Smoking Ban Traffic
January 4th, 2008
It appears as though my post on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel smoking ban op-ed is getting lots of attention. My hits have increased by 75% as a direct result of it.
After re-reading it a few times, I think I was pretty harsh, but I have to fight fire with fire. I’m not here to make friends… I’m here to attempt to ensure my freedom - and yours. I’ve stated several times that I’m a nice person until someone tries taking away any of my unalienable rights. This is one of those moments when I’ve decided to not be very nice.
I would strongly encourage you to write to your elected officials (especially if you live in Wisconsin, as we are staring down the barrel of a statewide smoking ban) and tell them that they have no right to infringe on private property rights.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a smoker or not, we all benefit from our private property being protected under the law. If the tavern and restaurant owners of this great state can have their private property rights stripped away, it won’t be difficult for the government to infringe upon yours. Mark my words.
There is no logical excuse for telling a private property owner that they cannot allow the use of a legal product in their establishments. If anyone out there can come up with a justifiable and logical reason why this isn’t so, I would encourage you to enlighten me.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: If Wisconsin is serious about secondhand smoke being a hazard, they should outlaw cigarettes and cigars altogether. I would much rather see prohibition - which makes far greater sense - than our basic rights being chipped away. That will never happen, however, because of all of the tax revenue that cigarettes generate. Doyle and his pals don’t want us to quit smoking, and they don’t really believe that secondhand smoke is dangerous. They are simply looking to stick their nanny noses into every aspect of our personal lives, and quite frankly, that pisses me off.
In other words, I make no apologies for my scathing review of the MJS op-ed.
Cheers,
Joey
January 4th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Ooo, I like the new look! Very Pheisty
Anyway, the smoking thing is huge. I would reckon that you haven’t been keeping up with my smoking ban endeavors, but the anti-ban movement is really swelling.
When we get a chance to get together, we’ll have to talk about the smoking thing. I’ve started by writing letters and sending packets of information to a variety of state officials and special anti-smoking interests. here’s a copy of my letter:
http://arclightzero.wordpress.com/2007/12/27/ryan-vs-the-anti-smoking-movement/
and another write up I did and sent along with it:
http://arclightzero.wordpress.com/2007/12/30/is-it-time-to-ban-alcohol-too/
Us ’sconies need to work hard to keep our freedom here, and I have some ideas that may help stave off the nanny state for a while…
January 4th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Thanks, Ryan!
I really like it, too. I think it just works with my personality a little better. Plus, I think I was losing my male audience with the pink theme.
I’ll stop over and check out your smoking ban stuff.
Good work!
Joey