Bangor group targets smokers in cars
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Its bully mentality bigotry pure and simple.
To thae above I would add the "arrogance" that comes from being corrupted by power. They make the law simply because they can!
From the article linked to on the previous page:
Councilor Gerry Palmer said he was willing to go out on a limb and pass a measure that might draw criticism but had the potential to serve the public interest
Did anyone else see WABI-TV5 news coverage of this council meeting?
Palmer (who is also Executive Director of Northeast CONTACT) went so far as to say (not verbatum):
"And I would think that EMMC would implement some kind of policy about their employees who stand out in front of that hospital and smoke!!"
Hate to tell you this, Gerry...but those employees are standing on public property when they smoke, not on hospital property.
Mr. City Councilor, if you don't like it I suggest YOU try to do something about it!!!! Go ahead and try to get a city wide public ban on smoking.
Good grief, my head is about to explode and I'm not even a smoker!
Is anyone going to challenge this ruling? I smell lawsuit! I wonder what the results would be if it went out to city referendum?
Just made DRUDGE :lol: :lol: :lol:
This evening I am going to draft a letter to every business in Bangor that I deal with telling them that I no longer will do business there because of this action by their city council.
I am going to urge them to contact the councilors and suggest that they stick to the business of running the city government instead of trying to legislate the moral behavior of it's visitors.
I think hitting the businesses in the pocket would be the best way to hit back. Even a small number of us boycotting Bangor businesses, and making our feelings known to them as to why, might be quite effective.
It won't end until we throw out the last elitist in Maine who thinks, because of superior knowledge, that he can/should dictate the personal behavior of the rest of us who are just dolts and beneath his superior class.
It is bigotry and class warfare, nothing short of that. It's class warfare against a group of people whom the doers know can not/will not fight back.
Shame on the City of Bangor!
Cigarette smokers now classified as child terrorists by US Congress....President Howard Obama Clinton-Edwards may invoke Patriot act to jail smokers and seize all assets...developing...
Woodcanoe - you go, guy. Good for you!
8)
I'm concerned about the precident this sets. What's next, soda? Chocolate bars?
Seriously, can this law even be legal?
Legal or constitutional are concepts for lawyers and academics...what matters here is enforcible....If the police can and do enforce it, then it is legal for all that matters. The policeman will stop a car and write a ticket and the state will use the full power of government to insure the fine is collected.
There are tens of thousands of unconstitutional or illegal laws that are enforced every day. Might makes right.
Bangor city Councilor Pat Blanchette:
..."People who smoke with children present in the confined space of a car or truck might as well be deliberately trying to kill those children, said City Councilor Patricia Blanchette, who is a smoker"...
What a sanctimonious witch.
Bangor city Councilor Pat Blanchette:
..."People who smoke with children present in the confined space of a car or truck might as well be deliberately trying to kill those children, said City Councilor Patricia Blanchette, who is a smoker"...
What a sanctimonious witch.
Counterbalanced by:
Councilor Susan Hawes, who voted against the law, said the police department should devote its energy to more important issues. There's already too much government intervention in people's lives, she said.
At least one person on the BCC has some spine.
Bangor city Councilor Pat Blanchette:
..."People who smoke with children present in the confined space of a car or truck might as well be deliberately trying to kill those children, said City Councilor Patricia Blanchette, who is a smoker"...
What a sanctimonious witch.
Sounds like grounds for DHS to take their kids. She is in her 4th term in the legislature. THANK GOD FOR TERM LIMITS.
I should have included the lower quote also. Thanks!
Blanchette, Palmer and company fancy themselves of some superior level of intellect that, because of who they are, they must do the thinking for us simpletons who couldn't possibly know anything.
Their BS makes me want to throw up!
This is the next law they will make: "It shall be a crime, punishable by a fine of 100 dollars, for buying a Mickey D's cheeseburger and eating it in your car in front of a minor child."
Makes just as much sense.
From the pictures it looked like some of the Council are carrying a little too much weight themselves. Obesity is a huge health problem with costs exceeding those of tobacco and alcohol.
How about it Bangor City Council? Can you lead by example?
If I lived in the area, I might be tempted to organize a "spit-in" at a council meeting. Bring your chew or your dip and a spit cup. I do not advocate "accidentally" leaving your spit cup behind after the meeting. I wouldn't want to get a reputation as a troublemaker.
I quess this might say it all about our exsistance today.
An illegal alien is going to pay a $50 dollar fine for smoking,
with a child in car, which he earned illegally and hasn't paid taxes on!
It would be nice to see some form of revolt occur in Bangor over this insanity.
Look if we care about the "children" license the parents first other than that
stop the insanity.
Can reaching into my McDonald's bag for the fries while driving home be far behind? :shock:
Actually, possessing McDonald's fries is on the upcoming list.
Howie Carr will be talking about the issue shortly.
Smoking is legal...as long as it is not forced on others (2nd hand smoking)...it should be left alone.
That said...I have a family member recently diagnosed with lung cancer...
I am going to send the following letter to every business in Bangor that I deal with. Though this one is crafted especially for the Bangor Wal Mart, I wll alter the address and amounts to suit the particular business.
This is just one families way of trying to fight back against a totally ludicrous decision by the Bangor city Council!
To the Manager
Wal Mart of Bangor, ME
70 Springer Drive
Bangor, ME 04401
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to you to inform you of our disgust regarding a recent decision made by the Bangor City Council to levy fines against those caught smoking anywhere in Bangor with children in their car. My wife and I are not trying to promote the idea that smoking is fine, in fact we all realize the hazards. We believe strongly however that the Bangor City Council, with this decision, has crossed a line that they should not have crossed. They have put the council in the position of deciding whether or not any adult driving on the streets of their city is, or is not, a bad parent if they are engaging in behavior that the council finds reprehensible, ie. smoking with children in the car. Councilor Blanchette went so far as to suggest that this was tantamount to trying to kill the child!
We feel that the decision of whether or not any particular adult may, or may not, be a good parent acting in the best interest of their children is not something that should be within the normal purview of the Bangor City Council or any town or city council. You could carry this further as I will illustrate.
In a scholarly paper written by Roland Sturm in 2002 he compared the health costs of smoking, drinking and obesity. He offered the following thought:
Obesity has roughly the same association with chronic health conditions as does twenty years' aging; this greatly exceeds the associations of smoking or problem drinking.
So it would seem that the next logical step would be to criminalize, and punish, any adult who might eat a cheeseburger, or drink a soda, in a car with a minor child. It makes just as much sense. Just like the fabled Pandora's box, once you open it you cannot place the cover back on easily.
Frankly we are deeply offended by the arrogance the Council has demonstrated towards visitors to your city with this move.
We are writing to inform you, that according to our checkbook register, we spent over $4,500 dollars in your store in 2006. We are so appalled by this act of the council that we wish to show our displeasure any way that we can and we are informing you that your store will no longer have our business until/unless the Bangor City Council rescinds this petty piece of foolishness that has cast a blight on your otherwise fine city. You will see neither us nor our money as long as this law remains on the books.
We intend to inform everyone that we know of our decision and encourage them to boycott not only your business but every business in Bangor as long as the council continues to believe that part of it's duties is to sit in judgement of others and their parenting skills. If any member of the council thought any child to be in danger they should contact the Me Dept of Human Services as they have the ability to deal with these kinds of problems.
We do not feel this to be the proper job for the Bangor City Council and we would ask that you tell them so!
Yours Truly,
We feel that hitting them in the pocket is the only reasonable thing we can do. We are considering some sort of protest or leaflet handout in Bangor, probably on a Saturday, and would like to know if anyone else feels strongly enough about this to try and do what we can to protest. PM me if you have any interest or ideas. Anyone wanting to write similar letters to Bangor businesses may feel free to cut and paste any part of my letter that they might find useful.
In researching the material for writing this letter I ran across the writing by Roland Sturm. He did a study in 2002 on the related healthcare costs of tobacco, alcohol and obesity. He wrote that:
..."Obesity has roughly the same association with chronic health conditions as does twenty years' aging; this greatly exceeds the associations of smoking or problem drinking. Utilization effects mirrors the health effects. Obesity is associated with a 36 percent increase in inpatient and outpatient spending and a 77 percent increase in medications, compared with a 21 percent increase in inpatient and outpatient spending and a 28 percent increase in medications for current smokers and smaller effects for problem drinkers. Nevertheless, the latter two groups have received more consistent attention in recent decades in clinical practice and public health policy"...
It is his opinion that Obesity causes the greatest burden on healthcare of any "vice" including tobacco and booze. If any members of the Bangor City Council are carrying extra weight then they are hypocrites. I am PO'd cause I am going to have to help subsidize their healthcare. BS!
It is easy to see that if the council gets away with this where it will go next is wide open! Now it is just six elitists taking out their hatred of smoking on, primarily visitors to their city, who cannot fight back. Where will it go next week?
Just don't take your kids with you. Leave them at home to play with the loaded rifle under the bed and to eat all of the trans fat food in the cupboard.
Maine Gets Straight A Report Card In Smoking Survey
My wife, only half jokingly says, that probably some rednecks will make the kids stand out in the parking lot while mommy and the boyfriend are sitting in the car having a smoke so the cops can't haul em in. Jeff Foxworthy would agree with that I bet!
From BDN comments section of smoking ban article:
Aaron Prill, Bangor, ME, - 01/09/07
Right now I do not even want to hear anyone from Bangor complain. You had your chance to show up last night and voice your displeasure. I, along with 2 others (husband/wife), were the only 3 people to show up and voice our displeasure in this ban. Sure, you probably had better things to do like watch the College Football championship, but while you sat at home the friendly, quiet city of Bangor was b-slapped by special interests who used the anti-smoking movement to advance a moral crusade.
From BDN comments section of smoking ban article:
Sure, you probably had better things to do like watch the College Football championship...
They missed a great game!
I gave this absurd story to FOX News and they are covering as part of their dailies tomorrow.
Is there anything so absurd in this state that some elected person will not think about and then convince enough colleagues to enact?
Patrick had an interesting point:
It's a shame that this is even an issue. People should have enough common sense and decency not to smoke with their child in the car. :(
lucky wrote:From BDN comments section of smoking ban article:
Sure, you probably had better things to do like watch the College Football championship...
They missed a great game!
It was a sham. Boise State should be the national champions!!!!
There should be a playoff system, but as usual, big money in the bowl system has the power to prvent change. D-I is the only division in college football that doesn't have a playoff. How great would a 3 game, 8 team playoff have been this year.
woodcanoe is right. We should fine parents who raise fat kids. Monthly weigh-ins at school!
Kids who are part of the free lunch program would be exempt, though, since we don't want people on any kind of tax-assisted program to feel anyone is challenging them to improve their lifestyle. :evil: After all, they are already challenged in their daily lives, poor things!
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Or better yet if driving drunk with a child in the car. Apparently these bullies think its worthy of a fine to smoke tobacco with a child in the car but its not worthy of a fine to be smoking a joint.
Why? because marijuanna has a lobby and money and support from liberals. So instead they just beat up on smokers. Its bully mentality bigotry pure and simple.