Outing Bigotry

It's all out, folks!

The Judge in the Perry et al. v. Schwarzenegger case has released all video evidence presented in the court. That means that now you can find the mendacious and misleading ads for Proposition 8 in one good ol' web page.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Everyone is entitled to his or her view of morality; no one is entitled to imposing it on another human being.

Get over it!

On UCs and Higher Education

University of California president Mark G. Yudof has written a paper about what the Federal Government's role should be in higher education across the nation. He has also expressed the same sentiments in an article published in The Chronicle.

Regardless of what I think of him, he is right on this point.

Meanwhile, last Wednesday, Yudof & Co. voted to increase fees by 32% in the University of California over the next year. With another predicted deficit in California's budget, there is a good possibility that funding to education will be cut further, resulting in even higher fees and tuitions in the near future.

Students at UCLA, who had come from all of the UCs, protested the measure.

Arnold's Cryptogram

A letter from Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California state legislators apparently contains a hidden message:

(Source: BuzzFeed)

California's Legislative Defect

The chief justice of the California Supreme Court, Ronald M. George, lamented California's reliance on constitutional amendments voted on by the people as a defect of the legislative system in the state.

Though it might seem as an example of a direct democracy, there is no limit to what measures can be placed on the ballots, nor on the bigotry of the voters who vote for it. Just last year, for instance, Californians voted to rob homosexual couples of their civil right to marry and to enjoy the same privileges accorded by marriage to their heterosexual counterparts. I hope the passing of Proposition 8 serves as a warning to future attempts at curbing individuals' civil rights.

California in the News

An article was brought to my attention a while ago (thank you, Aaron). It discusses California's rise and imminent capitulation and it is worthy of sharing, so here it is, from The Guardian.

Hypocrisy in Orange County

Michael D. Duvall, a state lawmaker from Orange County, CA, has resigned following revelations that he, a staunchly conservative lawmaker, married man, and purported defender of 'family values,' had engaged in sexual acts with two women lobbyists in Sacramento. The revelations came from a tape (clips of which are included in the report below) showing the state assemblyman boasting about his affairs with the women in question, and being recorded unawares.

The issue of extramarital affairs, in my opinion, should never make it on the news. It is a private issue that concerns nobody out of the circle of the individuals involved. In the case of Duvall, as in the case of Sanford, Ensign, Vitter or any other preachy holier-than-thou philanderer, however, these affairs should be made as public as possible, and the lawmakers or state executives perpetuating those actions after having preached 'family values' should be held under the harsh light of public scrutiny, discredited, and exposed for the hypocrites that they truly are.

California in the News

Pot growers in the California mountains are a two-fold problem: they grow illegal marijuana and are also blamed for causing forest fires.

Prisons are extremely problematic in California. The legislature had, for a long time, failed to ease repercussions on parole violations, which would reduce the number of prisoners in California. On 1 September, however, the legislature did approve the prison legislation, although as a much weaker version of what it used to be and with a slim majority along party lines. At the same time, the Schwarzenegger administration filed for a delay on the order to reduce the prison population, which was denied by a special judicial panel.

On a similar note, Los Angeles County prosecutors are doing their 'best' to help prison overcrowding by asking for cruel and unusual punishment—the death penalty—in a gang-related murder.

As the economy weakens and California suffers in this recession, a migration is taking place. Many Californians are now looking eastward... ironically enough. Nevada is now a popular destination for migrating Californians looking for jobs and other opportunities.

Last week California, like most financially ailing families, cleared its 'state attic' and held a 'yard sale' in Sacramento. The items sold came mostly from surplus equipment or cutbacks in objects such as police cars.

Sacramento is also asking the federal government to ease its restrictions on water use in California, despite the drought, citing the farming economy as its reason.

A congressional district near San Francisco held its elections and it became obvious during the campaign that healthcare reform is the forefront issue among the Democratic candidates. They were all supporting it. Republicans, on the other side, had family values and trade policy on their platform, and were attacking healthcare reform. Election results require a runoff between the leading Democrat (26%) and leading Republican (21%).

California also serves as one example and reason out of fifty for why we need a national healthcare reform: As part of its budget cuts approved a couple of months ago, healthcare for the poor is suffering in California, prompting Schwarzenegger and California Democrats to levy a new tax on insurance companies.

Finally, California can now say, 'IOU nothing,' as it begins to replace previously issued IOUs with checks.

California in the News

A couple of developments from California:

First, the governator [sic, though I am henceforth abandoning the 'sic'] called the state legislature in a special session to vote for the removal of what he termed a 'firewall,' which prevents the state from applying for a $4.35 billion for an education stimulus fund. I assume it is to rectify the grievous ill that public education suffered in the state after the cuts to balance the budget.

Second, as part of efforts to curb increases in the deficit, some prisoners may be released earlier, or some other individuals facing charges might not even serve any time. The senate approved the decision with a 21-19 vote, with Republicans opposing it and law enforcement advocating against it.

Personally, I think the prison system in the United States is shameful. It does a good job of keeping people locked up, but the conditions it allows within prisons are downright 'cruel and unusual,' and they provide more hardening than reformatory conditions for criminals.

California in the News

California seemed to be the main preoccupation of last week's edition of The Economist, from the expansion of the state in the 1960s and its initial and recurring problems, to the troubled state of the University of California system, and the legalization of marijuana and the economic consequences that accompany it.

NPR follows up with a report on the popularity of medical marijuana in the state. The audio can be found at the same link, since it cannot be embedded here. More marijuana news from a retirement community in Orange County, where the residents are trying to popularize the use of marijuana, as well as encourage its cultivation within the community. The accompanying audio is, again, at the same link.

Cruel & Unusual Punishment

California might be guilty of it.

California Budget Woes

Why, oh, why is it that education and healthcare for the neediest are the first to go?