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Return of the Smoke Nazis

Tarheel

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Re: Return of the Smoke Nazis
« Reply #20 on: March 26, 2008, 05:53:40 PM »
I know that we've beaten this topic to either a horse which if not dead is about to shortly expire but this is a subject that is near and dear to me personally; the fucking smoke nazis are still marching:

Quote
States Intensify Assault on Tobacco Use

Tax hikes, outright bans proposed in many states
Written By: Nick Baker
Published In: Budget & Tax News
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
Publisher: The Heartland Institute
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smokers are under siege in state legislatures across the country.

Virginia, Wisconsin, and other states are considering banning smoking in places that serve the public, including privately owned restaurants and bars. In a growing number of states, elected officials are debating whether to prohibit smoking in private automobiles when a child is present. And in about a dozen states, lawmakers are seeking to hike tobacco taxes.


Virginia's Third Try

In Virginia, lawmakers are considering a statewide smoking ban. Similar proposals failed in 2006 and 2007.

Gov. Tim Kaine (D) supports a ban, saying at a news conference, "Recognizing the negative health effects of secondhand smoke, Virginia must act to protect the workers and consumers in its restaurants."

Virginia's business leaders have come out against the proposal, saying government should not regulate private enterprise so intrusively.

"The owner of the business should be the one to decide on whether to allow smoking," said David Meyer, vice president of the Cigar Association of Virginia. "Seventy percent of restaurants have already gone smoke-free, so there's no reason to make this into law."


Wisconsin Aims to Follow Suit

Similarly, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) wants lawmakers to ban smoking statewide. Most Democrat and many Republican lawmakers gave the governor a standing ovation during his State of the State address earlier this year when he urged them to pass the ban. The measure has the backing of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.

Many municipalities in the state have passed their own bans. Doyle called on legislators to pass a statewide ban to end "the patchwork approach to public health." He noted Illinois and Minnesota, which border Wisconsin, have passed similar bans, and said he did not want Wisconsin to "become the ashtray of the Midwest."


Banning Smoking in Cars Nearly a dozen states--including Maine, Oklahoma, and Oregon--are considering banning smoking in private automobiles when children are present. Arkansas, California, and Louisiana already have passed such laws.

In Washington, state Rep. Shay Secual-Burke (D-Normany Park) and state Sen. Chris Marr (D-Spokane) have sponsored legislation that would make it a traffic infraction to smoke in a car with children.

At a recent Senate committee hearing, state Sen. Mike Carrell (R-Lakewood) said the bill's provision banning smoking in open-topped cars goes too far. "I don't smoke--never have smoked--but this is sort of another 'driftnet' approach to a 'nanny-gate' state," he said. "What does a house have in common with a field? Nothing. What does an open car with volumes of air blowing around have in common with an enclosed car?"


Kansas Governor's Call

In Kansas, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) has called for an increase in the state's cigarette tax, starting at 50 cents per pack and indexed to inflation so it would increase automatically after the first year.

Sebelius said the increase is necessary to fund 21 health care recommendations made by a study committee. These include an education campaign to reduce teen smoking, subsidizing insurance premiums for low-income families, and promoting nutrition in schools.

Tim Shallenburger, representing Penn National Gaming, told a legislative panel that a smoking ban would hurt the state's gaming industry. He said smokers would travel to nearby casinos in Missouri and Oklahoma, states where smoking is allowed.

"This bothers me. Where do we stop?" asked state Sen. Ralph Ostemeyer (R-Grinnell).


Utah's Tax Proposal

In Utah, state Rep. Paul Ray (R-Clearfield) has introduced a bill to raise taxes on a pack of cigarettes 72 percent, bringing the tax from 69.5 cents to $1.19 per pack. Ray estimates the tax hike would raise $25 to $29 million to help fund health improvement programs such as cancer screenings and smoking cessation programs.

"A tax increase is never popular and [is] viewed as unnecessary in a revenue surplus year and impossible to get passed in an election year," Ray told the Deseret Morning News. "This is a public health issue that will go on no matter the revenue picture or the political season."

Ray's bill faces stiff opposition from members of his own party. Lisa Roskelley, spokesperson for Gov. Jon Huntsman, said the governor plans no tax hikes in the 2008-2009 budget. "We are not for this or any other tax increase," she told the Deseret Morning News.

Here's the link:
http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=22890
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The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me. 
-Ayn Rand

The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money.
-The Right Honourable Margaret Thatcher

The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem.
-Milton Friedman

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'
-Ronald Reagan

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
-Thomas Jefferson

Tarheel

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Re: Return of the Smoke Nazis
« Reply #21 on: June 20, 2008, 04:01:02 PM »
The Smoke Nazis have been quiet for a while after satiating their appetite to infringe upon personal rights of tax-paying citizens of Virginia, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Utah; however, they've resurfaced now in a full assault in Pennsylvania this time led by Gov. Ed Rendell (D-umbass) who signed the "so-called" Clean Indoor Air Act into law yesterday.  Although I have made my thoughts on these laws well known on this and other threads in this forum I must reinforce it by writing yet again the Democrats are using instruments like this law to get a foothold on controlling every aspect of our personal lives.  Mark my words; you non-smokers might be all for this but they'll come after you for something you enjoy soon enough...

Here's the article from the Politico (emphasis and sub-texts are my own):

Quote
'Butt Out'- Rendell has a message for smokers

By HOLDEN SLATTERY - THE PITT NEWS | 6/20/08
 
When Oakland's Mad Mex restaurant and bar became exclusively non-smoking in March, it did so for moral reasons. Now, some other Oakland establishments must follow suit, a new state law says.

The Clean Indoor Air Act, signed by Gov. Ed Rendell last Friday, will ban smoking in most public buildings and work places throughout the state but will not have a sweeping effect on Oakland businesses because of an exemption.

Bars or taverns that make less than 20 percent of its total sales from food are immune from the ban.

Thank God some lawmakers had to common sense to make some exemptions to this socialist law.

Oakland venues, including Boomerang's, Garage Door Saloon and Bootleggers, all of which make little to no food sales, will run as usual, while restaurant/bars like Peter's Pub, Fuel & Fuddle, Joe Mama's and Primanti Brothers will have to be smoke-free under the law, which takes effect on Sept. 11, 90 days after Rendell's signing.

[b"]Unfortunately, we're upset there are exemptions," said Tom Baron, owner of big Burrito Restaurant Group, which includes Mad Mex.

"I think what it says is that they care about the health of some employees but not all employees," he said.[/b]

TFB; of course this asshole is upset...maybe he ought to sell less food and you won't loose your smoking customers; I like how he makes a "compassionate" play on it being unfair to some employees...typical Liberal Democrat...Boo Hoo!

Baron made the switch to non-smoking March 1, when one of his employees became pregnant. Baron said he was sick of waiting for the state or county to pass a smoking ban and decided to make all of his restaurants non-smoking.

"It was the right thing to do," he said.

Instead of smoking sections and non-smoking sections, Oakland customers will have to choose between smoking bars and non-smoking bars.

Peter Leventis, co-owner of Peter's Pub on Oakland Avenue, said he makes much more than 20 percent of his sales from food.

"I'm not happy with it, because I think it should be across the board, not just 20 percent food," said Leventis.

He said he plans to comply but does not think it can be enforced in every bar.

"It's going to be enforced, but I don't know how strict at first because they don't have enough people to do it," he said. "There's over 2,000 liquor licenses in Allegheny County."

Seth Plyer, a manager at Primanti Brothers, said he thinks the new state law is unfair and creates an inconvenience for his employees, who all smoke, except for two.

Yes it is unfair...to business owners and the smoking public.

"It creates an unlevel playing field. Now you can go to some places to smoke but not others," he said. "For the drinkers who want to go out and smoke, it will certainly send business to the bars that make less than 20 percent of their sales from food.

"I think it should just be left up to the individual business owners," he said.

AMEN TO THAT.  The government should not be telling business owners that they can't allow smoking.

Chuck Ardo, a spokesperson for Rendell, said that the law will reduce cases of secondhand smoke.

"In the most practical terms, it will reduce medical costs as fewer Pennsylvanians are subject to the diseases that exposure to secondhand smoke causes," he said.


Again, I have to call  :bs: on that because there's not one shread of scientific evidence prooving that second-hand smoke causes anything except irriation to some sensitive individuals.  What absolute rubbish!

While the ban was enacted for health reasons, Ardo said that owners of establishments with low food sales lobbied for their exemption with financial arguments.

Vic Bovalino, director of operations for Joe Mama's, Fuel & Fuddle and Uncle Sam's Subs, all located on Oakland Avenue, said because this is a statewide ban, he thinks the ban will not harm his business.

Ardo said that Rendell would support attempts in the legislature that would allow Allegheny County and Scranton to impose their own laws, which could be stronger than the state's law.

Both state Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, and state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, have publicly said they will push for legislation allowing Allegheny County and other local governments to pass stricter smoking bans.

When Rendell signed the act, he wrote a message: "Although I enthusiastically signed this bill, I do share the concerns of many of our citizens, and some legislators, who think we can and should do better."

The law reads that other exceptions include certain sections of gaming halls and casinos, private residences that aren't used as day care centers, tobacco shops, cigar bars and private clubs.

Here's the link:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11228.html
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The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me. 
-Ayn Rand

The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money.
-The Right Honourable Margaret Thatcher

The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem.
-Milton Friedman

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'
-Ronald Reagan

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
-Thomas Jefferson

GarMan

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Re: Return of the Smoke Nazis
« Reply #22 on: June 20, 2008, 08:42:50 PM »
...
"In the most practical terms, it will reduce medical costs as fewer Pennsylvanians are subject to the diseases that exposure to secondhand smoke causes," he said.

Again, I have to call  :bs:  on that because there's not one shread of scientific evidence prooving that second-hand smoke causes anything except irriation to some sensitive individuals.  What absolute rubbish!

Here's the link:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11228.html

Let's clarify some things.  If those poor innocent non-smokers are genuinely concerned about the risks of second-hand smoke, there's a very simple solution that doesn't involve imposing their concepts of "clean air" on others.  These clowns are fully capable of exercising their own personal judgment (aka CHOICE) by not patronizing establishments that permit smoking.  Problem solved!  Why is that concept so difficult for people to understand?  I've had my fill of these idiots. 
« Last Edit: June 20, 2008, 08:44:20 PM by GarMan »
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My rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them.  - Winston Churchill

Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man's enjoyment of his cigar.  - Mark Twain

Nothing says "Obey Me" like a bloody head on a fence post!  - Stewie Griffin

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."  - Ayn Rand

War Eagle!!!

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Re: Return of the Smoke Nazis
« Reply #23 on: June 23, 2008, 01:51:46 PM »
Let's clarify some things.  If those poor innocent non-smokers are genuinely concerned about the risks of second-hand smoke, there's a very simple solution that doesn't involve imposing their concepts of "clean air" on others.  These clowns are fully capable of exercising their own personal judgment (aka CHOICE) by not patronizing establishments that permit smoking.  Problem solved!  Why is that concept so difficult for people to understand?  I've had my fill of these idiots. 

Because half of America doesn't believe in any form of personal responsibility...

It is always someone elses fault and they want to know what the government is going to do about it...
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GarMan

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Re: Return of the Smoke Nazis
« Reply #24 on: June 23, 2008, 02:01:09 PM »
Because half of America doesn't believe in any form of personal responsibility...

It is always someone elses fault and they want to know what the government is going to do about it...

Yeah...  I know.  Most of Europe is like that too.  You can openly see the toll that it's taking on these societies...
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My rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them.  - Winston Churchill

Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man's enjoyment of his cigar.  - Mark Twain

Nothing says "Obey Me" like a bloody head on a fence post!  - Stewie Griffin

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."  - Ayn Rand