Brent Barksdale

brent@politicalusa.com


Alex Aichinger
Kirsten Andersen
Brent Barksdale
Jim Couture
Andrew Downey
Natalie Farr
Joe Giardiello
Bret Hrbek
Sang Mi Kim
Ramesh Ponnuru
Tom Scerbo
Dorothy Seese
Jason Soter



Senate Candidate Bob Franks of New Jersey



Myriam Marquez is a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel

Government is Here to Help

Blowing Smoke Monday, the Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher, and the Federal Trade Commission Chairman, Robert Pitofsky, announced that the top seven cigar manufacturers have 180 days to add warning labels to their product or else...

The new labels are to be more conspicuous than cigarette labels. They are also to be in black and white in order to be more prominent than cigarette labels. For the sake of these cigar makers I hope these labels come with one more feature that cigarette labels lack: law suit protection.

The cigar makers are going to comply with the labels. It's only a matter of time before the movement begins to ban all cigar advertising. They will agree to these restrictions because they don't want bad press and they want to comply with the law.

Of course, it doesn't matter what they do.

Two things will certainly happen:

1. People will continue to legally buy their product.

2. The cigar makers will be sued.

They will be sued for legally selling their product to a buying public. The cigar makers can play whatever game the government wants them to play, even with unbounded enthusiasm. They can put 100 labels on their cigars. A thousand labels. The fact remains, they still will be sued.

Off on a Tangent

Later in the press conference the Federal Trade Commission Chairman, Robert Pitofsky said that these labels will "end the deception" of the cigar makers.

Let me get this straight. The cigar makers sell their legal product legally to the public and they are deceiving them. Really!

Here's a suggestion to keep the public safe once and for all. If something needs to be labeled it's the politicians and bureaucrats. May I suggest right on the forehead so we can all see it:

Warning: Listening to and following the instructions of this individual may be hazardous to your freedom, your wallet, and your way of life. Severe amounts of emotion, along with a lack of common sense have severely given this individual an unhealthy sense of "I know better than you" syndrome. Beware of statements such as " I'm doing it for the children.", "It's time to pay your fair share.", or "I'm with the Government and I'm here to help."




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