Vin in NH

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Sat, 28 Sep 2002 12:00:00 GMT
From whatreallyhappened:
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." -- Theodore Roosevelt

Vin Suprynowicz is taking his Ballad of Carl Drega book tour tonight to the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire's annual convention in Nashua. I will probably drive there to hear him speak, though it will make for a late night. Dinner starts at the Holiday Inn at 6pm. Vin's speech is after dinner.

The Washington Times - Anti-gun nonsense - an editorial applauding Robert L. Ehrlich's support of H.R. 2037, the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act", which protects firearms and ammo manufacturers from frivolous lawsuits. [firearmnews]

Mr. Ehrlich voted in favor of H.R. 2037, which, among other things, would limit the vulnerability of firearms manufacturers to civil lawsuits. Since the 1990s, attempts have been made to bankrupt firearms manufacturers by holding them financially responsible for loss of life, injuries and other damages caused by criminals who use firearms that happen to have a brand name.

Thus, a Smith and Wesson revolver purchased legally but used at some later point to further a criminal act becomes the responsibility of Smith and Wesson. This is like holding General Motors responsible for the person who drives his Corvette sports car at 140 mph. Both the car and the gun have the potential to be misused. But neither are inherently dangerous -- and any unlawful use to which they are put by their owners is certainly something neither the automaker nor the gun manufacturer can control. To suggest otherwise is a distortion of cause and effect, which would open the door to potentially limitless lawsuits affecting just about any consumer good one could think of.

David Saltonstall at NY Daily News - Smoke ban goes private: Clubs group for war with mayor - New York's new mayor is proving himself to be a smoking nazi. Banning smoking in so-called "public" places is already none of his business, but now he has stated his intent to extend the ban to private clubs. It's time for Big Apple smokers to blog smoke in Mr. Bloomberg's face. [villagechoice]

I received a message from the Smoke Free Action Network, encouraging me to send emails in support of smokefree workplace legislation. I sent the following email:

Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 08:26:00 -0400
To: "Joe Cherner" <Joe@smokefree.org>
From: "Bill St. Clair" <bill@billstclair.com>
Subject: Re: [JoeCherner-Announce]Smokefree legislation where you live
Cc: bill@billstclair.com

Mr. Cherner,

You are a fascist.

A fascist is a person who believes, sort of, in the concept of property, but believes the state has the right to control how people use their property.

I am a capitalist. I believe that noone but the property owner has the right to say anything whatsoever about how a person uses their property. If I own a restaurant, I, and only I, may decide whether smoking is allowed on the premises. If you don't like my rules, noone forces you to eat or work there.

If you attempt to force me to disallow smoking on my property, if you attempt to force me to do anything I don't want on my property, I am well within my rights to shoot you dead.

Stop your fascism. Now.

-Bill St. Clair
bill@billstclair.com

At 07:01 AM 9/28/2002 -0400, you wrote:
************************************
To send a letter in support of smokefree workplace legislation
where you live, go to http://www.smokefree.org
************************************

All truth passes through three stages:

First it is ridiculed.
Second it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident

Smokefree workplace legislation, first ridiculed, then violently opposed, is now being accepted as self-evident throughout the U.S. The states of California and Delaware, along with dozens of cities have passed smokefree legislation for ALL workers (including office, restaurant, bar, bingo, bowling, nightclub, and casino workers). Many other states and cities, such as New York City and Boston, have introduced such legislation and are expected to vote this year.

ALL workers (including office, restaurant, bar, bingo, bowling, nightclub, and casino workers) deserve a safe, healthy, smokefree work environment. No one should have to breathe tobacco smoke pollution to hold a job, because it causes cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease. The health of all workers is equally important. No one should be allowed to make someone else sick.

If you would like to send a letter in support of smokefree workplace legislation where you live, go to http://www.smokefree.org

All the best,

Joe

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