Sad, isn't it Gabz............
Absolutely sums up the attitudes of all the anti-(pick your vice)advocates.
I find it particularly interesting that anyone who is opposed to increased tobacco taxes or smoking bans is labelled a tobacco intustry "shill" or smokers' rights "lobbyist." Both words with very negative conotations.
Yet the proponents of these same proposals are called health "advocates" or clean air "activists." Both words conjuring rather positive images.
In my world the proponents of these taxes and bans are more deserving of the terms "shill" and "lobbyist" and all of the negative conotation they come with. These people are paid to LIE to the public and they are paid very well and paid with smoker money from the extortionate taxes smokers pay, from the extortion money stolen from smokers through the Master Settlement Agreement, and from smokers who have been so cowed they are willing to pay for the useless "smoking cessation" products being pushed by the anti-smoker organizations.
These people are PAID to find ways to remove the property rights of private business owners.
These people are PAID to find ways to demonize law abiding taxpaying citizens.
These people are PAID to find ways to extort more money from smokers.
These people are PAID to keep a minority of the population from being recognized as law-abiding, tax-paying, productive members of society.
They are PAID to get the rest of the population to accept smokers as addle-brained drug addicts who should have no say and no rights.
The scary part is - they are succeeding.
That is obvious from the number of FReepers who agree that the government should determine that a private business owner WILL be prohibited from permitting the use of a legal product within his premises.
Sad, isn't it Gabz............