Gov. Paterson’s proposal to tax soda in New York fizzled, but President Obama believes it may be time to pop a similar sin tax on the nation.
…
“It’s an idea that we should be exploring,” the president said. “There’s no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda. And every study that’s been done about obesity shows that there is as high a correlation between increased soda consumption and obesity as just about anything else.”
And therein lies the rub. Soda consumption is “as high” as “just about”. Those are carefully chosen terms my dear friends. They are chosen to give the impression that soda consumption is a major factor in causin obesity when in reality soda is ONLY “as high” a cause as “just about” anything else. Skimming this article you would easily conlcude that Obama believes that soda consumption is a major factor when, in reality, I don’t think he’s that stupid. He has merely found something that he thinks he can get away with taxing by linking it to obesity and getting the public to agree that obesity is a bad thing. And then more new taxes.
Obama acknowledged that the idea could lead to charges that Uncle Sam is trying to dictate personal diets, but he hinted the trade-off may be worth it.
“Look, people’s attitude is that they don’t necessarily want Big Brother telling them what to eat or drink, and I understand that,” Obama said.
“It is true, though, that if you wanted to make a big impact on people’s health in this country, reducing things like soda consumption would be helpful.”
The truth is, President Obama, that we know you want to dictate personal diets. You have handed tobacco over to the FDA, increased the taxes on bulk cigarette tobacco over 500%, increased the taxes on pre-manufactured cigarettes and now you are going after soft drinks. You will go after fast food next if this tax is allowed. I wouldn’t be shocked to see a tax proposed on fast food dollar menus in the name of public health and the so-called health care reform you are trying to shove down our throats. But let me be clear on this: We won’t stand for it. You may get these taxes through while you still have your precious majority but you will find, come the mid-term elections, that you are suddenly a lame duck and we will elect a President that will overturn these outrageous measures you are trying to force through. We will not stand by and watch you use the tax code to socially engineer this country. Mark my words.
Meanwhile Consumer Freedom notes:
The CCF points to a number of studies showing that these kinds of taxes do nothing to address the problem of obesity, as well as new Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) polling data showing that soda taxes are opposed by two-thirds of Americans.
Americans who were polled were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: “Carbonated soft drinks should carry extra taxes in order to discourage their consumption.” 65% disagreed, while only 28% agreed.…
In a previously released report titled “Why Soda Bans Don’t Fight Childhood Obesity,” CCF cites a wide array of peer-reviewed health, exercise, and nutrition research that disputes the widely held notion that soda is a cause of obesity, and instead shows that physical inactivity is the single largest contributor to obesity among children.
I guess that inactivity being the leading cause of childhood obesity is one of the things covered by “just about” in President Obama’s statement.
Furthermore Mr. President: Figuring out how to make us skinnier is NOT your job. Figuring out how we should eat is NOT your job. Telling us how to eat healthier using the tax code to punish us for not eating as you desire us to is borderline criminal. Please refer to the tenth amendment to figure out what your job actually entails. And get the hell out of my kitchen, my lunchbox, my kids’ lunchboxes, and my soda machines. I’ll get fat if I want to and if I want to I’ll get healthy and it won’t have any damn thing to do with you.
2
Sep
Today’s post is a three part-er. I had something picked out yesterday that was sort of political and then two more articles popped up. I couldn’t figure out which one I wanted to cover here so I am going to do all three. Luckily two of them actually fit the title. So lets go with the first item, which doesn’t fit the title very well.
Some tasteless bastards are using 9/11 imagery to induce fear on other subjects:
World Wildlife Fund Reaches a New Low via AdFreak
Just in time for the anniversary of 9/11 comes this tasteless, nightmarish print ad for the World Wildlife Fund, showing dozens of planes headed for lower Manhattan.
It will always be too soon for this
For some reason these bastards think that invoking the imagery of the horrors inflicted on New York, and the whole United States by proxy, is a good way to get people to listen to their message. I can’t even see their message past the red curtain of blood that descended when I saw this image. It only gets better because this atrocity of an advertisement, this slap in the face to everyone who died on 9/11 and their families, won a damn award. I cannot fathom who would come up with this imagery and think it’s a good idea much less the wastes of skin who would give it an award! I am a peaceful man for the most part but I can honestly say I would do the jail time for the assault that would occur should I ever meet anyone involved in this piece of filth. There are no words to describe just how angry this makes me and even fewer to describe just how little attention something like this gets from the MSM.
And to the World Wildlife Fund: You will never see a single penny of my money unless it is to put your organization out of business. Nor will my children attend any event even remotely related to your so-called charity. You have no right to place your message on the graves of those who died on 9/11 and you are frankly sick for having done so. I will see to it that anything I can do to insure your receive no money from my friends, family, and co-workers is done. I will stand by this even if it means not going to the zoo with my children. You disgust me and I will play no part in helping you create more advertisements like the one above. I know you don’t care about a single family but I will tell everyone I can think of and urge them to do the same. I have scraped things off of the bottom of my boots that are worth than you.
Moving on…
Busted For Slapping Stranger’s Crying Child via The Smoking Gun
SEPTEMBER 2–Meet Roger Stephens. The Georgia man, 61, was shopping Monday morning at a Walmart in Stone Mountain when he crossed paths with Sonya Matthews and her two-year-old daughter Paige. The child was crying, which apparently greatly perturbed Matthews. “If you don’t shut that baby up I will shut her up for you,” Stephens warned Matthews, according to a Gwinnett County Police Department report. Moments later, Stephens acted on his threat, slapping Paige “across the face approximately four or five times.”
Mr. Stephens is lucky it wasn’t one of my children crying in Walmart. The threat of “I will shut her up for you” is enough for me to cause someone to cease to breathe. No-one, and I mean no-one, will ever lay hands on my child like that. While Mr. Stephens is being charged with a felony in GA there is still a little girl who was slapped by a stranger. Here in Texas he wouldn’t be charged with anything his estate would be charged for a burial plot. Thank your lucky stars Mr. Stephens that you weren’t anywhere near the Lone Star State when you did this. You wouldn’t have lived for the police to arrest you.
Where in the world does someone get off thinking they have any right at all to slap the child of a stranger? What kind of person thinks that it is alright? Luckily the little girl in question sustained nothing more than mild redness to face. Our prayers will be with her and her family because there are bound to wounds that can’t be seen. As for Mr. Stephens our prayers will be simply that he receives justice and nothing less.
And for the final piece…
I normally don’t quote World Net Daily because they are, for the most part, completely and totally out of touch with reality. The publication is the right wing news version of Star and The National Inquirer to be completely frank. But this piece cites official sources from the state in question. I am too lazy to go find someone else commenting on it so I’ll make do with the WND piece.
You’d Get Shot Dead In Texas Trying This via World Net Daily
A “pandemic response bill” currently making its way through the Massachusetts state legislature would allow authorities to forcefully quarantine citizens in the event of a health emergency, compel health providers to vaccinate citizens, authorize forceful entry into private dwellings and destruction of citizen property and impose fines on citizens for noncompliance.
If citizens refuse to comply with isolation or quarantine orders in the event of a health emergency, they may be imprisoned for up to 30 days and fined $1,000 per day that the violation continues.
Even their scary list of things this bill allows actually matches up with the bill:
As stated in the bill, upon declaration by the governor that an emergency exists that is considered detrimental to public health or upon declaration of a state of emergency, a local public health authority, with approval of the commissioner, may exercise the following authorities (emphasis added):
- to require the owner or occupier of premises to permit entry into and investigation of the premises;
- to close, direct, and compel the evacuation of, or to decontaminate or cause to be decontaminated any building or facility, and to allow the reopening of the building or facility when the danger has ended;
- to decontaminate or cause to be decontaminated, or to destroy any material;
- to restrict or prohibit assemblages of persons;
- to require a health care facility to provide services or the use of its facility, or to transfer the management and supervision of the health care facility to the department or to a local public health authority;
- to control ingress to and egress from any stricken or threatened public area, and the movement of persons and materials within the area;
- to adopt and enforce measures to provide for the safe disposal of infectious waste and human remains, provided that religious, cultural, family, and individual beliefs of the deceased person shall be followed to the extent possible when disposing of human remains, whenever that may be done without endangering the public health;
- to procure, take immediate possession from any source, store, or distribute any anti-toxins, serums, vaccines, immunizing agents, antibiotics, and other pharmaceutical agents or medical supplies located within the commonwealth as may be necessary to respond to the emergency;
- to require in-state health care providers to assist in the performance of vaccination, treatment, examination, or testing of any individual as a condition of licensure, authorization, or the ability to continue to function as a health care provider in the commonwealth;
- to waive the commonwealth’s licensing requirements for health care professionals with a valid license from another state in the United States or whose professional training would otherwise qualify them for an appropriate professional license in the commonwealth;
- to allow for the dispensing of controlled substance by appropriate personnel consistent with federal statutes as necessary for the prevention or treatment of illness;
- to authorize the chief medical examiner to appoint and prescribe the duties of such emergency assistant medical examiners as may be required for the proper performance of the duties of office;
- to collect specimens and perform tests on any animal, living or deceased;
- to care for any emerging mental health or crisis counseling needs that individuals may exhibit, with the consent of the individuals
State and local agencies responding to the public health emergency would be required to exercise their powers over transportation routes, communication devices, carriers, public utilities, fuels, food, clothing and shelter, according to the legislation.
The scariest part of this is that has passed the house in MA and is waiting for approval in the senate! Three other states have similar laws now in place allowing authorities to isolate people, imprison people, and fine people for not accepting the vaccine if they are deemed risks to public health:
- Florida
voluntary home quarantine agreement
quarantine to residence order
quarantine to residence order (non-compliance)
quarantine to facility order
quarantine detention order
quarantine of facility order
building quarantine closure order
area quarantine closure order. - Iowa
voluntary home confinement
home quarantine
home isolation - North Carolina
draft isolation order - Washington
emergency detention orders
Some of these allow for states to imprison people without bail amongst things. There are doctors worldwide who are scared the vaccine will cause more deaths than the flu and yet states here are, in essence, forcing people to be vaccinated or imprisoned. Nothing like this is on the table in Texas and with good reason. People here would resist and do so in a manner in which would not be condusive to law enforcement being effective. The states listed above are a travesty. The fact these laws exist and are making their way through state’s legislatures is sickening. I understand people being scared due to swine flu but even with a “global pandemic” the death toll is a lower percentage than the seasonal flu. This reaction from the states is scary. Here in Houston we still enforcement of certain curfews passed using emergency procedures during Ike. If you think that states and their law enforcement arms will lay down these bills and not use them after the swine flu scare is over then you are a fool.
Now is the time to check out what is being pushed through in your state. Don’t let them sneak one of these bills into law. Call your state reps, state senators, and governor and let them know how you feel. Tell them to do some actual research and not just jerk knees at media reports. Call your local media and demand coverage. Do whatever you but don’t let a bill like these pass in your state and have done nothing.
I feel icky having used WND as a source but there’s not a lot I can do about it. Sources are what they are I guess and at least I did my own research to make sure they weren’t announcing the swine flu equivalent of the bat boy. Sorry I missed the Monday Mix Tape I was sick and went home two hours into my day. I’ll get one up before the week is out, I even have a theme in mind. I know you are here for the music anyway…
I don’t think I ever agreed with any idea set forth by the late Teddy Kennedy but in his passing our own mortality is realized. Major news outlets across the world are reporting on his death and every one of them I have read has mentioned the scandals that marked this man. I will not do that here. Regardless of what dark clouds may have hung over the head of Edward Kennedy he is no longer with us and we can put those dark clouds to rest. I will take a moment out of my day to pray for the family he left behind and also to pray that his soul is at rest. My sincere hope is that Senator Kennedy was right with his maker and that he is now in a better place. He was a public figure my entire life and, when I was blogging politics back in the minion days, often the subject of my ire. I know many of my regular readers feel the same way. I participated in jokes about the man and at his expense. I ask that none of that take place here today. Even if you did not agree with any Sentator Kennedy’s politics it is not time to bring that up. He is mourned by family, friends, and more than that he is mourned by the country he served for many years. He may not have served in a manner in which I can glorify here but he dedicated his life to be a U.S. Senator and regardless of any disagreements I believe he supported what he truly thought was best for the country. I would rather have men who are strong in their position oppose my views than men who are weak in theirs support them. Senator Kennedy was just about the antithesis of everything I believe this country needs but I respect him for his tenacity, dedication, and long years of service. In death we are all equal and we all stand before the same throne for judgement. Senator Kennedy was no more and no less a sinner than I and he professed to be a believer in Christ, a Catholic, and as such it is my belief that he will be judged in the same manner in which I will be judged when my time comes. I can only now pray that he was right with our creator and hopefully look at the good he brought this country and the earth during his time here.
I know many of the conservative sites I read will be posting on the death of Senator Kennedy in a manner that is, in essense, nothing more than burning his body in effigy. I hope that I have removed any site that would do that from my reading list but should I run across any today, or in the near future, I will cease being a reader of those sites. I hope you have all read the two links above Who The Hell Is Romeo Sid Vicious? and What Is This Place so that you are not the least bit shocked when I say this: Any comment, from anyone, that derides, insults, or attempts to tear down Senator Kennedy will not be approved if held for moderation and any comment not held for moderation will be censored upon my seeing it. I want to make it clear that I had nothing but ire for Senator Kennery’s policies and most of the causes he supported but I will not allow this website to be used as a place to impugn the dead.
I ask all of my readers to pray for the family and friends that Senator Kennedy left behind as well as the nation that is mourning the loss of one it’s longest serving senators. Regardless of how we feel about his politics he was a man who bled just like you and I and in the end died just like and I will some day. His family, friends, and nation need your support and prayers today.
R.I.P Senator Edward Kennedy
25
Aug
To suggest any of my three readers boycott anything but I for one won’t ever buy a Frommer’s Travel Guide. I have never even bought a travel guide to begin with and likely never will but if I do it won’t be a Frommer’s guide. You see Mr. Frommer has pretty much wet himself over people carrying guns in Arizona. If you don’t know who Arthur Frommer is then don’t feel alone because I didn’t either. He is apparently some old liberal who writes travel guides, and from some of the reviews I read whilst doing my obligatory ten minutes of in depth research required for each article, they are pretty good. But poor Mr. Frommer has his panties all up in a bunch over some folks in AZ exercising their rights and carrying guns at a political event. Leaving aside the joy I find in bashing Arizona because it’s not as cool as Texas I can honestly say that it ain’t all that a bad place. I might even go back for a visit one day! While I lived there I saw open carry almost every day and never felt unsafe at all. In fact I am pretty sure it’s safe to be standing at a gas station with two guys carrying guns on their hips than it is to be standing in one without a gun in sight when some thug decides he needs crack money. While I don’t approve of myself living in PHX I do approve of Arizona’s gun laws. However Mr. Frommer doesn’t and had proceeded to nearly piss himself on the web whining about it:
I am not yet certain whether I would advocate a travel boycott by others of the state of Arizona; I want to learn more about Arizona’s gun laws and how they compare with those of other states. But I am shocked beyond measure by reports that earlier this week, nearly a dozen persons, including one with an assault rifle strapped about his shoulders and others with pistols in their hands or holsters, were openly congregating outside a hall at which President Obama was speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
First and foremost I saw quite a lot of this footage while MSNBC was trying to paint a law abiding black man as a white supremecist and not a single person had a pistol “in their hands”. I doubt Mr. Frommer has ever been to AZ and if he has he never bothered getting out of the car. The first day I was in Phoenix I saw open carry when I stopped to buy gas and by the second week I didn’t even think about it anymore because it was just part of life there. Nevermind that these folks were following their local laws concerning the carry of firearms and they were very respectful about the whole deal. Mr. Frommer has more to say on the matter (but you knew he did, didn’t you?)
For myself, without yet suggesting that others follow me in an open boycott, I will not personally travel in a state where civilians carry loaded weapons onto the sidewalks and as a means of political protest. I not only believe such practices are a threat to the future of our democracy, but I am firmly convinced that they would also endanger my own personal safety there. And therefore I will cancel any plans to vacation or otherwise visit in Arizona until I learn more. And I will begin thinking about whether tourists should safeguard themselves by avoiding stays in Arizona.
I am sure Arizona will miss you Mr. Frommer. However the threat to democrazy here is you and your ilk. People carry loaded weapons in the open all over Arizona every day and in my home state, Texas, we carry them where you can’t see them. Your scaremongering is almost amusing but it lacks the bile to really make me chuckle. You will begin thinking about tourists safeguarding themselves? I assure you that in any city in Arizona your tourists are less likely to come to harm than they are in New York or Washington D.C. but those nasty people in Arizona can carry icky guns, ON THEIR HIPS, WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM, whatever shall we do…
According to the Phoenix, Arizona, police, people with guns including assault rifles do not need permits in Arizona, but can simply carry such weapons with them, openly and brazenly, when they gather to protest a speaker at a public event. The police also acknowledge that about a dozen people carrying guns, including one with an AR-15 assault rifle, milled about outside the event at which President Obama spoke.
Oh we aren’t ready for a solution yet. Let’s use scary words some more! Texas doesn’t require a permit for an AR-15 and one can be carried openly anywhere in the state save some places restricted by laws that exist in AZ as well. We carry our pistols subtely but in the same places and the same manner as folks in AZ. You want to try and lead people to believe that this is something unique to AZ but it isn’t and it certainly isn’t just “when they gather to protest” but rather all day every day. Why should law abiding citizens be asked not to excersize their rights just because POTUS is in town. He wasn’t scared but now you have your liberal panties in a knot over a few people carrying weapons legally. I am guessing you have an opinion on what we should do…
I would feel as I do regardless of the political identity of the speaker whom these thugs attempted to intimidate. The continued tolerance of extremists carrying guns is a frightening development which strikes at the heart of the political process and endangers the ability to carry out a reasoned debate. Is there any responsible citizen of the United States who believes that people should carry guns to a public debate or speech? If Ronald Reagan were delivering a political talk in Phoenix, Arizona, would they have felt it was proper for protesters with guns to mill about outside the hall from which he would leave?
I’d appreciate hearing your comments. The question is, should we all organize a travel boycott of Arizona until this tolerance of armed intimidation is ended, probably by an act of the Arizona legislature?
Well my comments are above and below this line. I have no desire to comment over on your site you scared little man. Whether or not I feel it is proper to carry guns to a debate or speech has nothing to do with the issue and frankly neither does your opinion on the matter. These thugs, as you call them, are ordinary people who are law abiding and merely using their rights. It is called a show of strength and it is not a scary thing. I looked over your site and when the Black Panthers have shown up across the nation with AR-15s as “security” for someone they support you have said nothing. I suppose it’s alright for one side to tote out their scary looking guns but not the other. I call complete and total bullshit on your statement you wouldn’t care which party was speaking. You were silent on the Black Panthers intimidating voters and didn’t suggest that people would feel unsafe traveling there. You are a hypocrite and nothing more. You and your ilk represent what’s wrong with the world today. Be a man, take off the panties, and try firing a gun for once. It won’t be so scary once you know they work. And as for your suggestion that you arrange a travel boycott of AZ until they remove the rights of their law abiding citizens? I bet there’s more than enough NRA members that’ll detour their vacations right through AZ to make up for your panty-waisted ilk that may or may not answer your shrill cry for a boycott. Get real Mr. Frommer and stick to travel. Leave the politics to someone else.
Most of you know I am socially and fiscally conservative and lean towards state rights making me a sometimes ill fitting Libertarian when forced to choose a party affiliation. That’s politics isn’t it? I am also a follower of Christ and some would say I qualify as a Christian. Some days you see people who agree with your religious or political position(s) and listening to or reading them you start to wonder “Why in the hell are you on my side?” You find bigots, whack jobs, and other loonies espousing things you feel strongly about. Or worse you find someone you think you agree with and months later they turn out to be a moonbat that has lost touch with reality. Take this conversation I had this morning on Twitter:
bob_edwards: You can’t be both: a Democrat and a Christian
me: @bob_edwards I think that statement shows a myopic view of Christianity to be perfectly honest.
bob_edwards: @romeosidvicious Is God’s Word a myopic view of morality. I think you have an argument with God, not me. He wrote the position piece, Bible
me: @bob_edwards HAHAHA now you’ve made me laugh. The Democrats, while misplaced and ill managed, show more support for charity than Repubs.
me: @bob_edwards I could make a very strong argument, in the same vein, for not being able to be a Christian and a Republican as well.
me: @bob_edwards Party affiliations dont matter one way or another to God I don’t think. Republicans are just as evil as Dems, and both are evil
me: @bob_edwards Many devout Christians are forced to choose between two parties that are evil at their core. Why pick on one party?
bob_edwards: @romeosidvicious A major plank in Democrat party is a woman’s right to choose. Take up your problem with God.
me: @bob_edwards And Republicans have gone into war, killing innocents, without Biblical justification. Which evil do you want?
me: @bob_edwards Scripture, from a Protestant standpoint, doesn’t draw a line at one sin being worse than another. So both parties are evil.
me: @romeosidvicious I don’t support the Democrats by any means, don’t get me wrong, I just see the evil in the Republican party as well.
bob_edwards: @romeosidvicious One party’s official position contains a plank supporting baby killing: Democrats.
me: @bob_edwards James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
me: @bob_edwards According to scripture both parties are just as guilty. You have made the sin of abortion worth more than other sins.
me: @bob_edwards And that position cannot be backed with scripture. It is myopic and man made. Both parties are evil according to scripture.
me: @bob_edwards We, man, don’t get to pick one sin to be worse than others regardless of how emotional that sin makes us.
bob_edwards: @romeosidvicious A woman’s choice was made the night she had unprotected sex. Can’t punish the child for the sin of the father/mother.
This was one of those moments. Why are people like this on my side religiously and politically? This myopic view, that one sin is greater than another, is hogwash. If we want to be clear on it then we are all guilty and none any less than any other. Statements like Mr. Edwards made drive wedges between Christians and widen the chasm between us and the world. You all know I do not support the right to abortion on demand and struggle with “mother’s life in danger”. This man has taken one sin and made it into a creed by which he can judge the Christianity of others. Some people do this with abortion, some with homosexuality, and still others with things like the war in Iraq, and so on and on and on. What this does is allow us to feel superior to others. It also allows us to be secure in our belief that we are saved. The problem is that scripture is damn clear that we are not superior to our fellow Christians regardless of their beliefs on any given issue and that our salvation is between us and God and to be worked out with fear and trembling. Using various sins as a barometer to gauge the “Christian-ness” of others, in my opinion, is the sin of pride from the start. I can disagree with a devout Christian on the topic of pacifism and still be brothers with that man. I can accept that someone buys the lies and believes women will die in back alleys if abortion is outlawed and is struggling with that but wholly opposes the military conflicts the US is engaged in. None of these things preclude the people I mentioned from being my Christian brethren. People that exlude other from Christianity based on a sin or two they have raised to level not in scripture.
The quote above is only the start of the conversation. Much more has transpired while I have been writing this. I won’t post any more of it, the above is just illustrating a point, but suffice it to say Mr. Edwards is not changing his mind. I firmly believe that attitudes and positions like his are more damaging to Christianity than anything the liberals have tried to do or anything done to the church by non-Christians. Here is the kicker: Mr. Edwards is also my brother in Christ and as much so as the people he would exclude from God’s kingdom. I came to the realization a long time back that I wouldn’t be shocked about who was in heaven but I might be shocked by who wasn’t. So I hope that Mr. Edwards finds the love that is supposed to shine through us to the world and comes to know the peace that is given to us. I struggle with tought issues all the time and I spend a lot of the time thinking “There but by the grace of God go I”. I am a sinner and saved only by grace. I won’t judge the salvation of others whether they agree with me or not and certainly not based on US political party affiliation.
