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Fight For Freedom November 6, 2006 Assemblyman Ray Haynes This is a call to action. For too long, we have been told to "vote our pocketbooks." That sort of selfishness has left us with a selfish government. We can no longer vote "our pocketbook," we must vote for our children’s political freedom. For those who may wonder what they can do to vote for freedom, it is simple. We need to vote for smaller government, less taxes, property rights, and candidates who support these principles. That’s it, and that has to become a moral imperative for those of us who believe in these principles. Bonds grow government. Taxes grow government. Property rights shrink government, and shrink government taxes. That is why the Governor’s opposition to Proposition 90 makes absolutely no sense. Now, don’t get me wrong. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Click on "Read More" for further details
I like Governor Schwarzenegger, and he is the better candidate by far. Even when I was criticizing him for growing state government too much, I still wanted him to be re-elected. The alternative would be disastrous. That desire, however, doesn’t mean that I abandon all common sense. In his statement opposing Proposition 90, the Governor said that he believed "independent analysts" who said that Proposition 90 would lead to "higher taxes," and that is why he is opposing the initiative. Of course in reality, his bonds are more likely to lead to higher taxes than Proposition 90, but even assuming that were not so, when have those in "government" been worried about increasing taxes? The independent analysts the Governor cited have openly and consistently advocated for greater taxes for welfare and other government programs. It appears that the only time they apparently worry about increased taxes is when the government is going to have to pay out money if it intrudes on individual freedom. More important, the independent analysts are not all that independent. They work for government, and ignored the evidence brought to them that Proposition 90 will not cost any more money. Unfortunately, for these "independent analysts," they sacrificed their independence to achieve a political goal, that is, the defeat of Proposition 90. Even if the initiative would cost more money, the cost would be justifiable, since the major role of government is to protect our personal security and our individual freedom. Having said that, however, I don’t believe Proposition 90 will increase government costs one penny. What it will do is change the government’s behavior. Right now, government can trample on an individual’s property rights with impunity. Proposition 90 will hold those government officials accountable if they do so. That is fair and proper. To complain that a government agency may have to pay if that agency abuses a landowner is akin to arguing that it is unfair to require someone to pay for an accident they caused. It is nonsensical. I don’t expect our elected officials to understand the nuances of protecting freedom, but it is fair to expect them to do all they can to protect individual freedom, not government prerogative. Unfortunately, the Governor chose government over the individual when choosing to oppose Proposition 90. The Sacramento establishment opposed 90, and the Governor chose not to fight that establishment. We, however, can fight that establishment. We can choose freedom. We can choose property rights. We can choose to limit the power of government and to limit government prerogative when it interferes with our individual freedom. We can do that when we vote. Many Americans have fought and died to protect our freedom. We can honor their sacrifice and their legacy by choosing to exercise our vote to promote and protect freedom. Voting for freedom is not that great a sacrifice, but it can make all the difference in the world for the future we are creating for our children. ****************************** Taxing Decisions http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20061101/news_lz1ed1top.html 11-01-06 You are not alone if you think this year's voter information booklet, which seems as thick as the San Diego phone book, is pretty intimidating. Thankfully, however, help has arrived from the Tax Foundation. In a recent study, the respected Washington think tank reports that California's tax policies make it more hostile to business when compared with other states. Last year, California's "business tax climate" was the nation's ninth-worst; this year it is the nation's sixth-worst, surpassed only by those rust-bucket engines of innovation in New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Vermont and Rhode Island. ****************************** 819 More From Class Of ’06 Pass California Exit Exam http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/15909108.htm 110-02-06 When more than 40,000 seniors from the Class of 2006 failed to pass the California High School Exit Exam before graduation in June, many schools offered prep classes and extra help. The hope was that educators would track the students who didn't receive a diploma and encourage them to keep taking the test until they graduated from high school. But five months after graduation season, only 819 students -- about 2 percent of the former seniors who didn't pass the exam last year -- have earned winning marks and the chance for their high school diploma. ****************************** Is the Sky Really Falling? A Review of Recent Global Warming Scare Stories by Patrick J. Michaels, The Cato Institute http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6622 08-23-06 Executive Summary In the last two years, a remarkable amount of disturbing news has been published concerning global warming, largely concentrating on melting of polar ice, tropical storms and hurricanes, and mass extinctions. The sheer volume of these stories appears to be moving the American political process toward some type of policy restricting emissions of carbon dioxide. It is highly improbable, in a statistical sense, that new information added to any existing forecast is almost always "bad" or "good"; rather, each new finding has an equal probability of making a forecast worse or better. Consequently, the preponderance of bad news almost certainly means that something is missing, both in the process of science itself and in the reporting of science. This paper examines in detail both recent scientific reports on climate change and the communication of those reports. Needless to say, the unreported information is usually counter to the bad news. Reports of rapid disintegration of Greenland’s ice ignore the fact that the region was warmer than it is now for several decades in the early 20th century, before humans could have had much influence on climate. Similar stories concerning Antarctica neglect the fact that the net temperature trend in recent decades is negative, or that warming the surrounding ocean can serve only to enhance snowfall, resulting in a gain in ice. Global warming affects hurricanes in both positive and negative fashions, and there is no relationship between the severity of storms and ocean-surface temperature, once a commonly exceeded threshold temperature is reached. Reports of massive species extinction also turn out to be impressively flawed. This constellation of half-truths and misstatements is a predictable consequence of the way that science is now conducted, where issues compete with each other for public support. Unfortunately, this creates a culture of negativity that is reflected in the recent spate of global warming reports. ****************************** Sun Delivers For Oakland Mail Plant http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_4584229 11-01-06 Chevron is going solar. The San Ramon-based energy company today unveils one of the nation's larger solar arrays, a nearly 1-megawatt system atop the U.S. Postal Service's processing plant in West Oakland. The solar array, combined with energy-efficiency improvements made throughout the cavernous sorting plant, will save the agency an easy $1 million a year and cut power purchases from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. by nearly one-third. ****************************** Choices, choices, choices http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/47308.html 11-01-06 When it comes to natural gas, California faces a quandary. On one hand, the state does not have a terminal anywhere along its coast that can off-load LNG (natural gas that is stored in a ship in its super-cooled, liquefied form). On the other hand, California does have an increasing demand for natural gas. It has become the clean-burning fuel of choice to generate electricity and heat homes. Yet new domestic supplies aren't keeping up with future demands. ****************************** The Audacity of Hospitals Do you want cheese with that whine?
Written By: Greg Scandlen, Health Care News, The Heartland Institute http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=19987 11-01-06 When it comes to audacity, no industry has hospitals beat. For how many years have you heard them whine about the inappropriate use of emergency rooms? The hospitals are especially unhappy because they are the providers of first resort for all the illegal immigrants coming into the country, which adds an enormous burden to their finances. So the federal government appropriates one billion dollars to help with that problem ... and the hospitals can't be bothered to collect it. A September 19 Chicago Tribune article quoted the director of the federal Center for Medicare Management, Herb Kuhn, as saying, "We are really not certain why providers are not claiming the money." The article lists a number of excuses the hospitals give. They complain they might have to hire a staffer to apply for the funds because the application process is too complicated. The feds won't give them enough money (so they would rather have none). And reason number one is that it would be rude to ask patients about their immigration status. ****************************** Brewer’s Millions http://dailynews.com/opinions/ci_4581983 11-01-06 If the cliché that you get what you pay for holds true in public education, then the Los Angeles Unified School District will soon have an educational miracle-worker as superintendent. It better. Because absent some truly extraordinary leadership, it's hard to see how the taxpayers of Los Angeles aren't overpaying for incoming Superintendent David Brewer III. Aside from his staggering six-figure salary, just look at Brewer's other perks: A $45,000 annual expense account. A $3,000 monthly housing allowance. Plus a car - and a driver. ****************************** Neither rain, nor sleet, nor squirrel ... ‘It was a freak thing,’ PA letter-carrier says after attack by jumpy rodent http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15530693/ 11-02-06 OIL CITY, Pa. - Letter carriers occasionally have to deal with angry dogs or maybe even a spider’s nest in a mailbox, but a mean squirrel? Barb Dougherty, a 30-year Postal Service employee, said she was attacked and bitten Monday by a squirrel while delivering mail in Oil City, about 75 miles north of Pittsburgh. "It was a freak thing. It was traumatic," Dougherty told The Derrick newspaper. "I saw it there on the porch, put the mail in the box and turned to walk away and it jumped on me." She said the animal ran up her leg and onto her back. ****************************** Full legislative text, analyses and votes are available on the State web server at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov Assemblyman Haynes’ office can be reached at (951) 699-1113 in Temecula, California or in the Capitol in Sacramento at (916) 319-2066 To subscribe to this Memorandum by e-mail, please send a request to:
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