"I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." --Thomas Jefferson




Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Smoke em if You got em

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."
--Thomas Jefferson

Make no mistake, if Ms. Miller and her fellow health Nazis thought there was a way that they could force you to quit smoking altogether then they would. After all, it’s for your own good; they only have your best interest at heart, right? Well, it seems our community’s good health is their quest even if they have to surgically remove our freedom and liberty to accomplish it.

Already, they are intensifying their efforts and tightening the language of the initial ban (surprise!) with no regard for the investments made by private businesses trying to comply with the regulation. Now that business owners have spent hard earned money to have separately ventilated smoking areas for people 21 and older, these “educated” people have decided that the current regulation doesn’t protect everyone.

Well guess what guys, some of us don’t want you to “protect” us, and in fact some of us think we need protecting from you. It’s only been a little over 60 days since the board of health implemented their little smoking ban and now they want to change it. How fickle! It’s no great shocker that this unelected body with no accountability to the people is so arbitrary and unreasonable in their decisions.

Don’t think for a minute that this new proposal is anything but an incremental strategy. They got their foot in the door with the initial ban and now they can modify it. According to The Messenger, Dr. Tristan Lineberry, chairman of the board’s smoke-free committee, said earlier this week that the proposal came about because Judge Brantley said the courts “uphold Board of Health regulations enacted for the purpose of protecting the public’s health.” So, the board was emboldened by the judge’s decision and decided to step up their time frame. There’s no time like the present for tyranny, right?

I also find Brantley’s litmus test frightening, he said the courts upheld “regulations enacted for the purpose of protecting the public’s health.” That’s a pretty big window, it’s very vague. So if the board declares something in the interest of public health, they can regulate and the court is going to back that up? Get out of town!?! Is there a fourth branch of government I wasn’t taught about?

I’ve never smoked a day in my life, but this unconstitutional usurping of power makes me want to smoke a carton of cigarettes. I’m soooo tired of this governmental arrogance, this elitist-I’m smarter than you and know what’s good for you crap. I guess the board of health needs a history lesson about prohibition. Enough talk already. Smoke em if you got em.

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