Become an INFORMED voter...

Good morning, all! This weekend I ran in the 2008 Race for the Cure. It felt good to participate in such an important and healthy event. The benefits are numerous. You are donating to a very worthy cause which is to eradicate breast cancer. You are getting fresh air, connecting with the community and getting some exercise. This is a fabulous opportunity.

After spending so much time around others and having conversations with many different kinds of people in the community this weekend, I can't help but notice the amount of misinformed voters there are out there. I am sure that this is the case in my town of Murrieta and in many many communities out there. I was amazed of the amount of people that are basing many of their votes on political commercials. It is not difficult to see that these commercials are extremely biased. It is your responsibility as a voter to become informed before making your decisions. The good news is that it's not too late to beat this thing called ignorance.

Every household receives a voter information guide. READ IT.
Here are some tips on using the guide as well as other sources:

1. Read the ACTUAL proposition. Do not just read the arguments for and against the proposition or the quick reference guide, because these can also be misleading. (I'll add more on this later in the post) If you need to use a highlighter to highlight particular points that are important to you, then do it.

2. Read the sections on the background, the proposal and the fiscal effects. These are non-biased.

3. Be careful when reading the arguments and rebuttals. Watch out for deceptive words and phrases such as "could be required" or "may require". Keep your mind open and try not to read things from an emotional perspective. Try to decipher the facts from the opinions. This is the same for any source that you find on the Internet in regards to political candidates, propositions, etc. Many written arguments try the hardest to appeal to the emotional part of your brain. Keep this in mind.

Other things to remember...if, for example, you find something referring to an educational code, etc. Look that code up. It is not biased.

Now that you have those things in mind. I have some more thought on California's Proposition 8. This is one of my passions in this election.

-Read Prop 8. I will make it easy for you. It is so short, here it is.

This initiative measure is submitted to the
people in accordance with the provisions of Article II, Section 8 of the
California Constitution.
This initiative measure expressly amends the
California Constitution by adding a section thereto; therefore, new provisions
proposed to be added are printed in italic type to indicate that they
are new.
SECTION 1. Title
This measure shall be known and may be cited
as the "California Marriage Protection Act."
SECTION 2. Section 7.5 is added
to Article I of the California Constitution, to read:
Sec. 7.5 Only
marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in
California

Supporters of Prop 8 say that this will affect our schools. They say that in accordance to education code 51890, that this law MAY require teachers to instruct children as young as Kindergartners about marriage. Here is this code they refer to:

51890. (a) For the purposes of this chapter, "comprehensive health
education
programs" are defined as all educational programs offered
in kindergarten
and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in the public school
system, including
in-class and out-of-class activities designed to
ensure that:
(1) Pupils
will receive instruction to aid them in making
decisions in matters of
personal, family, and community health, to
include the following subjects:
(A) The use of health care services and products.
(B) Mental and
emotional health and development.
(C) Drug use and misuse, including the
misuse of tobacco and
alcohol.
(D) Family health and child development,
including the legal and
financial aspects and responsibilities of marriage and parenthood.
(E) Oral health, vision, and
hearing.
(F) Nutrition, which may include related topics such as obesity
and diabetes.
(G) Exercise, rest, and posture.
(H) Diseases and
disorders, including sickle cell anemia and
related genetic diseases and
disorders.
(I) Environmental health and safety.
(J) Community health.
(2) To the maximum extent possible, the instruction in health is
structured to provide comprehensive education in health that includes
all the subjects in paragraph (1).
(3) The community actively
participates in the teaching of health
including classroom participation by
practicing professional health
and safety personnel in the community.
(4) Pupils gain appreciation for the importance and value of
lifelong
health and the need for each individual to take
responsibility for his or
her own health.
(5) School districts may voluntarily provide pupils with
instruction on preventative health care, including obesity and
diabetes
prevention through nutrition education.
(b) Health care professionals,
health care service plans, health
care providers, and other entities
participating in a voluntary
initiative with a school district may not
market their services when
undertaking activities related to the initiative.
For purposes of
this subdivision, "marketing" is defined as making a
communication
about a product or service that is intended to encourage
recipients
of the communication to purchase or use the product or service.
Health care or health education information provided in a brochure or
pamphlet that contains the logo or name of a health care service
plan or
health care organization is not considered marketing if
provided in
coordination with the voluntary initiative. The
marketing prohibitions
contained in this subdivision do not apply to
outreach, application
assistance, and enrollment activities relating
to federal, state, or county
sponsored health care insurance programs
that are conducted by health care
professionals, health care service
plans, health care providers, and other
entities if the activities
are conducted in compliance with the statutory,
regulatory, and
programmatic guidelines applicable to those programs.

I have highlighted the word marriage in this code. So what? Teachers must teach about family health and child development, including the legal and
financial aspects and responsibilities of marriage and parenthood.

Same sex marriage is allowed in California right now. The education code has not changed. In addition, a section of the Code supporters neglect to reference is code 51914, which specifically prohibits arbitrary changes to the comprehensive health education program without extensive input and review:

51914. No plan shall be approved by the State Board of Education unless it
determines that the plan was developed with the active cooperation of parents,
community, and teachers, in all stages of planning, approval, and implementation
of the plan.

Here is my opinion:
People are who they are. It is not the place of the government to tell people who they can love and who they can commit to. It is not your place either. Do not impose your religious beliefs on others. In America, we have the freedom of religion. Keep that in mind. If you are straight, same sex marriage does not apply to you. Why take someones right away? If your religion prohibits same sex marriage, teach that to your children. That is your choice. But, still, teach your children acceptance and tolerance. It is not up to you to judge others. I could go on and on.

Be informed on all the propositions and all the candidates. Do not take your position because of a television commercial. That is ignorant. If you choose to do that, you should be ashamed and embarrassed. Do not take your right to vote for granted. It is your responsibility to educate yourself on the issues. Do it! Start today.