK CD-4). Also, the OK Supreme Court strikes down an attempt to create a publicly-funded Catholic Charter school. State Schools Superintendent Ryan Walters responds by mandating that all public schools will teach the Bible (as a historical document) and that all public school classrooms will have a Bible in them.Nationally, Democrats have had a rough couple of weeks. President Joe Biden had a disastrous debate performance, which has led to open calls for him to drop out of the race. President Biden has responded defiantly, saying he is the best candidate to face former President Donald Trump in November. Meanwhile the Supreme Court released (as is its custom at the end of its term) released a slew of cases in which it gave a partial victory to abortion rights advocates, said states are permitted to deny individuals who have restraining orders against them to purchase or own firearms, that former presidents do have some immunity for "official acts," and that the courts will no longer give deference to government agencies when interpreting whether a law passed by Congress authorizes certain rules or regulations created by the agency, but not expressly authorized by Congress.Along the way, Emily and James move in and out of agreement on various topics, and have a lively discussion of some of the important political events occurring over the last few weeks.For more information on the race for Oklahoma's 4th Congressional District, read this: https://nondoc.com/2024/06/18/tom-cole-beats-paul-bondar-oklahoma-4th-congressional-district/To find out more about the OK Supreme Court's rejection of plans to create a religious charter school, go here: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/25/oklahoma-high-court-rejects-religious-charter-school-contract-00164843To read more about OK State Superintendent Ryan Walters' mandate that all Oklahoma public schools teach "the role the Bible played in American history," click here: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/oklahoma-education-head-discusses-why-hes-mandating-public-schools-teach-the-bibleTo read about President Biden's debate performance and the political fallout of it, go here: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/04/biden-trump-debate-polling-00166590To read the most recent opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court, click here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/slipopinion/23For more information on Dr. Emily Stacey, click here: https://www.rose.edu/staff/social-sciences-department/stacey-emily/For more information on Professor James Davenport, click here: <a href="https://www.rose.edu/staff/social-sciences-department/davenport-james/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...