They're coming after you

townhall.com ^ | 3/06/02 | Walter Williams

[kattracks]

Most Americans were pleased with the legislative attack on cigarette smokers, not to mention confiscatory tobacco taxes. We reveled in the EPA's dishonest study concluding that second-hand smoke causes cancer. And, by the way, I'd like to hear whether the Food & Drug Administration would sanction pharmaceutical companies employing EPA's research methods to test drug safety -- and if not, why not?

The real reason for the attack on smokers is that many people are offended by the tobacco odor. Unfortunately, in their quest to eliminate tobacco fumes, Americans are willing to trade away constitutional principles and rule of law.

Tyrants are never satisfied. They've lined up new victims. Surgeon General David Satcher has provided them with ammunition by describing obesity as America's No. 1 killer, costing 300,000 lives annually. As a result of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other obesity-related illnesses, it's costing us billions upon billions of health dollars. That means, according to John Banzhaf of George Washington University School of Law and other tyrants, America's food industry is to blame and liable. New York University Professor Marion Nestle agrees, saying that the food industry "can't behave like cigarette companies. ... Yet there's a lot of people who benefit from people being fat and sick, and the whole setup is designed to make people eat more. So the response to the food industry should be very similar to what happened with the tobacco companies."

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is one of the Washington lobbies that wants to control what we eat. These tyrants not only propose taxes on what they deem as non-nutritious foods, they've also proposed a 5 percent tax on new television sets and video equipment, and a $65 tax on each new car or an extra penny per gallon of gas. You might ask why tax these items? CSPI Nazis see watching television and videos, and riding instead of walking, as contributing to obesity. And, as they see it, just as tobacco companies were responsible for people smoking, television manufacturers are responsible for people being couch potatoes, automobile companies are responsible for people riding instead of walking and the food industry is responsible for people eating too much.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has joined these tyrants. No reasonable person advocates drunk driving, but MADD has another agenda. It wishes to outlaw driving even after having one drink. It has successfully pushed Congress to lower the blood/alcohol level for a drunk-driving arrest to .08 percent. But its true agenda was revealed by Steve Simon, chairman of the Minnesota State DUI Task Force, when he said: "If .08 percent is good, .05 percent is better. That's where we're headed. It doesn't mean that we should get there all at once. But ultimately it should be .02 percent."

That's the way Nazis work -- incrementally. If they had demanded Congress make the blood/alcohol .02, they wouldn't have gotten anything -- not even .08 percent. I wouldn't be surprised if their ultimate agenda is alcohol prohibition.

The Center for Consumer Freedom (www.consumerfreedom.com) keeps up-to-date information on these and other tyrants. You might say, "What's the fuss, Williams? These people will never get away with controlling what we eat and drink!" Think again. In the '60s, when the anti-smoking zealots were simply asking for smoking and non-smoking sections on airplanes, no one would have ever anticipated today's tobacco taxes, laws and regulations.

Most evil done in the world is done in the name of promoting this or that good. By turning away from rule of law and constitutional government, Americans are following in the footsteps of the decent Germans, who during the 1920s and '30s built the Trojan Horse that enabled Hitler to take over.

Contact Walter Williams | Read his biography

©2002 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

[Jen]

FReepathon Continues!

GREAT FREEPER QUOTE FROM THE FREEPATHON THREAD:

2366 posted on 3/3/02 6:57 PM Pacific by McGavin999

"A lot of people come to FreeRepublic on a daily basis for their news. Strangely, many of them never stop to think about how this site is paid for. Many have no idea that FreeRepublic is fully funded by the people who use the site.

If everyone who was registered donated $1 a month, we'd never have to have a fund raiser. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. Some people think their $5 or $10 wouldn't make a difference, but it would."

Have a Heart!
Do Your Part!

[Jen]

ping

[Free the USA]

Check the Bump List folders for articles related to the above topic(s) or for other topics of interest.

[Red Jones]

bump

[backhoe]

Dr. Williams is one of my favorite people!

[uglybiker]

PING

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

"Most evil done in the world is done in the name of promoting this or that good. By turning away from rule of law and constitutional government, Americans are following in the footsteps of the decent Germans, who during the 1920s and '30s built the Trojan Horse that enabled Hitler to take over."

Guys, "Spot on!!" I am glad that some are finally equating these "new" tyrants to those who have gone before, and their enablers. VERY fitting. Peace and love, George.

[Dick Bachert]

[Gunner9mm]

I'm not guilty -- the Twinkies made me do it!

[Great Dane]

I don't even think the smoke bothers a whole lot of people, when our City Council brought in a 100% smoking ban in all public places, including restaurants, bars, bingo halls, they claimed of course it was a health issue, then they claimed they had a lot of complaints, when pinned down on that, they admitted to SOME complaints, then they admitted to a trickle of complaints, when all was said and done, there were three.....3 complaints in a population of nearly a million.

[Max McGarrity]

Ah, yes, Great Dane, and they're already spinning the fact that the smoking bans have caused massive losses to charities who normally benefit from the bingo halls. Another one closed this week, I understand.

[Great Dane]

#12.......... Hemmingways is closing, as is the New Foundland pub, The Hunt Club bingo and Stony Mondays bar, last week a restaurant seating over 200 closed.

Yes, they will keep spinning, but how long can you run on 911, the economy is picking up, so there goes that excuse.