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by Darkseid
on Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:39 am |
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| You say there's 'a reason' for no attempts since Reagan-but, look back in history. The 'reason' is, how many presidents have been shot or killed out of all the ones we've had? Why is Castro still alive, after al the attempts by the mafia, the CIA, etc;to take him out? There are'experts' protecting just about every world leader, including the Pope, and they are all pretty tough hombres. No-the real reason is, it takes a special kind of twisted mind to be willing to sacrifice yourself to kill another. There just aren't as many of those people as we care to think. There are many cold-blooded serial killers walking around, but they aren't interested in offing the president. The key to any assasination is diversion, and don't think it isn't still possible. As to how I'd feel if "the One' (copyright Oprah 2008) were snuffed, would I want it? No. But would it bother me? Nope. it wouldn't faze me one iota. I've been demonized and a third-class citizen with no rights for so many years....compassion? Sorry, I'm fresh out. There are some scum in Congress I DO actively wish were no longer around,however. Dodd, Lautenberg,Waxman, and Byrd for starters, and I may get drunk for the first time in years when Kennedy finally dies. |
Last edited by Darkseid on Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:52 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Darkseid
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by Tsujiban
on Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:49 am |
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Darkseid wrote: You say there's 'a reason' for no attempts since Reagan-but, look back in history. The 'reason' is, how many presidents have been shot or killed out of all the ones we've had? Why is Castro still alive, after al the attempts by the mafia, the CIA, etc;to take him out? There are'experts' protecting just about every world leader, including the Pope, and they are all pretty tough hombres. No-the real reason is, it takes a special kind of twisted mind to be willing to sacrifice yourself to kill another.
yep, i think you are right.
Darkseid wrote: As to how I'd feel if "the One' (copyright Oprah 2008) were snuffed, it wouldn't faze me one iota. I've been demonized and a third-class citizen with no rights for so many years....compassion? Sorry, I'm fresh out. I may get drunk for the first time in years when Kennedy finally dies.
wouldn't America be boring if we all had the same attitudes and opinions.  |
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Tsujiban
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by Darkseid
on Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:54 am |
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Woops, I was in the process of editing when you responded. Didn't think anyone else was still up LOL  |
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by runamok
on Sun Jun 28, 2009 7:51 am |
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libertarian99 wrote: runamok wrote: libertarian99 wrote: He's dealt two disastrous blows to the tobacco industry...
Disastrous blows? Phillip Morris, who has over half the domestic market, doesn't see it that way. It's hard to imagine why they don't. It's pretty mysterious how confident they are that they're not going to be banned out of existence.
Phillip Morris was heavily involved in writing this legislation plus, the FDA's scientific advisory committee will have three (non-voting) tobacco industry representatives on it.
"Tobacco Control" is a multi faceted conglomeration of individuals and organizations. The players are a varied and sundry lot that do not, by any stretch of the imagination, all share the same motivations and visions of the future. At present, they embrace strictly symbiotic relationships with each other that tolerate and advance each other’s agendas but that is very likely to change down the road if the accelerating pace of banning and taxing continues unabated.
Assuming this pace continues, anti-tobacco will, within 10 years (maybe less), reach a point where the only thing left to do to justify their existence is begin the push for total prohibition. That means threatening to take their (and the government’s) cash cow to slaughter. This will not be allowed to happen.
Smoking by then will be banned everywhere except OUTDOORS on private residential property and in the gov't approved, roofless and wall-less, fenced in pens that are erected on various street corners around town. At this point, anti will pull in her horns but they won't disband and they will continue to rake in the loot. Now, the fringe fanatics (true prohibitionists) among them, for whom prohibition of tobacco is payment enough, and the “casual prohibitionists” (Joans and Joes who are busy with kids and their workaday lives who read the news stories about SHS and the body counts and have no reason to doubt any of it. They have no idea whatsoever of the vast sums of money involved and the politics behind all of it. Any story that starts out with "Studies show" or "Scientists say" is taken as gospel and they will never question it) will give the career antis fits. These former allies are now the enemy. They see utopia on the horizon and they're going to push for it...hard.
This will get the government’s undivided attention and they will now step in to protect their financial interests. Unless they can quietly begin paying off and disbanding their FORMER partners in crime (anti-smoking...now the enemy), they will be forced to discredit the anti-smoking organizations in every way, shape, and form. Even if anti goes quietly, gov't will likely have to take their "science" to task in an effort to de-program the prohibitionists.
The money trail does not lead to prohibition.
Contrary to popular belief, the 18th amendment (alcohol prohibition) was not repealed because anybody "came to their senses". It was repealed because the government desperately wanted the tax revenues. |
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runamok
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by Tsujiban
on Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:30 am |
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runamok wrote: Contrary to popular belief, the 18th amendment (alcohol prohibition) was not repealed because anybody "came to their senses". It was repealed because the government desperately wanted the tax revenues.
I've always wondered about that whole process. Can you recommend a good book about it? I'm afraid I haven't read very much about how Prohibition enaction and repeal actually happened in the specifics, and whatever the future big money anti strategy, I expect we are going to be hearing more prohibition rhetoric at least from the anti wackos on the fringe in the future. But as I say, I'm a little weak on that particular part of history, so I'd be interested in reading more about this. |
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by runamok
on Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:43 am |
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runamok
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by libertarian99
on Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:28 pm |
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Darkseid wrote: There are some scum in Congress I DO actively wish were no longer around,however. Dodd, Lautenberg,Waxman, and Byrd for starters, and I may get drunk for the first time in years when Kennedy finally dies.
Ironically, Kennedy never appeared to be particularly healthy. He always gave the appearance of being a heavy drinker. At least that was my impression, due to the appearance of his skin and the fact that he was seriously overweight. So it surprised me that he was the one hell-bent on getting the FDA bill passed.
You have to wonder if he was trying to redeem himself for his sins of the past, like trying to "save" a lot of lives to make up for that one drowning incident. |
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by libertarian99
on Sun Jun 28, 2009 1:30 pm |
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runamok wrote: Phillip Morris was heavily involved in writing this legislation plus, the FDA's scientific advisory committee will have three (non-voting) tobacco industry representatives on it. |
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by Lynda F
on Sun Jun 28, 2009 1:49 pm |
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[quote="libertarian99"]runamok wrote: libertarian99 wrote: He's dealt two disastrous blows to the tobacco industry...
Disastrous blows? Phillip Morris, who has over half the domestic market, doesn't see it that way.
That's because PM HELPED draft the legislation right along side the CTFK.
Siegel has been going on non-stop about this for about 2 weeks now.
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/dr-david-kessler-congratulates-philip.html |
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Lynda F
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by runamok
on Sun Jun 28, 2009 5:36 pm |
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Like the Master Settlement Agreement, this is just another alliance between Big Tobacco (Phillip Morris specifically this time) and government that is designed to extract money from smoker's wallets. Problem is, cigarette taxes are at or near a tipping point where piling on any more will likely result in significantly lower tax revenues due to quitters and the black market.
As much as politicians and anti-smoking like to tout the "health care savings" down the road, they know this is bullshit. It grabs a few headlines and probably buys some cheap votes for the politicians.
Canada is looking at a runaway black market with estimates running anywhere from 30% to 50% of the cigarettes smoked in that country being untaxed "contraband". Officials there know that lowering taxes would increase revenues and reduce the inherent crime that goes with the "alternative" market, but the climate concerning cigarettes is so politically charged, they don't dare. They've painted themselves into a corner with their own hysterical rhetoric and greed. |
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