Friday, March 16, 2012

The Property Rights Newsletter
March 16, 2012 - Issue #655
"The lack of money is the root of all evil." - Mark Twain
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! CDC Unveils New Smoking Ad: Watch the video. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention releases a commercial as part of its quit smoking campaign. Graphic new smoking campaign designed to shock. Ads only work if they're done right. the evidence is clear hard-hitting ads work. (Graphic Ads, Teen Smoking, and The Solution.)
Money
CA: As tobacco sales fall, state budget suffers. Fewer smokers is bad news for California's budget. A major bond rating agency sounded an alarm this month, saying the state may have borrowed more than $4 billion against settlement money that might never materialize.
ID: Cigarette Tax Fails to Gain Traction. "This does hit a certain sector, blue collar workers, veterans, fixed income folks, with an over 200 percent tax increase that I can't support."
NH: Tobacco Tax Revenue INCREASES after Tobacco Tax Cut. The tobacco tax is up nearly $1 million over estimates, producing $15.1 million for the month.
RI: Lawmakers Seek to Slash Cigarette Tax. "We're a very small state. We can't afford to have people be non-competitive with neighboring states," he said. "It's bad economic policy for the state."
From The Mailbag
KS: State Ignores Financial Damage of Smoking Ban. If the bill passes, bar owners who want to allow smoking would be required to post large, visible signs outside all their entrances that tell patrons only people 21 and older are allowed inside. KS: Watch the video. Shiela Martin, A Bar Owner's Perspective. The Top Hat tavern in Hutchinson, Kansas. Small business owners aren't quitting.
NC: Wrightsville Beach says no to smoking ban. Up in smoke, ban fails. He recited the last line of the pledge of allegiance: "with freedom and justice for all," reminding the audience that Wrightsville was, by charter, a public beach. "We have to consider everybody: smokers and nonsmokers," Mills said.
UK: No Smoking Day Fail, Leave Her Alone!, Misleading the Public, Anti-smoking Fanatics, The Cost of Righteousness, and more...
World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs.
Watch: 97 year old faces eviction if she doesn't quit smoking.
Watch: 97 year old man, outspoken WWII vet, faces eviction.
Watch: 97 year old woman finds a job after a year-long search.
Watch: 97 year old woman disenfranchised by Voter ID Law.
Watch: 97 year old Granny dancing to Just Dance 2, Hot Stuff.
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# posted by Samantha : 12:13 PM

Thursday, March 08, 2012

The Property Rights Newsletter
March 9, 2012 - Issue #654
"I am the one who got myself fat, who did all the eating. So I had to take full responsibility for it." - Kirstie Alley
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! Disney changes obesity exhibit after complaints. The interactive exhibit, Habit Heroes, featured animated fitness superheros Will Power and Callie Stenics and super-sized villains Snacker and Lead Bottom, who eat junk food and watch too much television. Critics said the exhibit reinforces stereotypes that obese children are lazy and have poor eating habits. Blue Cross and Blue Shield partnered with Disney to create the exhibit. Blue Cross spokesman John W. Herbkersman said the exhibit was meant to be helpful. "We're appalled to learn that Disney, a traditional hallmark of childhood happiness and joy, has fallen under the shadow of negativity and discrimination," the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance said in a statement.
From The Mailbag
CO: Colorado public health researchers push for even tougher anti-smoking rules. They face increasing resistance from businesses and smoking-rights supporters who say freedom has already eroded too far. "The anti-smoking people will not be satisfied until no one smokes," said Pete Meersman of the Colorado Restaurant Association, who lobbies against more restrictions.
SC: ALERT! Fight details and City Council contact information. Smoking may soon be banned in Simpsonville restaurants. Councilman Matthew Gooch said the ordinance was at its first reading and he'd like to investigate further.
Canada: A Crisis of Authority: Pierre Lemieux's Somebody in Charge: A Solution to Recessions? The roots of the recent financial crisis lay not in greed and self-interest running amuck in unhampered markets, but in the policy and regulatory structure that created and enabled excessive leverage and risk taking.
Costa Rica: Court halts anti-smoking bill pending constitutional review. For the first time in the country's history, Costa Rica's Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court requests to review a bill after its been approved by the Legislative Assembly. The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) on Friday ordered the Executive Branch to suspend the signing and publication of a recently passed anti-smoking bill.
Scotland: Tobacco, other vested corporate interests and democracy, Safe levels: the riddles of exposure to particulate matter, Champix could be prescribed for alcoholism, Chris Carter releases following international appeal, and more...
UK: Hands Off Our Packs launches "Nanny Town" video.
World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs.
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights!Join The Metropolitan Society and your membership card gains access to a long list of other Cigar Clubs as well. Why join just one when you can visit all the affiliates?
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# posted by Samantha : 10:31 AM

Thursday, March 01, 2012

The Property Rights Newsletter
March 2, 2012 - Issue #653
"Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit." - Mahatma Gandhi
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! You Didn't Think It Would End With Seat-Belts... Did You? By Eric Peters. Here's how it works: The government decides that whatever it is you're doing is "unsafe" - not specifically in your case, just generally - maybe, might be, could be - then asserts the legal authority to criminalize whatever it is you're doing. Which means, it asserts the right to arrest you at gunpoint and threaten you implicitly and perhaps explicitly with lethal violence in order to force you to submit and obey. That is, to comply with the order. Failure to do so being sufficient provocation for the unleashing of escalating levels of violent over-reaction. All the way to the end point of shooting you, if need be. Now they're coming for your cigarettes.
UK: Soviet Style Alcohol Suppression Campaign Called for By Public Health Activists. By Chris Oakley. I have always been struck by the backward totalitarian nature of public health. In a world in which hard science and enlightened medical opinion is positively buzzing about personalized medicine and the benefits of treating people as individuals, public health continues to push ideas that are more in keeping with early 20th century totalitarian doctrine then 21st century medicine. Perhaps they never thought of putting vodka in olive drab bottles with massive pictures of diseased livers on them? You can be sure that Ian Gilmore has.
From The Mailbag
GA: Cobb park smoking ban would infringe on rights. Such research is irrelevant to the subject at hand. I could find no critical examination of areas such as parks, hiking trails, picnic areas, etc. In fact, Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor at the Boston School of Public Health, and an outspoken critic of second hand smoke, stated "There is no evidence that fleeting second-hand exposure in an open space is significantly harmful."
Canada: Mohawks of Akwesasne sign MOU with Canada Revenue Agency over Tobacco Plants. Grand Chief Mike Kanentakeron Mitchell noted,"The negotiations were initiated due to an action that the MCA took to remind Revenue Canada that Akwesasne also has jurisdiction and laws that are exercised for the protection of the community." He added, "The Memorandum of Understanding is an important result of those negotiations as it ensures that Government of Canada will continue to recognize Akwesasne's authority to determine our community's social and economic development."
Costa Rica: Smoking ban advances, but vote delayed. After a second vote, the bill would go to Chinchilla's desk for signing. Guillermo Oliva, director of corporate affairs at Tabacalera Costarricense, an affiliate of Philip Morris International, released a statement questioning the law's effectiveness. The Costa Rican Chamber of Restaurants and Affiliates (CACORE) has voiced disgust with the bill, with president Manuel Burgos stating publicly on multiple occasions, "What about smokers' rights?"
Wales: Amendment Regulations 2012. By Michael J. McFadden. I would like a proper response to this input, including a citation of studies that the proper body would be willing to defend in showing the necessity for the restrictive requirements proposed.
World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs.
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights!
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# posted by Samantha : 10:02 AM

Thursday, February 23, 2012

The Property Rights Newsletter

February 24, 2012 - Issue #652

"Our world has evolved and grown more technologically savvy. Lawmakers need to adjust to these changes." - Dennis Hastert

Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! AN OPEN LETTER OF DISGUST TO LAWMAKERS: Sabotaged again in Hawaii, HB2306. By Dave Kawika Crowley. After being waived out of Health, our bill (HB2306) was heard by ERB. When the vote was taken, the result was an overwhelming victory for our business friendly bill, allowing for smoking exemptions for bars requesting one. What happened next was utterly disgusting. When our bill came up for the voting process, the House Majority Leader took it upon himself to not allow our bill to be voted on by all house members, sending our bill to be recommitted back to ERB, essentially sinking our bill for good. When we become the obvious brunt of a legislative procedure that is so blatantly decrepit, dishonest, foul, and unfair, and based upon the whim of just one lawmaker, one can only lose faith in the governmental process. I can understand if we truly DID NOT HAVE the votes. The issue would be moot. What we have here at the capitol is not representative government, but rather sadly and shamefully, a dictatorial sham, disguised as "proper acceptable and fair procedure."
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! NASCAR bans smoking in the stands during races: Daytona fans will be required to use certain designated areas behind the grandstands once the ban takes effect. Smokers bought their tickets under the notion they could smoke. Watch the Fox News video.
KS: Bill Could Allow Smoking In Kansas Bars. A house bill recently presented in Topeka could change a law that bans smoking in most Kansas restaurants and bars. The bill would amend the Clean Air Act and allow smoking inside bars that serve and employ people 21 and older.
SC: A group that is seeking to make South Carolina cities and counties smoke free has asked Hartsville City Council to enact a smoke-free workplace ordinance for the city. One restaurant owner in the audience, however, took issue with that assertion. Libby Schmitt of J Michael's Restaurant in Hartsville, which allows smoking, and J Michael's Grill & Raw Bar in Florence said when the City of Florence enacted its smoke-free ordinance prohibiting smoking in restaurants it hurt her restaurant's business there severely. "I lost 30 percent of my business," she said.
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! Hands Off Our Packs: Chris Snowdon's "White Paper" report is beautifully argued and written. Read why plain packaging is a complete waste of time and money. Meet him in the UK on Monday 27th February 2012, 6:30 PM, at St Stephens Club, 34 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AB. RSVP. The bottom line is, if you are opposed to the plain packaging of tobacco (whatever next - alcohol and fatty foods?), don't miss what should be a very entertaining evening.
France: More smokers lighting up at work. Five years after France introduced a smoking ban in public places, a new report says more people are flouting the rules, particularly at work. Also, A report in June from two public health bodies said that the number of daily smokers has risen again in the last five years.
Germany: Hamburg's smoking ban goes up in smoke. The Constitutional Court, based in the southwestern town of Karlsruhe, ruled that smoking bans must be imposed on restaurants and bars alike, or not at all. The ruling was sparked by a legal complaint from the manager of a motorway service station, who wanted to install a separate smoking room for her customers - she said that 80 percent of them were smoking truck drivers.
World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs.
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights!
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# posted by Samantha : 9:32 AM

Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Property Rights Newsletter
February 17, 2012 - Issue #651
"That's what we wanted to get across in that moment, particularly when Shaun goes to the shop when he's all hung over. He doesn't notice any of the zombies around him just because he never had before, so why should he at that point?" - Simon Pegg
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! Quitting should be smokers' choice. By Theodore J. King. I am all in favor of smokers who want to quit smoking, but quitting must be the smokers' choice, not Cline's and petty city and town council members'. The Oklahoma Department of Health has millions from the tobacco settlement to sway the public by print, radio and billboard advertising with the aim to ban smoking everywhere with their "Tobacco Stops with Me" campaign. I want a new crusade to stop the Nanny State and the busybodies who get off on telling people how to live their lives, and I want to name it "The Nanny State Stops with Me."
CDC Nannies: The Salt War reaches the cancer stage. It has to be cancer. Everything gives you cancer now. I remember reading, many years ago, about a study that used these same statistical games to prove that hot showers give you lung cancer. Keep it up, Righteous. Soon you will have killed all of your idiot drones.
Conventional Medicine: A Legal Monopoly, Not a Healthcare System. The results of the Medical Monopoly Mafia are multiple and disastrous. They claim the authority to cram their dubious truths down our throats. In everyday life, that's becoming clearer and clearer.To manage your own health as you choose is rapidly becoming an underground practice. If you want to use herbs or supplements for your health, you'll soon be denied access to them.
From The Mailbag
Neighborhood taverns disappear from Chicago, other cities. Ebner hopes Chicago's remaining taverns can survive. If people stay home instead of patronizing neighborhood pubs, he says, "it really fosters a sense of personal isolation."
Being lonely "worse than smoking." Being lonely in old age will propel you to the grave more quickly than smoking, a senior Downing Street adviser said as part of an effort to encourage people to retire later. "If you have got someone who loves you, someone you can talk to if you have got a problem, that is a more powerful predictor of whether you will be alive in 10 years' time, more than almost any other actor, certainly more than smoking."
Scotland: News items; NHS Borders attempts an outdoor smoking ban,Unwelcome Sunday guest,The research juggernaut: anti-tobacco funding makes campus go non-smoking, Getting cold for a good cause at 83? (demolishing the smoking shelter at elderly residential home),Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to slash travel help for least developed economies, More on Wales: vending machines ban goes live,How to avoid trouble at the border, more...
UK: News items; England oh England-where for art thou?, How Government Brands Smokers, Alzheimer's and Smoking, Smoke Free Catastrophe, Fictional and Real Deaths, Smoke Free Homes, more...
World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs.
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# posted by Samantha : 12:53 PM

Thursday, February 09, 2012

The Property Rights Newsletter
February 10, 2012 - Issue #650
"Commonsense is the realised sense of proportion." - Mahatma Gandhi
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! CA: $1,000 Fine For Throwing Football Or Frisbee On Beaches. Los Angeles County, 37-page ordinance. The updated rules now prohibit "any person to cast, toss, throw, kick or roll" any object other than a beach ball or volleyball "upon or over any beach" between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Your kids could also end up costing you big bucks: the ordinance also prohibits digging any hole deeper than 18 inches into the sand except where permission is granted for film and TV production services only.
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! CDC: 9 out of 10 Americans eat too much salt. The Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday on average Americans consume 3,300 mgs of sodium every day, putting people at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. NBC's Tom Costello reports. "Too much sodium raises blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke," Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, said in a statement. "These diseases kill more than 800,000 Americans each year, and contribute an estimated $273 billion in health care costs," he said. More from around the world: Horrifying salt, NY Hold the salt, Obesity, Limit Food Ads, Personal Responsibility, CSPI Busybodies or tyrants? ...
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! The Toxic Truth About Sugar. Robert H. Lustig, MD, and a team of UCSF researchers argue that sugar should be controlled like alcohol and tobacco to protect public health. In a new report, they maintain that sugar is fueling a global obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually worldwide from non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The U.S. authors warn obesity is now a bigger problem than malnourishment across the world, and that sugar not only makes people fat but also changes the bodys metabolism, raises blood pressure, throws hormones off balance and harms the liver. More from around the world: NY Non-Diet Soda Tax, Soft Drinks Being Singled Out, Soda, Diabetes and Mischief Science, NH Soda, CA No Soda In School ...
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! Spain: More Spaniards are smoking now than before the anti-smoking legislation. The percentage of smokers is practically unchanged since 2007. The new anti-smoking legislation which banned smoking in closed public spaces a year ago, has not had the expected effect on the number of smokers.
World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs.
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights!
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# posted by Samantha : 4:58 PM

Thursday, February 02, 2012

The Property Rights Newsletter
February 3, 2012 - Issue #649
"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves." - Abraham Lincoln
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! Bingo: As a result of the smoking ban and taxing legislation bingo clubs up and down the UK have been closing their doors as they struggle to operate profitably. "There will be regular players who will greatly miss being able to go to their regular club and interact with people." Michael J. McFadden adds, "The UK's Bingo interests are fighting the wrong fight: they need to join with the Free Choice groups to restore the option of some places to allow smoking if they and their workers and customers wish." MORE around the world: Bingo Halls close following bans everywhere, stopping all the charity money they used to earn. For the good of the children, bring back Bingo and let adults decide if they want a smoking hall or not.
From The Mailbag
IL: Loosen IL smoking ban restrictions? State Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D) out of Chicago has proposed new legislation that would allow casinos and bars to apply for smoking licenses.
NC: Will smoking issue burn again? It will be interesting to see how much headway Liebes and his group, the N.C. Bar, Pub and Tavern Association, make in getting the law revised. The group has hired Dean Plunkett, a Raleigh-based lobbyist who is known for his work on behalf of the N.C. Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association. Plunkett may well snag the ears of some legislators who could push revisions to the law.
Property Rights for all include Smokers Rights! OH: Smokers not eligible for jobs in some Ohio casinos. 3,200 applicants will be tested for nicotine usage, refused if found positive. Hollywood Casino Columbus General Manager Ameet Patel said applicants who test positive for nicotine will be disqualified and workers will be subject to random tests during employment. Penn National's policy will mean no tobacco use on or off the job for their 3,200 workers and Ohio's indoor smoking ban means customers will have to step outside before lighting up.
New Zealand: Smokers Urge to Lift Smoking Bans. For them, it is just like robbing away the individual liberty and they feel that smoking has become a class like religion or sex, for which they are somewhat hated. It is not a problem for them to be classified as smokers, but they should not be hated for it.
World: The Nicotine Advantage: Anti-Doping Agency Practically Endorses Smoking. The performance-enhancing effects of nicotine included increased "vigilance and cognitive function," and reduced stress and body weight. "Interestingly, nicotine also triggers a significant increase of pulse rate, blood pressure, blood sugar and epinephrine release owing to simultaneous stimulant and relaxant properties," the report said.
World: Smokers Blogs. Watch instant postings to your favorite blogs.
Antis: What to expect:
The Cold Sharp Slap Of Reality
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# posted by Samantha : 12:44 PM

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