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by bob_kemp
on Tue Sep 22, 2009 12:05 pm |
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Hi --
I was recently interviewed by Melissa Cutler of Fox News Dallas-Ft. Worth because I grow my own tobacco, here's a link to the interview:
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/consumer/Smokers_Saving_with_HomeGrown
I put this in the News area here because I guess that's the best place for it. I basically tell the Tobacco Taxman UP YOURS! I show that you can grow your own tobacco and avoid these punishment taxes. Let me know what y'all think!
Bob |
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bob_kemp
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by Pete Gatti
on Tue Sep 22, 2009 2:22 pm |
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bob_kemp wrote: Hi --
I was recently interviewed by Melissa Cutler of Fox News Dallas-Ft. Worth because I grow my own tobacco, here's a link to the interview:
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/consumer/Smokers_Saving_with_HomeGrown
I put this in the News area here because I guess that's the best place for it. I basically tell the Tobacco Taxman UP YOURS! I show that you can grow your own tobacco and avoid these punishment taxes. Let me know what y'all think!
Bob
Hi Bob,
Nice interview, no condemnation from Fox on what you're doing. I grew for the first time this year as well, my crop is curing in my workshop.
I have one concern, too much publicity may prompt official crooks to close the GYO loophole. Not that they won't eventually get to it but no sense speeding things up. |
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Pete Gatti
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Location: Dade City, Florida
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by bob_kemp
on Tue Sep 22, 2009 2:31 pm |
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Hi --
Pete, the cat's out of the bag already. The cows have left the barn. I started out thinking much as you do now when the AP reporter (search for DIY tobacco home grown and you'll find his article) asked me to interview with him. I told him no and several people did it anyway.
Then Fox News national asked me. I told them no. Their TV expose' will surely be out within a few weeks since I know who they are interviewing.
So when the local Fox news affiliate asked me, I decided "why not?" Since I sell tobacco seeds myself and would like to make a buck if I can.
(shameless plug...1/10th gram Silk Leaf as seen in the interview for $8 plus $4 shipping, send me e-mail at GYOtobacco@yahoo.com also have Havana and Virginia Gold)
Anyhow, it was fairly harmless as you can see. She told me (I asked) that her agenda was to find a "Rugged Self-Reliant Texas Protesting Tobacco Taxation....Well! I can do that! I hope I did that!
Now she wants to interview me about my homebrewed beer...wish I sold malt....
Bob |
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by garhkal
on Tue Sep 22, 2009 4:47 pm |
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| How exactly will they tax grow your own?>? |
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garhkal
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by crackerjack
on Wed Sep 23, 2009 12:36 am |
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garhkal wrote: How exactly will they tax grow your own?>?
Here in Florida I was wondering why they did what they did. Perhaps they saw GYO becoming a problem for them in the future or perhaps I'm just paranoid.
Can't tax something you grow you say, but wait.....
There is a loophole that the state of Florida may or may not make use of.
Depends on how many people start growing their own tobacco.
In Florida we are not charged a tobacco tax.....it's a user fee or surcharge. They were very cleaver with the wording and went to great length to have the wording just right.
So...any attorney worth his salt will be able to argue that somebody is using tobacco even if they grew it themselves. Naturally they wont come after a few hundred growers but they will come after a few thousand.
Also should tobacco growers get out of hand the state or counties could simply remove the growers crops.
Can't be done you say?
A few years back we had a Citrus Canker pandemic. The farmers were loosing their orange groves to Canker and so something had to be done. Here in Broward county what they did was to go around and cut down all the citrus trees in peoples yards and small holdings.
there was nothing you could do, if you had a citrus tree of any sort it was simply cut down.
Fast forward to today and we have a problem with Mosaic Cucumber Virus that is causing the tobacco farmers all sorts of headaches couple that with growing tobacco at home that draws too much funding away from the state and they simply get the media going on the suffering of the farmers..... again ........and haply go around and destroy growers tobacco plants to save the farmers plantations and again.....there will be nothing that could be done to stop them.
Have you noticed that bad lawyers become politicians?
When you can't interpret the law it's best to be the one that makes the law. |
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crackerjack
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by Pete Gatti
on Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:36 am |
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bob_kemp wrote: Hi --
Pete, the cat's out of the bag already.
I know it is, but when we start publicly bragging about it, those in power will not hesitate to put us back in our place.
As for my seeds and man do I have a lot, I'm going to spread the throughout the area. I really want to see if I can get it to grow wild.
By the way, I meant to ask you, how are you shredding your tobacco? |
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Pete Gatti
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by bob_kemp
on Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:19 am |
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Hi --
crackerjack, both of your scenarios are unfortunately possible. The publically-funded demonization of tobacco has reached such high proportions that I'm certain a large proportion of the population would yawn if such measures were taken to eradicate the Demon Weed.
You failed to mention that lots of the transplants used in the tobacco belt states on the Eastern seaboard originate in Florida. They would have to protect the Florida tobacco growers from home-grown "wild" blue mold, wouldn't they?
I read here --
http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofacts/tobacco.html
"In 2007, 28.6 percent of the U.S. population...(70.9 million people) used a tobacco product at least once in the month prior to being interviewed"
Nearly 71 million people. 28% of Americans. Surely if we band together we can stop this attack on our personal behaviors, our habits, our opinions and our tobacco? Can't we?
Bob |
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bob_kemp
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by bob_kemp
on Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:32 am |
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hi --
Pete Gatti, you said "By the way, I meant to ask you, how are you shredding your tobacco?"
Well I could buy a hand-cranked tobacco shredder, since they come up for sale on e-bay from time to time, and a tobacco press, but I seem to be getting along pretty well with a slightly more crude way of shredding by hand.
What I do basically is to layer the leaves in a rough rectangular shape, misting generously but not enough to let it shed water later, on one of two ceramic plates that fit each other closely when stacked. I use approx. 10 full sized leaves (mid-ribs removed) which I fold over in half first to make a straight edge to fit the outline, fill inside it as I layer them too, and eventually make a "brick shape. Then I put the other ceramic plate on top and add about 50 lbs of rock (I have a square slab of granite I put on first, then another large rock on top, I'm a rockhound). I let this sit overnight.
The next day, I remove the weight, using a butter knife I separate the brick from the plates and put it on a wood chopping block.
Using a metal ruler (although lately I've been using a metal stapler) as a guide, I move across the brick about 1-2 mm at a time slicing off the end with a boxcutter razor. This takes a little skill not to get too course a shred, but I improved with time. It takes about 20-30 minutes to shred a carton's worth like this, maybe less. I put on a CD and am usually done before it finishes.
After it is cut, I spread it out to dry fairly crisp, then put it a little at a time into a food processor for 15-20 secs pulsing, to separate the shreds and chop them a little smaller. Rehydrate to case and it's ready!
I have made a movie of this, but it is in .MOV format, about 33 MB, and I don't have Quicktime Pro to reduce the size yet. If anyone knows of a free convertor that will reduce MOV files I'd appreciate a link. I can't move 33 MB of file around the internet with my dial up!
Bob |
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by crackerjack
on Wed Sep 23, 2009 11:29 am |
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bob_kemp wrote:
Nearly 71 million people. 28% of Americans. Surely if we band together we can stop this attack on our personal behaviors, our habits, our opinions and our tobacco? Can't we?
Bob
Well yes we can but we need to concentrate on fighting battles that we can actually win.
Fighting the ban on public smoking in my opinion is not the way to go.
what we should do is bring to light just how much money the States and the Fed makes off the backs of smokers.
By simply posing the question "where will the money come from if you are not getting it from those who use to smoke?" I think you can get people to start wondering what and who will be the next target.
Very few people know exactly how much revenue actually comes in from the tobacco farmers, sellers and manufacturers.
we need to start crunching some numbers.
How many jobs are at stake and what will it cost to pay their unemployment checks each month?
How much will Workers Comp loose when the companies go under?
How much income tax will be lost if everybody in the tobacco industry suddenly has no jobs and no income to tax?
How much revenuer will be lost to States and the Fed if Smoke shops close down?
we need a number...a big and accurate number.
The list of incomes both States and feds are getting from the industry is very long and I'm sure that if we can shine the light on it we could scare the crap out of those who are so willing to see a total ban on smoking.
Even a idiot can see that with this industry gone the Feds and States are going to have to raise taxes to compensate for the lose and to be frank with the States and Fed so blatantly desperate for revenue I think the iron is hot and we should strike it.
My plan boils down to this. It's better to live with smokers and let them smoke than be taxed to death tomorrow. |
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crackerjack
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by crackerjack
on Wed Sep 23, 2009 12:23 pm |
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crackerjack
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