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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Bev Perdue - AKA "WORST NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR EVER" - signs smoking ban into law

It's a scene I've watched on television damn too many times: a chief executive like a president or governor sitting behind a desk and smugly signing away another right or liberty, with a backdrop made up of the sorry-a$$ed legislative bastitches, also grinning like they've just made some legitimate contribution to the betterment of mankind, who passed the effin' law to begin with.

In today's case it was Bev Perdue - who I have already declared to be the worst Governor that North Carolina has ever had with just four months into her term - signing the state-wide smoking ban into law.

That dumb blond and the twits who stood next to her today are now patting themselves on the back for their show of force over the common people of this state. Because, let us be candid folks: the legislators in the General Assembly who passed this, by and large (and even that might be too kind) do not give representing their constituents the greatest of priorities.

Here's what one person observed in my last post about this...

The story the newspapers aren't telling you is this . . . .

A private, non-profit foundation that receives funding from such people as Ted Turner, Barbara Streisand, Bill Gates, The Times Company, Time-Warner, Media General, and the Heinz estate is hiring lobbyists in every state legislature for the purpose of doing whatever is necessary to ensure that public bans on smoking are passed.

Tactics include taking legislators out for meals, buying them vacation trips, bringing movie productions to targeted states and (when all else fails) outright bribery to gain votes for this legislation.

The end goal is to provide unchallenged legal precedent that can one day be used to outlaw the use of tobacco products, or beyond that, any product or behavior that this foundation disapproves of.

This is definitely anti-populist behavior, because this foundation seeks to "educate" legislators on the dangers of smoking (something we all know about) and the advantages of defying the ill-formed public opinion that no real harm comes from smoking.

They have a word for this . . . . it's called Oligarchy. Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls.

That commenter is most correct.

And like I said in that post last week: I do not smoke. I wouldn't encourage anyone to take up smoking. Believe you me, I have seen the deleterious effects it can have on one's health. But I would never stoop so low as to attempt to use the force of government to either compel someone to not smoke or to obligate a private business owner into prohibiting smoking on his or her premises against his or her will!

That's all that this is about, my friends. It has nothing to do with "public health" or "it's for the children" or whatever other mealy-mouthed bullcrap the politicians are claiming. It's all about flexing the might of the collective against the individual.

Just one more incremental loss of liberty, that is damned hard to get back once it's gone.

So... what to do about it?

Personally, I think that every restaurant and bar owner in the state of North Carolina that wishes to do so, should outright damn ignore Governor Dumb Blond and her contingent of Nicotine Nazis.

According to the story above...

The law, which takes effect in January, authorizes fines of up to 50 dollars for people who smoke after being asked to stop, and up to 200 dollars for managers of establishments who have twice been warned to enforce the law.
Or what? Is Guvner Bev gonna close down a business just 'cuz its owners ignore this silly law? WHERE is the power to enforce this nonsense?

This is something that the free market, not the government, should determine. It's very very simple, friends and neighbors: if a restaurant owner wants to have smoking in his establishment, he should be free to do that. Just as much as nobody has to eat in that restaurant if they don't want to on account of the smoking. If enough customers ask nicely for it to be a tobacco-free place, the owner can make that determination on his own and also be free to end smoking in his joint.

Nobody needs or even really asked for Bev Perdue and her legislative lackeys to make that determination for them.

What do I think needs to happen in this state?

A hella lotta rebellion against the General Assembly and Governor Bev Perdue.

They passed this law and she signed it. Now let's see them enforce it.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let's see if I get this straight. You are saying that the proponents of this bill have no interest in public health, their primary motivation is control of the individual? I'm not in favor of the law either, but that statement is ridiculous. Making evil villains out of everyone that doesn't hold your exact views is getting old.

Anonymous said...

wow, worst gov ever? what a whiner.
i remember as a child sitting in our living room, trying to watch tv through the cloud of smoke from my fathers cigars and pipe. my father died of lung cancer. the video store i shop at is always smokey. i could shop somewhere else, but i'd have to drive 10+ miles more. i quickly go in, find the video i want and leave. its run by a fat white christian lady who smokes and is always coughing
and short of breath. i'd bet the woman has no healthcare either, so our taxes will take care of her when shes needs hospitalization.

Matt said...

Guys, you seem to be forgetting one tiny thing.

Yes, it is bad for us to smoke. Chris is not denying that in any way, shape, or form. However, it is still a personal choice for buisness owners to allow/not allow smoking in THEIR stores. They own the store, they keep it running, they pay the bills. It is THEIRS.

The government does not have a right to say 'You absolutely, under no circumstances, can allow your customers to smoke in your store'.

Guys, it is a front on personal liberties, plain and simple. A small one? Sure. But it all has to start that way.

Tony said...

I have to say I agree whole heartedly with Chris. I understand cigarette smoke stinks and that is unhealthy. But what next? Deep fryers in restaurants stink and produce smoke as well. Having worked in the restaurant industry for years, I can smell the grease as soon as I walk in the door. Will they be banned next? Then what? Grills? How about banning diet soda? My doctor yells me it is one of the most unhealthy things I can put into my body! I think smokers and non smokers ought to be able to share the world. And I think a business owner has EVERY RIGHT to decide if smoking is allowed. Just like they decide whether or not to serve alcohol. No brainer here. I don't agree with Chris about Bev being the worst governor ever. I think Mike easley holds that title.

Brian (Nunchux) said...

The the folks who think Chris is, uh, blowing this out of proportion or something: He's not. The simple fact of the matter is that the owner of the restaurant should be the one deciding who does what on the restaurant premises. The government does NOT own the restaurant, and therefore should have no say as to whether people should be allowed to smoke. The idea that this is being done to promote public health is absurd - if you are concerned about your health in an establishment that allows smoking, do not patronize that establishment.

Imagine that someday a couple of years down the road the government decided to outlaw the sale of red meat in all restaurants. This would be done, of course, in the name of public health, because there would be a vocal group of people who already don't eat red meat who would cite up and down the reasons it's bad for us. The notion that it's for public health is obviously ludicrous, but it would be just another example of the government sticking its nose someplace it doesn't belong.

For the record, like Chris, I don't smoke. I don't encourage it, nor do I particularly enjoy being around people who are doing it. BUT, I do support a person's right to choose to live his life with a cigarette in his mouth. This law is ridiculous, plain and simple.

THe Happy Catholic said...

I lost my grandfather to smoking, so there is a part of me that likes this bill. But I respectfully didagree with you.

But I doubt it will be enforced. In Ontario, Canada where I'm from, all bikers MUST where a helmet when riding, but no one pays attention and cops pass helmetless bikers and don't do a thing

Anonymous said...

Brian, My objection was not about Chris's position on the law, it was about characterizing anyone that disagreed as "flexing the might of the collective against the individual". There are plenty of unhealthy things you can do at your home that are not allowed in restaurants ... serve spoiled food, not wash your hands, leave the table dirty, etc. This law adds smoking to the list. I don't agree with that addition but a LOT of people do and they are not plotting to rob me of my liberties. They just disagree with me. Majority wins.

GJ MR. CHICAGO said...

From One Blogger to another! I think Bev Perdue is the worst person to ever be elected in the North Carolina! I also blog on blogger but for some reason I can't follow your blog, so I will just have to bookmark it. Please some visit and leave some comments on what you think. You can search out all my blogpost about Bex Perdue in the right hand side under search! My writing is a little more "hotheaded" than yours but I do get a little upset when I see our country going to shit! Come visit! Http://superdadspeaks.blogspot.com

GJ MR. CHICAGO said...

http://superdadspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/07/bev-perdue-impeached-what-people-are.html#links

Anonymous said...

I do not smoke..... T wonder what the good people of NC were smoking when they elected that bitch Bev Perdue???????????