When considering actions taken by the geniuses in Sacramento, California, it’s usually a wise policy to prepare for the worst when the legislature decides to address a topic.
This time it's Daylight Saving Time. DST is another import from the German Empire that "experts" and progressive busybodies forced on the rest of us when we weren’t paying attention. The U.S. moves the clock up an hour in the spring so people can enjoy another hour of daylight while they sit in the house staring at some sort of screen.
In the fall the clock moves back to time as God intended it.
When the Sacramento Bee first reported politicians were taking a hard look at the sun, I feared they would decide to pass laws regulating when it could rise, in an effort to pull out all the stops in the war on Global Warming.
That didn’t prove to be the case.
The Bee writes, “The state Senate on Thursday approved a proposal to ask voters to repeal a 70-year-old initiative that set a biannual clock change in California and give lawmakers the power to adjust the time with a two-thirds vote.”
I was willing to give the initiative a chance until I got to the part that said, “give lawmakers” more power.
Life here in the formerly Golden State is hard enough without legislators getting a bright idea to fine tune the clock.
The bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman Kansen Chu (D-San Jose) says abolition of DST is his goal, “If signed by the governor, the bill will bring California closer to abolishing the outdated practice of switching our clocks in the fall and spring.”
If that’s true, then why include the provision for a two-thirds vote allowing future time tampering? It’s been my experience one can never be too suspicious when dealing with the legislature.
Besides, if the initiative passes, it will be another instance of woolly-headed legislators making life harder for the rest of us. If California decides to become a sanctuary for solar time, for much of the year clocks here will be out of step with the rest of the Pacific Time Zone.
This will complicate buying airline tickets, making telephone appointments and many other activities that are ruled by the clock.
Stamping out DST is a national effort that will take an act of Congress. Legislator’s time would be better spent — and the chances of complicating the lives of residents reduced — if they lobbied the California congressional delegation to address DST during the fall session of Congress.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker’s bureau. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian’s Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)." Read more of Michael Shannon's reports — Go Here Now.