Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Gov. Jerry Brown Can't Stop Giving Orders That Expand State Power and Interventions in People's Affairs

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation today imposing the nation's first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags.

On Sunday, his office announced that the governor signed the wacko “affirmative consent” standard for sexual assault (SEE: NUTSO California Adopts 'Yes Means Yes' Sex-Assault Rule).

Brown also, on Sunday, vetoed a bill that would have required police to obtain warrants for surveillance by drone. In vetoing the bill, Brown ignored the advice of a group of 41 law professors from around the country who sent a letter to Brown urging him to sign the bill. "Misuse of drones may chill First Amendment activity and lead to high-tech racial profiling," the letter said.


7 comments:

  1. I strongly feel that Jerry Brown is the embodiment of everything that has been wrong with California politics since 1975. There is not one good signature policy from him in his entire tenure of politics that has been good for California. Not one. He advances the agendas of his voting bases: environmentalists, self-interested NIMBYs, public sector unions, and the Democratic Party, to the expense of the progress and liberty of California. The ending of infrastructure projects in the 1970s to appease environmentalists. The Dill Act of 1978, which has given public sector unions a stranglehold on California politics ever since. AB32 in 2006, supported when Jerry Brown was Attorney General. AB32 burdens businesses with all sorts of environmental regulations in the guise of "defending against climate change." All of the benefits offered during his administration to illegal immigrants, from drivers licenses to college grants to even legal assistance, all paid for by law-abiding citizens and legal immigrants. This only incentivizes illegal immigration. And now, SB270, which bans plastic bags and forces people to buy paper or reusable bags. All of this destructive legislation, while California does nothing about the impending tsunami of pension debt that will wipe out the budget. All of this, while California is burdened with high taxes. All of this, while the cost of living in California's major cities escalate, largely due to NIMBY regulations that stifle the development of more housing inside these major cities.

    Jerry Brown is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with California's politics. Sadly thanks to California's top-two voting system foisted upon us by RINO Abel Maldonaldo, there are no third-party options in November, so I have no choice but to vote for Neil Kashkari. I'm not too enthusiastic about this, but I am very upset with Jerry Brown and the Democratic legislature and their unrelenting efforts to destroy California with their destructive nanny-state laws.

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    1. Voting for anyone is a mistake. The election system enables sociopaths, thieves and liars. Its time to stop using this busted system so we can find something better. Don't vote it only encourages them.

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    2. Non-voting is something that I've been wrestling with for quite a while as a libertarian. Sadly we're caught in a bind. If we don't vote, sociopaths will continue to take away our freedoms one at a time. If we libertarians don't vote, then the only people who will be voting will be those who actively want to take away others freedoms. However, I am sick and tired of the "lesser of two evils" political system, especially in California where nanny statists worked to stifle dissent via voting for third parties by instituting the Top Two voting system. Outside of the referendum and initiative processes, which have been rigged to protect the legislature at the expense of the people, there's absolutely nothing else I can do to voice my opposition against Governor Moonbeam and the Democrat-controlled legislature's nanny-state regulations at all, short of leaving the state.

      We're truly in a bad situation. Either we capitulate to this Simon Says game of nanny state regulations and try to keep up with a growing list of random rules foisted upon us by our Progressive comrades in Sacramento, or we vote for politicians who claim to stop the nanny state, only for them to get corrupted (like Rand Paul) and end up working to expand the state. Look at what happened to Arnold Schwarzenegger; he was solid during his first two years in office, but then he capitulated to the wishes of the Democrat-controlled legislature and turned into a RINO ever since. A politician with some backbone against the nanny state like Tom McClintock will never become governor of this state that was bought a long time ago by environmentalists, NIMBY interests, public sector unions, and other special interests that favor the Democrats.

      I recognize the futility of voting, but sadly we're stuck with this system until people end up taking a more libertarian world view. But that's not going to happen; it's within many people's nature to use politics to force others to live a certain way or to force others to provide for them. Some libertarians are holding out for the inevitable political collapse, but I'm pessimistic that this collapse will lead to a shift toward libertarian thinking. Germany and Japan didn't become libertarian states after they lost WWII.

      I think it's very important to fight the nanny statists who are taking away our liberties every day they are in the legislature. It's important to show our arrogant leaders that they cannot steamroll nanny state laws without any pushback from the people. We are America; if the legislature wants a nanny state, they could pack their bags and move to Singapore, since they love the nanny state so much. Sadly there aren't a lot of tools that we have (we have voting, referenda, initiatives, protests, and emigration as our only tools). But I think it's better to do something to fight against arrogant control freaks working to take away our liberties than to stand and do nothing.

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  2. "September 30, 2014LOS ANGELES --Gov. Jerry Brown has signed the nation's first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags."This bill is a step in the right direction," Brown said in a statement. "It reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself."Sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla of Los Angeles, SB270 prohibits large grocery stores and pharmacies from distributing single-use plastic bags after July 2015. The same ban will apply to convenience stores and liquor stores in 2016."We're the first to ban these bags, and we won't be the last."

    They no longer provide single use plastic bags in Austin, Texas, and it is a nightmare. Easy to forget to 'bring your own bag' into a store. Also, there was no real problem with plastic bags as a blight on the landscape, the whole thing was cooked up by you guessed it -- special interest groups. The U.S. continues to regress backward, becoming a banana republic, and looks like the head Chimp is in Calif. (Austin, Texas, and other copycat abodes).

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    1. The U.S (and California) regression is a multi-generational trend that has only just begun. Its a long way to the bottom and the best way to stay sane is to learn from the Stoics.

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  3. I left Kalifornia back in 2002 after 10-1/2 years. I couldn't stand it anymore. They are truly insane and I see now hope for them given the degree of parasites residing there unless they break up.

    Kalifornia, the future of amerika.

    Also, I wonder if anyone has done an overall energy calculation for paper vs. plastic?

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    1. Walter Block has some great presentations/articles on paper bags vs plastic bags. He points out that garbage disposal socialism prevents customers from knowing which one costs more to dispose. He also points to a study that shows plastic bags are inert in garbage dumps and paper bags and the glue used to make them infect the soil of garbage dumps when they break down.

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