Arnold’s Propositioning Us - Just Say No
Eight propositions will be on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Propositions 73-78 are endorsed by Gov. Schwarzenegger and all should be turned
down. Props. 79-80 are opposed by Arnold and should be approved for the reasons
listed below.
Prop. 73 – NO (Parental
Notification on Abortion)
Parental
notification on abortion requires pregnant minor’s (under 18) parents or
guardian to be notified before the procedure is
done.
Presently, there is no need to
notify parents or guardians of a minor’s intent.
If a girl can’t tell her mom,
there’s something that won’t be solved by the girl being forced to
carry the child full term.
Many girls
are unofficially liberated minors. that is, they work to support themselves or
are living apart from their parents or
guardians.
If a minor can be put on
trial for murder because he/she is old enough to face the consequences of
his/her action, then it follows that a minor should be able to make her choice
in privacy. NO on 73.
Prop. 74
– NO (Public School
Teachers)
As it is, teachers are
evaluated every year for two years. After this two-year probation, a teacher
gains rights of due process (only university professors have tenure) and it
becomes more difficult to fire a
teacher.
This proposition is just a
smoke screen to cover the real faults in the school system, which are aging
building, lack of modern equipment in poorer school districts, that is,
computers, science equipment, books, overcrowding, lack of counseling and
outreach programs to help “problem” kids. In short a lack of public
spending on education. NO on
74.
Prop. 75 – NO
(Government Employee Dues)
Union
charge dues for membership. Non-members are also charged a fee because, by law,
the union negotiates on everyone’s
behalf.
This is the Gobernator's
attempt to squelch and weaken organized labor using Double-speak. Schwarzenegger
is using Roveian methods to stop “special interests,” that is,
nurses, janitors, teachers, firefighters, to engage in political activity.
Interestingly, the Gov. has not attempted to reign in Big Business special
interests, that is, AIMCO, Haliburton, Time Warner, the oil corporations, etc.
from spending their money on political activity. NO on
75.
Prop. 76 – NO (State
Budget; School Funding)
California
has had budgetary problems since 2001. In 1988 voters approved Prop. 98 which
set a minimum of spending for schools and community colleges based on the number
of students and economic growth.
This
proposition would give a Governor too much power over the budget. It also cuts
four billion dollars per year from spending on education and would sabotage the
voter approved Prop 98 school funding guarantees. “Special interest
groups,” that is, teachers, teach assistants, nurses, classified
employees, etc. are against this proposition. Another reason the Gobernator
wants to vitiate the power of these organized groups. NO on
76.
Prop. 77 – NO
(Redistricting)
Political districts
are re-divided after each census which last happened in 2000 and will happen
again in 2010.
The legislature has the
right to draw these districts. Prop. 77 would take that away from the
legislature and give it to three retired and unaccountable judges. They would
draw new district lines based on out-of-date census data that have to be
approved by the voters in 2006. If voters rejected their plans, the process
would start over, and over, until approved. NO on
77.
Prop. 78 – NO
(Prescription Drug Discounts)
State
and federal programs provide drug coverage for low income people. Prop. 78 was
put on the ballot by drug companies who want to defeat Prop. 79 which give more
coverage. NO on 78.
Prop. 79
– YES (Drug Discounts for
Medi-Cal)
Federal and state law
required lower drug prices for Medi-Cal recipients. Prop. 79 would allow the
state to negotiate rebates. Corporations that do not agree to lower prices would
have their product removed from “preferred status.” YES on
79.
Prop. 80 – YES
(Regulation of Electric Service)
In
the 1990s, California began reducing state control of electricity with the hope
of lower prices due to competition. This action was put on hold because of
energy shortages.
Do you remember the
tapes of the people at Enron laughing about fleecing little old ladies with
price hikes on their electric bills? And how they conned the people of
California into deregulation? If you don’t remember any rate hikes on your
electric bill, that’s because Los Angeles (including Venice) has its own
government-run power company, the DWP. It was not affected by the shenanigans of
the “competitive” private
companies.
Prop. 80 would increase
state control over California’s electricity market. In addition to
regulating prices, the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC), a government agency,
would required all PUC-controlled companies to use more renewable energy
resources with a goal of 20 percent move up to 2010, instead of 2017. YES on
80.
– The Beachhead
Collective
Posted: Sat
- October 1, 2005 at 06:29 AM