Close but no cigar

Mailer distributed to my home | March 2009 | Private Company

[sauropod]

About a week ago, a mailer from a cigar company I have dealt with arrived at my home. It contained this text:

Dear Friends,

As many of you know and some may not, one of President Obama's first actions was to sign into legislation what is known as the SCHIP bill. This legislation provides for health insurance for children. This legislation was vetoed by President Bush twice as an unfair tax on the American people. This program is almost entirely funded by the tobacco industry, and not just cigarettes. Some of the new taxes on tobacco increase by 2400%. That's not a typo. I guess cigar smokers are lucky. Most cigars only see a 700% increase in federal taxes. The list of some of the new taxes are below.

- Little cigars will be increased from $1.828/thousand to $50.33 per thousand

- Cigarettes will increase from 39 cents per pack to $1.01 per pack

- Pipe tobacco will increase from $1.0969 per pound to $2.8311 per pound

- RYO (Rolling Tobacco) will increase from $1.0969 per pound to $24.78 per pound

- Most cigars will increase from 4.875 cents to 40 cents per cigar

These new tax rates go into effect April 1st. Make sure to send your thank you note to your congressional representatives and to the President. I'm sure most of us won't be affected by these absurd taxes because the President promised us no new taxes if we make less than $250,000 per year and politicians don't lie.

They really need this money so they can lend another 40 trillion dollars to banks that won't lend money to the American public but give out bonuses in the hundreds of millions to their executives. We may change our name to ***** *** Cigar Savings & Loan so we can qualify for a few million ourselves.

I guarantee you that if our Founding Fathers knew that a future American government would tax tobacco like this; they would have raised one last ale, packed the horses, gone home, and sworn allegiance to King George III.

At least baseball season is here.

Sincerely,

First they came for the cigar smokers. I said nothing because I was not a cigar smoker...

[GeronL]

Public school: Your home is now our business!!

[ILikeBourbon]

Screw these Tea Parties.

We need to dress up like Indians and dump a tobaccoo ship into the harbor.

Tea parties mean the destruction of property and abject defiance of the facism we have now. Not gathering and creating a public assembly that will be ignored by the media as it always is.

[libertarian27]

There’s a version here from a FReeper:
http://www.freerepublic.com/~ericblair2084/

1/3rd down the page

[GeronL]

Its worse than that. Completing the course means you can get a free marriage license, woo hoo.

[sauropod]

I was unaware of Mr. Blair’s version.

I was struck by this and remembered the priest from WWII that wrote the original.

[libertarian27]

Oh - you were looking for the Original-Original.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...

[IYAS9YAS]

Try this First they came. It is a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller.

[Jeff Head]

The water has been scalding hot for some time now...but most frogs are already dead to the pain. They don't even know what they are feeling.

Thankfully, I believe there are enough still left who do, and who have already hopped out of the pot, to make a difference in 2010 and then 2012.

I hope and pray that is the case. Otherwise, sooner or later, the pot itself is going to have to be tipped over and emptied before things have a chance to return to normal.

[orlop9]

Thanks, I’m buying a box (or two) of stogies on my way thru Kentucky tomorrow, way cheaper than here in Fla.

[sauropod]

I agree. However, the politicians are totally misreading the anger in the country right now.

If they’re not careful, the pot *will* get tipped over.

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

I placed an order with Cigars International just the other day.

[trooprally]

Just checked my supplier and the price increase is already been added on. Almost $13 a box more.

This is also going to cut into the cigars given to the soldiers at Walter Reed.

[Mr] T

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Next, Big Macks, Whoppers, Dairy Queen, Donuts, Doritos, Taco’s, the tax revenue opportunities are unlimited.

Remember, it’s for the Chillldrennn......(S-chip and beyond!)

[CSM]

Puff!

[Gabz]

Nanny State Ping.

Thanks to Sauropod for providing a great break down on the tax increase.

Tomorrow my husband will be picking up some more sterile potting medium so we can get our tobacco seeds started in the greenhouse. Right coolbreeze???????

[Gabz]

Grow your own tobacco and pay no taxes at all. It’s easy and you get a lot per plant. Processing is tricky, but there are instructions all over the web. Nice looking plants as well if you let them flower

Just remember that you can not plant more than 1/10th of an acre. I believe that is somewhere in the vicinity of about 4,500 square feet. Make sure you let several of the plants flower, so you have a source of seeds for next year :)

[BufordP]

Thanks! Ping to Ernst.

[RandallFlagg]

Growing my own tobacco -I've had it with these prices! (A journal)

Roll Your Own: My Experiences (Saving tons and smoking less)

[Conspiracy Guy]

I have started my slow gradual path to stopping, it’s charted out. Granddaughter is 1 year old Grandson due any day. Gonna put my smokin money into my grandkids.

But I will not be a know it all exsmoker.

Keep me on the list.

[mysterio]

I’m quitting as soon as my stock runs out.

Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr. It's a book, it's fifteen bucks, and it will make quitting pretty painless. Good luck.