MONDAY MORNING MEMORANDUM

By Assemblyman Ray Haynes
May 15, 2006

Why Our Schools Don’t Work

This last week, a judge in Oakland said he thought the state’s high school exit exam is flawed, because it failed to account for English language learners’ inability to read the test. That is, since the test requires that those with limited English skills take and pass the test in English, it discriminates against those students.

Never mind that, no matter where you go in this country, English language skills are an important part of success. Never mind that a student should be able to read the high school diploma they are receiving when they graduate. Insuring competence in basic skills is apparently not the goal of our schools. Insuring that absolutely no school policy offends any person in this state is the most critical thing to this judge.

And that is one of the reasons why the state’s schools don’t work.

This week, based on a judge’s decision, the exit exam got tossed out because of its alleged discriminatory effect. The one thing in our schools that would make sure students actually knew something before they graduated from school has been tossed aside in favor of some alleged antidiscrimination ethic. Learning is not the most important thing in schools; advancing some liberal social ethic is.

This leads us to SB 1437, which passed the state senate on Thursday. SB 1437 would require, yes require, schools to teach about the contributions of gays, lesbian, bisexuals and transsexuals in history. Honestly, I don’t know what transsexuals have done in history, but, if my kids go to public school, they will be forced to learn about it.

Let me be clear. We don’t require that they learn about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, any details of the Civil War, or just about anything else in history, but we are going to require that they learn about gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals. In fact, any book that says anything that might be interpreted as hostile to those groups would be banned from the classroom, and the textbooks that remain must go out of their way to mention their contributions.

Once again, the state senate, like the judge, has decided to emphasize a political agenda over a learning agenda. Quite frankly, a great person in history is great regardless of their sexual orientation. It really wouldn’t matter whether Thomas Jefferson had a sexual relationship with his slave, Sally Hemmings. His contributions to our history through the Declaration of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase occurred even though we don’t know who he slept with. It really doesn’t matter if Abraham Lincoln was gay or not (as homosexual activist groups have long tried to prove), his effort to abolish slavery in this country, and his work in preserving this country as a whole are a testament to his place in history no matter what they allege he did with his law partners at night when no one was looking

We have a lot of problems in our schools. Our children are worried about their safety. We can’t seem to keep drugs out of the school. Sexual harassment, and in some cases molestations, seem to occur on a regular basis up and down the state. Our school buildings are crumbling, and we can’t fire incompetent teachers. Ten percent of the kids who enter school can’t prove they have an eighth grade level of knowledge when they graduate, and the judges and legislators are worried about discrimination and political correctness.

We give our schools $50-60 billion a year. Those that educate our children are supposed to make sure that our children know that two plus two equals four. One of the reason that they are failing at their jobs is because our political leaders are more worried about who is sleeping with whom than whether children can actually read a cereal box. We need to get our priorities straight.

Interesting results…Heather had this posted on her blog, so I thought I’d try. I don’t know if I agree, but whatever. 🙂

You are a Social Moderate (55% permissive) and an… Economic Moderate (43% permissive) You are best described as a: Centrist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Where do I get one of these?!

Oh my goodness–wouldn’t it smell?!

MONDAY MORNING MEMORANDUM

By Assemblyman Ray Haynes
May 8, 2006

It’s All About The Documents

Everything we do in life is about the documents. We are born, we live, and we die with documents attached to us. So whenever you here someone claim that something is not wrong, it is just “undocumented,” keep that in mind.

For instance, in California, if you practice law without the appropriate documentation twice, you are guilty of a felony. Would it be a defense to that felony charge that you are not a felon, but rather just an undocumented lawyer?

How about the unauthorized practice of medicine? If someone dies, and you don’t have the right medical documents, you are guilty of murder. It is not just the “undocumented” provision of medical services.

Unlicensed contractors? Just undocumented carpenters, bricklayers, engineers, plumbers, and electricians.

We even have documents that establish our ownership of our property. Car thieves are car thieves, not undocumented motor vehicle operators. Trespassers are trespassers, not undocumented easement holders. If you take property from a store without a receipt, you are a thief, not an undocumented possessor of property

Businesses require the right licenses from government. Indeed, if someone starts up a bank and does not get a license from the state and federal government will find that they will go to jail for being an “undocumented” money lender or “undocumented” savings institution. It is not a defense to their crime to say that they don’t “have the right documents.”

One of my favorites came from one of my legislative colleagues this last week, when informed that the Democrats wanted to take last Monday off to participate in the immigration protests. He said he had found former legislators who were qualified to do the job of the California Legislature, were willing to do the work of the current Legislature at half the cost to the taxpayer, and would show up to do the job. Their only problem? They were undocumented, they had not received the right documents from the Secretary of State to vote in the Legislature.

The absurdity of the claims of those who wish to justify the lawlessness of those who break our immigration laws by calling those illegal aliens “undocumented immigrants” is evident. Everything we do in life is about the documents. We get a birth certificate that establishes our citizenship, and a death certificate that establish inheritance rights. Deeds say who owns real estate, and contracts establish legal obligations. If we don’t have registration for our car, we can go to jail as a thief, or, at the very least get a ticket. In fact, we don’t even have laws unless some legislator gets a document passed through the Legislature and signed by the Governor. All of life requires the right “documents.”

The protests of this last week can be encapsulated this way: thousands of criminals wanted the government to ignore their crime. That reality is not changed by saying that they “are human and we need to recognize their humanity.” Of course we recognize their humanity; they just need to follow the law. We will not justify their lawlessness any more that we would justify the lawlessness of a trespasser or thief on the grounds that they “needed” the property they took. Marching in the street, protesting the enforcement of a law does not justify breaking that law. A legal system that rewards lawbreakers is destined to collapse into anarchy. Indeed, those who protested this last week were asking for anarchy; an open border and unlimited immigration. That is dangerous for our country (as 9/11 pointed out), and extremely shortsighted.

Our immigration laws may be complicated, but that does not justify ignoring them. We should enforce those laws, and, if the enforcement proves that the laws are unworkable, then you look at changing the law. But until that happens, the laws should stand, and they should be enforced.

I’m not going to rant, as I am most capable of doing when I am passionate about something…I’ll just make this short and sweet.

1–Please vote wisely, in any election. Don’t vote along party lines. Don’t vote for a candidate because their name “sounds good.” Research the candidates and make your voice heard! Vote principle over power–vote for who you truly think represents you the best, rather than who will win.

2–Californians: We have primary elections coming up on June 6th, and I happen to know candidates for many of the major offices personally. There are AMAZING men running for these offices–please take the time to learn more about them, as well as all the candidates, and where they stand. Don’t listen to the commercials–they are biased and unreliable for the most part. Do your homework!

3–Please VOTE! Always! Remember that it is a privilege and a right, and not one to be taken lightly.

Done.

(This was all brought on by a conversation tonight that made me frustrated and I needed to get this out. 🙂 Thanks for “listening”…)

From a Capitol Resource Institute e-mail…I am in awe (and not a “good” awe)…

Outrageous Bill Forcing Pro-Homosexual Message in Public Schools Passes Education Committee

Today SB 1437 (Kuel, D-Los Angeles), the most outrageous bill in the California legislature this year, passed from the Senate Education Committee.

SB 1437 requires textbooks to highlight the positive contributions of homosexual and transgender individuals to society and would prevent textbooks, teaching materials, instruction, and “school- sponsored activities” from reflecting adversely upon persons based on their sexual orientation or actual or perceived gender.

“This bill is the most extreme effort thus far to transform our public schools into institutions of indoctrination that disregard all notions of the traditional family unit,” said Karen England, Executive Director of Capitol Resource Institute. “SB 1437 seeks to eliminate all ‘stereotypes’ of the traditional family so that young children are brainwashed into believing that families with moms and dads are irrelevant.”

SB 1437 not only affects textbooks and instructional materials for kindergarten and grades 1-12, it also affects all school-sponsored activities.

“School-sponsored activities include everything from cheerleading and sports activities to the prom,” said England. “Under SB 1437 school districts would likely be prohibited from having a ‘prom king and queen’ because that would show bias based on gender and sexual orientation.”

“Under SB 1437 school districts would also likely have to do away with dress codes and would have to accommodate transsexuals on girl-specific or boy- specific sports teams.”

The full effects of SB 1437 are broad and sweeping.

“SB 1437 disregards the religious and moral convictions of parents and students and will result in reverse discrimination,” said England.

CRI is committed to opposing legislation that uses our children as social-experiments and tramples upon long-standing traditional family values.

What Does “Gender” Mean?

CRI stated that SB 1437 will result in public schools being forced to accommodate transgender children on opposite-sex sports teams and that school textbooks would have to be revised to eliminate references to “mom and dad,” “husband,” “wife,” or other notions of a traditional family unit.

The reason these scenarios are real possibilities is because schools would be prohibited from casting any negative light on “actual or perceived” gender or sexual orientation.

Gender is defined, under California law, to include either the gender the pupil was born as or the gender the pupil perceives him/herself as (i.e., “actual or perceived gender”).

When SB 1437 prohibits discrimination based on gender, this doesn’t simply mean that girls and boys have to be given the same amount of homework. Because of the definition of gender, stated in the bill, public schools will have to accommodate transgender students and treat this behavior as normal and acceptable. Public schools will also have to encourage other students to do the same, regardless of their personal religious convictions or the convictions of their parents.

SB 1437 goes beyond dealing with “violence prevention” and “student safety.” It actively seeks to transform thoughts and attitudes of students to fully embrace transsexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality.

What Will Happen if SB 1437 Becomes Law?

Just to give you an idea of how completely outrageous this bill really is, here is a quote from a proponent of SB 1437.

Aejaie Sellers, executive director of the Billy DeFrank LGBT Center in Santa Clara told the San Jose Mercury News that she thinks SB 1437 – requiring gay and lesbian history lessons for students – is fantastic idea.

“Gays throughout history should be recognized, Who knows that the author of ‘America the Beautiful,’ Katharine Lee Bates, was gay?”

What will happen in history class if SB 1437 becomes law? Our children will be told that many historical figures allegedly had sex with persons of the same sex and that this is okay, regardless of what your parents or religious beliefs tell you.

And, what if it’s not conclusively proven that a certain historical figure was a practicing homosexual – will this be inferred? Will our school children be told, based on scanty information, that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was homosexual?

“Not only has U.S. history been watered down and disregarded in our public schools, but now the precious little classroom time that is actually devoted to U.S. history will be spent teaching children that this or that historical figure slept with someone of the same sex and that is okay,” said Karen England of Capitol Resource Institute.

“The author of SB 1437, Senator Kuhel, has declared that she wants ‘open discussions’ about homosexuality in the classroom,” said England. “It is time for parents and taxpayers across California to stand up and denounce the hijacking of our public schools by extreme political activists.”

“Our children deserve to be educated. The indoctrination needs to stop now!”

You may have noticed that my blog has once again become very political–and that shouldn’t be a surprise 🙂

But I really want to hear what you have to say! I am not here to argue or to fight–I truly am interested in what my readers think about these very important issues. Please feel free to comment, as we all can benefit from hearing what other people have to say 🙂

Thanks for reading!

The Real Price Gougers

“Do you want to reduce the price of gasoline by almost 60 cents a gallon immediately?

Get the real price gougers. They take nearly 60 cents of every $3.00 gallon of gas. They should pay the windfall profits tax. They should be investigated. What are they doing with this money? How is it being spent? How are they ripping off the gasoline consumer?

They manipulate the market in oil. They withhold large amounts of the oil supply from the public, artificially reducing the supply so that the price of gasoline continually goes up. They prohibit the refining of oil, and, in fact, add useless, polluting chemicals to gasoline (claiming that it makes the air cleaner), which also artificially increases the price of gasoline. In fact, they profit from their activities at the expense of consumers everywhere. They gouge consumers, take home exorbitant salaries from their price gouging practices, and do absolutely nothing for the gas consuming public. They take the food from the table of the hardworking people of this state and country to satisfy their appetite for the big bucks they make from big oil.

How have these gougers avoided investigation so long? They blame others for the high price of gasoline. They use their public relations mechanisms to manipulate the press into shifting the blame from themselves to powerless scapegoats, and keep the flow of big bucks headed into their pockets from the pockets of working families.

Who are these gougers? They are the politicians and bureaucrats in the state and federal governments. Federal taxes take 18.4 cents of every gallon of gas. State gas tax is 18 cents a gallon. The state sales tax adds 22 cents to every $3.00 gallon of gas. Of course, the amount of sales tax goes up as the price of gas increases. Add these together, and the consumer pays 58.4 cents to the government for every $3.00 gallon of gas. These taxes don’t include the income taxes paid by oil companies, which last year was over $108 billion to the federal government alone.

And what does the consumer get for this price gouging? Nothing. Government tells us they collect the tax to build roads and freeways, yet the freeways are overcrowded and the roads are crumbling. All the consumer gets is bigger government, and useless studies. Lots of government bureaucrats make six figure incomes from the gas tax to do absolutely nothing. Billions of dollars a year flow to these useless government executives and politicians, and they use these billions to line their own pockets and increase their power.

In addition, these same politicians purposefully place some oil of limits, artificially limiting the supply, increasing the price of gasoline, and shifting more of our national wealth to the terrorist nations in the Middle East. The United States has over 200 years of known oil reserves that no one can touch because the government won’t let them. Add to this the fact that the government won’t let anyone expand the refining capacity in this country, and mandates the inclusion of artificial chemicals to gasoline that can pollute our water, and the result is constantly-rising gas prices at the pump.

On average, only 30 cents of every gallon of gas flows to the oil companies, yet politicians, and their allies in the press, accuse oil executives of gouging consumers. One politician in Sacramento wanted to assess a windfall profits tax on these oil companies this week, claiming that oil companies were ripping off consumers. This same politician did not once mention that government makes double the amount that oil companies make off the same gallon of gas on sales and gas taxes alone. The press dutifully reported his scapegoat tactics, never once investigating him for his consumer rip off.

Don’t be fooled by the rhetoric. The real price gouger in the oil industry is government.”

(Used with permission from Assemblyman Haynes’ weekly “Monday Memorandum.”)

SCR 113 – Illegal Immigration Boycott Resolution
Senator Tom McClintock
State Senate Floor Speech

Senator Alarcon’s talk about the views of the Founding Fathers on immigration caught my attention and interest. I am quite familiar with the writings of Benjamin Franklin on the subject and Senator Alarcon may be very surprised to learn that there was no more ardent or vigorous critic of illegal immigration than Benjamin Franklin. He wrote about it extensively during the mass immigration of Germans into Pennsylvania, in the 1750s. His solution however was not to ban immigration, but rather to insist upon legal immigration.

And that is the problem I have with this resolution: it blurs that vital distinction between legal and illegal immigration. The proponents are absolutely right and absolutely solid in saying that ours is a nation of immigrants. Virtually every one of us is either an immigrant ourselves or the son or daughter of immigrants.

That is what makes this country so great. That is the foundation of a nation, built on that uniquely American motto, E Pluribus Unum: from many, one.

From many people, one people. The American people.

From many races, one race. The American race.

Our immigration laws are not written to keep people out. Our immigration laws are written to ensure that as people come to America, they come to become Americans and to assimilate to American society: they acquire a common language, a common culture and a common appreciation of American constitutional principles and American legal traditions.

Illegal immigration undermines the process of legal immigration that makes our country possible in the first place. Blurring the distinction between legal and illegal immigration is an insult to the millions of legal immigrants who right now are obeying our laws; who are doing everything our country asks of them; who are waiting in line to become Americans and who are helplessly watching as millions and millions of people cut in line in front of them.

Finally, Bush is regaining his senses in one respect! According to this article, he believes that” the national anthem ought to be sung in English, and I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English.”

I know there are many different opinions on this topic, and I know that I certainly have my own opinions (after studying this for three years, and having my opinion change several times).

However, to me, the bottom line is this: they are here ILLEGALLY. The definition of illegal is “prohibited by law; against the law; unlawful; illicit; not authorized or sanctioned” (Webster). If they cannot respect our laws for becoming a lawful citizen, why should we assume that they will respect our other laws?

I know the debates about what the Bible says about aliens, but I also know that God has put governments in place to create order, not chaos. Order includes laws. Laws are to be followed, not broken. Illegal immigrants are BREAKING THE LAW, and that should NEVER be rewarded.