Big Brother: Alive & Well in California Roberts’ Rules by Stanley Roberts
In 1949, the late George Orwell warned us about the coming of Big Brother in his novel, 1984. Now that date has passed, so it may seem that Orwell was wrong. He was not! He just got the date wrong. Big Brother has been born in California in this year of 2001. Unless you, dear reader, get off your duff immediately, and take action, your life will be changed forever; and for the worse.
Under the concept that we citizens need protection from ourselves, the California Assembly has passed AB1229 by a 61-2 vote. This bill is not law yet. It must pass the California Senate and be signed by the governor.
The bill provides that every person in California who plays or bets a prohibited gambling game, online, is guilty of an infraction, punishable by a fine not to exceed $100. Further, the Attorney General is expressly authorized to enforce these provisions. Listed among the prohibited online games are: poker, including Stud poker, Draw poker, Caribbean Stud poker, and Pai Gow poker. The cost of enforcing this law will greatly exceed the fines imposed.
In order to obtain evidence of this crime, law enforcement will have to tap into your home computer. Are you getting nervous yet? If they can do this, why not regulate everything else you do in your own home? They can pass laws outlawing anything, and, then check your computer, through the phone line or satellite signal to see if you are doing something that is against a new law passed at the whim of a legislator, who has possibly been paid off through political contributions by a lobbyist. From buying furs to eating meat, to the sexual positions you are allowed to use, they can regulate your behavior to the point you have lost your freedom. Big Brother is now alive. If you live elsewhere than California, don’t sit back complacently, thinking this doesn’t affect you too. California sets the trends for America and the world. What happens there happens everywhere.
Like it or not, the Internet is here to stay. Those who rail against it, instead of using it to their own benefit, will be left behind in the dust.
Unable to cope with something they clearly do not understand and without the intelligence required to properly regulate the Internet, the California Assembly has tried to ban it. Hitler tried that too, by burning books.
“There is no adequate defense, except stupidity, against the impact of a new idea.” — Percy W. Bridgeman
In his column on page 74, Professor Rose shows us another case where the US Senate passed a law that was clearly unconstitutional. It was introduced by basketball great Bill Bradley, a Rhodes scholar, and later Senator, to pay off his former employers. Any high school student should know that you cannot ban an activity in most of the states and leave it okay in a few, else for instance, one could only make autos in Michigan or grow peaches in Georgia.
If legislators are passing laws that violate our constitution, perhaps we need another law, a test of competency to be a legislator. Like other government employees, perhaps those who wish to legislate should take a Civil Service exam before they are allowed to run for office. If you need a license to be a barber or an architect, why not require one to be a maker of laws?
