Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Children, Behave!

“Children. behave!”
Those are the first words from I Think We’re Alone Now, a past hit song by Tommy James and the Shondells that reached #4 on Billboards Hot 100 Chart in 1967. (FYI, in 1987 a version of this song by Tiffany reached #1 in various countries.) These words came to my mind last Sunday when there was a family of five sitting in front of me at church. Multiple times I wished that the oblivious father would have said, “Children, behave!” to his four kids who did not seem to have a clue as to why they were where they were, nor did they have a clue as to what they were supposed to being doing. I thought, “What’s the world coming to?”, but then an “aha moment” as I thought of the California Legislature, and decided that the behavior kids wasn’t quite so bad!
I thought, “Does the California Legislature have a clue as to why they are in Sacramento? Do they have a clue as to what they are supposed to be doing”?
Is there anyone that could say to the legislature, “Children, behave!”?
If you think I am being facetious, review with me some of the brilliant stuff that took up some of their valuable time in 2017.
The official dinosaur of California is now Augustynolophus morrisi. This certainly was an important use of their time! I am thankful that California already had a state fabric, denim, and a state lichen, lace-lichen, otherwise God knows how much more time they could have wasted! Oy vey! “Children, behave!”
SB 239 reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor the purposeful intent to transmit AIDS to an unknowing partner. Also knowingly donating HIV infected blood was decriminalized. Whew! What a relief! “Children, behave!”
They passed AB 398 (Cap & Trade Tax) which is projected to increase gas taxes by $0.61-0.73 by 2031. This is on top of the $0.11 that Cap & Trade (2015) has already increased the gasoline tax, and also in addition to the recent $0.12 increase that the California Democrats pushed through in November 2017. Another example of a tax that hurts the poor and the middle class the worst. Lord have mercy! “Children, behave!”
A bill to require that the true sex of an individual be omitted from California driver’s licenses! OMG! “Children, behave!”
SB 394 allotted $45 million in the state budget to provide free legal services to illegal immigrants. This is a perplexing twist of logic as non-citizens who for the most part do not pay taxes get free legal assistance whereas citizens who pay the taxes that fund the budget have to pay for legal services. Huh?? “Children, behave!”
AB 1308 was a bill to give preferential treatment to prisoners less that 25 years old that had been convicted of serious crimes, because their brains might not have been mature enough to understand right from wrong. Apparently their thinking was that this prior immaturity would now allow for a greater chance of successful rehab. This, in spite of the fact that more than 50% of those ages 18-24 are back behind bars within three years of their release from prison. Note that of the 131,000 inmates in California prisons, 11% are less than 25 years old, and many of these “immature brains” may soon be back on the streets. Yikes! “Children, behave!”
There are many more examples of how the California legislators waste their time and essentially misbehave while in Sacramento, but I only have a limited amount of time and space.
Frequently I wonder if those with the “immature brains” are actually those that spend their time on these frivolous bills! When they hear “Children, behave,” I also wonder if they will eventually realize “that’s what they say when we’re together” . . .  which is the second line of that aforementioned 1967 Tommy James hit song?

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