All your children are belong to us

Alternate headline: Schizo

"While I appreciate the value of wearing a ski helmet, I am concerned about the continuing and seemingly inexorable transfer of authority from parents to the state,"

- Governor Jerry Brown, last month

And in other totally related news:

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation that gives children 12 or older the right to obtain preventive treatment for sexually transmitted diseases without parental consent, including an HPV immunization for cervical cancer.

Brown did not explain his reasoning in the announcement Sunday.

Assembly Bill 499 was carried by Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. She said the legislation addresses a loophole in the law that forbids prevention steps by doctors but allows minors under 18 to undergo abortions and post-infection treatment for sexually transmitted diseases without the approval of parents or a guardian.

Let us provide some narrative translation: The going in position, the default position, if you will, is that the government is the first-in-line protector of your child's health. You see, that whole parental notification thing was an overlooked omission in the nanny safety net of the state. We should be thankful people like Toni Atkins are doing it for the children.

Many in the medical field and advocates for minors agree parental consent is ideal. But they say in some cases sexually active minors without a strong relationship with their parents may be too frightened to seek approval and risk their health.

Again, the default position the state has taken for itself is that child-parent relationships suck and protecting minors from any unsavory moments around the dinner table is job #1.

Critics counter the measure is an unwarranted intrusion into parental rights, worry about the safety of certain immunizations and contend that drug makers are behind the law because they stand to profit.

Poway resident Becky Estepp, a mother of boys aged 11 and 13, said she worries about the transfer of authority from parents to the state.

Hey, Becky, that's the same thing the Governor is worried about until he, you know, isn't.



This canoe theory of governance that Brown has adopted whole-heartedly where you paddle a little to the left and then a little to the right to stay on a center/moderate course does nothing of the sort rather it makes Brown look like an intellectually inconsistent spastic buffoon.