The US Senate has backed a bill giving the government far-reaching new powers to try to curb smoking among Americans...
President Barack Obama hailed the passage of the bill [More]
No doubt just what the Founders intended as a delegated federal power.And kapo Phillip Morris certainly sounds a lot like Bill Ruger, no?
But hey, don't worry, everyone.
Barry will still be able to afford his.
I'm no defender of cigarettes. I smoked them for many years. I quit 19 years ago when my wife told me we were expecting our first child--figured I owed the kid a father.
That said, everyone by now in this country knows there are risks, right? And the supposed benefits of "regulation" need to be weighed against the very real costs of government giving itself more power over our lives and choices.
And full disclosure, I'm having a cigar tonight after dinner.
I suppose they believe it's for our own good, but what, I wonder, will they say, when we prescribe some things for "their" own good?
ReplyDeleteI shall join you. and perhaps a wee dram of the dew of the vine.
ReplyDeleteYep. It's about control.
Oh yes. Hitler was antismoking.
I notice that one of the provisions of this new legislation will be the banning of "flavored" cigarettes (except for menthol).
ReplyDeleteSounds kind of Bloomberg-esque, doesn't it (reminiscent of his ban of colored guns)?
"The US Senate has backed a bill giving the government far-reaching new powers to try to curb smoking among Americans..."
ReplyDeleteUh huh. What's the amendment number again?
So, they just upped the taxes like crazy to pay for "poor" kids health care (poor being 3 times the poverty definition) now they're going to regulate the content (to make sure enough of us stay hooked to pay for it)
ReplyDeleteAs Janet Jackson said:
I'm in control, never gonna stop
Control, to get what I want
Control, I got to have a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
What cigar, do tell.
ReplyDeleteA fellow Cigar smoker would like to know.
Bloomberg summarily banned trans fats from New York City restaurants, justlikethat. Now there's a national move to require restaurants to print calorie and fat content right on the menu. Mmm-mm!
ReplyDeleteHealthy slaves, happy slaveowners?
When I go out to eat, I go out to EAT.
I've read about flavored cigarettes. The very popular "bidis," from India, herbal flavors. Possibly LESS unhealthy than the unflavored American kind, but so what? This isn't about HEALTH, but CONTROL.
How many chemicals are added to our tobacco in processing, and how responsible are THEY for bad health effects? Yet they're concerned about ONE chemical, labeling it a "drug": nicotine.
Is caffeine next?
The effort to alienate more millions continues.
Defender, one unintended consequence is who this hurts most--I haven't done the demographics on cigarette smokers, but my guess would be young people, the workin' man and the unemployed, more often than not those who voted in hope and change.
ReplyDeleteChef--I was bad--the fire lasted a long time and I ended up having two: a La Glora Cubana Glorias Extra Maduro, and a Victor Sinclair Bohemian. Perhaps this proves I need to be controlled?
By the way, did you see that Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK, and a gun rights supporter) proposed an outright ban on tobacco? I guess pro-gun doesn't always mean pro-freedom.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for an outright ban on cigarettes. Think of the lost tax revenue and the opportunities for smuggling.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted an excuse to buy a Donzi.
Oh, yeah when we were in Jordan the wife cigarettes (Salem regulars)were $11.00/carton.