Posted by
Luk3 on Thursday, April 30, 2009 4:29:57 AM
Already early in his term as America's greatest error Obama has put us
farther in debt with Pelosi's run away "spendulus" bill disguised as a
"stimulus" that does nothing more than expand government's role of
invading our personal life. Nobody read the bill, it was thrown
together on a whim, and it has accomplished nothing other than digging
us farther into a hole.
The bill allowed for bonuses to be given
to AIG execs which considering their annual salary of $1, is this an
issue, no. Was this even news to anyone who approved this bill? No, and
if it was shame on them for not taking their job seriously, but it was
indeed a Democrat, Chris Dodd (of Conn.), who guaranteed the bonuses.
Again, amidst an annual salary of $1 is the bonus even an issue? No.
What is an issue? Over half of our tax dollars being used to bail-out
these companies for the sole purpose of unfreezing credit lines so
Americans can begin consuming again going to overseas investments. But
does anyone bring this up? No.
Now with the rabid spending out
of the way, or just beginning (check out Obama's budget proposal), we
have the Liberal hate machine attacking smokers.
Our cigarette
prices recently gone up thanks to Obama signing a Left-sided bill that
raises the federal tax on on a pack of cigarettes to over $1, a bill
Bush has refused to sign into law. For what reasons are our cigarette
taxes going up? Well, for one, the Democratic party doesn't appreciate
the act of smoking (Yes, even weed, as Obama reiterated recently). The
Democratic party doesn't condone you making your own
decisions rather it be to smoke or eat McDonalds or consume transfat or
even have a soda (Debra Ortiz, CA Senator, wants to raise taxes on
soda, as does Democratic NY Governor Patterson).
Additionally,
and this is of my own personal theory, the tobacco industry is a big
money maker which generally derives from Red States. What else is a big
money maker? The movie industry. Arts and Entertainment. That industry
supports what states, California and New York, the two most Liberal
states in the union that set the stage for all the other states who
sell out. The auto industry makes big money too, or at least once upon
a time, and that industry is too controlled by big union which gives
them a Left bent. Is it just me or does it seem that any industry that
makes money that isn't towards the Left quickly becomes a public enemy?
Tobacco, fast food, "Chilies," and soda... Anything that is perhaps
center-right becomes an issue with the Liberal media which, as most
evident by our last Presidenital election, dictates how society will
behave. Another public enemy is Wal-Mart. Why? Big money maker and
certainly center-right which makes the company a prime target for the
Liberal hate machine.
All the above: Cigarettes, Soda, Fast
Food, Chilies-like restaurants and Wal-Mart not only reel a nice profit
without proceeds going fully to left-wing causes but give everyone an
option. While the rich, such as Pelosi and Obama, can dine wherever
they like and be treated with respect and unwind however they desire,
can the poor to average family do the same? No. But anyone, at one
time, could afford the relaxing effects of a cigarette. Anyone could
afford to make their meal extra special with a chilled soda of
delicious flavors to complement their plate. The poor can eat out at
their local fast food restaurant and the middle-class could do the same
or visit their mid-range chain restaurant such as Chilies or Red
Lobster. And of course, everyone can go to their local Wal-Mart super
center and afford the essentials such as tooth paste and a brush as
well as groceries for their family, unlike here in Los Angeles where we
are deprived of Wal-Marts and must grocery shop at stores run by unions
where any item you put in the cart will set you back at least $5. The
employees at these union-run stores are unfriendly, unhelpful, and lazy
as well; a total 360 of the type of work force you'd find at any
Wal-Mart.
But of course, the entire goal of the Democratic party is to dictate your life which means depriving you of your right
to choose. Rather it be through a flat-out ban or heavy taxes it makes
no different to them as the law doesn't apply to the elite who enforce
it (Look at Geitner or any other Obama pick) nor do the taxes cause
them undue burden as it does for every other American citizen. I must
digress, back to the topic at hand....
The Liberal media has most certainly succeeded
in demonizing smokers, the tobacco industry, and employees of the
tobacco industry. Smokers have been run out of restaurants, bars and
hotels, run off of the sidewalk and even off the street, and now even
out of their own cars and homes. When does it stop? Where does it stop?
It doesn't, unless of course your Lindsay Lohan who can not only afford
to pay the government 130+ percent in taxes but also be overlooked by
the law based on social class, which given the misled outrage over the
AIG bonuses, has Obama brought this country together or only sparked
social warfare?
So first we have the largest single federal tax
increase on a single product which oversteps the rights of the states
in determining their own taxes so more select children, more than likely illegals, can farther drain our system and now we also have FDA regulation to look forward.
The
House passed yet another bill that Bush threatened to veto that will
not only give full government regulation of another private industry
but will result in the ban of flavored tobacco (Possibly even menthol),
more obscene warnings on packaging that undermine the freedom of the
tobacco companies, and farther limit marketing. The FDA is already
spread far too thin. How many products do you buy that states: Not FDA
approved? Just about anything I pick up states this. Clearly they are
overwhelmed and everyday we have new developments about XX causing
heart attacks or "if you or a loved one" because the FDA clearly didn't
do their job. And now they're going to be regulating tobacco?
Despite
the obvious concerns listed above that come with the bill this will
severly limit new product lines as they will have to go through the FDA
to get approval, which is bogus. Even with the aids virus and cancer,
even if there was a cure, which there is always some kind of
development, how long will it take to reach the market? It'll probably
be even longer for tobacco products.
We also got flavored smokes
banned. We're going to have possibly new ingredients that may or may
not suit current smokers. We're going to have even more invasive
"warnings" on the packaging which isn't going to discourage anyone from
smoking but rob the tobacco companies of their creativity. I'd like to
see Hollywood sit back while all DVDs are released with a major WARNING
covering half the cover about how sitting in front of the TV causes
obsesity or laziness.
Also, already marketing options are
severly limited for tobacco companies. They barely get away with
magazine ads which I am sure will cease to exist soon. But the bigger
concern is: What about alcohol? Why is it okay for alcohol to sponsor a
race car or a sports arena or a concert but not tobacco? Anyone who
tells you alcohol is less of a concern than tobacco is either a liar or
ignorant. The Left wants to attack big tobacco companies but if they'd
leave them be, if we could go back to where we were in the '90s, we
could have nicer communities would tobacco be allowed to put their
money in. But no. God forbid.
This bill has passed the House and
is going to be introduced in the Senate by someone who probably
should've been smoking instead of stuffing his face, Edward Kennedy.
Kennedy who says tobacco is "the most lethal of all consumer products"
obviously didn't get the memo about how dangerous transfat and
McDonalds is or how many smokers, if not most, live a life no different
than a non-smoker and many die at the same age as non-smokers as
opposed to someone who drinks in a single night and either:
A) Car crash (Drove drunk and crashed or a victim of a drunk driver).
B) Alcohol poisoning.
C)
Fall off a balcony, down some stairs, harrasses other patrons at a bar
and gets tied to a barbed wire fence... The list is endless of how
drinking can lead to immediate, or slow, death.
D) Cancer... Yes, alcohol can cause cancer of the throat just as how smoking can as well as in other areas.
E) Choke on tongue.
Of
course drinking doesn't always lead to death but can also lead to an
enlarged, inflamed nose and possibly even mental retardation, both
evidenced by Edward Kennedy, as well as mass weight gain.
All
this talk about America supposedly having an obsesity epidemic... Well,
when people smoked we didn't have such an epidemic. People in Asia
smoke, they ain't fat. People in Europe smoke, they ain't fat. Perhaps
we need to bring cigarettes back as opposed to demonizing smokers and
these attempts to rob the public of their cigarettes.
At the
end, should this bill pass, it's just yet another government take over
of the private sector in a bid by the Left to farther regulate our
lives and deprive us of our right to make our own decisions. Those hurt
the most by this unconstitutional legislation will of course be the
poor, the number one of victim of the actions of the Left.