Smoking ban proves Legislature can get things done

Post Bulletin ^ | 5/17/07 | Editorial:

[GOP_Lady]

Wheee, when you post Nazi signs with phone numbers to report your fellow citizens, I think that’s a little extreme. It’s not the Chritian way of treating each other. All the non-smokers had to do was politely ask, that’s all. Nevada passed a no smoking law last November, as I’m sure you’re aware of. They don’t have a “snitch line,” and guess what people are respectful and comply. Make it a point to see the good in the people and the world, and you’ll be much happier.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Based upon your approach so far, it seems the momentum to ban smoking is becoming a steamroller.

Wheeenie, you really don't get it and I personally think that with all due respect you never will. The left wing liberal progressive activists who are duping uninformed state legislators around the country into passing this stuff are NOT doing it out of religion or a duty to God. As leftists, I assure you that they are secular Socialists.

Their goal is to reduce smoking rates from 25% to below 10%. They figure that if people can't smoke anywhere, they will just quit or not start smoking. I can't do a damn thing about it. They are like a powerful Nazi German Panzer tank division. Spitballs and name calling won't slow them down. It will take much bigger firepower than the truth to stop them. You're just a useful idiot in the grand scheme of things. They only call on "social conservatives" in places like Alabama when they can't find enough liberal do gooders to accomplish their egalitarian goals. They use religious extremists like you who love Big Government when it accomplishes YOUR goal of enforcing Sharia Law.

[Wheee The People]

The left wing liberal progressive activists...

Think of a NEW approach. Your message isn't working. You keep asserting it's the left or Nazis or whoever banning smoking. I've given you ample data showing it's conservatives joining with others in a bi-partisan effort. If you can't address that... well too bad, so sad.

[GOP_Lady]

Wheee, think... When you have signs posted with a phone number for reporting your fellow citizens to the State, that’s a little extreme, especially when it comes to smoking. Can’t you at least see that? Can’t you also agree that Jesus Christ would never agree with something like that as well? Wheee, try as hard as you like, but you can’t change the world. If one could, it would have been done already. It took me time to realize that. God gave us all free will, and most people make the proper and good choices because most of us are that way, but some don’t.

[GOP_Lady]

I’ve been saying it for some time now, Eric, “Kill a baby in the womb, but don’t dare light a cigarette, cigar or pipe,” and Rush finally said that on his show and posted it on his website the day before yesterday. You can have that choice, but...

[philetus]

How do you feel about people owning guns?
Do you believe any citizen should be able to have one?
How about fully automatic weapons?

[Wheee The People]

??? I own a pistol, and am NRA trained to handle... but I'm not sure how this applies to a smoking thread? (Did you really just ask me about my feelings?)

[mysterio]

Used to be that the nanny state was the territory of the dems. Not any more, apparently. Plenty of Republicans have jumped right on board. Some Freepers have, as well.

[Eric Blair 2084]

I own a pistol, and am NRA trained to handle... but I'm not sure how this applies to a smoking thread

You are a really strange egg, Wheee Whee. You have to be strange. Nobody could possible be this stupid and know how to type, where to buy a computer or where plug it in. I'll give you a little time to think about your answer to philetus and the abject hypocrisy of it all. You have 30 minutes until I go to sleep. If you're not a dope, read what you wrote again and tell us what you are missing before we have to explain it to you.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Big Brother, Nanny State, Grant Junky, Bogus Study, Junk Science, Social Engineering, Sheeple Control, Health Nazi Ping!!!

To be added to or deleted from this ping list, please send me a private message below.

To request that I stop using these gay html colors and fonts, please send me a private message below.

____________________________________________________________________

Constitution of the Left Wing Nanny State of Liberals:

Picture courtesy of unixfox. All rights reserved. Copyright MMVII. Any use of the pictures descriptions or accounts of this ping without the express written consent of unixfox, Eric Blair, or Major League Baseball is strictly prohibited. Some restrictions apply. Ping not available in all states. For erections lasting longer than four hours, call the Guiness Book of World Records. Use only as directed.

Preamble:

We the People Sheeple of the United States Nanny State, in Order to form a more perfect Union Socialist Utopia, establish Justice Socially engineer a country of non smoking, physically fit, tea totallers, insure domestic Tranquility Smoking bans in bars, limits on unhealthy food and social drinking, provide for the common defense Universal Healthcare, promote the general Welfare health of the population whether they like it or not, in order to save above mentioned Universal Healthcare entitlement program from bankruptcy, and secure the Blessings of Liberty Dependency to ourselves progressive liberals and our Posterity Hitler Youth who we brainwash through public school education, do ordain decree and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Nanny State of Liberals.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Ban smoking...it's for the chilruns!!!! But if you stick a fork in their skull 8 years ago, it's OK. Just unbelievable. Liberal Logic. What is left to say?

[SheLion]

To start off with ...... Wheee The People is one of the biggest anti-smokers in FRee Republic!

That being said, I am going to go back and read what posters have said. Gosh, can't believe I am UP this late!

hahah

[Eric Blair 2084]

Smoking ban proves Legislature can get things done

Just read the headline of the article that Wheee Wheee on the Sheeple posted. These part time state legislators/dry cleaners/realtors/homemakers/attorneys/engineers in this Democracy couldn't figure out the solution to real problems like illegal immigration, corruption, gang violence, High property taxes, high state income taxes, Big Government or _______ (fill in the blank with a REAL problem). So they passed a smoking ban and used the talking points supplied by the multi billion dollar health groups to claim that they have actually accomplished something to help their constituents.

Used to be that the nanny state was the territory of the dems. Not any more, apparently. Plenty of Republicans have jumped right on board. Some Freepers have, as well.

You hit the nail on the head. A day after the Republicans jumped on the bandwagon for amnesty for illegal alian lawbreakers. I bet if one of these illegals saw a law abiding American citizen smoking a cigarette on private property in Cleveland or now Shaker Heights, IL and called the snitch line that GOP Lady loves they would give Manuel a gold star and drag Bob the Machine Shop operator off to jail. Progress as per the progressives. You've got to love it!

Do any non-smoking free people care out there??? Any public serpents in state legislators have any questions for me??? PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK.

[SheLion]

The hope comes in the form of the "Freedom to Breathe Act," which Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed on Wednesday.

<------power hungry dictator

First of all...........

All citizens do NOT have any "right" to breathe clean air.  If we did, then all planes, automobiles, trucks, factories, and breweries (the source of toxic poisons in the air) would be banned. Only then could everyone "breathe truly clean air".

The Report by the Surgeon General, Richard Carmona, who is a self-described rabid anti-smoker, does not show any "new evidence" as they claim. As the Report itself states, it is merely a compendium of previous reports and biased "studies" written by and/or paid for by the anti-smoker industry. No new studies, no new evidence.

No one has ever died from being around secondhand smoke but this conveniently escapes the anti-smoker zealots.  Coronary heart disease is usually genetic in origin, but it's politically correct nowadays to claim that secondhand smoke is the culprit. Never mind that no unbiased, scientific study has ever proven that secondhand smoke has ever caused anyone any harm; the real truth isn't on their agenda. 

The anti-smoker campaign has never been about health, it's always been about power and control by The Nannies (along with millions of dollars for the anti-smoker and pharmaceutical industries).

[Eric Blair 2084]

WheeeWheee on the Sheeple will come back and take his beating like a man. He will follow in the footsteps of the early Christian martyrs like Peter and Paul in the first century and sacrifice himself for a cause that he thinks that our Lord, God and savior Jesus would actually approve of and not laugh at him. In actuality he will just sacrifice himself on the altar of "humiliation for public amusement".

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[SheLion]

Read just how much Minnesota  Smokers are contributing to the state economy with the taxes they pay on cigarettes:

Tobacco Taxes and Payments for Minnesota

Minnesota's excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $1.485
Minnesota's excise tax collection for the fiscal year ending June 2005: $160,653,000

Sales tax on tobacco products: 6.50%
Tobacco products sales tax collection for the fiscal year ending June 2005: $80,675,000
Local tax on tobacco products: $0
Federal excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.39
Total federal excise tax collections in fiscal year 2005: $7,778,569,117
Click here for the Cigarette Tax and Payment Table for all states.

Master Settlement Agreement Payments Received According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids*

$2,248,500,000 has been paid to Minnesota through Fiscal Year 2005 since the Master Settlement Agreement was signed on November 23, 1998.

• Click here to learn more about smokers' rights issues.
• Register at MySmokersRights.com to receive your free personalized legislators contact Web page and smokers' rights alerts by e-mail.
• State Laws & Regs
• Federal Legislator Information
• State Legislator Information
• Congress Today
  (Schedules for the House and Senate, and Legislative Alerts.)

Alabama | Alaska | Arkansas | Arizona | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming

[SheLion]

The Greater Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association strongly opposes the proposed Minneapolis-only smoking ban in bars and restaurants. The city simply can't afford it.

BYLINE: Greg D. Ortale
CREDITLINE:
HEADLINE: Greg D. Ortale:

 In any smoking ban, cover entire state

The Greater Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association strongly opposes the proposed Minneapolis-only smoking ban in bars and restaurants. The city simply can't afford it. The hospitality industry -- including tourism and convention business -- is vital to the Minneapolis economy. Last year, nearly 500,000 convention delegates spent $321 million in our city. Our millions of overnight leisure visitors spend more than $2 billion annually. They come to eat, drink and enjoy themselves in our social establishments. More important, every weekend, thousands of suburban residents jam the Warehouse District to take in Minneapolis nightlife.

The financial impact of a smoking ban that is not statewide is proven. In Tempe, Ariz. -- where a smoking ban was enacted in the city and not in surrounding communities -- there was a nearly 22 percent decrease in tax collections from bars year over year. The Chamber of Commerce tracked sales in 18 of Tempe's bars and restaurants after the ban. There was an 18 to 32 percent loss of sales in these businesses.

One restaurant even reported a 22 percent shift of customer base from its Tempe location to another location in a city without the smoking ban. Such a loss of business would jeopardize the survival of many neighborhood bars and restaurants and, perhaps, larger establishments downtown.

It definitely means lost employment. Several thousand Minneapolis residents work in the hospitality industry.
A number of restaurants have indicated to me that without smoking areas, the resulting lost business would force them to lay off employees. The hardest hit would be the independently owned bars and restaurants. Both Duluth and Tempe -- where there are city-only smoking bans -- reported closed businesses because of it. Most were small "mom and pop" bars and restaurants that were unable to weather an economic hit.

A Tempe-size tax-revenue loss in Minneapolis would equate to more than $3 million in restaurant and entertainment tax, and an additional $3 million in sales tax, based on 2003 collections. This is a real and serious concern. Hospitality tax revenues not only go to the city's general fund, they support the retirement of the bond issue at the Minneapolis Convention Center and provide backup to city funding for the Target Center, not to mention the additional restaurant and entertainment tax proposed to help fund the Twins ballpark.

The proposed smoking ban raises other serious issues that should be considered before enactment:

Should the city abrogate the right of independent, fee-paying, tax-paying businesses to determine their own economic fate?< /P> Would the city be obliged to reduce fees or offer tax relief for creating an artificial economic disparity?
. What does the projected loss of neighborhood businesses do to the stability of those neighborhoods?
. If the tax collections go down, what new revenues will fill the gap, or will additional city services need to be cut?
. Why aren't air-handling technologies being considered in lieu of a total ban?

Smokingis a legal activity in the United States. While it may not be healthy and causes environmental consequences, individual business owners should make a smoking/non-smoking decision based on their own clientele, economic circumstances and employees.

Minneapolis city leaders need to consider the economic and employment consequences of a Minneapolis-only smoking ban. But if city leaders determine a smoking ban is generally in the best interest of the community, then a high priority should be placed on enacting a statewide ban -- not on creating economic disparity and hardship by enacting a smoking ban in Minneapolis ... or even St. Paul.

Freedom of business choice or a uniform statewide ban -- these are the only two viable choices for this issue. Minneapolis can't afford the loss of money or jobs that would result from a city-only smoking ban.

Greg D. Ortale is president and chief executive officer of the Greater Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association.

[Eastbound]

"Smoking ban proves Legislature can get things done"

The legislatures are pikers. Just think of all the things Hitler accomplished all by himself.

[MissouriConservative]

Hey SheLion, ain’t seen ya in forever. Not many anti smoking threads that I’ve seen worth posting on lately, read them, but just never posted. But this one deserves a classic quote that seems to fit the person who posted this article and is gleeful that rights are being taken away (and they have the nerve to call themselves conservative?).

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one’s will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals. But to be punished, however severely, because we have deserved it, because we ‘ought to have known better,’ is to be treated as a human person made in God’s image.” - C.S. Lewis