Is this one covered under the Interstate Commerce clause, too?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/02/house-approves-plan-fda-regulatory-power-tobacco/

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved sweeping legislation to bring tobacco under control of the Food and Drug Administration for the first time.

The vote was 298-to-112, with more than 60 Republicans joining majority Democrats in backing the legislation.

However, at least eight Democrats bucked their party and voted against the bill.

Under the bill, the Food and Drug Administration would be able to regulate, but not ban, cigarettes and other tobacco products. The FDA could make ingredients public, ban flavoring and prohibit marketing campaigns.

The plan would bolster tobacco warnings on cigarette packages and could require firms to lower nicotine levels in cigarettes.

Apart from the rather dubious Constitutionality of this, my main question is... why? If the market calls for flavored cigarettes, why not produce them? When I was a smoker I was rather fond of a few of Camel's flavorings... the Mandarin Mint were really good (and about $3 more a pack, if I recall correctly, which severely limited me smoking them).

And on what grounds is it anywhere near fair to violate intellectual property rights and copyrights by making ingredients public? Or to prohibit marketing? There'd be no more need for brands, competition, or anything else. The government could just consolidate all means of cigarette production centrally. Hell, we've started with cars, why not move on to vice (where the REAL money in a recession is)? Little steps, get the people used to the feeling of Socialism's big, hard manhood poking at their behinds, so they won't notice it as much when PresBo rams it all the way in.

Like I said, I'm an ex-smoker. Not healthy, too expensive, bad breath, tough to run, all that. But I firmly believe that if you want to put something that you KNOW will kill you into your body, you should be able to do it. I'll question your wisdom all I want (privately, because I know there's nothing more annoying than a self-righteous ex-smoker) but I'm not going to stop you from doing it. Big Brother is here to save you from yourself.

Makes me want to go fucking light up.

HopenChangenStuff... but not the PresBo kind

http://www.macon.com/203/story/664283.html

So... in Georgia we have this great program called HOPE. It's lottery-funded, and it allows students who are residents of Georgia and attend college (or tech school) in Georgia to receive free college tuition, provided they have a GPA upon graduation from high school of 3.0 (a B average) and that they maintain that GPA throughout college.


Sounds like a great idea, right? What better way to improve our great state than by helping kids go to college, right?

Well, kinda.

Turns out lots of high schools and colleges in this great state are giving out watered-down grades in order to help kids go to school, and stay in college (read: colleges want to keep failures in school as long as they can so they can continue to receive HOPE money).

My question is... where were these watered down grades when I was in college? I worked my ass off in high school in all Honors-level classes and EARNED my tuition assistance. I then slacked (a bit) in college and promptly lost that money, which eventually led to my dropping out because I couldn't afford college. (I'm going back in January, so if you're reading this, Mom, don't call me and climb on my ass about going back to school again...)

So, what we have here is yet another example of how mediocrity, not superiority, is rewarded by our culture. Get bad grades? Oh, well, we wouldn't want you to feel bad about yourself because you couldn't get that Leisure Studies degree. Stay in school.

Political tirade of the day.

You know what will change in November?

The face of the person in the White House.

Nothing else.

Politicians are all the fucking same...


A wise man once told me, "If voting could change anything, it would be illegal."

No matter which one of those morons wins the Presidency, they still won't give a fuck about the common man. No President ever has, and none of them ever will. They'll continue to pander to each of their respective audiences and will continue to bend the regular guy over a fucking barrel and rape him for all he's worth. Obama wants a nanny state. Hillary wants to garnish my wages if I choose not to buy into her healthcare plan... I've already got great healthcare at a low cost, since there's competition. Thanks anyway, bitch. McCain is the worst of them all... He says he's one thing, and then proves he's another when it comes down to it. See: 1994 AWB, McCain-Feingold (absolutely the worst piece of federal legislation in the history of the country) and the war.

At least with Obamillary I know what I'm getting... socialist (borderline fascist) nanny state tactics and a government who treats me like I cna't take care of myself.

No one in the Presidential race represented me. I'm an educated redneck who works for a fucking living, loves his country, supports the troops, carries a big fucking gun everywhere he goes, hunts, cusses, wears cowboy boots, pays his fucking taxes, goes to church every Sunday, is faithful to one woman, and DOESN'T WANT THE FUCKING GOVERNMENT IN HIS FUCKING LIFE. Don't try to require me to buy your crappy government healthcare... I'd sooner die than ask my fellow taxpayer to pay for something I need. Don't try to take my guns... you can have them, glowing hot, after I've fired every single piece of ammunition I own out of them at you. Don't try to tell me you're closing the border... your ancestors were immigrants too. Don't try to tell me you're going to give illegals driver's licenses and amnesty... they're here illegally. Fuck them. my family came here the old fucking fashioned way on a fucking boat through a fucking Island in New York and did so legally, and built themselves up a pretty fucking good life. Don't raise my taxes for anything... If I want to live in a country that takes my money to help pay for the "less fortunate" I'll move to Canada. Don't try to tell me the fucking welfare sponges "can't do it on their own." Bullshit. I'm a working-class man, and I came from working-class parents. We do pretty fucking well on our own WITHOUT government assistance. Why? Because we know how to fucking work. The next time I see a fucking welfare sponge load the food they bought with their fucking EBT "debit card" foodstamp bullshit into their fucking Escalade, I'm going to fucking lose it. They don't have to work for shit, the taxpayer (ME) buys all their fucking food because they "can't afford it" but they can somehow afford a fucking $40,000 car?

I'm tired of this crap.