S, I fully agree with you. I’ve called folks on that sort of stuff several times in emails and at least once on a board though I can’t find it at the moment. It’s done in various ways that skirt the actual use of recognizably racist words, but it’s there as a nasty undercurrent a lot more than I would have ever expected to see again in this country. The campaign against smokers over the last dozen years or so has made hate speech acceptable again and destroyed a lot of the “peace and love” atmosphere that really did grow during the 70s. The problem lies in the fact that once you allow *any* group to be targeted you open up the ballpark for any *other* group to be targeted.

And Obama didn’t help when he basically relegated smokers to the status of unpeople or simply vermin as being unworthy of note for having had their taxes raised to support the children that nonsmokers didn’t want to support themselves.

Michael J. McFadden
Author of “Dissecting Antismokers’ Brains”

There are many people who feel that he is not “their” President. They pray for his death, yet call themselves Christians. That’s not at all what Jesus would do.

I am not pleased at the ruins the Rummy, Dubya, Cheney, and Co left our country in. However, Bush was my President and I never dreamed of praying for his death.

Why is having a black president a problem for so many? Because the country is rapidly becoming darker, and that is scary to some people. They want to return to the days of “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever.”

Let it go. The war of “northern aggression” is over.

- MJM

Chris, by the same token one could argue that other taxes are also optional: the gasoline tax (most folks could move closer to work and/or bicycle there), the entertainment, alcohol, and junk-food taxes obviously, and even toll-road taxes: just use back roads instead. But any politician who raised all of those and then went on to say “I’ve raised no taxes would quickly be handed their hat and shooed down the road. And if you happen to be one of those who like to argue that smoking is “more addictive than heroin” then your “optional” tax becomes even less optional than the other ones I mention.

As for the costs, I think you’ve read too much of the propaganda put out by antismoking-funded groups. Try reading “Taxes, Costs, and the MSA” at

http://pasan.thetruthisalie.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7

and feel free to come back and offer any substantive criticisms that you might have. I think you’ll find the full story a bit different than the sound bites out there.

Michael J. McFadden
Author of “Dissecting Antismokers’ Brains”

Chris, the same argument could be made for a gasoline tax (you can always move closer to work and bicycle back and forth – also saves the pollution of literally millions of cigarettes!), property tax (rent an apartment if you choose not to pay it), and of course alcohol, entertainment, toll-road or junk-food taxes are all taxes that are arguably optional (actually, more optional than cigarette taxes if you happen to believe in the whole “cigarettes are more addictive than heroin” thing.). But they’re all taxes, and increasing them IS raising taxes. Any politician who raised ALL those taxes and then said “I didn’t raise taxes.” would be in a bit of a pickle, no? {Don’t get me started on pickle taxes!}

Re the costs for everyone, although that’s irrelevant to the question of the lie, I’d invite you to read my essay on that, “Taxes, Costs, and the MSA” at

http://pasan.thetruthisalie.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7

The formatting is a bit off in places as it’s one of my book Appendices and I’m not very skilled at web formatting, but I’d be very happy to hear any substantive criticisms of it if you have any. I think the picture may be a bit different in reality from what you think.

Michael J. McFadden
Author of “Dissecting Antismokers’ Brains”