Clearing The Air

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Pharmaceutical nicotine activists convinced lawmakers to pass smoking bans.......so what?

That rebel spirit in all of us loves a good speakeasy.

In Scotland, the U.K., New York, everywhere a smoking ban has been implemented......a new speakeasy industry is cropping up. Even in California the smoking speakeasy is a way of life.

So the Nicoderm funded Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and all the non-profits who derive their financing from RWJF may as well stop wasting their millions pushing for smoking bans now. People are going to smoke whether or not you have some cosmetic law on the books or not...I have to admit I personally have been to a couple here in Minneapolis and St. Paul myself....it's the same rebel spirit that brings people to the bars to begin with.

The smoking ban activists may have won the battle, but they've certainly lost the war. And along the way you've tarnished forever the image of some once respectable organizations.

So how's the air in your empty bar?

St. Paul conducted "air quality tests" in their newly mandated non-smoking hospitality establishments and concludes there is now less smoke in bars and restaurants.

No duh........and there are also fewer customers, less revenue........and sure to follow more hospitality closings.

These unscientific air quality tests are nothing new, they come directly from the playbook of all the other RWJF (Nicoderm) funded activist groups who get smoking banned in various cities or states and in a half-hearted attempt to show the benefits of eliminating hospitality business revenues .....throw a bone to government officials and the media by proudly stating:

"....This is better for the employees and, frankly, it's better for everyone.........."

Never mind that the US agency they cite, the EPA, has no jurisdiction on indoor air quality.

There is however one agency that does regulate indoor workplace air quality......that would be OSHA. Why wouldn't these so called "air quality experts" cite OSHA regulations.......well because secondhand smoke does not even rise the level of nuisance according to OSHA regulations. The American Cancer Society made the mistake of conducting air quality test results based on scientific sampling a few years back........and the results found here prove that indoor secondhand smoke concentrations are actually up to 25,000 times SAFER than OSHA permissible exposure limits (pel).

So the lies and exaggerations continue, the pharmaceutical nicotine funded activists and uninformed politicians pat each other on the back and say "....gee wasn't that a nice thing we did for everybody?......."

Meanwhile the businesses continue closing, the jobs continue to be eliminated, and the homes continue to be foreclosed. "......gee wasn't that a nice thing?....."

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

The Journal of the American Medical Association points out that the Surgeon General misrepresented the hazards of secondhand smoke

The "there is no safe level" argument that activists are trying to spin, doesn't seem to sit well with the JAMA. JAMA calls the Surgeon General's June 27, 2006 rhetoric for what it is...........a misrepresentation of the facts.

Dr. Siegel covers the Rest of the Story.

It would seem then that Surgeon General Carmona's resignation from his post was due to pressure from the scientific community for his exaggerations in his June 27, 2006 press release.

Walter E. Williams understands the danger.........

......of allowing the activists to eliminate private property rights.......it will never just stop at smoking bans.

Read more here.

Vote Sue Jeffers for Governor in the September 12 primary

Sue Jeffers is the only conservative in the race for Minnesota Governor who will stand up for property rights among other conservative principles. Republican incumbant Governor Tim Pawlenty on the other hand has proven himself to be a little "left in the loafers" if you know what I mean.

Pawlenty has proven himself to be a liberal unworthy of the designation "Republican", supporting among other things:

tax (fee) increases
taxpayer funded stadiums
light rail
government funded college tuitions
government mandated ethanol levels and ethanol subsidies
ending the "era of small government"
......and smoking bans

But if you believe in supporting businesses, jobs, property rights, lower taxes, smaller / less intrusive government, and other conservative values, remember to vote Jeffers on September 12 and in the general election in November.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones has been a bad boy

Not because of heroin or illicit drug use. But because he dared to light up a legal product.........cigarettes.

I hope Keith and the Rolling Stones tell these nannies to go sod themselves.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Canadian smoking ban eliminates $6.8 million in revenue for Edmonton charities

Bingo halls and charities in Edmonton are losing huge revenues after only one year of a smoking ban.

"The money (was) used .........for (the) kids......"

Incidentally, that's what the pharmaceutical nicotine interests claim when they testified (lied) in favor of smoking bans....."it's for the kids......"

The lies by the charlatans and scam artists pushing for smoking bans are slowly being exposed.....we are now seeing the beginning of the end of the smoking ban movement.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

If you are on the politically incorrect side of this issue the media won't cover this story

However, if you only look at the politically correct side of the smoking ban issue.....you are not getting the facts about the tens of thousands of people unemployed because of false information provided to lawmakers by the pharmaceutical nicotine industry.

Air quality facts by the American Cancer Society prove indoor secondhand smoke concentrations are up to 25,000 safer than OSHA permissible exposure levels (pel):

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2004/04/american-cancer-society-test-results.html

The case against smoking bans:

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2006/06/case-against-smoking-ban-laws.html

Why would a pharmaceutical nicotine company spread lies about secondhand smoke thereby eliminating the use of tobacco nicotine products?

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2005/07/why-is-pharmaceutical-company-funding.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2006/01/will-there-be-investigation-into-this.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2006/08/its-time-for-full-scale-congressional.html

Of course the real reason the media won't cover the politically incorrect side of the smoking ban issue is that they have been instructed not to by the pharmaceutical nicotine interests at Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2005/10/media-control-regarding-smoking.html

Until the mainstream media develops the backbone to investigate and report the facts regarding secondhand smoke, it's up to us in the alternative media to report the facts......and continue to report we will. Check out these other sources of information if you're interested in the facts not reported elsewhere:

Forces International

Smoker's Rights

The Rest of the Story

The Heartland Institute

The Free Republic

New York Coalition of Social Smokers

There are of course many others not included in this list.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Smoking bans and a new ban on alcohol go hand in hand. And the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation gets double the value.

Contrary to testimony by pro-smoking ban activists, smoking bans do not increase business, they actually eliminate hospitality establishments at an alarming rate. Here in the Twin Cities 81 have closed and filed bankruptcy at last count.....meanwhile in 2004 the last full year without a ban only 15 closed.

In Seattle after just eight months of a smoking ban, tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue has been reported by the casinos. And nationwide nearly 700 establishments have closed or are on the verge. But that's not all bad news to some.

What most people don't realize is that the same Robert Wood Johnson Foundation which provides the behind the scenes funding to push for smoking bans, is also behind the push for a new ban on alcohol...and with smoking bans putting more liquor establishments out of business......the bans are aiding in the secondary agenda of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation........alcohol prohibition......pretty clever huh?

You see even RWJF knows just how unpopular it would appear for them to be pushing for the next prohibition of alcohol.....afterall they have to protect the image of their parent organization.........the Johnson & Johnson Company. And smoking bans are helping to eliminate the need for a direct alcohol prohibition confrontation.

Are you wondering if perhaps J & J manufactures a drug to aid in the cessation of alcohol?.....well here's your answer.

Update: This article gives information on an alcohol cessation drug called naltrexone (Revia) and states that it is now a generic drug that any pharmaceutical company may sell. Additionally, here is an interesting bit of information regarding the drug:

".....In March 2005, Yale researchers began investigating the use of the naltrexone to help men and women quit smoking without gaining weight......"

Look for a new product with one of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies names upon this one......afterall, RWJF wouldn't fund smoking bans and alcohol bans.....just to let a competing pharmaceutical company capitalize on all their exaggerations and lies.

Here is a new drug called Chantix manufactured and sold by Pfizer......and undoubtedly one of the main reasons Johnson & Johnson (RWJF) bought Pfizer.

This recent research grant by RWJF directly supports J & J pharmaceutical interests.

Monday, August 21, 2006

It's time for a full scale congressional investigation into the pharmaceutical nicotine interests which fund smoking ban efforts

Now that air quality test results by the likes of the American Cancer Society are proving that the secondhand smoke kills argument is completely fabricated. It's time for lawmakers to investigate why this fallacy has permeated the local government debate.....and specifically who is funding and spreading that false information.

The "who" is in large part the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. And since RWJF is an affiliate of the Johnson & Johnson Company (the manufacturer of competing nicotine product interests), it stands to reason that the role of RWJF's funding of smoking ban efforts is for their own financial benefit.....not for health concerns as some would have you believe.

At the very least, because of the appearance of impropriety, and the fact that tens of thousands of people in the hospitality and ventilation industries are being negatively impacted by these special interest funded smoking bans; congressional hearings at the state and federal levels should convene immediately before any future consideration of smoking bans at any level (city, county, state, or federal).

And should it be discovered that there is indeed a conflict of interest, the culpable party (RWJF) should be forced to compensate those of us negatively affected by the false data which resulted in arbitrary and unnecessary smoking ban laws.

Clearing the Air encourages all hospitality associations, ventilation / filtration manufacturers, gaming associations, and even the tobacco manufacturers nationwide to demand such an investigation......one powerful voice in unison, cannot go ignored.

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

Tobacco control activists set their sights on saving the toons

Nicoderm funded activists were overheard saying ".......if just one cartoon character's life is saved, it will be worth it....."

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation was instrumental in coaching lawyers and individuals how best to file lawsuits against the tobacco industry

This grant / study by RWJF strategized how best to attack the tobacco nicotine industry thru personal and class action lawsuits.......Of course what makes it so hypocritical is that RWJF's real motive, as the sister organization to the Johnson & Johnson Company, is to eliminate the tobacco nicotine industry so as to increase the market share of the pharmaceutical nicotine industry.

Such a strategy was outlined years earlier by Dr. Mark C. Taylor in this paper.

"....The proper regulatory response is to implement a strategy that levels the regulatory playing field between the cigarette and AND (alernative nicotine delivery) products.

"..Pharmaceutical companies are urged to be more aggressive marketers. "I think it important that nicotine drug manufacturers (Johnson & Johnson, RWJF), who will profit from less cigarette sales, pursue this in their advertising and that they lift any voluntary restraints they have from directly competing with tobacco products and attacking the tobacco industry."......

I would like to think that with evidence like this, the tobacco industry would come to the aid of those of us in the hospitality and ventilation industries who are being decimated by smoking ban activists.....though I wouldn't count on it.

Washington State smoking ban is only 9 months old, but has cost non-tribal casinos tens of millions of dollars in lost business so far

That does not even begin to account for the losses at the bars and restaurants. And remember what Clearing the Air discovered about smoking ban revenue "studies" conducted by pro-smoking ban governments and organizations, they seem to leave out the facts.

POSTED: 3:59 pm PDT August 16, 2006

SEATTLE -- Non-tribal casinos have already lost tens of millions of dollars because of Washington’s new indoor smoking ban.

A new financial study, conducted by our own KIRO Team 7 Investigators, discovers taxpayers could loose millions as well.

Full story here.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation .....a candid interview with its President

"The Foundation’s Tobacco-Control Strategy". This article from page 9 of the hyperlink is a self promotion piece by the Johnson & Johnson Company affiliate RWJF. And J & J is best known by regular readers as the manufacturer of Nicoderm and Nicoderm CQ.

Among the more notable quotes by the RWJF President in the article are:

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has played a major role over the past decade in initiatives to prevent .........tobacco use and to improve treatment efforts to help smokers quit.

Especially since RWJF's vested financial interest is in seeing that J & J continue to sell its Nicoderm smoking cessation products. (Smoking bans greatly aid those marketing efforts).

Our emphasis will be on efforts to educate the public and policy-makers about ........increasing the excise tax on tobacco products, increasing the proportion of people covered by smoke-free environments and promoting tobacco treatment coverage for people who are struggling to quit.

In other words, mandate our pharmaceutical nicotine product (Nicoderm) by providing funding to insure government legislation which bans the use of tobacco nicotine products

There have been rumors that the Foundation was getting out of tobacco control altogether. Would you address those concerns?

Over the next two years, we have $72 million of grantmaking targeted to tobacco control, with an additional $30 million in grants from 2006 through 2008. So we are not getting out of tobacco control.

Over the years .......our staff has developed strong ......relationaships with people throughout the world who are interested in and focused on tobacco-control issues.........creating linkages and introductions between people who have an interest and may not know how to get fully engaged......the importance of working together, using our combined intellectual, financial and other resources to continue to reduce ........tobacco use.

So there you have it, RWJF will continue to fund the exaggerations and lies by smoking ban activist organizations in a continued effort to insure its financial interests thrive. Even though American Cancer Society test results prove secondhand smoke is 25,000 times safer than OSHA air quality regulations.

Mankato Minnesota's smoking ban is barely on month old....

....and already bars and restaurants there are reporting 30% revenue losses compared to the same period last year when there was no smoking ban.

Frederick, who owns a pair of Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants, told the council that his income for July was down 36.85 percent from the same month last year.

T.J. Finnegan’s owner Ron Doty says he’s trying, but that he can’t absorb many more months of 29.41 percent losses. That’s how much his bar business declined last month when compared to July of 2005.

Doty is sure about one thing, though: The ban hasn’t been a boon for business.“(Ban proponents) led us to believe the only thing we had to worry about was crowd control.”

Read the story here.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

The failed policies of Twin Cities lawmakers continues to shut down more businesses

As of this date, by Clearing the Air count, the anti-business socialist lawmakers in the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington Minnesota area have closed down 81 hospitality businesses in 16 months since enacting smoking ban laws (update 2011: 500 local MN bars & restaurants have closed since our smoking ban was enacted). And yet, instead of admitting that they were lied to by Nicoderm funded activists who claimed that smoking bans would increase business, local politicians ignore the business closings, job losses, and bankruptcies.

City officials sit idly by and watch crime rates increase, tax revenue decrease.......and the only response by the City of St. Paul is to combat the tax revenue losses by increasing local taxes. A standard modus operendi of socialist anti-business lawmakers......regulate or tax businesses out of existence.....and then pass the losses onto the taxpayer. Well, there is no such thing as taxing the economy into prosperity.....but again, the liberals seem unable to understand that simple fact.

So I appeal once again for lawmakers to repeal their failed smoking ban policies, especially in light of the fact that the American Cancer Society air quality testing proves secondhand smoke levels are up to 25,000 times safer than OSHA indoor air quality regulations.

In other words lawmakers were lied to on two fronts:

1) Smoking bans do not increase business.

2) Secondhand smoke IS NOT a health hazard.

Update: The St. Paul Pioneer Press covers the subject of charitable gambling losses due to the smoking bans here.

Clearing the Air covered the subject of charitable gambling losses in September 2005. We used the data from the Minnesota department of revenue which showed the Twin Cities area lost (-$14.1 million) in charitable gambling revenue, in the 6 months after the smoking bans, compared to the year prior when there were no smoking bans. You can find that data here.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Socialist Engineering manifesto.....with a twist. The latest Robert Wood Johnson Foundation propaganda to mandate more Nicoderm sales

The activist organization Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) shamelessly demonstrates how to bring about Social Engineering in your community, with this new RWJF social engineering publication.

The twist?

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program is actually titled "Social Marketing", but since the true motive is to influence lawmakers to use the force of government, by any means possible, to bring about social change (smoking bans)......it is in fact social engineering.

And it is social engineering, predicated on the exaggerations and lies that secondhand smoke is a "health hazard" even as test results from the American Cancer Society prove indoor SHS levels are up to 25,000 times safer than OSHA air quality regulations. Yet, the hidden fact remains that RWJF has some very strong financial interests in pharmaceutical nicotine products. So while the social engineers (RWJF) inform lawmakers and the ALA, ACS, AHA, AMA, etc.... that smoking bans are required to save lives.....the fact of the matter is that smoking bans are required to increase the value of RWJF holdings and portfolio; which is almost exclusively made up of their founding partner the Johnson & Johnson Company and ALZA, the maker of Nicoderm.

All of which provides an unconventional twist on the idea of social engineering. The support and funding RWJF provides in seeking smoking bans has at its core, a purely capitalist motive. And though capitalism has served us very well as the basic economic system in western societies, it is most effective when it operates within the free market structure.....and not perverted by the constraints of law. Especially when those constraints of law can only be justified by exaggerations and lies about secondhand smoke......even, as mentioned earlier, the American Cancer Society has shown us that indoor levels are up to 25,000 times safer than OSHA air quality regulations.

Since RWJF is actually the single largest shareholder of Johnson & Johnson Company stock, and J & J is the largest manufacturer of nicotine replacement products, Nicoderm and Nicoderm CQ; RWJF's motive for social engineering probably has less to do with a pure desire to bring about social good than it does to increase it's financial stake and value in it's big brother the Johnson & Johnson Company. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's ownership share alone in the Johnson & Johnson Company is a $5.4 billion financial stake at last review.

And not only was RWJF founded by the Johnson & Johnson Company.....but nearly every current board member of RWJF is a former board member or company executive with the Johnson & Johnson Company. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has provided $200 million + to non-profit health organizations like the American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, numerous non-smoker's rights groups, research universities, etc. even the CDC. And then these organizations provide the impetus for smoking ban debate in order for RWJF to avoid the outward appearance of impropriety. But the acceptance of funding by these non-profit groups to push for smoking bans has tainted their once respectable images, as now these non-profit health organizations have simply become pharmaceutical company spokespersons, calling for the elimination of tobacco nicotine use (smoking bans)........while promoting pharmaceutical nicotine use.

The result is a social engineering appearance for good, while concealing the fact that it is merely an elaborate pharmaceutical company marketing plan. Or as RWJF now calls it "Social Marketing".

Thursday, August 10, 2006

In addition to asbestos....Dr. Siegel discovers secondhand smoke also contains plutonium....

....Prompting one tobacco executive to ask "....are we charging the customer enough?....."

All tongue in cheek of course, but Dr. Siegel points out that a fanatic smoking ban activist retracted her claim that secondhand smoke contains asbestos......but now she adds plutonium to the list. I'm a little concerned that if true, Iran may start hoarding the world's cigarette supply to fuel their insatiable desire for nuclear weapons.

Read Dr. Siegel's complete post....then decide for yourself who has the credibility problem. The disturbing part of the issue is, that politicians are listening to these nutjobs.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Smoking ban activist admits spreading incorrect information.........or what you and I might call.....a lie.

Pat Lindsey director of the St. Louis University, MO. Tobacco Prevention Center was interviewed on television recently stating that secondhand smoke contained asbestos. The statement now has been corrected, but only after numerous emails and calls to inform the media of the blatant lie.

And the fact remains that mainstream media is so eager to demonize secondhand smoke, that it is quite possible that if Dr. Siegel had not pointed out this egregious lie.....it would not be corrected at all.

The game at play now seems to be, let's see which smoking ban organization can get the most media attention by spreading the biggest lie.

Meanwhile, even less likely to be acknowledged by the media is the fact that secondhand smoke levels indoors were found to be up to 25,000 times safer than OSHA regulations.....by the American Cancer Society no less! The activists are sure going to have to fabricate a few whoppers to overshadow this study.....but just you watch.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Contact your local State Senate and House members from this easy link, to tell them smoking bans are unnecessary and wrong

Clearing the Air has set up this easy link, so that you can email your state senate and house members by entering your zip code to send them a personal message against smoking ban legislation with a simple click of the mouse.

Remember, most lawmakers are not familiar with the American Cancer Society testing which proved that secondhand smoke levels are up to 25,000 times safer tha OSHA air quality regulations, so here's your opportunity to pass that message along to them.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

RICO suave'.....appropriately describes the pharmaceutical nicotine industry

As a non-smoker, I've written in the past about my disdain for the smoking ban movement. An excerpt from a previous post went something like this:

"...The agenda of the tobacco control activists is to stop smokers from smoking...because smoking MAY be hazardous to the smokers' health. A noble cause when it was conducted through voluntary education and marketing. Smoking bans on the other hand are coercive, collusive, and frankly bordering on racketeering in my opinion......"

I was reminded of that earlier comment when I came across this article from NewsTarget.com. In that article, titled Big Tobacco racketeering charges mirror pharmaceutical industry crimes, columnist Mike Adams gives us a brief history lesson which we seem to have forgotten:

"Physicians promoted tobacco and drugs

If prescription drugs are so dangerous, you might ask, then why are so many physicians still strongly in support of them? The answer is that not too long ago, physicians were strongly in favor of cigarettes, too! In fact, a quick search through historical print ads in mainstream magazines like TIME showed physicians actually endorsing cigarettes.

It just goes to show you that doctors can be trained to push practically anything to the public, as long as there's a buck involved. That's not an exaggeration: it's historical fact. (The AMA isn't too proud of that, so you won't find it mentioned in the AMA's history books...)

Today, physicians are prescribing another dangerous class of products to consumers: prescription drugs. And they are causing just as much death and suffering as tobacco products. Simultaneously, they're generating substantial profits for powerful corporations, just as cigarettes once did. "

Specifically today, doctors are being trained to push pharmaceutical nicotine products like Nicoderm and Nicoderm CQ on the public, while at the same time they testify at public hearings to demand that politicians implement smoking bans in an effort to eliminate tobacco nicotine use. All of which might seem innocent enough until you find out in this financial grant, that the AMA was the recipient of $88 million from Nicoderm interests at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and of course RWJF is tied at the hip to the Nicoderm manufacturer Johnson & Johnson Company.

But the most indictable offense in my mind is that in order to get politicians to eliminate their competitor tobacco nicotine, the pharmaceutical interests are spreading exaggerations and outright lies about secondhand smoke; even as the American Cancer Society proves indoor smoke concentrations are up to 25,000 times safer than OSHA regulations, found here.

If all of this is not a tale of racketeering.....I don't know what is, which leads me to say...........Robert Wood Johnson......very RICO suave'.

Non-smoking bars and restaurants have a new "stinking" problem

"... like MANY other folk living in the Twin Cities have had to get used to the fact that my formerly "smoky" clubs and bars have become "non-smoking" and frankly rather stinky. Yes... Stinky. The cigarette smoke did a lot to cover up the fact that certain venues are old, and reek of body-odour, spilled and rotting food and alcohol...."

The above excerpt comes from:

http://tuckmac.-.com/2006/07/after-concert.html

Tuckmac goes on to describe the evening out:

"I say to My Lady... Let's go out and have a fag, and we'll stick around for a few more beers...

My Lady and I go out the front door... And the bouncer says "thanks for coming" and I say... "You're welcome, but we're just having a smoke, we'll be back." and he in turn says... "No you're not, we're closed now."

"We're CLOSED NOW?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?

"What the?

It's barely 11:00pm... (Bars in Minneapolis are allowed to be open till 1:00am)

First Ave ALWAYS used to have a pretty fun scene AFTER a band had finished...I used to LOVE sitting there at the bar watching the dancing and occasionally joining in if a particularly good song came on... But...

"We're closed now!"

Well... There's other bars. Glueks... Closed. Kieran's Closed. All the pubs in the area...CLOSED at 11:00 P-f**king-M ... CLOSED.

For readers from a different place... Imagine your pubs/bars closing two hours before they're meant to.

The entire Downtown Area was closing up shop.

Now... I haven't been here for a while... And My Lady and I are only NOW just starting to get back into our social lives here... But...That just shocked me.

I'm pissed off.

And it's all Due to the f**king smoking ban!!!"

Read the entire post.. http://tuckmac.blogspot.com/2006/07/after-concert.html

And so now you can see the events that have led up to 80 + (and counting) bars, restaurants, and nightclubs permanently closing their doors since local smoking bans started here in the Twin Cities......and as Tuckmac laments "its sad......" especially since the pro-smoking ban argument is based on lies.

Friday, August 04, 2006

St. Paul City council's smoking ban, has caused serious declines in revenue for local businesses and subsequently lower tax revenues for the city.....

.....Guess who's picking up the slack.

St. Paul residents......happy to pony up more taxes for clean air? The city budget shortfall requires an increase in taxes as per this story.

And whether the city council will admit it or not.......local hospitality owners I've spoken with lately, tell me the smoking bans have meant significantly less revenue for them.....which translates to less tax revenues collected by the city of St. Paul.

What's a newly elected socialist mayor to do?

A) Get organizations like RWJF, the American Lung Association, American Non-Smoker's Rights of Minnesota and all the other Nicoderm funded activists which lied about secondhand smoke and put the city in this budget shortfall to pay the difference?

B) Repeal the anti-business smoking bans which only serve to benefit the pharmaceutical nicotine interests which funded the lies.....namely the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Johnson & Johnson Company.

or

C) Hire your taxpayer funded poet laureate to break the news about tax increases to the masses. It sounds so soothing and sophisticated......and truth be told the language of a typical poet is as unintelligible as the typical politician anyway.

If you said C then you've obviously lived under the tyranny of a socialist government long enough to know what to expect....

...and perhaps you're also a St. Paul resident who voted for this liberal hack (Coleman) simply because you wanted to "stick it" to former Mayor Randy Kelly who, though also a DFL member, did the unspeakable deed of showing support for George W. Bush's leadership in the war on terrorism.....in which case you deserve the tax raping you're about to get..

....Uncle Chrissy's going to save from that nasty smelling secondhand smoke.......and he's going to tell you how much more you get to pay him and his poet laureate for saving you from that nasty smelling secondhand smoke.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

A letter that should be sent to every lawmaker around the country.....and across the globe.

Subject line: There are numerous special interest groups willing to exaggerate the facts, to get you to pass needless laws.

Dear lawmaker,

Here is what you should know before considering a ban on smoking in private bars and restaurants:

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2007/04/bmj-published-air-quality-test-results.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2006/06/case-against-smoking-ban-laws.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2004/04/american-cancer-society-test-results.html

Thank you for taking the time to read over the facts. The livelihood of tens of thousands of people depend upon you making the right choice.

Here is where the next battle is brewing.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Otter Tail County MN. says no to county wide ban......

.....and yes to the free market, details here.

After the vote was over, members of the audience voiced their disapproval. But Public Health Director Diane Thorson was cordial........“People can recognize places that have already chosen to go smoke-free and voice their opinions,” Thorson said...

What a novel idea......You mean people can decide all by themselves whether they want to frequent a smoking or non-smoking establishment?.....You don't need a governemnt mandated smoking ban to get people to think for themselves?......how does that work?

I am of course being facetious....but Thorson explains why the debate and waste of taxpayer and pharmaceutical nicotine money should have ended long ago.......people CAN decide for themselves.....where to work, eat, and drink. And such a free market decision allows businesses to prosper and remain open rather than close their doors for good......like the 79 here in the Twin Cities.

The "secondhand smoke is hazardous" scam is all but over, thanks to air quality testing by groups like the American Cancer Society which proved secondhand smoke is 25,000 times SAFER than OSHA regulations.

The Viking bar in Minneapolis closes due to the smoking ban.....

......But here's the real shocker, the uber liberal Minneapolis Star Tribune writes a page 2 story which attributes its demise to the smoking ban.......the Star Tribune until now seemed as though they were in the pocket of pharmaceutical nicotine interests, they never seemed interested in reporting the financial harm caused by the smoking ban to local businesses.......indeed if I recall correctly the editorial board was one of the first to come out in favor of a smoking ban nearly two years ago.

But here are the other 78 bar and restaurant closings, to date since the implementation of smoking bans on 3/31/05, that the Star Tribune did not report.

Also visit our sponsors at bottom of webpage

Boycott these special interests (J & J) who destroyed the hospitality industry & jobs

Why does UCSF researcher Stanton Glantz support smoking bans?

The beginning of a revolution

"Though we may not be able to protect your business property rights, we certainly support your Second Amendment Rights"

Statcounter