Well, the storms here last night (ahh, thunderstorms… how I have missed thee) certainly made the evening and night wonderfully cool, but I have to admit that the humidity today is kicking my scrawny white arse. The sad thing is that I am quite certain this degree of humidity is nothing serious, and it is only going to get worse next summer. That is, quite possibly, the only thing I miss from Kalifornistan – the complete and utter lack of humidity. I am definitely one of those people who can withstand just about any temperature, so long as the air is not wet enough to swim in. And while the weather never changed, the seasons never changed, and it was always a wee bit warm in Kalifornistan, it was never humid, and that, at least, was something.
Of course, I hear that Kalifornistan’s birthday falls somewhere in this week:
Do you know what happened this week back in 1850, 158 years ago?
The State had no electricity.
The State had no money.
Almost everyone spoke Spanish.
There were gunfights in the streets.
So basically, it was just like it is today, except the women had real breasts and the men didn’t hold hands.
Happy birthday to the state, though I occasionally have to wonder at the wisdom of the decision to actually grant it statehood, gold or not.
For example, Kalifornistan may be celebrating Election Day by trying to undermine a centuries-old (if not millenia-old) tradition:
With Labor Day behind us and kids back in school, California voters are beginning to ask deeper questions about Proposition 8 and wondering what will happen if same-sex marriage is permanently legalized. The answers are unsettling. Consider these consequences if Prop 8 fails.
1. Children in public schools will have to be taught that same-sex marriage is just as good as traditional marriage . The California Education Code (§51890) already requires that health education classes instruct children about marriage. Therefore, unless Proposition 8 passes, children will be taught that marriage is a relation between any two adults regardless of gender. There will be serious clashes between the secular school system and the right of parents to teach their children their own values and beliefs.
2. It will lead to more government intrusion into private lives . A photographer in Albuquerque refused to photograph a lesbian couple’s civil union ceremony. The New Mexico Human Rights Commission fined the photographer $6000 even though there were other photographers willing to accept the business. And this in a state where same-sex marriage is still illegal.
3. It will lead to speech monitors. An employee at the City of Oakland was threatened with termination for using the terms “natural family, marriage and family values” while discussing a public issue with co-workers. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal backed up the district court saying administrative efficiency in a government office is more important than free speech. Today it’s municipal employees; tomorrow … who?
4. Anti-discrimination regulations will become more important than religious beliefs. In Vista, California, a lesbian couple sued a doctor who refused to perform a requested artificial insemination because of the doctor’s religious beliefs. Although another doctor offered to do the procedure, the California Supreme Court held unanimously that the “1 st Amendment’s right to the free exercise of religion does not exempt defendant physicians here from conforming their conduct to the … antidiscrimination requirements.” An elective procedure, no emergency involved, another doctor willing to do the procedure. Anti-bias laws will outweigh religion.
5. Churches will be sued over their tax-exempt status if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings open to the public. While pastors, priests, ministers, bishops, and rabbis may not be forced to conduct such marriages themselves, they will be required to allow such marriages in their chapels and sanctuaries.
6. Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston has already closed its doors because of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.
7. Religions that sponsor private schools with married-student housing will be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if counter to church doctrine, or risk lawsuits over tax exemptions and related benefits.
8. Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages will be sued for hate speech and could be fined by the government. It has already happened in Canada, one of six countries that have legalized gay marriage. If a government agency such as the Alberta Human Rights Commission can stop a minister from teaching his church’s doctrine about marriage, then it won’t be long before everyone’s free speech rights will be in jeopardy.
9. It will cost everyone more money. This change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits, including some already decided adversely. Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbable given today’s activist judges), think of the money – your money, your church contributions – that will be spent on legal battles.
Think of a world where Human Rights Commissions – unelected bureaucrats with unfettered authority – are judge, jury, and executioner of anything they feel is antagonistic speech toward same-sex marriage and its practitioners.
Think of a world where the judicial system relegates long-held religious beliefs to second-class importance behind anti-bias laws and a newly discovered protected class of people.
Think of a world where the public school system is required to teach values and beliefs to your children that may conflict with your own.
Think of the very real threat to your parental rights, your free speech, your freedom of religion.
And think of all the unintended consequences that we cannot even foresee at this time. Where will it end?
It’s your children, your grandchildren, your money, and your freedoms.
Lets work together to protect them.
Every day I am thankful I escaped that state. However, I still have to wonder how long it will be before the rest of America is like the Kalifornistan I left behind – everything seems to start there and spread. How far are we going to let the infection go?
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