[ "Ode to the Wicker Man Book I Excerpts From and Poems 003"; as submitted to You Tube by gypsiechild (Me); 12/8/10; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mndc2u30sOU ]
Amongst other things, in this video, I take up the topic of smoking - the new smoking laws, taxes, etc. - and my belief that these target the poor and middle class and are discriminatory - yet another reason folks are leaving NY State...
A post and dialogue on the "Kingston Progressive" blog ["Weeding Out the Smokers" / see blog link in sidebar] led me to do some research [Now they (ambiguous for now...) want the right to refuse to employ people that smoke?????] on the topic - and as best I can tell, cigarette smokers have been targeted and unduly persecuted since at least 1998 - when an agreement was made between at least some of the cigarette companies, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and 48 [this number was in error; it was apparently 46] State Attorney Generals, which involved hefty financial penalties that were to be paid to the states involved - to be utilized to offset the health care of smokers and to offer smoking cessation programs and such... [See below for more on this...]
Long story this, but leaving out some sensitive materials, this is what I had to say on the "Kingston Progressive" blog:
1) "... Making an example of one person doesn't cut it. It is like when the Bush Jr. Administration made such an issue about the one woman that was on life support. It is interference into the private lives and choices of the American citizens. Yes, many companies screen for drugs and alcohol; but they do not refuse to hire people that drink - you and I both know that! In fact, it wasn't all that long ago that I saw one of our Assembymen drunk off his butt (pun intended) in a local bar - hanging all over some rather young looking young ladies. Should he lose his job because he chose to go get drunk and look like an A on a weeknight?
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"I am involved, in my way, in human rights for ALL people - and what I posted before was very legitimate and pertinent to your thread.
Mike, as you have stated in the past, any one of us could die at any given time - or we could even be wiped out amass by a big mass of concete (or whatever...) from outer space....
My issue is that victims are being punished for being the victims of mass media advertizing, whether it be cigs and booze in the past, or a pharmaceutical deluge...
There are people that quit smoking and gained 100 lbs - now living with high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and/or other complications that come from weight gain...
There are people that are popping 5 - 10 - 15 different types of meds that simply used to smoke - got depressed when they quit - and tried all the new wave solutions out there...
..................................................
Smokers are being treated like criminals already... and it is not right! Would you also deny smokers the right to serve in the Military (one of my brothers served in Germany and one in Korea)?"
2) "Addendum: U.S. Presidents that smoked:
"Dubya: Ex-cigarette smoker
Clinton: Smoked cigars occasionally
Reagan: Ex-cigarette smoker
Ford: Smoked a pipe
Johnson: Ex-cigarette smoker
Kennedy: Smoked cigarettes and cigars
Eisenhower: Ex-cigarette smoker
FDR: Smoked cigarettes
Obama: Ex-cigarette smoker"
Copied and Pasted from: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090511125938AAv56kG
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"Theoretical question:
Say you "were" a smoker, Mike...
You are highly intelligent. You are a terrific asset to the community. You are a terrific blogger. You are a respectible UC Legislature. You are multifaceted and extremely valuable as a human being and as a United States citizen.
Say you "were" a smoker, Mike...
Should you be fired and denied other jobs / positions? Would that serve the "common good"?
I think not."
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3) "I didn't become too involved in research in this area - but now I've done a little - and it certainly appears (?????) to me that smokers have gotten screwed over by everyone - including the cigarette companies, the ACLU and the Attorney Generals of 48 [this should read 46...] states (?????)
Tell me (I have a lot more to read on the topic) - do you think I have some basis for feeling this way?
Would you admit it if I did?
Lol.
And apparently the self-righteous anti-smoking groupies are getting screwed over too... (?????)
How does it feel?
This is law and order and justice at work?
Guess what? So far the whole thing smells worse than an asstray [this word was an error, but it reads too good to change it...] full of cigarettes in an overutilized outhouse that hasn't been cleaned in 9 months...!
Guess I'll just have to say - tongue in cheek - "Hallelujah, I've been saved!"
Not.
"Touched a nerve"?
With what I just read, I have to say: What F-ing Nerve!
Jury is out though - I've just skimmed things, this far - and maybe I'll find a gold nugget in the BS.
You think?"
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Resources:
"Master Settlement Agreement": http://web.archive.org/web/20080625084126/http://www.naag.org/backpages/naag/tobacco/msa/msa-pdf/1109185724_1032468605_cigmsa.pdf
"Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_Master_Settlement_Agreement
Quote from the above: "The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) was an agreement entered into in November 1998, originally between the four largest US tobacco companies and the attorneys general of 46 states. The states settled their Medicaid lawsuits against the tobacco industry for recovery of their tobacco-related health care costs, and also exempted the companies from private tort liability regarding harm caused by tobacco use.[1]:25 In exchange, the companies agreed to curtail or cease certain tobacco marketing practices, as well as to pay, in perpetuity, various annual payments to the states to compensate them for some of the medical costs of caring for persons with smoking-related illnesses. The money also funds a new anti-smoking advocacy group, called the American Legacy Foundation, that is responsible for such campaigns as The Truth. The settlement also dissolved the tobacco industry groups Tobacco Institute, the Center for Indoor Air Research, and the Council for Tobacco Research. In the MSA, the OPMs (Original Participating Manufacturers) agreed to pay a minimum of $206 billion over the first twenty-five years of the agreement."
"Funding for State Tobacco Prevention Programs at Lowest Level Since Tobacco Settlement Highlight HEALTH": http://www.highlighthealth.com/health-news/funding-for-state-tobacco-prevention-programs-at-lowest-level-since-tobacco-settlement/
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements/FY2011/StateSettlementReport_FY2011_web.pdf
"Did any of our United States presidents smoke - Yahoo! Answers":
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090511125938AAv56kG
"Which United States presidents smoked cigarettes during their presidency ChaCha Answers": http://www.chacha.com/question/which-united-states-presidents-smoked-cigarettes-during-their-presidency
"Blowing smoke: Do smokers have a right? Limiting the privacy rights of cigarette smokers"; Michelle L. Tyler; "Georgetown Law Journal"; 1/1998: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3805/is_199801/ai_n8799514/#comments
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Do I believe we should do everything we can to try to prevent youth from picking up a tobacco habit? Yes. But that does not include the public humiliation of - persecution of - or discrimination against those adults that choose to smoke.
If you (left ambiguous for now...) are really intent on stopping all smokers?
Close the factories.
Period.
But then of course we will be left with more job losses, fewer taxible items - and a black market for nicotine [Remember the results of Prohibition?] that will make your heads spin...
Turning decent people into criminals...
Putting decent people into jails and prisons...
And - once again [my opinion] letting the original perpetrators [This all starts towards the top...] walk away whistling [Unless they were actually held accountable; monies paid directly to the persons that they had harmed...] in the wind.
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