The Latest Lunacy from the Left

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio. - Neil Young

There is something going on as a result of the "new" Arizona law that I find utterly perplexing, and it's not just happening in Arizona, but all over the country. People and elected politicians alike seem to have emerged from some sort of cloistered existence to now proclaim the "unconstitutional" actions of a state under assault by people who are here illegally. Arizona actually had the temerity to make these illegal acts criminal, and people are enraged.

A bill from the Arizona State Legislature - SB1070 - was signed into law a few days ago by Gov. Jan Brewer, immediately drawing howls of protest from liberals of all stripe and from "immigrants rights" groups in particular. Worse still is the fact that other state and county representatives have joined in the wailing, claiming that the law is a violation of the U.S. Constitution and an act of immeasurable racism.

Further, the President of the United States has called the law "misguided" and has vowed to contest it. What makes this last so incredible is that Governor Brewer and the state legislature enacted this law in desperation after the federal government abdicated its duty to protect the country from invasion, as required by the Constitution.

With the unhinged comprised a wide range of people, from entertainers to elected officials, one must wonder what is driving this anger at the enforcement of laws already enacted, albeit largely neglected. The Arizona law is merely an affirmation of existing federal law and a vow to uphold it. Yet wild-eyed liberals have vowed to protest and boycott everything "Arizona", including Arizona Iced Tea. (The hilarious irony is that Arizona Iced Tea was founded in 1992 by two fellows in Brooklyn, NY and is now headquartered in Manhattan.)

Less humorous by far, however, is the notion seemingly shared by many people and politicians that our Constitution is meaningless and, worse, a cumbersome document to be reviled. During the health care debate, members of Congress actually admitted as much. Such an atmosphere is also evident in the vilification of the Tea Party movement, whose goals are the preservation of our most cherished document from our Founders. The video below shows how dangerous the "Tea Partiers" can be:
I wish to apologize to anyone who may have been traumatized by the exposure to that vicious display by terrorist right wingers. Those are the people this administration and session of Congress view as threats to national security.

The pro-illegal-immigration protesters seen below apparently are of no concern to the government:


And now the Commander in Chief apparently has the military training to "protect the homeland" from the only people who seem to care about her security and longevity. According to The Patriot Post: Army Preps for Tea Party 'Terrorists'

A few months back, the commander in chief of our Armed Forces, that erstwhile community organizer Barack Hussein Obama, denigrated a large cross section of Americans who identify with the Tea Party movement -- those who advocate for Essential Liberty and Rule of Law.

-snip-

In response to the "immediate threat," the exercise stipulates, "local detention centers are being made ready for mass arrests." Both the "QRF I and QRF II" are placed on two hour recall, and the "5-15 CAV" was ordered to "draw weapons from holder and store in most available arms room," and "coordinate with MASA for immediate ammunition draw; have equipment readied for immediate use, i.e. vehicles staged and loaded IAW 5-15 CAV SOP; LMR's charged."

QRF refers to Quick Reaction Force. QRF I is the 16th Cavalry Regiment. QRF II is the 194th Armored Brigade.

The 26 April order gives specific instructions for the 5-15 CAV (a 16th Cavalry battalion) to have weapons, ammo, vehicles and communications at ready, and it places the other 2,200 members of the units on two-hour recall. In other words, these orders are to gear up for defending Ft. Knox against Tea Party folks and their co-conspirators who oppose nationalization of our health care sector.

Is Neil Young still composing?

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Our Old Friend, Andy McKee

Without the aid of a friend posting some prose, this blog would have laid dormant for more than a week. It seems that my Constipated Mind was only freed temporarily, and I have retreated once again to the comforting refuge of music.

It is good stuff though. Stay with me, I'm not "dead" yet. Just working through a spell to make the arid Sahara envious.

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The Tea Party Is Far From Over

Written by SleeplessByTheSea

I have read and heard a lot of untruths about the tea party lately. And I’ve seen people calling the Tea Party Patriots vulgar names. It’s too bad those people don’t take the time to try to understand what the tea party is really all about.

First and foremost, it is not about hate. It is about freedom, and wanting less government intervention into our lives. The Tea Party was never intended to be a 'political party', although with the direction both the democrats and republicans continue to go, it may very well evolve into one, one of these days.

The Tea Party is an event....a meeting of like minded patriots that are just plain fed up with not being represented by those we elect to do just that. Every time we meet, it's a new tea party, just as if you were meeting to have tea, but instead of sharing tea, we share our love of country....our love of our constitution, and our love of our freedom. And we practice that freedom by voicing our opinions and our displeasure for those that are trying to destroy what is rightfully ours. That is our right....it is our responsibility.

That is the beauty of a democratic republic. The people are in charge. The government works for us! The Tea Party has no national leader. We don't need one. We have each other. We have our neighbors and our friends, and our constitution. We have local volunteers, that help organize local events, but they do not dictate policy or expect anything from anyone. There is nothing wrong, immoral or illegal about it. There is no violence.

In fact the huge crowds that attend the various tea parties all over the country have proven to be the most self-controlled, peaceful crowds to ever meet, march or protest. Anyone and everyone of any race, religion or ethnic origin are welcome. Young and old, rich and poor…they are all there. Just walk through a crowd of tea party patriots and you will find that to be quite evident. There is nothing racist about it. The only colors the tea party patriots favor are red, white and blue.

A year ago the media and the government tried to dismiss the tea party movement. They've realized that was a fruitless effort. So now, they try to label us every dirty little name they can come up with. It doesn't matter. Sticks and stones.....names will never hurt us. We know who we are. We are good hearted, dedicated Americans,.....republicans, democrats and independents, that just want to preserve our country in order to pass on to the next generations the same God blessed rights we have been afforded by our founders. And that is why the tea party continues to grow. We're far from being over. We're not hard to find. We're the ones waving the flags.

God Bless America!

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The New, New Deal and the Narcissism of the Legacy

"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." With that in mind, and the deliberate altering of the history taught in our schools, it becomes all the more clear why so many people would cheer the efforts of this president and this congress. They have been denied the truth of history and are therefore doomed...

Examining the chain of events leading up to the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression has today become an exercise in pursuit as they are not served up willingly by educators. The accounts are still there, however, simply because they actually happened, and also because those who will perpetrate the same tragedies have not yet succeeded in scrubbing them from existence. Even so, now they must be actively sought out.

A further examination of the alleged remedies administered by equally
alleged leaders at the time reveals a terrifying sense of deja vu, one
that makes one wonder why someone would deliberately repeat such
grievous errors. Let's take a look back, keeping in mind our current
state of affairs regarding the economy.

In 1928, the country was in a recession and the housing market was anemic (sound familiar?). Then the Federal Reserve Board - which is nothing remotely federal but, rather, a private corporation - squeezed the money supply, nearly doubling the discount rate to banks in a little over a year and a half, from 3.5 percent to 6 percent between January 1928 and August 1929.

Over the next three years, the money supply shrank 30 percent and lines of credit were cut off. Meanwhile, Congress was debating the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which was designed to protect struggling farmers against agricultural imports. The Act was even more draconian than the Fordney-McCumber Tariff, passed in 1922, and had an adverse effect on investing and the Stock Market. In the span of three days in 1929, the Market became unstable and ultimately crashed.

In June 1930, President Hoover signed Smoot-Hawley into law, further exacerbating the effects of Fordney-McCumber, virtually sealing off international trade of not only agricultural produce, but all goods. An international trade war erupted, halting the exportation of goods to foreign markets.

Federal spending skyrocketed in 1930 and 1931. Hundreds of millions of dollars were paid in farm subsidies. Congress established the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, distributing still more hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses (again, sound familiar?). As a result of the ensuing budget deficits, Hoover signed the Revenue Act, doubling the income tax rate, with the top bracket nearly tripling, from 24 percent to 63 percent. Hoover, Congress and the Federal Reserve, in a foolish attempt to minimize the effects of the recession, only made things drastically worse.

Enter Franklin D. Roosevelt who, in 1932, ran against Hoover by promising to not be Hoover, a promise that was discarded as soon as he was sworn into office. Roosevelt modelled the New Deal on the same misguided principles of Hoover, only worse. As Roosevelt advisor Rexford Guy Tugwell would later disclose:

"We didn't admit it at the time, but practically the whole New Deal was extrapolated from programs that Hoover started."

Indeed, Roosevelt became Hoover on steroids, raising the top income tax bracket to 79 percent and then to 90 percent. In 1933, he instituted the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) which essentially brought private manufacturing companies under government control. The federal government would now dictate production and pricing standards.

Perhaps a little too late, the Supreme Court eventually ruled NIRA was unconstitutional, but in six months after its passage, production dropped 25 percent. Roosevelt established the Civil Works Administration which was subsequently superseded by the Works Progress Administration, both of which have been credited with "putting people to work", but which were actually little more than money siphons for crooks and gluttons. And from 1931 until 1940, the unemployment rate never dropped below 14 percent. It was apparent that the only beneficiary of the New Deal was the government.

As a result of Roosevelt's government interference, the Great Depression lasted a decade. Barack Obama is following the same blueprint for disaster. The question, then, is does he do so from a perspective of ignorance of history, or does he do so believing that the people are ignorant of history? And is he more concerned about his legacy than with actually healing the nation's economy?

These are but a few legitimate questions regarding Obama's handling of this recession. There are many others, perhaps even more nefarious in context, such as whether Obama is simply a tool being used by a larger interest.


Sources:
Liberty and Tyranny - Mark Levin
www.NPRI.org
modern-us-history.suite101.com

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Constipated Mind

Regular readers may be wondering where I have been, and for that I can't blame them, for I have been quite derelict in my postings of late. This post offers nothing new beyond a semi-convinced assurance that I may be beginning to recover from the constipation of the mind I have been battling of late.

While I recognize all too well the hazards of any writer equating his own writings with that of the digestive tract, it is nevertheless a valid comparison, albeit not for the same reasons severe critics would seize upon.

This explanation is geared toward the process of intake and output, as I seem to have been gorging on information at a pace prohibitive to my ability to digest and disseminate it and, as such, there seems to have been a log jam in my critical point of release. Being of the Conservative bent, said critics will undoubtedly focus on the fecal correlation with juvenile, giggling glee, but such are the risks of sharing opinions publicly.

Having said all of that, and after taking some small advantage of the self-imposed hiatus, I hope to resume the exposure of the assault on America very shortly. I just wanted to assuage the fears that some may have had that I had abandoned the battle. I have not, and I will not until regular Americans can live in the freedom to which they have become accustomed.

The Tea Parties have been doing a fabulous job, and seem to be growing despite claims by the left that "they will forget long before November". There are true warriors waging the online battles daily (Tim Phillips of AFP being one). While I have sat on a sideline bench, it has been to catch my breath, and I shall reengage again.

Stay with me...we shall prevail.

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A Patriot From Hollywood

Just when you thought that all actors were idiots...Jon Voight steps up and throws down the guantlet. Perhaps his bravado is due to his age and the prospect of fewer future...uh, prospects, but nevertheless, it is refreshing to see someone of relative prominence finally speak out against the machine.

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They Can Hear Us Now - And They Are Desperate!

Written by SleeplessByTheSea

Astroturf
Domestic terrorists
Paid political hacks
The more than a million peaceful marchers, that were reported as a few thousand.
Obama wasn't aware of the 912 March on DC.
It is all about race.

Yeah Right.

They have tried their best to ignore the American patriots that have gathered together across our nation. They tried to belittle the second coming of the Boston Tea Party, by calling us nasty little names like "tea baggers". But, those tactics have not worked. They've not slowed down the momentum of the patriots that love their freedom enough to fight for it. Instead, the movement is growing. They are losing ground on their effort to destroy our great nation. Their time in power is limited, and they know it.

I can speak of first hand knowledge of tea parties and their rallies, because I not only attended and participated in rallies locally, but I've marched right down Pennsylvania Ave, right to the Capitol, along with my fellow citizens that want to preserve our constitution. I have yet to read from any national source the real story. The story about how these citizens are out there fighting peacefully for their love of country....their love of freedom, and their demand that our constitution be upheld.

We sang songs like 'God Bless America' & 'The Star Spangled Banner'. We chanted for congress to stop the spending, and the 'kill the bill'. We've listened to speakers echo our own feelings about needing less government, not more. Could someone please tell me what is threatening about that?


I'm tired of the media lying to people. I'm tired of paid democrats lying to the people. They lie about their agenda. They lie about what is in the bills they pass. They lie about what goes on at these 'Tea Parties'. You ask, why do they lie? Because they are scared! They know the sleeping giants are finally wide awake.

We've already made a difference in some of the gubernatorial races. We made a difference in Massachusetts. And they know we're going to make a huge difference in November.

They see Obama's numbers dropping. They know he's going to be a one term president. But, the really sad thing is, so many of these people are still blinded by their own politics, that they cannot see that their party is also destroying their freedom. You've heard their talking points on all of the tv new/talk
shows.....they smile real big, and spin away from any little details they don't want to face.

They tell you, that this is intended to 'help' you. Never mind it will cost you an arm and a leg, to end up with perhaps a whole lot worse medical care than you've ever had in your life. They even have the audacity to say now, that no...you won't be forced to take their health care insurance. Although, if you don't have insurance, you will be fined by the IRS. Yeah, well, what happens to you if you don't pay that fine? You don't tell the IRS, no. They know that. (well, you can tell the IRS no, if you are Timothy Geithner. Geeez) And now they are talking about a National sales tax? Where do they think all of this money is going to come from? Wake up, dems. There is no bottomless pit!

It's Racist? Give me a break! Okay...so which half of Obama are they protesting? Good grief! And, I was not aware that congress was solely one race, either. When did that happen? And why do we have tea party patriots of all shapes, sizes, age, and color if it is about race? It doesn't pass the logic test.

Their defense is weak. It's lame. It's more lies. But, desperate people do desperate things. I know there will be more lies and deceptions to come. But, November is just around the corner, and I'm proud to say I am part of those 'rogue' Americans that attend tea parties, and I'll be helping everyone I know get to the polls, so we can begin to clean out this mess, and start our path back to what we are suppose to be.....A country for the people, by the people! A country founded for freedom to ring!

Oh, yeah...they hear us now....and they are running scared!

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Gingrich "Gripping & Grinning"

As much as I've always liked Newt Gingrich, there was a time - 2008, for example - when even I realized that he was perhaps too toxic to be a candidate for president. Still saddled unfairly with the false stigma of wanting to "kill Medicare", it seemed that Newt would have been a drag on the Republican party's chances of succeeding George W. Bush.

At the time, I never imagined that John McCain would win the nomination, but even then it seemed more unimaginable that Barack Whatshisname had a prayer of becoming president at all. With a past shrouded in mystery, what little we did know about Obama suggested no acumen or experience that would guide him to the Oval Office. Well, look at us now.

The man running our country seems hell-bent on our demise - barely concealing the contempt that half us knew was there prior to his election - and yet enjoying adulation in lieu of scrutiny from the press. The few organizations and individuals that actually sound the alarm bells are cast as dangerous heathens, the serious message dismissed out of hand.

Thankfully the ranks of the dismayed have expanded well beyond talk radio hosts and Internet news outlets, spawning the Tea Party movement and, now, emboldening potential 2012 contenders to speak up. Heaven knows our current Republican representatives have been more than timid in their opposition to the Obama, Reid and Pelosi agenda.

With Obama spearheading the radical transformation of America, he immediately set out to create the impression that this nation is just like any other, no better and no worse, which is undoubtedly how he and his wife have viewed it. His early Forgive Us Our Trespasses tour, in which he winged around the world in order to apologize and bow to foreign leaders, was the beginning.

He then accelerated an insane spending spree, the likes of which are unprecedented, and perpetrated a government takeover of private businesses. His economic policies have stifled job growth, he has raised taxes, broken promises, and quarterbacked a hurry-up offense in legislation, all the while claiming to be doing "the peoples' work" despite the fact that more than half of the people kept shouting "NO!" and "STOP!".

He has coddled our enemies while alienating our allies, ignoring the taunts of North Korea and Iran while chastising and ostracizing Israel and Great Britain. His treatment of his counterparts has been an embarrassment, to put it mildly, and would be laughable if they weren't so sad.

Now he has ordered the term "Islamic jihad" removed from threat assessments, telegraphed our intent to remain passive when attacked, and cavalierly announced that we'll be severely reducing our defense capabilities. Apparently he sees no threats from without, but seems more than eager to attack as potentially dangerous the Tea Parties and Fox News, Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck. History has shown that tyrants typically engage their critics on such a personal and intimate level.

So it is with pleasure that I now see Newt Gingrich dipping his toes in the campaign waters in New Orleans. If ever the time was right for a serious contender in 2012, it is now. Perhaps Newt knew this in 2008 as well, although I'd wager he never expected the need now to be as crucial as it is.

There is already speculation of a Gingrich/Palin ticket emerging in the near future. Sarah would need some heavy exposure as a competent leader as governor of Alaska, and it's doubtful the New York Times or Newsweek would offer any help; or truth.

But Gingrich, along with whomever should be his running mate, is emerging as the right man at the right time. Whatever toxicity there may have been has dissipated. Combined with the obvious disaster that has been inflicted upon us, the triad of Obama, Reid and Pelosi has infuriated so many people that whatever attacks they may level at Gingrich leading up to 2012 will likely be largely ineffective.

There is also the great possibility that Obama will be damaged beyond repair when forced to deal with a hostile Congress for the last two years of his reign. Newt, I hope you hear us. We need you desperately.

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Both Brothels of Congress

He who is void of virtuous attachments in private life is, or very soon will be, void of all regard for his country. There is seldom an instance of a man guilty of betraying his country, who had not before lost the feeling of moral obligations in his private connections. - Samuel Adams

After all of the scandals involving politicians of either party over the last decade, after the egregious gluttony we've witnessed as they gorge themselves as kings on our hard-earned dollars, and especially after the heinous legislation recently rammed down our throats, it should be abundantly clear that we have wished upon ourselves - through the ballot - rule by whore.

Sadly, an un-Godly portion of our society is also inhabited by whores who cherish the representation they receive. Samuel Adams must weep in his grave. But it is not just the vacuum of virtue that is troublesome but the seeming counter-revolution being waged by elected officials who swore their allegiance to the original Revolution.

The very values of the Founders have been under attack from the unscrupulous and venal vipers who attempt to rewrite history in the hopes of achieving a new society that will forgive or - more accurately - ignore their lack of morality. The equation is rather simple; remove the stigma of sin and enjoy the subsequent absence of scorn.

Once enough of the population sees no violation of basic principles, the next step is to cloud the mind through the propagation of an alternate reality. While the counter-revolutionaries attack the institution of religion through the lie of the separation clause, they simultaneously deny the truth that our Founders were deeply religious men. Nothing could be further from the truth. The writings of these men are abundant, and they provide the truth of our founding.

Further, as the current crop of guardians of the Constitution claim that the document is a "living, breathing" document subject to the winds of time, that idea was thoroughly refuted by one of the Founding Fathers long before it fell into the hands of scoundrels. Anti-gun folks claim that the Second Amendment was intended for only organized militia, and not for the individual. But as Samuel Adams also said:

The Constitution shall never be construed... to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.

It took 44 presidents and over 110 versions of Congress to get to this point, and this point must an anathema to our brave ancestors who sacrificed so much and made possible the blessings we enjoy by the Grace of God. That is because despite the victory they won in the face of overwhelming odds, the modern so-called leadership has gradually come to consider that the very things they fought against now seem enviable.

The desires of the whores of both Brothels of Congress are irreverent, certainly, but they also nearly bear the weight of power enjoyed by the sadistic Caligula. Combine such power lust with the prospect of returning to the style of governance from which we fled, and against which we bled, and it stands as true that America is on the brink of damnation, both from God and our Earthly benefactors.

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The Prez Proves A Point

This is a video making the circuit today, and while most of the talk is about either Obama's getting booed by the crowd or his athletic prowess, I saw it from a different perspective.

While the booing is audibly coming from nearly half, if not more, of the crowd, the reason is somewhat unclear. Are they booing just because it's Obama, or are they booing because he's at a Washington Nationals' game - against the Philadelphia Phillies - and dons a Chicago White Sox cap?

I'm not sure, but what I saw made me think with even more conviction that he proved just how divisive he really is, even in the relatively petty realm of a sporting event. He didn't just trot out to the mound already wearing the offending topper, he waited until he was on camera and then whipped it out with a flourish, almost mocking the crowd. Then again, it could have been his way of punctuating his disdain for popular opinion.

And then, as if to prove he's no misogynist, he threw to home like a girl. (Apologies to most of the girls I know who could have done much better).

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A Day Filled With Sunshine

On a brilliant and radiant early Spring day in the Capitol, a beaming President Barack Obama waded into a jubilant throng of Tea Party participants who had gathered to cheer for the man they had formed to oppose. To the chagrin of the Secret Service agents charged with the safety of the Commander in Chief, Barack H. Obama was elbow-to-elbow in a sea of ecstatic citizens who waved signs and placards praising him, never once doubting the intentions of his newly adoring fans.

Television coverage was universal as an historic day unfolded, with Fox News as the lead bearing the new Obama station logo in the bottom of the screen crawl. Staffers at the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post traded gushing emails with their giddy counterparts at Newsmax and Front Page. A sense of overwhelming camaraderie and kumbaya swept over the country, and it was good. And crowd size estimates were reported accurately.

Internationally, leaders such as Kim Jong Il and Ahmedinejad vowed everlasting peace with South Korea and Israel, respectively. al Qaeda pledged to fund cloistered nun convents and co-ed classrooms in Tora Bora, and Hamas and Hezbollah teamed to help build hotels in East Jerusalem.

Domestically, Republicans voted in unison for universal health care and Democrats for unlimited oil exploration. PETA declared their unwavering support, and GreenPeace disbanded. (Unsubstantiated reports of Kodiak speed boats hunting whales surfaced, and on Long Island a beachgoer allegedly kicked sand at a mating Piping Plover).

Formerly vitriolic bloggers began posting recipes for tofu and quiche, and recommending the best spas for seaweed wraps and pedicures. Syndicated radio talk shows devoted the entire day to decorating tips and ranting about the expiration date of mauve buntings. At one restaurant in the evening, an intrepid reporter spied the dinner quartet of Bill O'Reilly, Keith Olbermann, Sean Hannity and Senator Al Franken. And Rush Limbaugh committed millions to destitute street beggars across the nation , complete with messenger delivery so that the bums wouldn't have to get up.

In the hour between five and six o'clock Eastern Daylight Time, Robert Gibbs dialed Glenn Beck's red phone, explaining that the President would have called personally, but that he was understandably preoccupied with the healing. Beck uttered a good-natured chuckle, expressed his gratitude and at one point referred to Gibbs as "brother".

All was well once again in America, and the sun began its fiery and magnificent decent into the Western horizon, and the people were relieved and happy.

Then...it was April 2nd.

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What A Cast! "The Expendables".

This looks like it will be an awesome movie!

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Need Not Apply

That is part of a phrase once common in America, long before discrimination became criminalized. Discrimination is a word I have addressed before on these pages as defined as a choice between the desirable and the undesirable. Personally, I would never dream of joining an organization - determined to bar my membership - through force of litigation, but I am of the mindset that subscribes to the notion of personal choice only in matters of consequence that do not curtail the lives of others.

Many years ago some businesses would not hire Irish immigrants, for example, because they were widely believed to be drunkards and, as such, unreliable and lazy. Eventually, as the perception was dispelled, businesses were prohibited from discriminating based on nationality, color, sexual preference and so on. So magnanimous had we become that we prided ourselves on being the fairest of them all.

Those signs are making a comeback, however. Businesses are beginning to think that barring employment to individuals based on personal behavior is not only acceptable, but incumbent upon them to enact.

Take St. Luke's Hospital & Health Network in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. According to a Philadelphia news organization, cbs3.com, starting May 1st, job applicants will be "screened for nicotine" as part of the hiring process. An excerpt:

Beginning May 1, all prospective employees will be screened for nicotine and will be ineligible for a job if they test positive. Anyone rejected can take the test again in six months and be considered for employment. Current employees will not be affected.

"We decided as an organization the right thing to do for us is to screen these applicants and if they test positive for nicotine, they won't be eligible for hire at that point in time," Bob Zimmel, the hospital's senior vice president of human resources said.

The last time I checked, nicotine was still a legal substance, if only because our government lacks the fortitude to ban it. So the justification for such blatant discrimination thus becomes the "health cost" argument. Fair enough, some would say, and that is how it will tolerated and overlooked, but it leads to only more questions.

If businesses begin screening applicants for behavior possibly detrimental to themselves and, by extension, to the business by way of health costs, where is the line drawn? Will they also screen for cholesterol? What about personal recreational habits? "Snowboarders need not apply", for example. Blacks could be excluded from consideration because sickle cell anemia is almost exclusive to the race.

It sounds ridiculous because it is. That's because the hysteria about smoking has nothing to do with health costs, it's about the stigmatization of a particular group of people who choose to engage in a legal activity. There will almost certainly be court battles waged over this new hiring practice, and no matter one's personal feelings about smoking, fairness should be the ultimate concern here.

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