Stories From The Nanny State: Banning Fake Cigarettes

 

"The King County Board of Health passed a controversial proposal Thursday that bans the public use of electronic cigarettes, despite protests that the battery-powered, nicotine-delivery sticks emit no second-hand smoke and are often used for harm reduction." The City of Seattle officials argued that it could lead to eroding "social norms." Social norms however do not fall under the authority of any government. Unless social engineering is now seen as a proper roll of government.  Seattle Health officials went on to say;  


"I would like to see us protect those public places and places of employment from the image of someone sitting at their desk with something that looks identical to a cigarette and puffing on it," she said."That is a very powerful subliminal message." (Seattle PI)

As the Article in the PI stated:

"One man, who drove from Vancouver, B.C. to testify, said e-cigarettes were the only product that had helped him quit a 40-year smoking habit. The man, who said his name was Gary Addleson, said e-cig users don't consider themselves as "smoking."

 

The goal of ban such as these are to limit people even "seeing" someone fake smoking. Which is in of itself is a fascist act, and attempt to control even your prospective of reality. To think that the government opening decided to ban these fake cigarettes in of itself is disturbing. For those of you that haven't seen them, there electronic cigarettes that give off steam to look as tho your are smoking, while the nicotine is administer through the device, not to indifferent from a nicotine gum or patch. Stories like this remind me a quote from C.S. Lewis. 

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. – C. S. Lewis"

The Cost of Success: Tuition Increases

Currently the Student Freedom Project is undergoing an in depth research and report of where your tuition money and students fee's are spent.  As our governor said after the last election she has no idea how to fix the budget problem we have in our state. One place the law makers normally turn is higher education. The goal of the report is to give students a clear view of where their money is going and what their money really gets them in higher education.

"Desperation in the mother of all invention" and with our economy in the shape it is, it will fall upon our generation to find some of the solutions. We are focusing on the UW and WSU in our research to see what our biggest institutions are doing with the tax payers money and the students. Look for more up to date information on the research on our new higher education tab. If we want to lower our tuition costs we will have to find a creative solution for our states problem. 

Losing touch: The Federal Government vs. The American People

The results are in and federal government has the lowest approval rating in the history of America. In a recent Gallup poll only 14% of American approve of what the government is doing. According to the Rasmussen Reports Poll only 23% think the nation is going in the right direction. This doesn't bod well for our nation, when the highest offices in the land are disagreed with so heavily. Why did the government get so distanced from the American people?  The Right wing and the Left wing are held in equal levels of contempt. It appears that neither side really acts in the benefit of the nation as a whole. The deficit that the right is support to be champing is only growing with votes for new spending projects like the tax package being voted on currently. Pork is being added to bills by those that claimed to be against it. Those that want to help the middle class just put our nation further into the red for a temporary bandage on the economy. It seems that those in office care more about there interest those that elected them. Unless the average Joe finds a way to get his voice heard i don't see this happening anything soon.

The Nanny State: Healthcare "Reform"

 

Today a federal judge in Virgina ruled that the government can not tax inaction. The offical text from the judges decision follows.

"While this case raises a host of complex constitutional issues, all seem to distill to the single question of whether or not Congress has the power to regulate and tax a citizen's decision not to participate in interstate commerce. Neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor any circuit court of appeals has squarely addressed this issue. No reported case from any federal appellate court has extended the Commerce Clause or Tax Clause to include the regulation of a person's decision not to purchase a product, notwithstanding its effect on interstate commerce."- (Source)   

The next step on the legal challenge of the health care reform bill will go before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals or go straight to the Supreme Court. Currently there are 20 states sighed on to the bill, Washington State being one of those states. The individual mandate of the bill has been one of the most controversial sections of the bill. The individual mandate forces you to buy health care or get a massive fine. 

The big controversy is whether the government should be allowed to regulate inaction or simply put forcing to you act, or in this case buy something. The lawyers in support for the mandate state that this ability is justified under the interstate commerce clause, but then again so is everything under the sun... This key issue being debated is should the government be aloud to force people to purchase a good? If so they could force us to buy G.M.C. cars, or even force us to buy less or more of good. This situation is what many people call a slippy slope as in; once something like this becomes law it makes a foot hold for more radical reform. For once the federal government acquires a power it rarely (actually...never) gives it up.