Because most philosophies that frown on reproduction don't survive.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Losing in California

It's not news that California is way screwed up, but even so I was disappointed as an ex-Californie to hear that all eight ballot propositions up yesterday got a "no" vote.

This included four propositions to curb spending and the power of the public employees unions which Schwarzenegger was backing in an attempt to do an end run around the legislature. The unions out-spent the "yes" supporters by 50%, and a claiming a full victory in having routed all four.

Even more troubling, the state that won't allow school nurses to dispense Advil, and where students have been suspended for 'taking drugs' like asthma inhalers, feels that requiring that parents be notified before their under-age daughters get abortions would be an 'undue burden'. (Can the school nurse provide Advil to a girl after helping her get an abortion?) The parental notification initiative went down despite getting backing even from pro-choice politicians such as Schwarzenegger.

4 comments:

Julie D. said...

The loss for parental notification broke my heart.

Bernard Brandt said...

I voted, and for most of the abovementioned propositions. I am reminded in this context of two maxims:

No good deed goes unpunished.

and

We have the best system of government that money can buy.

Anonymous said...

I suppose we should find at least a little solace in the fact that Prop. 73 (requiring parental notification of a minor's abortion) was only "narrowly defeated." I'm surprised it did that well considering how much money must have been spent by the other side.

(Not only can school nurses not dispense Advil, but your daughter can't even get her ears pierced without parental permission. But the "right" to abortion -- or should be say, the rights of abortionists -- is sacrosanct.

Changing hearts and minds is a slow process, but I try to keep reminding myself that it is not impossible. Whenever I get too depressed I remind myself that back in the '50s no one would have predicted how socially unacceptable smoking would become. (Well, at least it's unaceptable here in the L.A. area.) Okay, it may not be a social change everyone likes or agrees with, but it is one that was a real turn around and that I never would have predicted.

Amber said...

Things are pretty crazy here in CA, aren't they. I can't believe that *all* of the propositions went down in defeat... what a waste of time.

I just can't understand the opposition to Prop. 73, it doesn't make any sense to me at all.