Capitol Report

March 19th, 2009

The Need for Genocide Education in California Schools
By Senator Mark Wyland (R-Carlsbad)

The effects of genocide on not only the United States but the entire world have been extremely profound on our nation's history, yet there is no specific requirement that students be exposed to actual oral histories about genocides. I have introduced legislation that addresses this by requiring that students be exposed to oral histories relating to genocide before receiving credit for world or US history courses.

Oral histories allow students to immerse themselves in individual stories and understand the subject as more than statistics on a page. These personal narratives capture the voices of real people not often included in traditional historical records.

The 20th century alone saw multiple genocides, and yet students are not exposed to the scope and horrors of those atrocities. As the future faces the threats of genocides today and tomorrow, they must learn about the genocides of yesterday.

Senator Mark Wyland represents the people of the 38th Senate District, which includes cities in north San Diego County and the south Orange County cities of San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano.

Senator Mark Wyland
1910 Palomar Point Way, Suite 105
Carlsbad, California 92008
760.931.2455 Office
email: senator.wyland@sen.ca.gov

Budget Woes

Recently, my office has received calls from constituents who are angry about the passage of the State Budget that contained billions in tax increases. Unfortunately, several of my colleagues did not honor their commitment to the taxpayers of Californian and chose to vote "aye" on the tax bill. I recognize that taxes are the last thing that we need, given our state's challenging economic times. I voted against the tax increases that were included in the Assembly Bill when the bill came before me in the Assembly. Tragically, the bill passed on a 54-26 margin (51 Democrats & 3 Republicans "aye" 26 Republicans "no").

To make matters worse, several new bills have been introduced in the Legislature seeking to raise even more taxes and fees on a myriad of products, services and incomes. The proposals include another tax hike on the wealthy, a twenty-five cent fee on plastic bags, and a proposal to make it easier for local governments to raise income taxes and vehicle license fees.

I firmly believe that we cannot tax our way out of this budget mess and Sacramento needs to learn to live within its means. I will continue to stand strong against any effort to raise your taxes.

Assemblyman Martin Garrick serves the communities of Carlsbad, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, San Marcos, Vista, and portions of San Diego, Escondido and Oceanside as the Assemblyman for the 74th District.