New page at BtBWI

I’m not a lawyer, but I can understand legal matters that make sense. I have been analyzing the Supreme Court case, Lloyd Corp v. Tanner which was a private property rights case, and I distilled down the base idea of the Court’s opinion regarding private property rights when dealing with the public’s rights… And it would seem that they don’t have the rights they think they do… Check it out:

http://banthebanwisconsin.com/lloydvtanner.aspx

 

Aussie Anti-Smokers out of control

The Aussies have hired the Gestapo… I mean Brown Shirts… Er, I mean smoking ban enforcers to go out and monitor smoking ban compliance.

State hires a smoking gun to control smokers

THE State Government will hire an independent watchdog to see if Melbourne’s bars and pubs are actually enforcing the indoor smoking ban.

This is apparently at the behest of Quit executive director Fiona Sharkie, an anti-smoker who apparently has too much time on her hands and too much power to wield.

But to further this, part of her anger stems from outdoor smoking areas not being adequately enforced to protect people from smoke…

I see arm bands and identification badges in the future if this sort of thing is allowed to continue…

 

“Theatre Night” hit with temporary injuction

Yes, sadly the presiding judge has issued a temporary injuction against the Bullseye Saloon at the request of the MN Dept of Health. A hearing will be held on the issue, however until then the bar has its hands tied by the Health Deptartment.

For information on this issue and how to help out, check out: http://www.freedomfight08.com/

 

The Horror: Marshfield

I don’t need to say much about this. We received this little message regarding Marshfield’s new smoking ban:

“I am a bartender at T-Bones Bar and Grill. The smoking ban went through our little city of Marshfield, WI. IT IS HURTING OUR BUSINESS BIG TIME. Sales down over 60%”

I think it speaks for itself.

 

Ripple Effect: Potty Surcharge

The folks living in Marion County, Ohio are angry about a new “Sewer Surcharge” that is being proposed by the Marion County Health Department.

And what does this have to do with smoking bans?

Apparently the cost of enforcing Ohio’s smoking ban is contributing a bigger budget:

Daniels alleged that part of the health department’s problem is that the health department’s budget has increased from $601,396 in 2001 to about $1.22 million in 2007. He stated in a letter to The Marion Star that much of the increase is because of pay increases and said Tuesday that the department’s carryover has continuously dropped each year as well.

Work said the budget has increased because of increased duties such as enforcing a state smoking ban, preparing to respond to bioterrorism attacks and expanding nursing services provided to area schools. He said while the state and federal governments mandate many of the extra duties that doesn’t necessarily mean they offer extra money in order to do the work.

This is only the beginning.  Plan on seeing more ‘Ripple Effect’ postings here at BtBWI.

 

BtBWI Salutes… Sean Penn?

You bet.

If you ever had any doubt that this is a nonpartisan issue, this should shore it all up. After all, while we may ideologically disagree with Sean Penn’s political views, we do agree with his smoking views:

Sean Penn leads revolt against smoking ban

US actor and director Sean Penn has lit up and led a minor revolt at the Cannes film festival against France’s tough new anti-smoking laws.

Smoke on, Mr. Penn. Smoke on. We salute you in your defiance!

 

Good News: Amarillo ban fails vote

I guess Texans in Amarillo still have some sanity…

Smoking ban fails for the second time

Speak Out Amarillo along with most of the smoking community was excited to go 2 for 2 by rejecting the smoking ban issue yesterday…

Our congrats go out to Speak out Amarillo!

 

That Slippery Slope

Those of us with even the smallest amount of common sense knew that the tobacco lawsuits, tobacco settlements and tobacco legislation would set a really bad precedence for our future. It tought people that the best way to handle a perceived problem is to involve the government and cut the general public’s freedom back a bit.

So even if you don’t care about tobacco or excessive tobacco legislation, it’s time to start caring because that precedence of offloading personal responsibility and accountability is about to bite you in the ass:

Tackle obesity like smoking

Tackling the global obesity epidemic will require governments to take similar action to that many used to curb smoking, a top researcher said on Wednesday.

This could include regulations that restrict how companies market “junk” food to children and requirements for schools to serve healthy meals, said Professor Boyd Swinburn, a public health researcher who works with the World Health Organisation.

“The brakes on the obesity epidemic need to be policy-led and governments need to take centre stage,” Swinburn, a researcher at Deakin University in Australia, told Reuters at the 2008 European Congress on Obesity…”

Yeah… You read that right. The goons at the WHO seem to think the best way to make your kid lose weight is to get the government to handle junk food like tobacco.

The only question left to ask is what’s next?

 

Get Rid of Her: Rep. Tammy Baldwin

While our overall topic of note is smoking bans, anything tobacco related is fair game, and as such one of the things that we will be doing is working to filter out Wisconsin’s State and US Legislators who use tobacco as an excuse to violate anybody’s rights.

Well, congrats are in order for Wisconsin 2nd District Representative Tammy Baldwin, who has officially made our list of people to get rid of in 2008.

It would seem that Tammy eff’d up and added her name to a Congressional letter to Vogue magazine regarding cigarette advertising. It seems that not only does Tammy not believe in free speech, she also doesn’t think that women can think for themselves when faced with what she considers to be ”sexy” advertising. Apparently a black and pink box (Camel no.9) is too much for a woman to resist.

So, 2nd District, it’s time to put boot to butt and find yourself a Representative who believes in rights and carries women in a little bit higher regard than Ms. Baldwin does.

 

Operation Mollycoddle Comes Online

Welcome to Operation Mollycoddle, Soldiers!

BtBWI has launched the Operation Mollycoddle campaign starting today. This is not only our first shot at a strategic campaign, it is also a slightly different course than we had been headed previously. That aside, it should add to our effectiveness in this fight.

The goal of Mollycoddle is simple. We are seeking to instill anger in as many people as possible by insulting them.

OK, so we won’t be doing the actual insulting. That would be counterproductive. Instead we are going to start pointing out how Smoke Free Wisconsin, Governor Doyle, the American Cancer Society and the other smoke-free orgs are treating us like a bunch of helpless babies and not acknowledging that we are adults here.

Our hope is that by pulling back the curtain of deception being used by these groups that people will see what is actually happening; namely that we are adults who are capable of making our own choices and that we are having our intelligence and common sense insulted by the smoke-free advocates.

Personally, I am pissed off and offended and I hope to spread this anger. After all, an angry population is a much more effective tool than an apathetic one.

So check out the page: http://banthebanwisconsin.com/mollycoddle.aspx

And the brochure: http://banthebanwisconsin.com/Documents/mag1.pdf

And go out and stir up your community. We’ll be getting more letters out there in the coming days as well as printed versions of the brochures for people and businesses to hand out or just to have.

If you’re interested in brochures, let us know and we’ll send you some.

Good luck, troops.