Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup, Thursday night at Pop's Safari Bar

We've got a Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup at Pop's Safari Bar, Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. 
Pop's is located at 2929 Morton, just off of the new 7th Street development. 
Hope to see you there.  Politics will be discussed.  Cigar smoke will be present. 

We'll have one in a Barnes & Noble or some other vice-free environment sometime soon.  I promise. 

A suggestion to the Feds for the large graphic warning labels soon to be required on cigarette packs

From the L.A. Times:

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Corpses, cancer patients and diseased lungs: These are some of the images the federal government plans for larger, graphic warning labels that will take up half of each cigarette package.

The images are part of a new campaign announced by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday to reduce tobacco use, which is responsible for about 443,000 deaths per year.

"It acts as a very public billboard because you all of the sudden are reading something about lung cancer from that pack behind the cash register, whereas before you were just reading 'Marlboro,' " said David Hammond, a health behavior researcher at the University of Waterloo in Canada, who is working with the firm designing the labels with for the FDA.

....Anti-tobacco advocates are applauding the federal campaign and the new warning labels.


"This is going to stop kids from starting to smoke ... and it's going to give smokers a strong incentive to quit smoking," said Patrick Reynolds, the grandson of R.J. Reynolds and executive director of the Foundation for a Smokefree America. Reynolds' father, brother and other relatives died from smoking-related illnesses.

It remains to be seen how well the scare tactics will work.

"I don't think they're going to be a deterrent at all for people who already smoke. Most people start smoking when they're young, and I don't think they're going to think about the effects," said 27-year-old Zak Hoffman, who has been smoking since age 14.

Well, Zak, that's because I'm not the one picking out the pictures. 
Forget cancer, gum disease, and tongue amputations. 
Put me in charge of the pictures, and I'll scare the hell out of some smokers. 

How about the now-proven link between smoking and economic retardation, communication difficulties, and an inability to speak without prompts? 

I got yer frightening graphic images right here.  Get the kids out of the room, back away from your computer, and hit this link. 

A fresh coat of Whitening to the P.O.W. In California for the heads up on this one. 

John Stossel on Crony Capitalism

Tonight’s John Stossel program was on “Crony Capitalism”, also known as “Fascism”. I didn’t sleep well last night, it was a long day at work, so I’m just going to type as it plays.

Stossel started off by highlighting a company called Serious Materials, and the cozy relationship they have with Obama and Biden. Biden wandered through the plant a few times, looking exactly like Ted Knight from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, and said some good things about the company's obvious politically correct virtue level.

Obama gave Serious Materials a shout-out during a speech on the economy. Then the dynamic duo announced some tax credits for “green companies”. Only one window company was given their tax money back – Serious Materials.
Then Stossel showed the Company VP of Policy, hanging out with energy leaders in the Obama administration….and then he showed Cathy Zoi, who is in charge of Obama’s weatherization policy, talking about how they were going to have SWAT teams move in and weatherize entire neighborhoods with new storm windows, paid for by stimulus dollars.

Stossel eventually revealed that Serious Materials’ VP of Policy is married to Cathy Zoi. Well, shit. That takes some of the down-home, wholesome, green environmental goodness out of the equation, doesn’t it? Weren’t you happier not knowing this?

He brought on some panelists, Annette Meeks and Jonathan Blake, from the Freedom Foundation Of Minnesota. These two are familiar with the window industry, and knew that it was going through hard times. They started wondering why so much attention was being paid in the Mainstream Media, the Teleprompter Jesus Press Conferences, and press releases to one little ol’ window manufacturer. Then they found out that Cathy Zoe controls 16.8 billion stimulus dollars. That’s $16,800,000,000.00, if you like to see zeroes.

How in the heck did one window manufacturer happen to win this sweepstakes? Did it have anything to do with contributing thousands and thousands of dollars to the Obama campaign? And some other connections having nothing to do with their entitlement to your money?

(My biggest problem with Serious Materials is the little environmental savings counter on their website. You can see how many thousand pounds of carbon they’ve saved, how much energy they've saved, etc. I’ve saved far more carbon than that. So have Somali shepherds. How do we do it? By not manufacturing windows. Who and what exactly are they measuring against?)

The next guest was Denis Calabrese, who explained that Congress spends its day listening to lobbyists and donors, not debating the merits of specific proposals. They pick winners and losers, and the losers (at all the other window companies) don’t get the subsidies, the tax breaks, and the breaks on quotas. Tim Carney, author of “The Big Rip-off”, explained why Big Government just LOVES some Big Government. Why? Because the more a business is regulated, the harder it is for new competitors to enter a market. Carney gave example after example.

(This is why all sorts of lobbyists from Big Pharma and the insurance industry are showing up at Martha Coakley’s fund-raising banquets, BTW.) Both sides are cozying up to each other to stay in power.

THEN STOSSEL COVERED THE BUTTER VS. MARGARINE CONTROVERSY ! (It’s been one of my favorites for a long time.) The Butter industry was terrified of the margarine industry. They got Congress to pass legislation requiring margarine to be dyed PINK. Swear to God, it happened.

THEN HE HIT ANOTHER ONE OF MY FAVORITES. Go to Google, and put in the phrase “Guess who helped write the new tobacco bill”. I’ll be there. Typing fast as I can. No time for links. The alleged consumer protection in this bill was nothing but an industry protection bill. Philip Morris stock rose 35% immediately after Obama signed the bill.

THEN HE WENT OFF ABOUT BUILDING JETS AT BOEING AND LOCKHEED FACTORIES, jets we don’t need, jets that the military doesn’t want, simply to “protect jobs”.

Calabrese challenged Stossel to identify a single aspect of our so-called free enterprise system where our government wasn’t picking the winners and losers. Bill Gates and Company did very little lobbying until he got hauled into Congress for monopolistic practices. Then he hired a huge lobbying operation, and decided to spend a lot more time in Washington. His difficulties have ceased.

Then the focus switched to toys. Government, of course, had to get involved For The Children. They wrote a slew of regulations for testing that no small toymaker could ever afford. They regulated the sale of used toys, which meant that the toy resale industry was eliminated. (Don’t you know that Mattel and Hasbro partied hard when that regulation went into effect?) Goowill had to stop accepting used baby beds, strollers, play pens. They might not have been tested properly.

Anne Northrup, one of 5 commissioners on the Consumer Products Safety Commission, was brought out to explain how the process works. She evaluated a simple wooden locomotive, and immediately identified 5 or 6 tests that would have to be performed before it could be sold. She was surprisingly sympathetic to the plight of the small toy and resale industries and made some appropriate sounds. (Note to Mom: The Consumer Products Safety Commission has come out with a book of advice for people wanting to hold garage sales. Since the law is retroactive, it condemned a lot of products that were declared “safe” when they were manufactured. The handbook recommends scanning all items with an X-Ray Fluorescence machine. Swear to God, it says it. The machines cost $30,000.00)

Northrup went on to say that the Consumer Products Safety Commission isn’t going to send an inspector out to check your garage sale. (But guess what? This creates a chilling effect that makes you hesitate to sell and old item, or to purchase one. It IS illegal to sell this stuff. Check out a book called “Three Felonies A Day” when you get a chance. Chances are, you’re committing a large number of crimes without even knowing it. They’re not going to prosecute you unless they need to.)

The next segment was about the bad rap that capitalism has gotten during the last two years. Michael Moore’s movie came in for appropriate levels of abuse.

OK, THE GUY THAT STOSSEL SHOWED TESTIFYING BEFORE CONGRESS BEFORE EACH SEGMENT? THAT’S GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY’S RUSS ROBERTS ! ! ! RUSS ROBERTS OF THE “CAFÉ HAYEK” BLOG ! ! I HAD NO IDEA WHAT HE LOOKED LIKE. HIT THE RUSS ROBERTS OR CAFÉ HAYEK LABEL AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST !

I love that guy. Russ Roberts is on Stossel. This is freakin’ great. Roberts explains that Capitalism requires prudence. And if you take out the potential for any kind of loss, you’re left with “socialism for the rich”. The taxpayers have to cover the losses. It’s almost always an after-the-fact bailout. Roberts went on to say that there was absolutely no evidence for a potential disaster if we didn’t bail out, Wall-Street or GM, or any other entity.

Marta Mossburg (spelling corrected on 1-16-10, see comment from Mr. MossBURG, below) of the Franklin Center, explained that most D.C. lobbyists have worked on Capitol Hill. If the tax code was only 10 pages long, instead of tens of thousands of pages long, the lobbyists wouldn’t be necessary. But then, Congress wouldn’t be able to sell tax indulgences in exchange for donations.

Lehmann Brothers wasn’t politically connected. They didn’t spend much on lobbying. They were allowed to go under. The others? They were too big to fail.

Russ Roberts – “Let’s let people fend for themselves. It’s called Capitalism. Why don’t we try it.”
I kind of miss the audience involvement. Yes, it was all hostile questions. Yes, many of the people asking the hostile questions were doofuses. But then, how many of the people who hold those Statist opinions….. never mind.

Stossel closed the program with a monologue about the Constitution and the Declaration Of Independence. They’re paper-thin. Then he showed a 3-foot tall stack of regulations about toy safety and manufacturing.

Stossel explained why Big Steel lobbied Washington/G.W. Bush to keep cheap foreign steel out of the U.S., and how they succeeded. Then he explained how this played hell with manufacturers who used steel. Plus, YOU had to pay more for anything made with the more expensive U.S. steel. But then, you don’t have a lobbyist.

If you made it this far, I’m amazed. Going to bed now. Good night. Remember to set your Tivo to record Stossel every week. There’s nothing else like it on television.

Guess Who Helped Write The New Tobacco Bill ?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama said Friday he looked forward to signing a bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration power to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco.

In related news, President Barack Obama also said he looked forward to signing a bill that would allow cops to pull drivers over for killing pedestrians.

Good lord in heaven....the government has controlled the manufacturing of cancer sticks for years, and even supported tobacco growers with subsidies until a few years ago. They already control the marketing of cigarettes (remember when cigarette commercials were on TV?)



And unless I'm mistaken, Uncle Sam already controls the sale of tobacco. Try bringing in a lot of smokes from China or Canada. Or Cuba.

The legislation would give the FDA power to ban candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes, widely considered appealing to first-time smokers, including youths. It would prohibit tobacco companies from using terms such as "low tar," "light" or "mild," require larger warning labels on packages, and restrict advertising of tobacco products.

And here's the Associated Press on Obama's take on the legislation:

President Barack Obama, admittedly still struggling with his own nicotine habit, saluted passage of the bill, which he will soon sign. He said, "For over a decade, leaders of both parties have fought to prevent tobacco companies from marketing their products to children and provide the public with the information they need to understand what a dangerous habit this is."

As usual, it's for "the children...."

Ok, kids. Pull up a chair. Got your pens and notebooks ready? Good. Yes, Johnny, it's ok to smoke in class.

Let's pretend that we're the CEO's of Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, our two biggest tobacco companies and let's pretend that Big Bad Barack is going to restrict our advertising budgets even more.

Does this make you angry if you're a Big Tobacco CEO ? No, it doesn't.

Why do businesses advertise? Several reasons. Partly to attract first-time buyers, and partly to attract people who have been buying other brands for years.

Who has to do the most advertising? New businesses, or businesses with new product lines.

What's one way to guarantee that no new competitors will enter a marketplace? Ban advertising.

What company helped write some of the latest anti-tobacco legislation?

You'll
Never
Guess.


Pics of the Hot Smokin' Teleprompter Jesus from here and here.
For another post that explains the concept of "Regulatory Capture", an economics concept explaining why regulators almost always turns into defenders of their industries, go here.

Smoking Bans

At the latest Texas State Libertarian Executive Committee meeting, we took the "smoking ban" issue and beat it to a bloody pulp.

If someone wants to smoke on their own property, it's their own business.

If they want to allow others to smoke on their property, it's their own business.

Like carpenters who risk their thumbs, like high rise construction workers who risk their life, like schoolteachers who risk their sanity, if you're willing to expose yourself to 2nd-hand smoke, it's your own business.

Fort Worth Weekly's Blog (Blotch) has an article on our effort to fight The Health Nazis (yeah, I just violated Godwin's Law).

Here's a brief excerpt:

I’ve never really understood how a city can legally force private property owners to ban smoking in their own establishments, whether a bar, restaurant, or whatever. It seems like a smart thing to do health-wise, but doesn’t seem legally possible. Still, cities across Texas and the country are cracking down on public smoking.The Libertarian Party is fighting back, calling it a private property rights issue. Here’s their announcement about an upcoming legislative push....

The comments have already gotten interesting, and it would be nice to see a few dozen more added to the dogpile.

So Get Busy ! ! !

"First they came first for the Gays and Lesbians, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t Gay or Lesbian;
And then they came for the Pot Smokers, And I didn’t speak up because I didn't smoke marijuana;
And then they came for the Gun Owners, And I didn’t speak up because I didn't own a gun;
And then they came for the Cigarette Smokers, And I didn't speak up because I didn't smoke cigarettes;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up.
But they kept the tobacco subsidies in place, because lots of millionaire tobacco farmers liked the money, and they were big time campaign contributors."

With sincerest apologies to Pastor Martin Niemoller

Health Nazi Swastika came from here.

The Browncoat Libertarian has been struck down ! ! !

I got this email today from John Spivey, The Big Daddy of the Tarrant County Libertarian Party....

I just wanted to let you know that John S. Jones....one of the Organizers of this Meetup group, a District Rep for the Texas State Libertarian Executive Committee (SLEC) and the Secretary for the Tarrant County Libertarian Party is in the Intensive Care Unit of Harris Methodist Southwest Hospital with a life threatening case of pneumonia.

John also blogs as The Browncoat Libertarian. He and I represent State Senate District 10 on the SLEC. He's a great guy. If you haven't made it to one of his Libertarian Meetups at Pop's Safari bar, you've missed a treat. Now, back to Spivey's email....

Currently, his condition is classified as 'critical' and he's on a ventilator. This situation came on very quickly and I was surprised to hear this since we rode together to the SLEC meeting just last weekend and he couldn't have been better. However, a few days ago, I received an email from him saying he'd be out of commission as he was in the ICU with Pneumonia. It appeared he was getting better, but for unknown reasons, things took a bad turn yesterday.

He'll be on mechanical ventilation for probably at least a few more days and therefore won't be able to receive any visitors. However, I'm sure John and his wife Jackie will appreciate your moral support, kind thoughts, prayers and anything else good that you've got in your heart! I've thrown it out there to do whatever may need to be done (errands, whatever - anything) during this time. So if anybody else is willing to help out where needed, let me know. Again, I'm sure that would mean a lot to them to know that we've got their back.

We're pulling for our good friend and chief voice of liberty in Tarrant County, John S. Jones! Keep fighting, brother - - We need you fighting for freedom and helping to guide our organization!!

At this point in the email, John Spivey gave out his personal cell phone number, which I'm sure Mr. Spivey doesn't want broadcast to the seven continents.

Thanks,
John Spivey

John, we all hope you get better soon. I'm giving you one more day to rest, and then I'm going to Harris Southwest and sneaking a cigar underneath your ventilator.

Everyone, please leave your best wishes to The Browncoat Libertarian in the comment field below, or even better, hit the link above to his site and leave them there.

Thanks To All Of The Designated Hitters

I can't thank everyone enough for filling in for me during my vacation.

Here are a few comments about the posts and the comments that they generated.

Stephen Smith's Prediction of Stormy Weather for Free Markets was the first post to go up, and it was dead on accurate. Not only does Stephen stand up for his principles, he stands up for them while running for office. Easier said than done. And yes, Stephen had rather be right than popular.
Let me try a medical analogy..... There was a time when the popular medical decision was to "bleed" patients, or apply leeches to infections. The "right" decision was to refrain from doing so. Sometimes the best action is no action, even if that means being accused of having no solutions.

"First, do no harm". I think Hippocrates said it.
Especially when the leeches cost $700 billion dollars.

On Tuesday, The Browncoat Libertarian's post on cigar smoking generated a ton o' controversy, thanks to the Doctor Formerly Known As Trotsky, Now Recognizable As Ralph Barr.

My response to The Good Doctor's Nanny State ideal would run as follows:
1) Libertarianism is based on the idea that you are the owner of your "self".
2) No one else should have responsibility for you, and vice-versa except in voluntary situations (such as charity, family, friendship, or other non-coercive relationships).
3) Red Adair made a small fortune risking his life to put out oil well fires. Tony Romo is making a large fortune by entrusting his physical well-being to the Dallas Cowboys' offensive line (heh heh). Carpenters make less money by risking their fingers, but that's the skill they swap for cash. Millions of data entry clerks risk Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in the course of their daily duties. Michaelangelo went near-blind from painting the inside of the Pope's roof. Entrepreneurs risk heart attacks, ulcers, bankruptcy, and nervous breakdowns.
4) Do we really need government arbitrarily deciding that this occupation or environment is too risky, when Jeff Gordon is allowed to drive more than 100-MPH for our entertainment?
5) I propose that all restaurant and bar owners be given a choice of providing a smoking and non-smoking areas or not doing so. Customers could take it or leave it. Ditto for employees.
6) Cigarette and Cigar smoke can't possibly be harmful, especially in their 2nd-hand manifestations. Why? Because our government supports tobacco farmers with huge price supports, subsidies, and outright payments of your dollars. And our government wouldn't do anything like that if tobacco was really harmful.
7) For further discussion of this topic, see "Scared To Death" by Christopher Booker and Richard North. Chapter 12, Smoke and Mirrors - How They Turned "Passive Smoking" Into A Killer, 1950-2007.
8) BTW, I think The Aggie bought me some Cubans as a belated Christmas gift. If that's the case, I plan to put them aside to smoke when Castro dies.

VampE's likening of this dispute to Freud's explanation of the true nature of cigars summed up everything nicely.

On Wednesday, my friend Gar wrote a great post about the idea of a Higher Power conflicting with the idea of Liberty. What it boils down to is that if you believe that God is in his heaven making the decisions for you, you have no responsibility for your own freedom. The implication is that any belief in a God who intervenes is incompatible with Liberty. This was also the post where my arch-nemesis (and doppelganger) Fembuttx decided to regale us with his/her tales of bedroom hardware. (Thank you, B, for deleting these when necessary.)

So on Christmas Eve, I was blessed with an anti-religion post with an additional discussion of sexual perversions. (Stay with me, I'm going somewhere with this.....)
Then, out of the blue, a huge right-wing conservative outfit called The Conservative Grapevine decided to make me their Site Of The Day. Check out December 24th on the link above. You might have to hit "Archives" to get there.

At last count, at least 588 God fearing, Limbaugh listening, Republican voting, Salt Of The Earth conservatives were innocently sent to this site to experience Gar slamming religion and Fembuttx describing penile prosthetics. Unbelieveable. Nowhere but here.
In the words of Barack Obama, "In no other country on earth is my story even possible".

Tim Lebsack's post the Friday after Christmas didn't generate a lot of commentary (I guess everyone was busy with post-holiday stuff), but it got a lot of hits.
I was disturbed when Dr. Ralph Barr couldn't find anything disagreeable in Tim's content.

Therefore, Tim, there must be something wrong with you. Turn in your Libertarian Party Badge and Secret Decoder Ring on your way out the door.

On Saturday, I applied The Fairness Doctrine, and ran a post of Dr. Ralph's that I had already responded to on his site.
The only thing I can add at this point is that I spend a substantial part of my online blog-browsing asking people what the recent Community Re-investment Act disaster has to do with 1) Free Markets, and 2) De-regulation.

Tarrant County Liberty Guy's post on Sunday about the recent improvement in the TCLP didn't generate a lot of commentary, but then it was more about statistics than doctrine. While I was on vacation I happened to read the issue of Liberty magazine that he recommends, and it was excellent. (Yes, I'm a geek.)

Andrew Ian Dodge sent me a post about mandatory payments going to the BBC, which apparently everyone on that side of the English-speaking pond has to pay IF they own a television. That didn't generate much controversy or commentary since 1) we have no idea what Channel 4 is, and 2) if anyone in the U.S. were automatically charged for anything regarding television viewing, we would rise up from our Barcaloungers and revolt. I can't get people worked up over farm subsidies, import quotas, or The Fed printing monopoly money, but charging money to watch TV? That would cause a revolt.

One more interesting thing about Andrew's post..... someone named Yunshui logged on to comment. Yunshui runs a freethought/skepticism site called Right To Think. DO NOT READ THIS POST OF YUNSHUI'S IF YOU EVER WANT TO ENJOY THE MOVIE "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE" AGAIN. DO NOT READ IT. IF YOU LIKE JIMMY STEWART AND "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE", DON'T GO THERE. (but he says some really funny things about angels.)

NickM of Counting Cats provided Today's post, the one immediately below this one. He begs everyone in the U.S. not to screw up the good thing that we've got going on. I bet we find a way.

Thanks again to everyone who sent in this great stuff.

Harnessing Hysteria

I'm on vacation this week, so I've asked some of my favorite people/bloggers/typists to fill in for me while I'm away. Today you get to hear from my friend John, who blogs at the The Browncoat Libertarian. John and I are going to be working together on the Texas State Libertarian Executive Committee in 2009. He can be found most Thursday nights at Pop's Safari bar in Fort Worth. Here's John:

I believe I've found a key driving force to the future success of the Libertarian Party. But first, a word from our sponsor.

I love cigars. Not in that destructive Sigmund Freud twenty-a-day way...I enjoy maybe 2-7 cigars per week, depending on how many trips to Pop's Safari Room I make in a week. So despite the fact that I "technically" smoke, I do not consider myself a "Smoker". I'm a "small-s" smoker. Why? I do not require smoking breaks at work. I do not feel the need to fire up a cigar after every meal. I never have cigar or tobacco "cravings". And those are just three of the well known "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Smokers(tm)", none of which, I possess.

Why am I polluting Whited Sepulchre Blogspace with my disgusting, nicotine stained words? Because you should know that the "Second-Hand Smoke Hysteria" mentioned in the following guest blog comes not from a nicotine-crazed addict, but from a liberty-crazed freedom-addict who respects the rights and liberties of nicotine-crazed addicts everywhere.

And now, back to our regularly schedule rant.

Yes, devoted readers of The Whited Sepulchre, I know exactly what the Libertarian Party needs in order to thrive in this here century: Harness the power of hysteria! Hysteria is working miracles for the self-righteous Knights of Second-Hand Smoke. Soon, every molecule of airborne nicotine shall be vanquished from the DFW Metroplex, and quite possibly the state of Texas.

Yes, rumor has it that our dedicated Protectors From All Things Harmful, i.e. The Fort Worth City Council, and the Texas State Legislature are up to their smoking ban shenanigans once again. And they will likely succeed. It appears they will eventually succeed in protecting helpless non-smokers from unwittingly inhaling the foul second-hand smoke emitted from cigar bars and tobacco stores. What would these poor souls do without the Nanny-State to protect them? Personal liberty falls again as hysteria prevails.

Apparently, hysteria sells. Look what the power of hysteria is doing for Wall St., Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac, AIG, and soon, you can bet your stick-shift, The Detroit Big Three. One TRILLION plus! Economic liberty slips further away as hysteria prevails.

If only the Libertarian Party could find a way to harness the power of hysteria and get people hysterical about liberty...or more specifically, the erosion of liberty.

Harnessing Hysteria: we should look into it...or else.


***********************
John, thanks for filling in. Thought provoking as usual. By the time this is posted, I'll be in Cozumel, buying multiple fistloads of Havanas to smuggle back into the U.S. If you get a chance, write something about the insanity of continuing the trade embargo with Cuba. If Cubans had access to American products, someone woulda shot Castro by now.