Smoking Ban Being Discussed

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Originally posted by reason:
I think we need more Italian jokes. Everyone was having fun then.

Ever since cincygreg became cranky, bringing us all down with his melanoma campaign, this board has been rife with negativity.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Please take note of who started this thread. This thread that has caused irrepairable harm to a board that was formerly calm and collected.

I'm smelling a class action lawsuit against Greg.

Where the hell is Lew when we need him?

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This country has turned into a nanny state where no one is responsible for his or her own behavior anymore.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Really? So I guess you take full responsibilty for the harm your smoking causes to those around you? I mean if you are responsible for your actions I would think you would be directly compensating those you harm with your flagrant disregard for thier welfare.

Reason came up with an example of taking your "I can do any damned thing I want to" mentality to the extreme and I think it makes a very good point. One that you haven't addressed, I notice.

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Originally posted by Pi?a:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">This country has turned into a nanny state where no one is responsible for his or her own behavior anymore.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Really? So I guess you take full responsibilty for the harm your smoking causes to those around you? I mean if you are responsible for your actions I would think you would be directly compensating those you harm with your flagrant disregard for thier welfare.

Reason came up with an example of taking your "I can do any damned thing I want to" mentality to the extreme and I think it makes a very good point. One that you haven't addressed, I notice.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I've been pressing for the business to take responsibility to provide clean air. Something they currently do not do.

I'm surprised the attorneys haven't dragged into the fray the businesses who sell and allow tobacco products, much in the same way asbestos litigation has cast its net far and wide in the same manner.

FUCK, reason. You have an MBA. You got to wear that stupid cowl thing at your graduation.

Listen carefully, son. The legal purchase of tobacco products funds crap for the children.

Make tobacco illegal and it all goes to hell.


Sorry Sluggo

Now just leave so I can rob your house.

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Originally posted by gae:
FUCK, reason. You have an MBA. You got to wear that stupid cowl thing at your graduation.

Listen carefully, son. The legal purchase of tobacco products funds crap for the children.

Make tobacco illegal and it all goes to hell.


Sorry Sluggo

Now just leave so I can rob your house.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The tobacco settlement funds all sorts of things. I've waivered over the years trying to decide if the whole thing is remarkably stupid or incredibly genius.

The gubmint has put itself into the position of profiting off tobacco in the name of penalizing tobacco for the harmful things it does. As a result, the gubmint cannot kill off tobacco, lest they kill off billions of dollars they've already spent for all sorts of fun things.

Personally, I would not buy tobacco bonds. Amazing that the government has raised billions of dollars of debt in anticipation of the monies they expect to receive from tobacco payments.

Gae

Still waiting to hear how you're taking complete responsibility for the harm you're doing.

The word for the day, and indeed the theme of this thread, is RACKETEERING. The tobacco settlement was the lovechild of those two torrid lovers, the trial lawyers and the state attorneys general.

For those who missed it, the government loves coin. It makes coin, but it also likes to collect it. Taxes are its primary means, but taxes aren't popular with the people and so anytime you can collect one without actually calling it a tax, it's a win-win for everyone.

ANd who doesn't love to see a big corporation get it's ass handed to it? Realizing that asbestos only had X number of years left (although, amazingly, it is still alive and breathing) the trial lawyers needed to fill the vaccuum. Tobacco seemed to be a great target, but actually the tobacco companies held their own early on. After all, if we apply logic and common sense, we note that, seeing as the product has, for 40 years, carried a warning label on it indicating that it gives you cancer, it's kind of hard to award damages to someone who used it and got cancer.

Alas, here comes the AG. What if we joined forces? We all know the cigarette companies lied about what was in their product (which, let's face it, they did). Now you've got the trial lawyers AND the government itself going after the tobacco companies, it's time to get out the checkbook.

But see, it's all fine and good because everyone hates smoking and tobacco companies are evil, blah blah blah. Well, I got news for all the people out there who think that this tobacco settlement stuff is wonderful- someday the tobacco well will run dry, and when it does, the next generation of trial lawyers and AGs are gonna need to replace it. And make no mistake, they will find something- if not gun manufacturers, cell phones; if not cell phones, fast food; if not fast food, something or someone else.

And then these same schmucks who just thought it was wonderful to see the tobacco companies burn are gonna start crying when something they care about is taken from them, and it will be too late by then. And I will love it, 'cause I don't smoke but I love to see people get what's coming to them.

BTW, useless side note- I'd like to know what percentage of those youngsters over at truth.com who believe smoking cigarettes is akin to eating rat poison....I'd like to know how many of them smoke weed on a regular basis.....

Lew,

You have to stop making sense. The anti-(put in what you want) control freaks don't care about the truth, they just want to tell others what they can and can't do.

Thanks for the props, Trav. I had a good friend of mine who is a pilot tell me one time that if an airplane was 100% in compliance with every single FAA regulation, it would be impossible for that plane to fly. And actually, he indicated that most planes could be in violation of probably half of the regs that apply to them and yet still fly safely and properly.

In effect, the lesson the learned here is two-fold- one, government has over-regulated; and two, government's motives are not necessarily altruistic. According to my pilot friend, the reason for all the FAA regs is that, when a plane does crash, you can always find something that it had violated and thus place blame as needed (if effect, you makes sure that the cause of the accident was not an act of God, even if it really was)

(follow-up to above). Same thing in the tobacco context. (or EPA, or OSHA, you see this everywhere). Honestly, I think those hippies over at truth.com really and truly believe in their cause. They're young and dum and they want to do the right thing, they just don't know the right way to go about doing it.

When in fact, it's all one big government money-making racket. You know, if cigarettes had been sold and labeled to the public as health food, yeah, I could see the gripe. I suppose it would be asking too much of people to realize that inhaling smoke, itself a waste product, would be bad for you.

But like I said, it carries a warning label (and has for 40 years now) telling you if you use this product, you get cancer.

People used it. And many of them got cancer.

Oops gotta make the tobacco companies pay since their product did what the label said it would.

Now don't get me wrong, they did themselves no favors by lying to congress and what have you. But that still doesn't change the fact that the public knew for 40 years this was a dangerous product.

I don't think people realize just how powerful the trial lawyers are. They more or less did away with the lead industry (maybe that was a good thing), they did away with the asbestos industry (probably good in some respects, but the whole thing should have been handled differently). They're trying to do away with tobacco (which is a bad thing, people should be free to smoke if they want). ANd like I said, it won't stop, once that gravy train gets rolling, it picks up speed. Maybe if people have to pay $6 for a Big Mac it may get their attention, I don't know.