Government regulated tobacco industry

[larryJ]

I heard as I was about to slip into a wondrous night of sleep that O-Prez will sign a bill allowing the FDA to regulate the tobacco industry which has for all these years eluded them.  I am not posting this to discuss the do's and don'ts of smoking (I did for most of my life and now have the COPD to prove it).  Why I am posting this is because giving a government agency the power to regulate an industry smacks of socialism to me or am I off the mark?  Since he has been in office, he bailed out the banks with loans meaning the government owns them, took over the auto industry by bailing them out, and moved the Census department to another government agency.  Now he wants the FDA to regulate the tobacco industry.  What's next?  Well, there are the utilities such as the phone companies, etc.  That would be a little tougher, but, hey, he is the president and can do what he wants.  I have noticed that more congressmen are beginning to doubt his ability to lead the country as a result of his stand on the Iranian elections.  What else?  Well, there is the ICC which has regulations for truckers on how long a day they can drive or permits to drive through different states, but what if the ICC is allowed to tell the truckers what they can or can't carry to different regions of the country?  What if the government wants to punish a state for not backing an administration decision and say that state is Kansas and the government says to the truckers,  "you can no longer haul farm equipment to Kansas until they see the light." 


I am sorry but all of this smacks of too much socialism to me or maybe I am getting paranoid in my old age.  Maybe I will go east and visit Warph at the nineteenth hole and just drown my sorrows .

Larryj

[redcliffsw]

I'm agreeing with you. 

A little bit of socialism is way too much and we are in over our heads
with the feds.  It would be good to see more Kansas state flags flying
at the county courthouses as there are too few these days, sometimes none to be
seen on the flag poles or inside the buildings.

[Varmit]

Don't forget about H.R. 5, you know, the one that wants to end the two year term limit for the president.  Yes, it has been tried before, but that was before the country became addicted to the Kool-aid.

[Varmit]

One thing that makes no sense is their reasoning for allowing the FDA to regulate tobacco.  They say that this way the FDA can dictate how much nicotine is in cigarettes, that if they cut down on the nicotine it will make it easier for folks to stop smoking, thus more people will.  I say that their logic is flawed.  I think that if you cut the level of nicotine, folks will only smoke more.

[Warph]

I am sorry but all of this smacks of too much socialism to me or maybe I am getting paranoid in my old age.  Maybe I will go east and visit Warph at the nineteenth hole and just drown my sorrows .

Larryj

Come on ahead, Larry and don't forget to bring your clubs because sometimes we do play a little golf when we get the itch too...  You'll probably have to sit outside on the patio with Slappy as he too has COPD and can't tolerate the cigar smoke inside.  Did I mention the temp got up to 106 degrees today on the patio.... and that was in the shade.  LOL.  Normally this time of year, we would be hitting 110- 112 degrees.  Maybe I'll write Al Gore and find out what the problem is.  Sounds like his global warming ain't working too well. 

[larryJ]

Thanks Warph, maybe some day.  Tell Slappy he has it all wrong.  Those who are smoking should be out in the heat and he should be in the A/C room to help with his breathing.  And, second question.  Don't they have misters around the edge of the patio?  And, sorry but I never learned to play because I was spending all my time inside.  But, I would definitely enjoy the company .   

Larryj

[Warph]

Plenty of misters.... and you are right.... Slappy, bless his ol' black miserable soul, agrees with you.  He wants to march us all down to see his pulmonary doctor Chu We Fu and have us all checked out.  Slappy says that, "COPD is nothing to sneeze about."  I don't know what that means but I have all ideas that most of us old geezers have COPD of some sort.  I quit smoking many years ago but my doctor has said it has taken a toll on my lungs and has put me on Spiriva once a day and prednisone when ever I think I need it, so I guess I qualify for COPD.  What meds do you take for yours?  I heard Advair is a good one.

[larryJ]

Sorry to hear you are "one of us".  I was diagnosed some years ago with emphysema, but didn't have problems until a year ago when I began to need surgeries for various things.  So I have been on Spiriva for about a year.  After my latest adventure in hospital land in January, it was decided that I would need oxygen therapy.  This was an off and on thing until my last trip to said land when it became 24/7.  So I now have a nebulizer next to my recliner which I use to inhale Albutriol three times a day.  I use a concentrater with a fifty foot hose while in the house and to a limited distance outside.  I have E tanks on a cart when I go anywhere in the car.  I have Qvar inhalers if I am short of breath and need rescueing.  I rarely use those.  Other than that life is just peachy.  My wife and I are currently working on getting me and her to Ireland in September to meet up with our son and daughter-in-law while they are traveling the world.  As of May 2009, airlines were required to allow portable nebulizers on the planes so things are looking up.

It is good that you get out and play golf.  Exercise is the key to maintaining your breathing as well as other health issues.  It is weird that I generally require the oxygen all the time except when I go outside and walk up and down the driveway with the walker.  I don't use oxygen during those times and don't seem to need it until I stop. 

Spirival and the Albutriol from the nebulizer are designed to open up the bronchial tubes to make breathing easier.  Advair contains an anti-inflammatory which is not known to affect COPD.  It does work in opening up the bronchial tubes.  I am pretty happy with what meds I take now. 

Larryj

[Anmar]

As for the Original Post, the banks and auto industry were bailed out by the Bush administration, not the Obama administration.

[larryJ]

This is true.  Bush's Treasury Secretary proposed the idea and Bush and the congress of which Senator Obama was a member of made it so.  In the meantime, Senator Obama became President Obama and:  (1) failed to see that the banks did what the government wanted them to do with the money, causing more bailout moneys to be proposed.  (2) Initiated another bailout plan adding more to the money to be given out formally known as TARP II. 

I personally believe that the government was making these loans to the banks and the auto industry to shore up their financial picture and get them back on track, not to own them.  In an ideal situation those who received the bailout would balance their financial sheet and make changes to bring them "back to black" and repay the government.  That is the capitalist way of looking at it.  In reality, those who received the bailout money are still trying to swim in the quicksand and only a few are actually paying back the money.  So if the loans are defaulted on the government now owns those who defaulted and fires the CEO's and runs the company. That is the socialist way of looking at it. 

According to what I read, this is no pure socialism or pure capitalism anywhere in the world.  The obvious definitions of these systems of government are that a socialist government owns and runs everything and all production is controlled by that government.  In capitalism, all production is done by private corporations, companies, and individuals.

The point I was trying to make was that with all these moves whether by Bush or Obama, the government is moving to take over and run too much.  And that scares me.