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Freedom Fades, Part II September 11, 2006 In Nazi Germany, the first step in Hitler’s effort to eliminate opposition was to undermine the influence of churches and people of faith. Since the church in Nazi Germany was receiving state subsidies, it wasn’t too hard to get compliance, but the consequences of that compliance was devastating. In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes the effects of Hitler’s policies on the church, and how that ultimately led to the collapse of the moral fabric of the nation. We all know what occurred after that. There are several linchpins of liberty. The first is ........
If a persons property rights are threatened, that is, the ability to feed their families and the right to keep the fruits of their labor, then they will say whatever they have to say, and do whatever they have to do to try and keep what they have. Freedom of speech is irrelevant when it comes to keeping the family nest egg. Next is religious freedom. A government that requires a faithful person to participate in, be complicit in, or be silent in the face of what that person considers sin in order to survive in society will lose all semblance of order in a very short period of time. People of faith will ignore the law rather than sacrifice their eternal soul. The rest of society, released from any constraints of morality or internal regulatory restraint, will simply choose a self-indulgent lifestyle, a lifestyle not necessarily conducive to following any other law. The consequence to the social order of these behaviors is disastrous. California’s Legislature has not yet learned this lesson, and they are making a serious attempt to undermine the church and people of faith in California, and they are using the guise of "discrimination" against homosexuals in order to do it. Many people of faith believe that if they aid in or promote homosexuality (even if they don’t engage in the behavior themselves), they are committing a sin. They are particularly concerned if others are trying to lead their children down the road to this sin, because they believe it endangers their children’s eternal soul. So, when the government, under the guise of prohibiting "discrimination" starts interfering with the operations of their church or starts "promoting" homosexuality in the schools, people of faith get upset. In the early "anti-discrimination" laws, churches were exempted. Over the last several years, the activists in the legislature who have advanced pro-homosexual legislation have removed the church exemptions from their legislation. Today, churches that run hospitals or schools cannot discriminate against employees who are openly homosexual. This year, the Legislature attempted to advance that agenda even more. It passed SB 1437, SB 1441, AB 606 and AB 1056. Each in their own way seeks to require people of faith to accept homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. AB 606 requires school district to adopt "nondiscrimination policies" even though discrimination against homosexuality is already barred by state law. AB 1437 (just vetoed by the Governor) would have required schools to "not discriminate" against homosexuals in the selection of textbooks, although it is not clear how current textbooks discriminate. AB 1056 requires the introduction of "tolerance" into the curriculum ("tolerance" is the code word for acceptance of homosexuality), and AB 1441 would require anyone who gets state financial assistance (including faith-based colleges and social service organizations) to not discriminate against homosexuals in any of its operations. A rule in the religious school against sex outside of marriage could be interpreted as violating this law, and result in the loss of state aid to the students of that school. A state that doesn’t respect religious freedom is fascist. It is just that simple, no matter what excuse or guise the fascism takes. How far have the mighty fallen? ****************************** ’Gut And Amend’ Bills Deserve A Veto http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/abox/article_1267419.php 09-07-06 The California Legislature has finished its sausage-making for this term, leaving a pile of "statesmanship" on Gov. Schwarzenegger's desk. Unfortunately, however, much of it deserves to be vetoed as a blatant abuse of the legislative process. In particular, those bills that were the result of the legislative practice dubbed "gut and amend" (GANDA), and which escaped virtually all scrutiny, should be vetoed, as the governor promised to do when he first ran for governor in 2003. ****************************** Unions Gain Political Clout While Losing Ground In Workplace http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/columns/walters/story/14317333p-15234885c.html 09-05-06 Remember the old adage about being lucky in cards and unlucky in love? California's labor unions find themselves in something like that quandary on this Labor Day -- enjoying unprecedented political influence but seeing their share of California's work force continue to shrink. Labor's political clout was starkly demonstrated last year when it spent something in excess of $100 million to defeat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "year of reform" ballot measures that, in aggregate, would have reduced union influence in state and local government. ****************************** School Measure On Gays Vetoed http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/19270.html 09-07-06 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday vetoed a bill prohibiting schools from using textbooks and teaching materials that disparage gays. Schwarzenegger -- who has a mixed record on gay rights bills and received heavy lobbying from conservative groups to oppose the bill -- argued that existing education codes already protect students against discrimination based on their sexual orientation. ****************************** Horrifying http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/editorials/article_1262721.php 09-05-06 On the Register's Friday front page, next to the story on the California Legislature's passage of hundreds of bills before its midnight Aug. 31 deadline, was a picture of "The Scream," Edward Munch's painting of terror, which had just been recovered from thieves. That was good news about the recovery of the classic artwork. The bad news is that screaming is also how Californians might feel when they realize the magnitude of what Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, appropriately called "a landmark legislative year for us." ****************************** New Voters Not Emerging In Cities http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/state/article_1265074.php 09-05-06 Immigration protests that brought hundreds of thousands of marchers into the nation's streets this spring promised a potent political legacy – a surge of new Hispanic voters. "Today We March, Tomorrow We Vote," they vowed. But an Associated Press review of voter registration figures from Chicago, Denver, Houston, Atlanta and other major urban areas that saw large rallies shows no sign of a historic new voter boom that could sway elections. ****************************** No On Prop. 88 http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/op-ed/editorial2/20060908-9999-lz1ed8bottom.html 09-08-06 Poorly crafted, dubious initiatives are par for California. But even given this history of ballot-measure botches, the all-star lineup that's assembled to oppose Proposition 88 seems unprecedented. The measure would add a $50 property tax to almost every parcel in the state, whatever the size, to provide about $450 million in additional annual revenue for schools. ****************************** Gasoline Prices Could Keep Falling http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gas6sep06,1,3687175.story?coll=la-headlines-business 09-06-06 California motorists could see the state's average price for a gallon of regular gasoline fall to $2.75 or lower in the coming weeks as the nation's refineries closed out the summer driving season without serious problems and forecasters rolled back their projections of a harsher-than-normal hurricane season. The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in California fell 8.8 cents to $3.01 a gallon during the week ended Monday, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of gas stations that was released a day late because of the Labor Day holiday. The average was 4.6 cents below the price one year ago. ****************************** Our Hit List http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060906/news_lz1ed6bottom.html 09-06-06 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger got off to a fast start in his annual September Veto Parade yesterday by saying he would reject state Sen. Sheila Kuehl's nonsensical, poorly drafted bill mandating that California adopt socialized medicine. It is a sad commentary on the Legislature that Kuehl's bill made it this far. Perhaps the governor next can tackle measures that are, respectively, anti-consumer, anti-common sense and pro-corruption. ****************************** Student Aid Bill At Final Hurdle http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/15459047.htm 09-07-06 A controversial bill that would allow illegal immigrants to get state financial aid while attending California's public colleges and universities is now in the hands of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has until the end of this month to sign or veto. The bill's author, state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, called on the governor Wednesday to ``invest in California's future'' by signing SB 160, also called the California DREAM Act, into law. ****************************** Ante Up On Pacts http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/editorials/stories/PE_OpEd_Opinion_R_op_07_ed_compacts1.2b1a1bc.html 09-07-06 The Legislature's rejection last week of a spate of tribal gambling compacts represents a sacrifice of the public good to a special interest group -- unions. Legislators should discard the unions' specious concerns and ratify the pacts as soon as they return to Sacramento after the November election. Last Thursday, the final day of this year's legislative session, legislators declined to take up five bills ratifying six gambling compacts that Gov. Schwarzenegger signed with Indian tribes. ****************************** Immigration Revamp Put On Backburner http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/19860.html 09-08-06 A comprehensive immigration overhaul appears dead for the year, as House Republicans on Thursday announced plans to push ahead with border security measures and leave everything else for another time. Facing a tight schedule and sharp divisions within their own ranks, GOP leaders will be sticking with border-enforcement priorities that can be passed before the November election. ****************************** 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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Politics 
