California: Perhaps the sun is getting to their heads

If you're ever trying to coax a friend from the emotional bonds of liberalism it's good to start by referencing California.

The term "Parisian Determinism" has been used to describe the phenomenon in which ideas (always bad) fashionable in Paris become fashionable in the United States roughly twelve years later. But Paris is far away and twelve years isn't soon enough to get people riled up. Instead I think we should concentrate more on "Californian Determinism".

While just as shortsighted as French logic, bad ideas from California run the risk of spreading through the states faster than you can say "veggieburgers".

Of particular interest today is the unanimous ruling by a California appeals court that threatens to outlaw homeschooling in the state and criminalize parents who resist.

The ruling in effect bars any homeschooling not done directly by a certified teacher. A whopping 160,000 students stand to lose out if this is upheld. One of the judges was quoted as saying parents could be criminally prosecuted for failing to comply.

Wisconsinites should take particular notice of this as our courts recently shut down a successful e-school network after a similar challenge. California's move will no doubt embolden WEAC to set their sights on Wisconsin homeschoolers as a whole.

Do we really want to be in the same boat as California? This is the same California which a few months back passed a bill ridding future textbooks of any references to "mom and dad" or "husband and wife" lest non-traditional families be discomforted. It was also ordered that students be allowed to use the bathroom and locker facilities of whichever gender they "identify" with.

You can't make this stuff up. What you can do though is let people you know in on these little reported developments and ask them to do the same. As much as people in Wisconsin may be split on politics, I think we can all agree that California is the last place we should be emulating.