Quote Originally Posted by Amanda
DandCigars, I can't imagine how awful it must be to be in the tobacco business in today's political climate. Of course, the irony is that if everybody quit smoking today, the government would go broke tomorrow. You have my best wishes in keeping your business alive and flourishing. I know that in Minnesota, they just doubled the tax rate on cigars this past month. Cigar shop owners they profiled on the news were pretty much preparing to shut their doors as a result of the assault on them.

Crickett, I used to agree with you that the nanny state would be stopped in its tracks when it thrust its bootheel into the necks of coffee drinkers and fast-food eaters, among other groups. Recent statistical data has made me change my opinion. In just the last two years, the number of people suggesting a willingness to impose a "fat tax" on fatty foods as a way to "curb the obesity epidemic" has doubled. The nanny-staters seem to have it down to a science....invent a crisis, bombard the public with relentless horrific warnings about the dangers and costs to society that we're imposing on ourselves with our lifestyle, and then watch the sheep nod in agreement that we "have to do something." I hope you're right that there's an eventual backlash against the creeping nannyism hijacking our personal freedoms one by one, but I'm skeptical.

It never fails to amaze me how many people WANT the government to run their lives and how many people run to trade in their old bloodstained freedom card for a shiny new security one. Ignorance is the problem. Not enough education is given on how we won our liberty and why we needed to. Plenty is given on politically correct sex education, drug and alchohol abuse, smoking, sexual harassment, etc. For some reason, we are poorly educated on how to exercise our rights and responsibility as citizens. The apathy and ignorance of our general population towards our govermental doings is frankly, quite scary! If the majority of people won't run the government to their benefit, the minority agendas will.