Clearing The Air

Thursday, September 29, 2005

The big tobacco companies call Pawlenty out.....

The tobacco case begins today. The tobacco companies aim to settle what Minnesotans already suspect.....that the tobacco health impact fee, recently enacted after special session earlier this year, is really a tax. It may seem like semantics to the average disinterested individual, or paid spokesman for Nicoderm, which includes American Lung, American Cancer, Non-Smokers's Rights etc., but for those who follow politics and law this is an interesting case.

Pawlenty argued that even if former Attorney General Hubert Humphrey III did agree to waive the state's lawmaking power in the settlement, he overstepped his authority.

If the settlement by the acting Attorney General at the time was based upon the fact that the state could not enact any further "health impact fees" then I'd have to think the state of Minnesota is wrong in this case. The solution of course is relatively simple........Pawlenty could take the legislation back to lawmakers and get it rewritten as a tax.........but then a promise is a promise.........."read my lips Minnesota ....no new taxes". History will remind us that a former President made and broke a similar pledge and paid a serious political price. The spotlight is on you Governor........what will you do?

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Top 11 reasons RWJF keeps funding smoking bans....

1) Because they can.....$5.4 billion dollars alone in Johnson & Johnson (Nicoderm) stock provides them enough money to take care of business.......and have enough discretionary dollars for "fun stuff" like writing new laws to perpetuate their business interests.

2) It looks good on Robert Wood Johnson IV's resume'.

3) Well if NY is going to fund a football stadium for Mr. Johnson's NY Jets......it frees up a lot of his money to pay for smoking bans.

4) What do you expect them to use that money for.......Hurricane Katrina & Rita victims?.......yeah right.

5) Everybody needs a hobby.

6) For every $1 given in grants to American Lung, American Cancer, Non-Smoker's Rights, the AMA, U of M, U of Pittsburgh etc., RWJF gets matching frequent flyer miles.

7) It feels so good forcing.........er, encouraging local communities to become healthy......especially when it sells more of your product.

8) Robert Wood Johnson IV needs to make a little more money so he can get his name legally shortened.

9) If enough smoking bans get passed Robert Wood Johnson IV hopes to have a state named after himself.

10) Do you know how much money goes into FDA approval?..........it's payback time.

11) Nobody seems to notice .................or care, how unethically we operate our business.........besides running local governments by proxy is fun.

Updated information:

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2009/03/worldwide-economic-meltdown-and.html

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

PRESS RELEASE

Author: David Strom
September 27, 2005
763-249-5952

PLYMOUTH—There’s nothing like a dose of reality to wake people up.

At least that’s what David Strom, President of the Taxpayers League of Minnesota hopes will happen once people see what has actually happened to charitable gambling receipts following the imposition of smoking bans in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties.

At a hearing held in St Paul today by the House State Government Finance Committee, legislators heard from the Gambling Control Board and others that Charitable Gambling receipts have fallen drastically in Hennepin and Ramsey County since the imposition of strict smoking bans.

In Hennepin County, which has a very strict smoking ban that covers bars and restaurants, there has been a 22% loss in gross receipts; in Ramsey County, where the ban is less strict, sales are down 10%. Overall, charitable gambling receipts are down only 2-3%, indicating that the problem is localized to the regions where smoking bans are driving customers away.

“These smoking bans are killing businesses,” said David Strom. “The loss of charitable gambling receipts is simply a symptom of the larger loss of customers that businesses are experiencing. Either customers are staying away or taking their business to a more friendly environment.”

“The anti-smoking activists swore up and down that business would be as good or better once the smoking bans were in place. Will they now admit that they were wrong?

“More likely, they will see this as an argument for expanding smoking bans everywhere—make everyone suffer the same fate, instead of just a few. Instead, let’s make the smoking ban activists accountable for their false predictions and at least repeal these onerous regulations,” Strom concluded.

The Taxpayers League is Minnesota’s largest taxpayers advocacy organization. It lobbies for lower taxes, more responsive government, and the freedoms dear to all Americans.

Some of you may know I have started to work with (I didn't say paid) the Taxpayers League of MN. For years the league has relied on private donations to help them continue their work, I am helping them put together a small business group of contributors. If you realize the benefits that this organization conducts on behalf of small businesses across Minnesota, and would like to help the Taxpayers League continue their mission of fighting for lower taxes, more responsive, less intrusive government, please consider a tax deductible donation. Visit their website at http://www.taxpayersleague.org where you can make a donation online or contact me for more information.

Monday, September 26, 2005

For those still naive enough to think non-profits push for smoking ban legislation for your health...

Here are some RWJF (Nicoderm) grants to finance smoking ban legislation.

1) Increasing public debate and demand for smoke-free environments and advancing state and local smoke-free policies. (links) Awarded to: The Institute of Medicine and Public Health of New Jersey, Inc $150,000.00 +

2) Awarded to: Kids Involuntarily Inhaling Secondhand Smoke $399,950.00 So what are kids doing in the bars anyway?....this argument is a red herring.

3) Enhancing and sustaining smoke-free environments. Awarded to: American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation $1,000,000.00

4) Awarded to: Health Research Incorporated $1,500,000.00

5) Awarded to: Duke University Center for Health Policy, Law and Management $399,997.00

6) Public awareness campaign to increase the number of smoke-free communities in Illinois Awarded to: American Lung Association $138,900.00

7) Awarded to: Mission City Community Network Inc. $49,998.00

8) Center for MultiCultural Health $50,000.00

9) University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine $399,000.00 Project Director Stanton Glantz

10) Tobacco Control Resource Center Inc. $300,000.00

11) Increasing the number of smoke-free sites in the Denver metropolitan region through collaborative educational activities Awarded to: Colorado Tobacco Education and Prevention Alliance $149,500.00

12) University of Minnesota School of Public Health $250,000 .00

13) Promoting an increase in smoke-free workplaces and protection of Master Settlement funds for tobacco control Awarded to: American Medical Association $10,896,463.00

14) Effort to lobby lawmakers for asmoking ban in Delaware Awarded to: American Lung Association of Delaware (Wilmington, DE) Amount: $ 793,552.00 and $ 654,953.00

You can find all 497 grants here. The non-profits demand smoking ban legislation because once they accepted hundreds of millions of dollars from RWJF they became marketing spokesmen for Nicoderm & Nicoderm CQ.

As you can tell by clicking on some of the above links, RWJF has moved or deleted some of the financial grants above, perhaps as an effort to thwart further investigations. Either way it seems to be an admission of wrongdoing on the part of RWJF.

These financial grants are designed to coerce our lawmakers to enact smoking ban legislation. Grants are financed by RWJF via its ownership of $5.4 billion of Johnson & Johnson stock......profits made in part thru continued sales of Nicoderm & Nicoderm CQ. As you can see the recipients are as varied as the American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, American Non-Smokers Rights Foundation, universities, and private "research" companies.

The source of funds used to influence lawmakers to pass smoking bans, coming from the company which profits in sales when smoking bans are implemented, makes the lobbying efforts of any of the recipients highly suspect to say the least.

The only study not funded by pharmaceutical nicotine special interests, is the St. Louis Park Environmental Health Department secondhand smoke air quality test. And the SLP results prove secondhand smoke is 150 times safer than OSHA requires. I guess that's the reason the American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, American Non-Smokers Rights Foundation and others disapprove of the SLP study.....because they via RWJF did not manipulate (fund) those test results.

Update: Now there is the American Cancer Society air quality testing which proves secondhand smoke is up to 25,000 times SAFER than OSHA air quality regulations.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

This RWJF research grant is just too good to be true........

Causation and Selection in the Relationship of Job Loss to Health in the United States.

How interesting that RWJF is funding this study, as they are responsible for putting many people in the unemployment line due to their funding of smoking ban legislation, for profit I might add. It is also interesting that they are providing their own research subjects, those of us in the hospitality industry. I haven't heard mention yet, if we unemployed at the hands of RWJF, will be compensated by RWJF. Full text of research paper here.

RWJF, in owning $5.4 billion of Johnson & Johnson stock, and as J & J is the largest manufacturer of smoking cessation products (Nicoderm, Nicoderm CQ), RWJF has a clear conflict of interest in funding the non-profits to lobby lawmakers for smoking ban legislation. And as I demonstrated in the previous post RWJF doesn't mind throwing its money around to manipulate research findings, nearly every University in the country as well as the AMA has accepted RWJF money.

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Smoking ban spells end for Mall of America night life

Smoking ban spells end for Mall of America night life

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) -- Night life at the Mall of America has become a thing of the past.

A smoking ban in Bloomington .......has led three bars and night clubs to close in the last week.
Last week three establishments -- Jillian's Hi-Life Lanes, Player's Bar & Grill and America's Original Sports Bar -- abruptly closed.

Experts say the smoking ban was the biggest reason for the development. ..........

Friday, September 23, 2005

Follow the money....

This story says secondhand smoke kills babies.

.....sounds scary.....are you scared? Make you want to ban smoking all the more? Make you want to vilify all smokers.....go after them with pitchforks?

Well, hold on just a second......here's the behind the scenes you are not being informed about.

It seems this story stems from a study by the University of Pittsburgh conducted by Stephen Grant.

Grant, the Pittsburgh scientist, discovered that secondhand smoke can cause genetic mutations -those that can lead to leukemia and lymphoma - that are indistinguishable from those found when the mother is the smoker.

His research, published earlier this summer in the online journal BMC Pediatrics, is based on the examination of umbilical-cord blood samples from newborns. The research is a reanalysis of three studies that downplayed or ignored the effects of secondhand smoke (in previous studies).

Reanalysis is an interesting word, others might even say...... manipulate........Still others might cynically look at Johnson & Johnson (Nicoderm) funding via RWJF to the University of Pittsburgh and declare foul...................if not blatant conflict of interest.

As MN House members hear testimony next week....

I decided it was relevant to update this post, as well as email it to county commissioners, city council members, and MN lawmakers.

Note: These are the same figures Bloomington city councilmembers recently looked at and then concluded that the smoking ban would remain as is, prompting the 4th floor Mall of America shutdown and Southtown Bingo closures.....Is it any wonder with financial savvy like that why local governemnt cannot make ends meet without new tax increases every year?

Observation: Notice that the $10.8 million loss in Hennepin county and $3.3 million loss in Ramsey didn't translate to a $14.1 million gain in the surrounding counties.....that's because customers subjected to a smoking ban didn't just stop gaming purchases in their respective county and spend those discretionary dollars in neighboring smoker friendly counties....they stopped spending those discretionary dollars period. A statewide smoking ban will have similar 20% state gaming loss across the board.....that's what you call "leveling the playing field."

Hospitality businesses throughout the state employ more than 127,000 people and pay $3.3 billion in wages each year, making our industry Minnesota's second-largest employer. Annual sales for the industry exceed $8.3 billion and generate nearly $1 billion in tax receipts.

Don't buy into the non-profits' argument that a statewide smoking ban means businesses won't fail.....Hennepin County businesses can tell you how that worked out. Afterall the NY ban is statewide and so far 2,600+ jobs have been lost in hospitality, check out the number of NY bars that have gone out of business since their statewide smoking ban. Ireland's smoking ban is responsible so far for 7,600 lost jobs and 200+ pubs out of business.

Besides Minnesota local environmental health department air quality testing proved secondhand smoke levels are 150 times safer than OSHA requires. While the American Cancer Society's air quality testing proves secondhand smoke levels are 25,000 times safer than OSHA air quality regulations.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Holy payola batman.......

.....a media source that RWJF hasn't bought off?

Smoke-free survey done by firm which has an agenda

...The Beltrami Tobacco Education Awareness Movement has provided yet another example of misleading the public....

Say it ain't so, Joe

...hired the Mellman Group, a polling firm, to conduct their recent polling survey because it “is a nationally recognized and respected research firm, chosen specifically because of their reputation for providing unbiased data.

Talk is cheap.......studies and polls cost money. But RWJF has proved that they're willing to pay for the best legislation possible.

Their objective is: To “develop superior strategies using sophisticated research to find messages that influence consumer and voter choice,” and further, “If you understand how people think, you can shape opinion and change behavior.”

Nope, no agenda there.........a fly on the wall, just observing and reporting the facts.......totally unbiased.

...they were the chief pollsters for presidential candidate Sen. Kerry. They were also major pollsters for Democrats who were running for the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives...

....nothing wrong with Democrats hiring the Mellman Group to use polls to influence voters by shaping opinion and changing the way voters vote in elections.......

Influence, shape opinion, changing votes...............sound like lobbyists, not pollsters if you ask me.

Then again, when you're spending $200,000,000.00 for smoking ban legislation you want the very best......you need anything but fair and unbiased.

Johnson & Johnson.....RWJF......Nicoderm CQ, providing the best smoking ban legislation money can buy. American Lung, American Cancer, AMA, Non-Smoker's Rights....they're simply runnin' interference, and taking the funding.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

When Irish lies are flying............

Just the other day I wrote a post lambasting the airborne particle test for what it.... is junk science.......

And also the other day I wrote about the economic harm to bar & restaurant owners....which goes ignored .......if not trivialized by the Nicoderm marketing department.

This story of Irish pubs, since the smoking ban took effect, combines the two outrageous lies to illustrate .............what exactly? Oh yeah, lost my train of thought for a second, that Reuters can lie just as effectively as the Star & Sickle. I hope RWJF slips a little extra in their payoff envelope this month......

A sampling of the Reuters article and I quote:

.....Opponents of the Irish ban had warned that the law would put Ireland's famous pubs out of business, but their fears have not materialised...

Hmmm...........then what are these Irish pub owners complaining about?

Know how to tell when the print media is lying?......the presses are rolling.

The Porn Squad and you.....what to do in an emergency.......

Captain Ed covers this story about the Porn Squad. The good captain harpoons this idea as idiotic and suggests, ....Whoever came up with this plan should have his head examined.....

Perhaps the Captain is overlooking a clear and present danger.....what if the "chatter" being picked up by intelligence indicates the next attack which hits our shores isn't from bomb belts.....but silicone implants, or toxic ta tas, dirty bombshells?

A preview of what's to come.....

The anti-smoking activists and non-profits, after seeing the business and gambling losses from local Hennepin & Ramsey county smoking bans, try to convince lawmakers, business owners, and the general public, that a statewide smoking ban is the way to go.

A statewide ban they claim will "level" the playing field. Consider this then....in New York where the one year smoking ban is statewide, there are 160 bars and restaurants which are either out of business or significantly down in sales.....that's what the non-profit activists call "level." The entire state's hospitality industry going out of business together......the only thing more shameful than their lies....is the sucker who believes them.

Are smoking bans inevitable.....?

If you've read the comments from various blogs about the smoking ban issue....you may notice the Lunger has been quite vociferous on the issue.......

For good reason.....look at the number of places around the world rejecting Johnson & Johnson ordinances and legislation........

In the paraphrased words of Gordon Gecko ".......the ice is slowly melting from beneath their feet....."

Pinky and the brain.....

Pinky as I respectively refer to him, is known in our fantasy world as pinkmonkeybird.

Pinky tries to exercise his gray matter, in this post titled ".....decisions is hard.....mommy can you do it for me......?"

Where to begin.....

"Firstly, I am very pleased to note that the anti-ban people have very much abandoned the absurd line of argument they'd previously attempted in which they go after established medical findings..."

The "findings" have all been financed by the Nicoderm people.....no conflict of interest there...is there?

The only study not financed by special interest on either side, was the St. Louis Park study....guess what it found?....secondhand smoke concentrations are 150 times safer than what OSHA requires regarding its PEL for secondhand smoke.

"there are links between tobacco and lung disease"..

...for the smoker yes.....even then, did you know less than half of lifetime smokers die of smoking related illness.....it's right on the American Cancer website (under health effects of smoking). Secondhand smoke does not cause lung cancer and the SLP study explains why......concentrations are far too minute.

Pinky disagrees with Chad from Fraters argument that consumers in a free economy can choose to frequent non-smoking bars if they like...by stating....

"Sorry bub, you've gotta put up with the second-hand smoke if you like this place and wanna be here. Otherwise, get the heck out."

Show me how this is not a choice?...you either stay and enjoy the bar even given the secondhand smoke.....or you leave....

Seems to me Pinky you've already exhibited your lack of reasoning skills....therefore you belong in a socialist institution where all the decisions can be made for you....thank you for making the property rights advocate argument for us.....a mind is terrible thing to waste.

Your reasoning ability or lack thereof makes you the poster child of property rights advocates......."duh... making decisions is hard....Hennepin County....would you do that for me?"

Don't let this happen to you, make sure property rights issues are left to the individuals to make not government.....otherwise atrophy of the brain may set in and render future decision making skills useless.......as an indication look how Pinky's mom dressed him this morning.

Monday, September 19, 2005

It's hard to be consistent when you have a liberal agenda to uphold........

Once again, the Star Tribune has proven to be a chameleon.

The Sept. 14 editorial "Concealed guns / State's law is in trouble, again" on the property rights of churches in banning guns shows how the paper will change positions on fundamental principles.

Last year, I wrote a commentary about property rights as they related to the smoking ban. I wondered whether the Star Tribune would be upset if government, as it has done with local bars and restaurants, prevented it from engaging in a legal activity on its own property: namely, exercising its First Amendment right to free speech by printing the paper.

But the Sept. 14 editorial stated "Here's the question: If gun owners have the right to carry concealed weapons, shouldn't property owners -- whether a church, a hospital or a business -- have a right to ban them if they wish? Homeowners do, and schools do, but for others the right is circumscribed: It does not apply to parking areas or rented property. That's not reasonable, and it's only a matter of time until some business successfully challenges that provision."
An interesting statement, considering that the paper was vehemently opposed to respecting the property rights of bar and restaurant owners just a few months ago.

Michael Wilson, Coon Rapids

......you might just need your side arm these days at your favorite bar.... what with being forced to smoke outside in the alley.

I am amazed Michael was able to get this letter printed, given that RWJF has funded for only favorable coverage of the pro-smoking ban position.

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Special interest funded lobbying vs. the property rights argument…..one is a non-starter

Recently I had a discussion with somebody about the significance or lack thereof, of the Johnson & Johnson Company’s (Nicoderm CQ) lobbying efforts and influence in forcing passage of smoking ban legislation thru their politically active organization the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

Many want to argue that violation of private property rights ought to be the central issue and I would agree….but anyone who’s followed smoking ban legislation around the country knows this argument is a non-starter. But it is exactly the argument smoking ban proponents hope we get mired in, for it distracts from the lack of scientific evidence* their argument “for the greater good” builds upon . The property rights argument also distracts attention from what ought to be a centrally highlighted fact; that these lobbying efforts are funded by very large pharmaceutical nicotine interests.

I’ve provided detailed paper trails on the fact that RWJF has funded many of the organizations, which lobby our lawmakers to pass smoking ban legislation. I have also provided detailed paper trails that the studies used to lobby our lawmakers about the “hazards” of secondhand smoke have also been funded by the very same RWJF. Further, I have provided detailed information as to the financial and organizational ties RWJF has to the Johnson & Johnson Company; and Johnson & Johnson’s product line which includes Nicoderm CQ manufactured by J & J for Glaxo Smith Kline. These very partisan tactics designed to financially benefit the organizations which lobby for smoking ban legislation, ought to alone be enough reason to halt future property rights violations in its tracks. But we keep getting distracted into an argument of rights, which most lawmakers clearly seem uninterested in upholding. So let us concentrate on an argument we can clearly demonstrate…..namely that a special interest group is lobbying for legislative change, using data by universities and non-profits funded by the very same special interest group; all so that they may enjoy a competitive “government mandated” market advantage.

Look, Pioneer Press columnist Craig Westover is correct when he states, regarding the American Lung, American Cancer, and all the other non-profits' original agenda of convincing smokers to quit smoking, “...Your cause is just, Bob. Your methods are despicable..” For several decades the non-profit health organizations convinced smokers to quit through advertising and other campaigns, and they were very successful, smoking has been on a steady decline since the 70’s. The non-profits' methods changed to despicable when they accepted RWJF funding in the mid 90’s. After accepting special interest funding from the alternative nicotine product manufacturing companies like J & J and RWJF, the marching orders were changed in an attempt to impact more smokers and include involuntary as well as voluntary participants. The collateral damage to the hospitality industry due to smoking bans was perhaps unintentional at first, but now is well known, yet ignored. If you read comments from previous posts you will even find excuses and rationalization, by the American Lung communications director no less, on how failure of hospitality businesses have nothing to do with smoking bans but the already prevailing economic trends….money it seems can buy almost anything…even the collective conscience.

So I will continue to provide the scientific facts about secondhand smoke as proven by an unbiased municipal environmental health department, as well as highlight the special interest funding designed to provide a competitive “government mandated” market advantage for Johnson & Johnson. And I will present these facts on behalf of those fighting smoking ban legislation here in Minnesota and all other parts of the country. If Johnson & Johnson and its financial beneficiaries feel justified in putting an end to my industry and job, then I am obligated to present the facts which expose their despicable motives for what they are.........purely financial.

*2003-2004 Environmental Health Department air quality tests prove secondhand smoke levels in bars and restaurants is 150 times lower (safer than) OSHA permissible exposure limits require.

Contact me if you would like assistance in battling smoking ban legislation in your area........have the facts, will travel.

Friday, September 16, 2005

The end is near....will American Lung and other RWJF $200,000,000.00 grant recipients just sit back and cheer?

Kathy at Porter's Bar has been a friend and a real trooper trying to fight against the property rights infringement by the Johnson & Johnson marketing department the entire time. Sue Jeffers from Stub & Herb's, dubbed the scourge of Minneapolis by the American Lung and other Nicoderm CQ money recipients, is trying to help, here's an email about a fundraiser to help Porter's stay in business:

"BEERS BEEN FLOWIN' FOR 70 YEARS! HELP US KEEP IT FLOWIN' FOR 70 MORE"!!

As many of you know since the smoking ban went into effect business at Porter's Bar and Grill has been significantly reduced! As a matter of fact business has gone down approximately 45%. With that being said....it makes it tough to keep the business going. I am organizing a fund raiser for Porters and Kathy and John to help them keep their heads above water and keep the "Porter's Family" together. Many of you receiving this message have been instrumental in the success of Porter's and we certainly want to continue the tradition. The fund raiser will be Friday, September 23rd. Depending on what we get donated, at this time the plan is to sell $10.00 per person tickets. For that $10 you get 1- Burger or Hot Dog/ Chips (other food if donated) , 2 - glasses of keg beer and the chance to win tickets to the Vikings vs. Detroit game on November 6th. (need not be present to win tickets).
Fundraiser taking place at:

Porter's Bar
2647 Nicollet Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
Tel: (612) 872-0808
Fax: (612) 872-2272
Email: jkporters@yahoo.com

I'm sure somewhere the Lunger is smiling quietly to himself and thinking how cleverly they pulled the wool over lawmakers' eyes.....when they testified over and over again....."honest businesses won't fail......there will be customers breaking down the doors to get at all that clean air."
.........You must be very proud.

Update: A public awareness rally against the smoking ban is being held Thursday 3:00 pm Sept. 22, 2005 at:

Hennepin County Government Center
300 South Sixth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55487
On the plaza between the Henn Co. Govt. Ctr. and Mpls city hall

Please attend

MPAAT determines Hennepin County Bars, which now have up to 65% less business.....

........due to the smoking ban, also now have less airborne dust.....due to less customer traffic.

Of course MPAAT is trying to use this very unscientific air quality test as proof that the elimination of secondhand smoke eliminated 99% of indoor air pollution....according to the EPA.

Three problems with their "scientific" study.

1) with up to 65% less business at some Hennepin County bars.......duh. Less customers means less airborne dust.....foot traffic, clothing dust, dandruff, skin cells, etc.

2) All the MPAAT "scientific" study tested for was cumulative airborne particulate (dust), there is NO attempt to determine if any of that dust was harmful. Example: when OSHA goes in to a factory to determine if the indoor air quality is hazardous they measure for specific hazardous compounds. At a stainless steel welding factory they will measure for airborne nickel or chromium......they don't go in with a Met One laser particle counter and determine there are 5,000,000 - 10,000,000 particles per cubic meter we need to shut you down; because those readings don't determine that anything is unhealthy.

PS. I've used a Met One in many factories and 5 - 10 million is an actual average reading.....funny how the recipients of Johnson & Johnson Nicoderm money are so concerned about bars & restaurants where the particle levels are only 5 -10% of what the factory air particulate counts are....perhaps if Johnson & Johnson produced a welding smoke cessation patch you might see the American Lung, and American Cancer, and RWJF* pushing for welding smoke bans....but that won't happen because local government wouldn't allow for such a stoppage in production.

3) the EPA has no experience or authority in indoor air quality (except on infomercials for the Sharper Image.. good credible choice MPAAT), EPA dictates outdoor air quality ........indoor air quality is OSHA's realm and has been for decades. By the way, the actual scientific results by an environmental health department, proved secondhand smoke in 19 bars & restaurants in 2003-2004 is 150 times lower (safer than) OSHA permissible exposure limits require.

Another city in the U.S. recently, I won't say where, also tried to pull the MPAAT scam. That being, measure airborne particulate to show how hazardous secondhand smoke is.....problem is particulate matter is all airborne dust......you haven't identified any hazardous matter, if any, in the air.

That's why you measure for a specific known hazardous substance, which the environmental health department of St. Louis Park did. They measured for nicotine for the following reason. Secondhand smoke cannot be characterized as a single component, just as welding smoke. The only way to effectively determine which, if any, of the chemicals poses a health risk is to measure the air quality for a specific chemical. The city of St. Louis Park, MN. Environmental Health Department, after consulting with a number of professional laboratories, chose to measure for nicotine since it is considered a "trace' component of secondhand smoke. The way it was explained to me by health department officials, is that the other components benzene, formaldehyde, etc. are also given off in other products. Example, benzene is given off from burning food in a kitchen, formaldehyde is given off from carpeting so nicotine is measured because it is unique to secondhand smoke. We then compared to the nicotine readings to the OSHA pel, and found secondhand smoke levels are 150 times safer than OSHA requires. If you could measure benzene, then you could compare that to the OSHA pel for benzene.

Just as OSHA doesn't have an airborne limit listing for "welding smoke", it also doesn't have an airborne limit listing for "secondhand smoke", you need to measure for the suspected specific harmful substance. For welding smoke that would be airborne nickel or chromium, for secondhand smoke that may be nicotine, benzene or whatever.....if those individual chemical readings fall below OSHA pel for that given substance, then it IS NOT a hazard as defined by OSHA..

Also to say there is no safe level of a potentially harmful airborne substance is an outright lie.....determining safe levels of all potentially hazardous substances is what OSHA has been doing for decades.

Nice try Star and Sickle.....but just because the RWJF has paid millions to get favorable media coverage.....doesn't give every pro-smoking ban story enough credibility to print as fact.

*RWJF owns $5.4 billion dollars in Johnson & Johnson NicodermCQ stock. Our Attorney General's office recently stated it's brief investigation showed $4.4 billion dollars in J & J stock. While the ALA, ACS, AMA, and other health and non-profit agencies have accepted $200,000,000.00 in grant money from RWJF. Sort of gives smoking bans and their motives a whole new perspective...doesn't it?

More on the MPAAT scam from: Kool Aid, Anti-Strib, Speed Gibson

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Hey St. Paul bars & restaurants where are you.......?

Everyone knows primary voting is typically light, but the votes cast for incumbent Randy Kelly last night I hope are not typical of the upcoming election.

Bars & restaurants can have a significant effect if they pull together, and educate their customers. Remember, St. Paul hospitality owners, were it not for Mayor Kelly you would be sharing the same dismal economic fate your Minneapolis counterparts are with their smoking ban. And as far as I can tell, a vote against Kelly is a vote for Thune and his anti-business agenda. You can be sure McLaughlin did as well as he did due in part to the newly formed Minneapolis Hospitality Group west of the river......don't wait til it's too late before you act as a group.

So start pulling together and get your customers on board. 200 establishments each with 200 -400 customers can have a significant effect. And while you're at it, remember a Smokeeter system can keep the air quality in your establishment clear and healthy, click on "shop for air cleaners" to the right, or contact cleanairquality@gmail.com.

PS in the interest of full disclosure Clearing the Air has not recieved any compensation from the Kelly campaign.......but I will disclose that Thune and his ilk have stolen tens of thousands of dollars from me & my family in lost business.

More from Swiftee

Kool Aid asks a common sense question......the Nicoderm CQ spokesmen will consult with Johnson & Johnson Board Members and get right back to you....

Coincidentally, the PHPs on the S&S editorial board also came out in favor of private property rights in one of today’s offerings.

Well, they did insofar as they think churches, and any other property owner should have the right to ban guns from their property.

There’s a bold stand.

Of course, they still don’t think those same property owners have the right to allow smoking on their property.

What the hell is the difference?

I’m still waiting for an anti-smoking zealot to satisfactorily explain it to me. That includes the social engineers at the American Lung Association and the Cancer Society.

sound of crickets chirping..........still waiting......anybody?

Thank you for stopping by.....now go......read Westover

The few who come to this site know they will likely encounter a smoking ban issue, but by no means do I have a corner on the market.....and as always I defer to the master himself Captain Westover and his latest Pioneer Press column.

........That Stasiu's is virtually empty, that more than 20 such taverns have closed since the smoking ban, is inconsequential to the powerful, the influential and the arrogant.

Stasiu's is just one inconsequential working class bar; Jerry, Greg and Stasiu's patrons just inconsequential working class stiffs. Says the Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco, 74 percent of Minnesotans favor smoking bans. Is that a surprise? When at no cost a majority can impose its whim on a despised minority, why not? Individual property rights and freedom of choice are just inconsequential rhetoric in the collective vision of a smoke-free Minnesota.

Ironically, $1.5 million in tobacco money garnered on taxpayers' behalf is used by MPAAT for "political action" that has taxpayer Jerry raiding his loose change and selling his memorabilia, taxpayer Greg selling his home, and both men fearing for their jobs. No matter. Jerry and Greg don't fit the plan.

Were he not on the politically incorrect side of the issue, I dare say Westover would be considered for a Pulitzer.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Mark my words.......

....these pharmaceuticals will entice drug companies to study Johnson & Johnson and their special interest lobbying group -RWJF's smoking ban tactics, in order to push for alcohol prohibition laws to prop up sales of these new alcohol cessation drugs. (.08 was just the primer)

.......And weak minded politicians will fall for the "greater good" argument just as they have with smoking bans.......even though science demonstrates quite the contrary.

Smoking bans are the slippery slope on which the public has allowed such personal liberties to be trampled upon......the next ban will surely be something you greatly regret.

The only thing worse than telling a liberal they have to live within their means........

.......is the whining and gnashing of teeth, when their ill gotten gains are about to be taken away.

Wah....wah DFL Becky Lourey is upset in this star & sickle letter about the prospect of a tobacco "fee" reversal. She's not upset that this "fee" is illegal per an earlier court judgment....she's not even upset that they've been caught passing illegal legislation. She's upset that Timmy won't call it a tax.

And as for the credibility of "raising tobacco taxes to save lives" when the nicotine patch companies (J & J, RWJF) are paying for the "studies"; the results are highly suspect.

more analysis at the Anti-Strib

Monday, September 12, 2005

So you say you want to be in pictures.........?

The Twin Cities will be the setting of a new documentary called "Devil's Weed" exploring the effects that smoking bans have had on individuals, businesses, and the overall city and county impact.

The NYC producer is Curt Johnson who produced the film Michael Moore Hates America, numerous other films, and he has been a Hollywood writer on a number of television shows for years. While directing will be Maura Flynn.

With this local documentary comes the opportunity for local and national businesses to get involved as sponsors and product placement advertising. This film will be marketed nationwide upon its release and eventually find its way to home entertainment thru DVD release.

If your company is interested in gaining national exposure in this film, please contact:

GAFS Inc
P.O. Box 84022
Sioux Falls, SD. 57118
cleanairquality@gmail.com

Could you wrap that up to go........?

For those out there that believe militant Muslims are comparable to our earlier day minutemen, here's an interesting anecdote of how these freaks of nature think:

Some of the Palestinian suicide bombers wrap their penises into fire-proof aluminum foil to save them for the pleasures to come.

I can't decide if this is funny or sad. Obviously it's hilarious as hell, but it's sad to know that the religious leaders (Imams) of this religion really teach such warped concepts......is it any wonder then what sick and perverted individuals emerge from the madrasas of the Middle East.

Update: It seems the recently departed suicide bombers won't have the opportunity to utilize their freshly preserved members, according to this report from The Onion:

"......The day after that, they'll be sodomized by the Fallen and their bowels shredded by a demonic ejaculate of burning sand. Then, on Sunday, Satan gets them all day. I can't even imagine what he's got cooked up for them........"

HT Captain's Quarters

Sunday, September 11, 2005

It's hard to find anything on the tube commemorating 9/11........

..........guess that's how you know you're an island of conservatism in an ocean of liberalism, regarding the media that is.

In my channel surfing though I came upon an ESPN tribute, sort of. Bryant Gumbel said in 50 years most Americans won't remember 9/11........(and then I pictured a balloon caption above his head displaying his unsaid thoughts, like a cartoon character, stating) at least if we in the mainstream media are doing our job, most Americans won't remember 9/11....heh...heh...

It seems there is a concerted effort to wipe from America's consciousness why we fight, to borrow a famous line. As if to say, if we all think happy thoughts, hold hands with those who hate us and sing kumbiyah we'll all fly off to Never Never Land. A land of benevolent government subsidies, rainbows and misty meadows, where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day. When I snap my fingers you'll open your eyes and come back to reality Dorothy........are you with us now?

There is the world we all wish we lived in, and then there is reality, and between the two shall never meet. To bury one's head in the sand and ignore the danger is not a recipe for success.....ask Bill Clinton though and he might respond with "....burying your intern's head, however....."

The liberal media is not interested in the truth behind why we fight.....and today's liberals of course are never interested in bringing that fight to our enemies (Bill Clinton '92 '93 '98 2000)....they are absorbed with putting together committees to figure out why we have enemies. If anything, this lack of 9/11 remembrance from the mainstream points out to me the reason for never again giving liberals and specifically Democrats any power or any election ever again......pass it on.

Exception given for Mayor Randy Kelly.......and Zell Miller.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Top 11 reasons local personalities support the smoking ban....

11) There is so much more room on the floor when I do the YMCA dance at First Av -Pink Monkey Bird

10) My hair doesn't smell like smoke anymore -Hennepin County Commissioner Linda Koblick

9) We've got nearly $200 million from the tobacco settlement to spend we might as well do something with it, especially now that Mike Hatch is distracted with this Governor's race thing -Dave Willoughby MPAAT

8) There's no waiting now at all my favorite hangouts like The Saloon, Minneapolis Eagle, and Bryant lake Bowl -Mayor R.T. Rybak

7) My job description when hired 6 months ago said I was supposed to stand up for this "smoking ban thing" whatever that is -Bob Moffit Communications American Lung MN.

6) That St. Louis Park Environmental Health Department study only measured the air quality for secondhand smoke......who's gonna believe that biased crap -Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman

5) You will ban smoking or I'm gonna keep screaming until you do.....I only get paid when a smoking ban passes, and the one in Duluth keeps getting scaled back -Pat McKone American Lung Duluth

4) Somebody told me two million people per year die from secondhand smoke.......so what if it was the marketing director of Nicoderm CQ - Hennepin County Commissioner Randy Johnson

3) The average puppet, er politician is so easily manipulated....minds of putty they have. Geeves bid on another NFL team for me, I'm making so much money I need an additional tax shelter -Robert Wood Johnson IV

2) I hate businesses and always have, ever since my failed business attempts-St. Paul city council member Dave Thune

1) Thank god, I was getting tired of counting all that money every night before the smoking ban took effect......now my job is so much easier -John Rimarcik owner of The Monte Carlo, Cafe Havana, & Runyon's

Friday, September 09, 2005

Join in the fun......

The Anti-Strib has again decided to rile the health patrol minions.

Language like this in the comments section isn't likely to get them invited to city hall anytime soon.

Until Darth (Bob at American Lung Assoc. of MN.) starts answering questions, I'll be editing his posts with this tag line: “Posted By Darth Bob, smoking a Cohiba whilst (mayor) Rybak fondles his tabloids.”

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Raise tax revenue or stop tobacco usage...the Lunger & lawmakers seem to be at odds

If as the Lunger spins it, the new tobacco tax is causing people to quit smoking; then the new tax (fee) will not raise the required revenue it was intended to make up for the Minnesota budget shortfall.

On the other hand raising state revenue on the tobacco 'fee", means a statewide smoking ban is not a likely scenario.

Now, if MN. state lawmakers are smart, since the state budget now requires continued tobacco revenues they should pre-empt local city & county smoking ban ordinances. In other words no MN. city or county may pass a smoking ban as it would decrease MN. tax revenues.

Me thinks thou dost protest too much......

If Lunger and company are already protesting Devil's Weed, a documentary exploring the smoking ban issue right here in the Twin Cities; there must really be something insidious about this film....other than the title.........Maybe Lunger and the anti-smoking activists' fear the facts.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

A thought occurred to me the other day......

If the maker of non-alcoholic Odoul's was lobbying our lawmakers to ban alcoholic beverages........would the politicians even listen?

Would more of the general public be outraged enough to stand up and fight against such an egregious display of special interest lobbying efforts?

Is using Nicoderm CQ money to lobby for smoking ban ordinances any different?

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Would they still........?

How many lawmakers would support smoking ban legislation if they knew that Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Nicoderm CQ, via RWJF was providing funding (nearly $200,000,000.00) to the American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, the American Medical Association, American non-smokers Rights Foundation, and numerous other non-profits and universities in order to lobby for smoking ban legislation?

How many lawmakers would still support this special interest legislation if the voting public knew about Johnson & Johnson’s special interest money via the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to coerce smoking ban legislation in order to increase Nicoderm CQ profits?

Further, how many lawmakers would support smoking ban legislation if they knew of the Environmental Health Department air quality testing which proved secondhand smoke is 150 times safer than OSHA airborne limits require?

Friday, September 02, 2005

Joe Jackson has been at the forefront of the smoking ban issue....

....for a couple years now.

Joe Jackson's new single 20-0-3 is worth a listen click here for a taste.

Perhaps Robert Wood Johnson is also listening.

Hey Joe, what rhymes with Nicoderm CQ?

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Sometimes you don't know what you've got til......

....you visit some place else.

I am helping to educate lawmakers in other parts of the country where smoking bans are proposed. And I was confronted with the following bit of information.

A municipality, I won't name which, decided to do exactly what our own St. Louis Park, MN. Environmental Health Department did in 2004, test the air quality in all its bars and restaurants which allow smoking. This municipality and/or the company conducting the tests doesn't give much credibility to the intellect of its officials & business owners though. In their air quality tests they should have measured for a hazardous component of secondhand smoke, such as benzene, or nicotine like our own St. Louis Park officials did. Instead, perhaps lacking technology, or perhaps knowing that the St. Louis Park test results discredit the notion that secondhand smoke is a hazard; this city tested for total airborne particulate count. Their test result showed that there is a lot of dust in the air but as I indicated to them you cannot measure the cumulative dust particle level and then conclude that it is unhealthy.

All airborne matter is particulate, --------'s test results fail to identify what that particulate is made up of. Example: if during the test 10 customers stood up to remove their jackets the particulate matter which would be expelled into the air could easily reach 150,000 to 500,000 particles / cu. M, but without more complex test equipment you cannot determine how much of that particulate matter is wool dust, human cells, hair, pet dander, or nicotine etc. A much over-simplified test, which in the end says nothing except that when people are gathered in a room the airborne dust (particulate) count rises.......duh.

After, providing some common sense & science to dispel the anti-smoking activist's dog and pony show, I began to miss my health department friends in St. Louis Park. So I called up SLP and spoke with one of the environmental health department officials to see if they would be willing to provide testing information to another municipality. Wow.....it seems I am not too popular with the SLP department. Their test was supposed to show how hazardous secondhand smoke is. And, had I not made the comparative analysis to OHSA guidelines showing that the danger of secondhand smoke is 150 times lower (safer than) OSHA (pel); I am sure that SLP and Minnesota officials would be heralding that test as the definitive proof secondhand smoke kills. Sorry to ruin your dog and pony show with the facts.

I'll continue to provide the SLP test information and its comparison results with OSHA, to lawmakers around the country. Clearing the Air happy to be an obstacle to the Robert Wood Johnson and the Johnson & Johnson (Nicoderm CQ) world domination tour......However, as a capitalist organization we at Clearing the Air are still open to a big fat RWJF grant like the American Lung, American Cancer and other non-profits received in order to "soften" our rigid stance on facts & science. Contact us....otherwise we'll see you at the next legislative committee hearings at various states around the country.