[Vision2020] "Please do not continue to confuse people with facts."

Joe Campbell philosopher.joe at gmail.com
Sat Jul 25 07:04:22 PDT 2009


I should add that if erring on the side of caution were relevant, you  
should be in favor of laws againts eating non-human animals. After  
all, some think they're persons too -- not humans but persons, things  
deserving of the right to life -- and who are you to say otherwise?  
After all, we don't want to unknowingly kill persons, do we?

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 24, 2009, at 3:40 PM, "the lockshop" <lockshop at pull.twcbc.com>  
wrote:

> "He believes that his view that the fetus is a person trumps all  
> other views. I believe it is not the kind of issue that anyone can  
> be certain of and that the law should deal with knowledge, not  
> certainty."
>
> Since I believe that the fetus is a person, how could I not believe  
> that it trumps all other views? Since, as you admit there is  
> uncertainty, I prefer to err on the side of caution and allow a  
> fetus to live rather than take a what the hell attitude and have an  
> innocent person die.
>
> g
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Joe Campbell
> To: Wayne Price
> Cc: the lockshop ; vision2020 at moscow.com
> Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 11:36 AM
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] "Please do not continue to confuse people  
> with facts."
>
> Wayne,
>
> I share your beliefs -- exactly. And in the past Crabtree has made  
> fun of these same beliefs, so don't expect him to respond. As in the  
> case of Sunil's questions, he'll remain silent when his  
> inconsistencies are obvious. The diiference between our views and  
> Crabtree's is that we genuinely respect freedom and think people  
> should decide for themselves about personal, religious,  
> philosophical issues. Crabtree is only for those freedoms that  
> coincide with his own world view. He is not for freedom per se. He  
> believes that his view that the fetus is a person trumps all other  
> views. I believe it is not the kind of issue that anyone can be  
> certain of and that the law should deal with knowledge, not certainty.
>
> Joe
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jul 24, 2009, at 2:14 PM, Wayne Price <bear at moscow.com> wrote:
>
>> Gary,
>>
>> I too am stuck with this one. While I am personally anti-abortion,  
>> I am still pro-choice on the matter. IF I were in a situation where  
>> the abortion decision had to be made,  I would choose NOT to  
>> terminate the pregnancy and put the child up for adoption. HOWEVER,  
>> I still believe that the choice to be made should NOT be the  
>> governments to make but the individuals.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Wayne
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> Is mis-stating my position really the only way you can think of to  
>>> try and make a valid point?
>>>
>>> As I have said repeatedly, I believe that if homosexuals can find  
>>> someone who is willing to pronounce them man and man, wife and  
>>> wife, or man, wife, wife, or any permutation thereof then swell, I  
>>> wish them the best. What I am not in favor of is in my or the  
>>> state being forced to recognize it.
>>>
>>> With regard to the abortion issue though I've really got to admit  
>>> that you've got me caught on the horns of a delimma. How could I  
>>> not see the similarity between making a choice that has a 1 in 15  
>>> chance of potentially damaging the  health of the person doing the  
>>> choosing and making a decision that has a 100% chance of killing  
>>> an innocent party?
>>>
>>> In both of your examples the decision extends to others who will  
>>> not be given a choice to participate. Bar patrons and employess do  
>>> get to make an informed choice and as a result your comments seem  
>>> a trifle lame.
>>>
>>> g
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Joe Campbell
>>> To: the lockshop
>>> Cc: TIM RIGSBY ; <starbliss at gmail.com> ; <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>>> Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 9:29 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] "Please do not continue to confuse  
>>> people with facts."
>>>
>>> You don't even think that ADULTS are able to make decisions about  
>>> whom to marry or whether pr not to have children, so stop  
>>> pretending to respect a person's right to make decisions for him  
>>> or herself!
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On Jul 24, 2009, at 12:11 PM, "the lockshop" <lockshop at pull.twcbc.com 
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> It would seem that you, Mr. Moffet, and our city council have a  
>>>> mighty low opinion of the intelligence of the patrons and  
>>>> employees of bars and taverns. I can't speak for your students  
>>>> but, I find it very difficult to believe that by the time a  
>>>> citizen reaches the age of 21 in the United States he hasn't  
>>>> heard the anti-smoking mantra to the point of nausea.
>>>>
>>>> How lucky we are that there are people out there who will take it  
>>>> upon themselves to prevent emancipated Americans from making  
>>>> their own decisions with regard to the risks they take in life.
>>>>
>>>> g
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: TIM RIGSBY
>>>> To: starbliss at gmail.com ; vision2020 at moscow.com
>>>> Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 7:47 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] "Please do not continue to confuse  
>>>> people with facts."
>>>>
>>>> I would like to add the idea of this saying,
>>>>
>>>> "Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story."
>>>>
>>>> Either way Ted, you brought up some very valid points that tend  
>>>> to be forgotten when people discuss tobacco/smoking regulation  
>>>> and legislation.  What scares me as a Health Teacher is when I  
>>>> hear my junior high and high school aged students talking about  
>>>> how safe, they think anyway, Hookah bars are.  When asked if they  
>>>> would ever smoke cigarettes, they claim that they won't.  Yet  
>>>> what these students don't realize is that they are actually  
>>>> smoking tobacco at the high school hookah parties.  What is even  
>>>> scarier is a lot of the parents think that hookah is a safe  
>>>> alternative as well.
>>>>
>>>> The hookah bar closest to my house in Boise is constantly packed  
>>>> with young people all of the time.  Often times, other substances  
>>>> are being laced into the tobacco as well and these young people  
>>>> are unknowingly smoking illegal drugs along with their fruit and  
>>>> tobacco mixture.
>>>>
>>>> I predict in the not so distant future, Boise and possibly the  
>>>> State Legislature will enact legislation to regulate/control  
>>>> these hookah establishments.
>>>>
>>>> Here is a question to ponder.  By definition based on Idaho Code,  
>>>> what is a hookah bar categorized as?  A restaurant, a bar, a  
>>>> private club?  If it falls under the bar definition, then people  
>>>> under 21 should not be allowed in.  It seems as though hookah  
>>>> bars would fall into an undefined gray area of the Idaho Clean  
>>>> Indoor Air Act.  However, Moscow seems to have covered hookah  
>>>> bars in their recent ban of smoking, I could be wrong though.
>>>>
>>>> " 'Politics is the art of controlling your environment.' That is  
>>>> one of the key things I learned in these years, and I learned it  
>>>> the hard way. Anybody who thinks that 'it doesn't matter who's  
>>>> President' has never been Drafted and sent off to fight and die  
>>>> in a vicious, stupid War on the other side of the World -- or  
>>>> been beaten and gassed by Police for trespassing on public  
>>>> property -- or been hounded by the IRS for purely political  
>>>> reasons -- or locked up in the Cook County Jail with a broken  
>>>> nose and no phone access and twelve perverts wanting to stomp  
>>>> your ass in the shower. That is when it matters who is President  
>>>> or Governor or Police Chief. That is when you will wish you had  
>>>> voted." - Hunter S. Thompson
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:39:45 -0700
>>>> From: starbliss at gmail.com
>>>> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
>>>> Subject: [Vision2020] "Please do not continue to confuse people  
>>>> with facts."
>>>>
>>>> The "Off List" response referenced, from someone I regard as one  
>>>> of the most educated and honest Vision2020 participants, that I  
>>>> received to my post below on tobacco regulation, is in total what  
>>>> is stated in the subject heading of this post.  Wise words, no  
>>>> doubt, that I ignore at my own risk...
>>>>
>>>> Notice there is limited or no discussion of some of the critical  
>>>> facts my post presented: that tobacco (nicotine) is a physically  
>>>> addictive drug, with underage tobacco addiction common, raising  
>>>> questions if whether adult "choice" is in effect regarding  
>>>> employees or consumers in tobacco related decisions; that tobacco  
>>>> is the leading cause of premature death (nuclear waste or energy  
>>>> or even nuclear weapons production is not even close as a cause  
>>>> of premature death); that other drugs doing less harm to society  
>>>> than tobacco are criminalized and prosecuted aggressively,  
>>>> involving civil and human rights violations, yet who among those  
>>>> opposing regulation of tobacco, will as aggressively advocate for  
>>>> these drugs to be managed by free choice and the marketplace,  
>>>> rather than a government "Big Brother?"  Some, perhaps... While  
>>>> there are others who should know better playing some on this list  
>>>> as fools, for the sake of debate, or political advantage, or  
>>>> popular image or whatever... Or they are as deluded as those they  
>>>> are debating with...
>>>>
>>>> My response to the "Off List" comment discussed here:
>>>>
>>>> Ummm... OK, I guess... However, being an idealist in belief that  
>>>> expressing the truth is morally mandated (where did I get that  
>>>> dangerous idea?  I''ll end up in serious trouble!  Oh, I forgot,  
>>>> I already am...), I may not comply.  I recently read a variation  
>>>> of this same expression in James Lovelock's "Revenge of Gaia:"  
>>>> "Don't confuse me with the facts, my minds made up."  Lovelock  
>>>> was referring to this mentality regarding the rejection of  
>>>> nuclear power by many in the environmental movement.
>>>>
>>>> Ted
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Please do not continue to confuse people with facts.
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: Ted Moffett
>>>> To: Moscow Vision 2020
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 1:55 AM
>>>> Subject: [Vision2020] Tobacco: Targeting the Nation’s Leading  
>>>> Killer: Centers for Disease Control
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Tobacco (nicotine) is a physically addictive drug.  Once  
>>>> addicted, "choice" becomes a problematic concept.  And many  
>>>> people become addicted while underage, encouraged to continue  
>>>> their addiction in bars, where cigarettes are often shared  
>>>> between customers.
>>>>
>>>> The fact tobacco is physically addictive is absent from the  
>>>> comments of many opposing the smoking ordinance, as are  
>>>> the                  facts regarding the magnitude of the  
>>>> damage.  Comparisons to other harmful behaviors are drawn (fatty  
>>>> food, etc.), suggesting that a slippery slope of regulation will  
>>>> lead to government control over too many aspects of life, but  
>>>> many of these behaviors do not involve a drug addiction.  Of  
>>>> course alcohol has dramatic negative impacts.  But workers in  
>>>> bars are not forced to drink the drinks the customers order, as  
>>>> they breathe the smoke of the customers.
>>>>
>>>> I find it incredible that the health of workers exposed to an  
>>>> addictive drug when they breathe in the workplace is approached  
>>>> so callously.  They can work elsewhere, it's announced with smug  
>>>> authority, as if in this economy workers have the luxury of  
>>>> choosing whatever job suits their fancy, rather than an urgency  
>>>> to take whatever work they can find.  If it was cocaine or heroin  
>>>> or methamphetamine that workers were exposed to, the attitude  
>>>> might be different.
>>>>
>>>> Profits from exposing workers to addictive drugs in the workplace  
>>>> should be protected based on free market, free choice, adult  
>>>> responsibility?  If this is the logic, where are the protests  
>>>> against laws imposed on those selling cocaine, heroin or  
>>>> methamphetamine, et. al., to consenting adults, which can result  
>>>> in long prison sentences?  Let the free market decide!  Why stand  
>>>> in the way of profits and the free choice of adults?
>>>>
>>>> If those opposing the smoking ordinance were consistent in their  
>>>> outrage against limits on the free market, their ideology might  
>>>> have more intellectual credibility.  Instead, the libertarianism  
>>>> proposed is inconsistent and conformist.  Or perhaps those  
>>>> opposed to the smoking ordinance will now protest that bars do  
>>>> not allow legal cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine use?  Think of  
>>>> the profits to be made!  And remember, tobacco prematurely kills  
>>>> more people than those three drugs combined...
>>>>
>>>> If attempts were made to criminalize tobacco like cannabis is,  
>>>> resulting in prison sentences, home invasions, for sale or use, I  
>>>> would oppose this vehemently.  But an ordinance regulating  
>>>> smoking in bars does not stop any adult from legally using  
>>>> tobacco products in settings where they do not expose workers.
>>>>
>>>> If worker freedom of choice was a valid argument to justify the  
>>>> exposure of workers to tobacco smoke in bars, than OSHA could be  
>>>> mostly eliminated.  After all, if workers exposed to hazards  
>>>> monitored or banned by OSHA don't want to work  
>>>> with                  those risks, they can work elsewhere, as  
>>>> long as signs posted in the workplace inform them of the risks.   
>>>> A "Big Brother" government bureaucracy gone.
>>>> --------------------------
>>>> http://www.cdc.gov/NCCDPHP/publications/aag/osh.htm
>>>> The Burden of Tobacco Use
>>>>
>>>> Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of disease,  
>>>> disability, and death in the United States. Each year, an  
>>>> estimated 443,000 people die prematurely from smoking or exposure  
>>>> to secondhand smoke, and another 8.6 million have a serious  
>>>> illness caused by smoking. For every person who dies from  
>>>> smoking, 20 more people suffer from at least one serious tobacco- 
>>>> related illness. Despite these risks, approximately 43.4 million  
>>>> U.S. adults smoke cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco, cigars, and  
>>>> pipes also have deadly consequences, including lung, larynx,  
>>>> esophageal, and oral cancers.
>>>> The harmful effects of smoking do not end with the smoker. More  
>>>> than 126 million nonsmoking Americans, including children and  
>>>> adults, are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke. Even brief  
>>>> exposure can be dangerous because nonsmokers inhale many of the  
>>>> same carcinogens and toxins in cigarette smoke as smokers.  
>>>> Secondhand smoke exposure causes serious disease and death,  
>>>> including heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmoking adults and  
>>>> sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, ear  
>>>> problems, and more frequent and severe asthma attacks in  
>>>> children. Each year, primarily because of exposure to secondhand  
>>>> smoke, an estimated 3,000 nonsmoking Americans die of lung  
>>>> cancer, more than 46,000 (range: 22,700–69,600) die of heart d 
>>>> isease, and about 150,000–300,000 children younger than 18 mon 
>>>> ths have lower respiratory tract infections.
>>>> Coupled with this enormous health toll is the significant  
>>>> economic burden of tobacco use—more than $96 billion per year  
>>>> in medical expenditures and another $97 billion per year resul 
>>>> ting from lost productivity.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> [A text description of this graph is also available.]
>>>>
>>>> The Tobacco Use Epidemic Can Be Stopped
>>>>
>>>> A 2007 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report presented a blueprint  
>>>> for action to “reduce smoking so substantially that it is no l 
>>>> onger a public health problem for our nation.” The two-pronged 
>>>>  strategy for achieving this goal includes not only strengthen 
>>>> ing and fully implementing currently proven tobacco control me 
>>>> asures, but also changing the regulatory landscape to permit p 
>>>> olicy innovations. Foremost among the IOM recommendations is t 
>>>> hat each state should fund a comprehensive tobacco control pro 
>>>> gram at the level recommended by CDC in Best Practices for Com 
>>>> prehensive Tobacco Control Programs–2007.
>>>> Evidence-based, statewide tobacco control programs that are  
>>>> comprehensive, sustained, and accountable have been shown to  
>>>> reduce smoking rates, tobacco-related deaths, and diseases caused  
>>>> by smoking. A comprehensive program is a coordinated effort to  
>>>> establish smoke-free policies and social norms, to promote and  
>>>> assist tobacco users to quit, and to prevent initiation of  
>>>> tobacco use. This approach combines educational, clinical,  
>>>> regulatory, economic, and social strategies.
>>>> Research has documented the effectiveness of laws and policies to  
>>>> protect the public from secondhand smoke exposure, promote  
>>>> cessation, and prevent initiation when they are applied in a  
>>>> comprehensive way. For example, states can increase the unit  
>>>> price of tobacco products; implement smoking                   
>>>> bans through policies, regulations, and laws; provide  
>>>> insurance                  coverage of tobacco use treatment; and  
>>>> limit minors’ access to                  tobacco products.
>>>> If the nation is to achieve the objectives outlined in Healthy  
>>>> People 2010, comprehensive, evidence-based approaches for  
>>>> preventing smoking initiation and increasing cessation need to be  
>>>> fully implemented.
>>>> CDC's Response
>>>>
>>>> CDC is the lead federal agency for tobacco control. CDC’s Offi 
>>>> ce on Smoking and Health (OSH) provides national leadership fo 
>>>> r a comprehensive, broad-based approach to reducing tobacco us 
>>>> e. A variety of government agencies, professional and voluntar 
>>>> y organizations, and academic institutions have joined togethe 
>>>> r to advance this approach, which involves the following activ 
>>>> ities:
>>>> Preventing young people from starting to smoke.
>>>>
>>>> Eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke.
>>>>
>>>> Promoting quitting among young people and adults.
>>>>
>>>> Identifying and eliminating tobacco-related health disparities.
>>>> Essential elements of this approach include state-based,  
>>>> community-based, and health system-based interventions; cessation  
>>>> services; counter marketing; policy development and  
>>>> implementation; surveillance; and evaluation. These activities  
>>>> target groups who are at highest risk for tobacco-related  
>>>> health                  problems.
>>>> -------------------------------------------
>>>> Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Windows Live™ Hotmail®: Celebrate the moment with your favorit 
>>>> e sports pics. Check it out.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> =======================================================
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>>>> =======================================================
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>> =======================================================
>>>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>>>               http://www.fsr.net
>>>>          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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>>>
>>>
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