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Subscribe to RSSMayor Michael Bloomberg calls for legislation to make New York the first U.S. city to require stores to conceal tobacco products. Watch his statement.
If New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gets his way, stores won't be able to publicly display tobacco products and will have to keep cigarettes under the counter or behind curtains.
The legislation announced Monday is the latest public-health crackdown by the mayor, whose ban on super-sized sugary soft drinks was shot down by a judge last week.
The proposed law would "prohibit display of tobacco products" in most retail shops, Bloomberg said. "Such displays suggest smoking is a normal activity and invite young people to experiment with tobacco."
He said it would be the first of its kind in the nation.
A second law would impose new rules to make it harder to sell smuggled cigarettes.
"These laws would protect New Yorkers, especially young and impressionable New Yorkers," Bloomberg said at a Queens hospital, adding that a decline in youth smoking has stalled out with about 8 percent of young people lighting up.
The New York Association of Convenience Stores, which has 1,600 members, called the proposed ban on displays “absurd.”
“I can’t think of another business that is selling legal products that is being forced to hide them from public view,” said association president Jim Calvin. “Businesses have a fundamental right to communicate with customers.”
He said he hoped the City Council would reject the bill after it’s introduced later this week. If it passes, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets predicts it will be overturned by the courts.
“Retailers are responsible business people that go to great lengths to prevent sales to minors, and there are First Amendment protections that extend to advertising,” said Tom Briant, executive director of the group.
“You’re talking about a basic right under the Constitution. If you do this with cigarettes and tobacco products, what else is going to have to be out of view? Wine and spirits? It’s a very slippery slope.”
After the town of Haverstraw in upstate New York passed a similar ordinance last year, retail and tobacco groups sued and the board repealed it.
Sunny Parikh, who has operated a Midtown Manhattan newsstand for 20 years, wondered where he would put the cigarettes he sells, which are in slots at the top of his cramped kiosk. He also questioned whether the initiative would reduce youth smoking.
“If kids want to smoke, they’ll find a way,” he said.
City officials, though, said the point of the display ban isn’t to prevent kids from buying cigarettes, which is already illegal; the idea is that lowering exposure to the products reduces the chances a young person will try smoking in the first place.
Bloomberg has made public-health campaigns a hallmark of his administration and boasted that life expectancy in the city is up three years since 2001. He has also crusaded against salt in restaurant foods and junk food in vending machines and required calorie counts on fast-food menus.
A new policy sharply limiting the sale of 16-ounce sugary drinks was supposed to take effect last week, but a judge put a stop to it, ruling it was “arbitrary and capricious.”
Related:
Bloomberg confident NYC will win appeal on soda ban
Allison Joyce / Getty Images
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, seen here holding a super-size soda cup while promoting a crackdown on sugary drinks, has announced a new public-health campaign to shield cigarettes from public view.
This story was originally published on Mon Mar 18, 2013 12:06 PM EDT
Leave a Comment:
I think you guys in New York need to give Bloomberg something to do!
Geez! Boomberg the babysitter.
How did the people of New York ever get along without this guy? He sure thinks he should be telling everyone how to live...
New Yorkers have no pride.
My thoughts exactly. I suppose he's looking to get tax money by other means - fruit, veggies ?! What's next, beer? Seriously, New Yorkers should be flooding his in box with important issues that affect this state and not acting as a glorified babysitter.
this too will get shot down, you think he would of learned that he can't dictate how others live their lives. I think he has way too much time on his hands.
This guy is OUT OF CONTROL!!
Don't even think about running with scissors!
Way to go, Bloomberg!!! Now please add fat females in tight fitting clothes to the "out of sight" bill as well...lol
Just wait until the Affordable Care Act is implemented and the government uses that as an excuse to "run our lives" to "save" money.
THAT is the goal of the ACA - government control. So even though virtually everyone doesn't want BLOOMBERG running the lives of New Yorkers you let this out of control FEDERAL government implement something that will be 100 times worse?
ACA will justify government to tell us we can't eat pizza or drink sodas.
It will mandate annual doctor physicals and if you are overweight, or have high cholesterol, you will be mandated by the federal government to fix or pay a tax.
Your medical card will be connected to your medical data and if your doctor says "no pizza" you can't have pizza. How? Because it will be mandated your health card be scanned (or the number entered) when you order your pizza from Papa John's. Sorry, you have been denied and not allowed to buy pizza.
So you think you will just go to the supermarket and buy what you need to buy pizza. Sorry, they ALSO scan your card and you have been denied.
People are outraged due to Bloomberg (and should be) but the ACA will be 100 times worse.......
The city pays BILLIONS for healthcare. It has every right to limit things that cause illness. Cigarettes is a major cause of disease.
All ACA does is say that you have to have health insurance. The government isn't running your life or telling you how to eat. NOTHING in ACA allows for that.
Stop spreading lies about the ACA. Go to healthcare.gov and read the law. There is NOTHING about govt control of your habits in there.
The govt is going to track your pizza eating habits? UTTER NONSENSE. STOP LYING.
They should dress Bloomberg in a leprechaun green jockey suit and send him off on a wild horse with no bridle.
Next on the list:
alcohol, fried food, butter, salt, candy, caffeine, automobiles, meat consumption, artificial colors & sweeteners, etc, etc. Darn those revenue raisers!
I'm just so thankful swearing isn't bad for my health...yet.
How New Yorkers can elect Mayor "nanny" Bloombers. Where is my freedom of choice.
Take away coffee and soda from working people but heaven forbid DRUG TESTING OF THOSE ON WELFARE!!
If you want a JOB you have to test but not for the FREE stuff the government hands out.
Exactly! it would seem that there are more pressing issues for the mayor's office in NYC than being "food police". I guess that is what being a wealthy liberal qualifies you for. . . . . telling everyone else what is good for them.
What about the crime the rat problem roaches etc. too hard to tackle ? So he bans soda and cig. PRIORITIES Mr. Bloomberg!!
Soda, cigarettes, red meat, pit bulls, motor vehicles, carbon monoxide, water, air...and where he stops, nobody knows.
"His Honna" should be devoting time and effort to getting the cost of running NYC to a sane level and lower GAS costs Like in Venezuela??? People pay 10CENTS A GALLON there. With cigarettes and HI HI HI HI HI Sugar Sodas and Killer Fat Content Foods??? Did ANYBODY Watch the Woody Allen Movie Titled "Sleeper" It is a Hoot!!! People in the future are encouraged to Smoke, Eat Hi Sugar and Fat Foods, Fried Foods,...What??? No Hot Fudge Chocolate?? Lots and Tons of "Killer Foods" and you know what?? They did NOT have a World Population Problem....You're Damned If You Do and You're Damned If You Don't.... Does 7,000,000,000++People with ALL the Insane NutJobs running Loose sound Good???
This is a city with failing schools, crumbling infrastructure, a vast bloated city bureaucracy, outrageously high taxes and very high crime ( crime was tamed somewhat by Guiliani, but still quite high)
It has taken 12 years to rebuild the World Trade Center. Opening a business in NYC requires mountains of permits and red tape.
New York has a mayor that cares more about photo ops and moralizing than he does with fixing the city's very real problems. Vote the Bum out!
The fact that New York city residents have not run this lunatic boobberg out of town has caused me to lose all respect for them.
Basil Romeo
Doing right has no end> LOL
You are blinded by the probable good intentions of the mayor. Why not invite him into your home right now, so that he can tell you what you can and can't have. I think you own too many things you don't need to have and it is a safety hazard that we have to pay for. I also think your fridge contains too much this and your closet too much that. Get lost.
You guys are blasting Bloomberg, and he deserves it for the (attempted) ban on sugary drinks, but this is actually a good idea that should be adopted across the nation. Smokers can continue to smoke and buy smokes at the same locations, only now the tobacco won't be on public display. It's the same idea (back in the day of VHS rentals) of storing the available VHS porn for rent in a separate room.
Nanny Bloomberg strikes again. You dumb idiotic NYC residents are not smart enough to care for yourselves, so Nanny must wipe your butts, take away your sweets, ban your cooking fats, and run every other phase of your lives- better change the laws and let him run again so he can remind you to breathe!!
Personally, I'm for anything and everything against cigarettes. They are the biggest health problem (of those caused by legal activity) in this country. Smokers will argue adamantly against this viewpoint because they are addicted to nicotine, and because they are unaware of how much damage they are causing to the health of other people.
I remember when it was no big deal for someone to light up a cig while visiting a patient in the hospital room. People who compained against tobacco smoke were called "whiners" and "wimps." Now we know those "whiners" were correct. We've come a long way since then, and this is good. But still we need to keep going.
If you know anyone whose kids have allergies then you may be aware of how adverse the second-hand smoke affects the kids' health.
Would somebody in NY please start IMPEACHMENT proceedings and get this Nazi dictator out of office. Most of his so-called policies step way out of bounds, and for that matter, encroaches and intrudes on the rights of the individual to be free from govt imposition of one politician's personal predjudices. Get him out!
I try to visit NY as little as possible.
Bart Conner
"All ACA does is say that you have to have health insurance. The government isn't running your life...."
Uh, telling you you have to have health insurance is the government running your life.
Bart Conner
How exactly is putting a curtain over cigarette displays going to limit their use?
I, too, am against smoking. It killed my father and I'm afraid it will kill my son, but "hiding" cigarettes wouldn't stop the smoking. Public education is what has worked so far and that's the venue for this, not "hiding" them at the store.
As for stopping the smuggling of cigarettes, I'm all for that. If you want to smoke in New York, pay the tax. I'm sure that has stopped some people from smoking.
2 things Bart... #1 First & foremost, Probusiness's post is what as known as sarcasm. If you dont know what it means, use Google. 2ndly, there is a HELLOFALOT more than mandating Health Insurance in the ACA. Multiple people, (attorneys, Judges, etc have read & re-read & re-re-read its provisions & have reached the same conclusion. ITS A BAD PIECE OF LEGISLATION!!!!!! One point in fact:
page 57, under section 163, there is something that would give the government power to reach into benefits recipients' bank accounts. It is called "Administrative Simplification," and Subsection 1173A of this measure, "Standardize Electronic Transactions" has a provision (a)(2)(B) that ensures that this new governmental power:
Now YOU maybe ok with the government deciding it can just hit your Bank account without discretion. (& dont give me that "they won't do that" argument. History PROVES once you grant a government excessive power it WILL utilize that power without constraint!
Dangle cigarette from your lips and guzzle a 44 ounce Big Slurp.... you'll be fat, sick, and smelly....but you'll have your "values".
No it's not. They were in a different room because in most areas it is illegal for a minor to view pornography. The front of the box was pornography. Seeing cigarettes behind a counter in a store is not why people try them. People start smoking cigarettes because they see other people doing it. Unless you're going to make everyone smoke behind a curtain this is a totally useless and wasted effort. Bloomberg won't be happy until he makes criminals out of everyone.
ProBusiness - I guess you mean we'll be put on the "No Pie List".
Next thing he'll want is for alcoholic beverages be served and drank from plain paper bags.
Bart, it sounds however that you would be perfectly happy having nanny Bloomberg tell you how much pizza to eat. The fact that governement has CHOSEN to get into the business of paying for healthcare does NOT mean they get to rule our lives. Remember that the government doesn't pay for ANYTHING with its own money. It pays for stuff with the PEOPLE'S money. "My house, my rules" might work for your father, but if the government does it, it will frequently violate the Constitution. Why tobacco and not alcohol? We apparently have no trouble portraying drinking as a normal activity. This colossal asshat just wants to be able to do whatever stupid crap comes into him monumentally idiot little brain.
What next, fried chicken franchises banned in the city limits. Permits required to legally order french fries. Bacon, no way Jose. Ice cream sold by the gram by former drug dealers in alleys. Twinkies, jail time for you buddy menace to society that you are. Thanks mayor for helping us for saving us from having to make any personal decisions in life.
RI Mom, our "values" are that we are free to do what we want to do with our own bodies without you or your nanny state dictating it to us.
I buy 32 oz beverages sometimes, and I drink them over about a five hour period. I am not overweight, and my wife is also not overweight. These laws that you love so much do really stupid things like assume everyone is buying a big gulp to just suck it down. That's far from the truth. My wife will only drink water or fountain drinks when we are out, especially if we are taking a road trip. In those cases, a 32 oz or 40 oz drink keeps her happy for hours. The "values' you like to throw away is her freedom to do that.
Having read dozens of "ProBusiness's" posts, I can tell you beyond any doubt that his post WAS NOT sarcasm.
And back on topic, Bloomberg is an idiot.
It doesn't matter, because everyone knows what's behind the curtain. You can't put a huge curtain in front of something without calling attention to it.
Bart Conner, funny, I have to show my ID now when I go to the doctor, also when I take my daughter. ACA demands it so they "track" our treatment. There is also the fact that if you smoke, are overweight, or have any other of the myriad "precursors" [ according to the government] you're going to be charged up to 50% more for healthcare under ACA. Seems to me that the government is sticking it's nose into my business, and has plans to stick something else wherever they can, especially my wallet!
Pro Business is on the mark.
Patrick Hanna,
You think it's a wasted effort and totally useless, but is there any proof? Why not give it a try. I doubt draping a curtain over the cigarette display will break the bank for the store. If the teen smoking rate drops by even a few tenths of a percent, that still translates into hundreds of thousands of dollars in saved health costs from treating smoking related illnesses. Not to mention increased worker productivity in less sick days. I think the benefits are worth the cost of a curtain, don't you agree?
And back at the ranch, Bloomberg is calling the "Anti-Bloomberg" bill in Mississippi "Ridiculous".
JACKSON, Miss. —New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is chiding the Mississippi Legislature for passing a bill pre-empting local food restrictions.
If the Mississippi bill becomes law, cities and counties won't be allowed to enact rules limiting such things as the size of soft drinks, the salt content in food or the shortening used in cookies
Bloomberg said on his WOR Radio show Friday that Mississippi has the highest obesity rate in the nation. He said life expectancy is low in Mississippi compared to the Northeast and called the anti-Bloomberg bill "ridiculous."
Read more: #ixzz2Nucwjj2E
bethcat - Perhaps you should take a course in gov't. You can not impeach an elected official for introducing laws you don't agree w/. They have to do something illegal.
Mr. Bloomberg,
Please make it against the law to masturbate. I think it's giving me carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as penis elbow and I can barely see my computer screen. Please protect me from me
Cult of Personality
When has hiding things ever made usage of anything go down? It doesn't matter if it is costly to the store owner or not. What matters is that the store is the owner's property and if he doesn't want to rearrange it to satisfy the government he shouldn't have to do so.
We've tried these things before. We've even made things illegal. The same thing always happens. Usage stays the same or goes up, and people who weren't criminals yesterday are criminals today. Personally, I would prefer that the police were out keeping people safe and not policing bodegas to make sure they were in compliance with the merchandise display laws.
There's no chance in hell that the Tobacco companies will put up with this. They have deeper pockets and NYC and will take it to court until the city has no money left.
They have been covered up in stores in Canada for a very long time....never heard anyone complain about it there though...
No, his post is hyperbolic paranoid nonsense. They could TRY to implement some of the nonsense he espouses in his post, but just like with the soda ban, the courts will throw it out.
I mean seriously, people believe this crap? Get a grip please...
So a curtain is displayed over the product. What happens when there is a line of people and you have to go behind the curtain to get a pack for a customer. Everyone is going to see it anyways. Not sure what the point is.
Here's what Bloomberg should do to reduce the consumption of "big gulp" style large drinks:
Oh, and people: Don't think drinking artificially sweetened drinks is necessarily much better for you. Some of the artificial sweeteners are bad for your health as well. It seems the FDA does not do testing on these products. Educate yourself. Below is a link to a great article on artificial sweeteners. They talk about Splenda as well as other artificial sweeteners. It's aimed at women, but most of the effects I am sure apply to men as well. As for me, the only sweeteners I am going to use in the future are steevia, honey, and perhaps natural sugar if I need to. Here's the link:
http://www.womentowomen.com/healthyweight/splenda.aspx
I wonder why New York City isn't brimming to overflowing with people moving in? Obviously Bloomberg's fixed everything so that's why he's spending his time on making sure his citizenry stays healthy.
This guy needs to be the next administrator of Demolition Man's San Angeles...have a Joy-Joy day!
DBK227:
I think you underestimate probusiness. I doubt that his response is sarcasm, I suspect he really believes what he wrote. That type of information is rampant across the internet, and as we all know, if it is on the internet, it must be true. (That is sarcasm.)
Secondly, the quote you take from the ACA makes perfect sense if you are in healthcare, and I'm betting you are not, so it sounds to you like a government grab for your bank account, or something like that. Basically, it is stating that the electronic transaction system used for healthcare transactions must be sound enough and strong enough to handle high volumes of transactions, that a provider should be able to inquire as to insurance benefits for the patient and receive a response from the insurer with little delay, and there should be a capability developed that would allow for payment of the provider by the insurer with little delay (at the time of the patient visit). The area you highlight does not refer to your bank account, but rather to the provider of the health care service. Our office receives electronic payments from private insurers, Medicare and the VA. No one has made any attempt to "hit my bank account". It's a nice feature for the provider, as it speeds your cash flow, and with the poor reimbursement received from most insurers, you aren't getting much money so it helps to get it promptly.
My goodness, Bloomberg acts like the rulers did in the Old Testament. When is Bloomberg's term up? Can't come soon enough.
I can at least appreciate that he recognizes things that are unhealthy but nobody voted to have a dad instead of a mayor. He wants a healthier city, I can appreciate his desire, he's going to have a really hard time legislating it, though. He looks pretty crazy from my little spot in the Midwest.
This proposal for keeping the sale of cigarettes out of sight makes much more sense than the large drink ban.
hey bloomerberg Hitler did the same things
He is learning from the BEST...... our current administration.
And we see where the liberal elites hold their priorities...in controlling everyone else.
Honestly, I live in NYC and couldn't care less about this. Smoking is disgusting. I wish he could ban it. Secondly, we aren't a city of fat slobs, so us city people also don't care too much about the sugary drink issue either. It's the out of towners that care....
All that demolibs want is for Big Gov't to come in and take over every aspect of their lives so they don't have to think for themselves.
These same attitudes are displayed precisely with these insane attempts at taking away the freedom to make the simplest choices such as buying a Big Gulp or being able to display cigs behind your counter.
Good grief! Put this same energy into avenues such as battling gangs, helping the poor, providing better mental health services, educating our children already!!
Free will!! It's our choice.. leave us alone!
Haha, know the best way to get kids to smoke? Hide the packs behind the counter! Oh, and have old men tell them that smoking is bad for them and "not cool".
Why Doesn't NY HIDE Bloomberg?
Bloomberg is desperate for Attention---now Tabacco--
Doesn't he know it is already hidden in the Grocery Stores, under LOCK & KEY!!!! It is taxed, too--they will be losing Revenue for the State.
How will he deny Americans from going to Federal Land, The Indian Reservations from buying all the Tabacco and Liquor they want?---No taxes, either---Every Casino has a Smoke Shop---Hah, Hah!!! One can't take the Liberties away from the Native Americans!---
He is so very stupid---he needs something to keep him busy---compare Mayor Bloomberg to the very excellent ex-Mayor of NY---Guilliani---(and Gulliani has problems)---this guy is a Turkey!!! Get out of my life---and my purchases---Go buy something in Manhattan---like a Pipe for Smoking.
For those who supported my comments in #1.9 a hearty "thank you". For those opposed and don't have a clue - wake up.
Was there a bit of sarcasm? Yes. But what I am trying to do is open your eyes to where the ACA is going. Understand the goal of ACA is NOT to help those who need insurance. That could have been done quite easily by simply subsidizing those who need. No, the goal is control. The goal is government having the justification to control every aspect of your life.
You see with health care EVERYTHING you do is correlated. What kind of job you have. What kind of exercise you do. What you eat. What hobbies you have. The government in the name of "saving you money" now has the ability to control your lives.
And why the medical card? Why would it be MANDATED?!?! Not for your benefit. Government doesn't care about YOUR benefit - everything they do is for THEIR benefit. And that card is the "magic card". It allows them, and CAN allow them, to know EVERYTHING about you. They can know if you have diabetes. They can know if you are overweight. They can know that the type of job you have gives you little time for exercise.
And it is only a small step to then use that card to control those things they don't want you to do. It is a small step to have that card mandate what you can and can't do. And they have the force of the IRS to do it.
What the uninformed need to realize is government size and growth is required for them to keep their power and more power is required to maintain. But if they did it all at once even the uninformed would fight back and say "no". But the uninformed "trust" government - I don't trust them as far as I can throw them. So you see the ACA and say "certainly they wouldn't do something that would harm us - would they?". The answer is of course they would if it gave them more power.
So they do "little things" here and there. Department of Education and telling parents what the kids must learn and what can't be discussed. Then the EPA to protect lizards and Delta Smelt (if you don't know what the Delta Smelt is then look it up). Then government mandates seat belts and bike helmets all in the name of "saving you". And they slowly take more and more individual liberties.
So I am telling you where this will lead to. Not today. Not tomorrow. But over the next 5 to 10 years and when it happens, and when you read the mandated medical card will be used to "manage" healthy lifestyle, I want you to remember this post. 5 years ago nobody would have thought a mayor would restrict food because it is not healthy and 5 years from now you will act surprised when you find out this mandated medical card will be required to buy food.
Call me names if you want but the people who call me names are the ones that cannot think for themselves. It WILL happen.
WiserThanYou,
Obviously, you are not very wise.
If you don't care about the issue, then you are not too terribly bright. Allowing some bureaucrat to dictate what you can and cannot eat or drink, what you can and cannot do (even though the LAW says you can)...that is called an encroachment on your freedoms. If they can take these things away from you, minor as they may appear to you, then they can take ANYTHING away from you.
Perhaps you SHOULD care about the issues...but I forget. People like you are too ignorant of reality to care about anything that doesn't directly impact you.
By the way...there are plenty of "fat slobs" in New York, just as there are everywhere else. Trying to claim otherwise is a joke. And there are plenty of your fellow New Yorkers who DO care...so claiming "us city people don't care" is nothing more than stroking your own fat ego.
Get a clue.
F A C T .... as in LOOK IT UP:
'Hiding' cigarettes in stores may lessen teen smoking, study finds
Look at UK.... they've done it too.
This isn't an outrageous suggestion... if you've been smart enough to follow health news, you would see that many places are doing this.
Someone! Please 'hide' Bloomberg!!!
Guess what.... Bloomberg has it right....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/us-teens-tobacco-idUSBRE8B20IP20121203
Somebody needs to put this pip-squeak wan-a-be dictator in a straight jacket and haul him off to the mental ward.
@!$%# you Bloomberg!
This man has been a thorn in the side of freedom lovers for a long time. He is a billionaire who thinks he is God. Not sure NY'ers really did "re-vote" him back into office. Not when his office can be bought, just as these days every political office, including the White House can be bought. He who has the most money wins. Elections no longer have anything to do with your qualifications and experience. It only has to do with who has the most money. So for you New Yorkers, I'm sorry for ya, but you let the snake oil man in, but you will never get him out. He owns you now.
I think Bloomberg has been watching Demolition man to much! this is a text book example from that movie.
You want to know why we voted for Bloomberg 3 times even tho his 3rd should have been illegal. After Bush destroyed the economy NYC suffered like everyone else, I lost my business. But the economy bounced back before everyone else in the country. Our homes were no longer under water and is worth more now than in 2009. The job market recovered, after some rough times I now have a high paying job. Crime continues to decline, there's still a lot of crime but given there's 8 million residents, lord know how many illegals and 10's of thousands of tourists every single day, per capita it's a low crime rate. So we put up with his pet projects like big soda. In the grand scheme of things we don't care! And his transfat ban turned out to have real substantial positive results which in turns saves money on health care. We're smart enough to look at the big picture and not be thrown off by small things. Besides the tobacco companies put signs at certain heights and what not because they saw that it can sway a young person to start smoking. Putting cigs behind a curtain isn't changing my life but it could help out a young kid.
@ RI mom: FACT, just not buying them will keep you healthy too....as well as keeping more money in your pocket at the same time. I don't need an ass like Bloomberg telling me what is healthy for me. Just living out of NY is a good start to better health!
Sorry Doomturd, you gave up any rights against tobacco when the cities, states and federal government settled with them. You lose, and if you pursue in courts, you'll lose taxpayer money. All that can be done to tobacco, already has been. Sucks to be you, why not turn your attention to something useful, like the amount of useless crap on tv, including Bloomburg News.
Bart Connor -
You contradicted yourself. At first you said that the city spends a fortune on healthcare and so it is right for them to limit things like cigarettes and such that can cause health problems. Then you turn around and say that ACA only mandates that you have health insurance but it doesn't say anything about regulating people's behavior. Oh really? The first 2,000 pages may not specifically cover that, but you know that is exactly what will happen just as you pointed out what you thought was a good idea in NYC. It is exactly the same thing. If government is paying for it, they will tell you what you can or cannot do. Have you read the new regulations that take up some 200,000 pages and are stacked all the way from the ground to the ceiling?? Didn't think so...
New York is a liberal Democratic state and NYC is as liberal a city as it comes. The people there love it when politicians control their lives. Many have had their brain effected by years of liberal brainwashing so they are near the point where they can't think for themselves. They need the government to tell them what they can and can't do.
He also wants to out law ear buds because people listen to music to loud and it hurts their ears. This is what liberalism is and what Democrats want for us all. What's next you may wonder? I suspect there will be a special task force put into place to invade bedrooms during sex to insure condoms are being used. Maybe they could require cameras installed and have a control station monitoring all sexual activity in NYC. Another camera installed at the kitchen table to make sure people aren't drinking too much coffee or soda and eating veggies. Or perhaps a take over of the cable and air waves so the brainwashing can be broadcast to all residents on a 24/7 basis.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html
No. No the government won't be doing any of that. Not even in five to ten years.
Not even in your dreams.
R I Mom,
In case you did not know, we have a thing called personal liberty in this country, take care of your own children and let the rest of us worry about ourselves.
RI MOM,
A "virtual reality" study of teenage behavior is hardly compelling evidence. It certainly is not compelling enough to allow the government to tell a private citizen how he/she must arrange their own property inside their own buildings. Worry about your own kids and leave the rest of us alone.
You know RI Mon, your just as big of a crack pot as Bloomberg is. Here is a state full of loons to allow this, you all have that much left wing stupid thinking? Whats next no cars in the city NYC a joke.
Doesn't this libitard have potholes to fill?
I'll be more to the point than previous posters @Bart Conner....You're a dumbass and people like yourself are a big part of the problem in this country. Go away and take all of your liberal, nanny-state friends with you. And while you're at it could you PLEASE take our Governor in Maryland with you....the teflon leprechaun Marty Owe'malley could be Bloombergs' second in command. Of douchebags like you bart!
No, PB, you're not trying to do anything of the sort. You lied about ACA before it became law, and old habits die hard with you guys, because you just can't stop lying.
@Common sense Mike you've got it backwards, liberals are against people telling them what to do in their personal lives. If you think big soda and putting cigarettes behind a curtain is affecting your life then you seriously need a life. It's conservatives that are always trying to impose laws in our personal lives and dictate our morals. Have you been to nyc? Do you seriously think the people here are living constricted lives? Or are you just a conservative shill who doesn't know any better?
@ProBusiness
I believe you. A family member was a professor at the University of Texas. I remember him telling me in 1979 that a simple card like this (he then takes out a credit card) will replace money. I gave him a look like he was crazy and laughed and told him no way. He told me that yes, it sounds out of reach but it will happen.
He passed away shortly thereafter in the early 1980's and whenever I use my "debit card" to pay for anything I think of him. He was 100% correct. He didn't live to see his prediction come true.
Janine,
It is not only liberals who want government to be nannies, at least 17 conservative states have passed laws allowing government to tell women what they can do with their body, who they can love and what religious mythology they must adhere to.
No, your post is just filled with hyperbolic paranoid dystopian fantasies coupled with a slippery slope logical fallacy...
http://www.logicalfallacies.info/presumption/slippery-slope/
WiserThanYou
Honestly, I live in NYC and couldn't care less about this. Smoking is disgusting. I wish he could ban it. Secondly, we aren't a city of fat slobs, so us city people also don't care too much about the sugary drink issue either. It's the out of towners that care....
Ha Ha Ha - so you speak on behalf of all NYC? Really?! Some how I doubt it.
@RI Mom
Perhaps you should be UK Mom. I'm sure you would be happier.
No you have it wrong....liberals just say they are against interfering in people's personal lives......then they go and do it. Liberalism is classified as a mental illness...you can't listen to what they say you have to watch what they do. Liberalism can't survive without deception and lies. After all the entire ideology is based in deception and lies.
What's next....bedroom cameras to insure people are using condoms? Perhaps a $125 fine if they don't. Or maybe a kitchen table camera the make sure people eat all their veggies......you people in New York would love that.
Take this nanny wannabe and lock him up in a hippie commune somewhere out of sight, then he can be all healthy and happy and leave us alone.
Next on his list is how you can have sex, because we know certain practices lead to injury and disease. The people of New York should file a class action lawsuit on the quality of life issue, and the pursuit of happiness. After all it is one of our inalienable rights.
New Gawker,
No, he is absolutely right. The first argument you liberals ever bring up is the "this is what conservatives do" straw man. It never even occurs to any of you that someone who opposes an agenda you have may not be a conservative at all. In fact, most of the people opposed to this on ideological grounds are probably more libertarian. That is not conservative. The point is that cigarette sales take place on private property. The government already mandates too much of what occurs on private property. And now they are trying to dig even more into it. All they need to do is say "minors can not buy cigarettes." That's it.
Looks like Bloomberg's going to lose in court again.....somebody tell the Little Nanny that tobacco products are legal.
RI Mom:
If your teenybopper walks into a store and buys cigs maybe that's more a reflection of bad parenting than the fact the store owner is making them available eh? Besides, if the store owner sells them to an underage person they are liable by law. So all this nonsense at hiding things in plain sight is just another liberal attempt to take away our freedoms that will fail like spilling your Big Gulp all over the ground LOL! Enjoy!
Cult of Personality
Right because nothing dissuades teens from doing something better than telling them they can't and trying to hide it. Oh...wait.
"Breaking the bank" is not the issue, the issue is expecting anyone to fork over even one red cent promoting something that just maybe, might work a tiny little bit even though even the slightest bit of common sense says it won't.
New Gawker
Who isn't??? It's them telling everyone else what to do that is the problem. In this regard they are no better than the republicans, the only difference is when and where they expect you to do as you're told.
Hey Fart Conner.....I'm sure no politician will outlaw pizza. Why that's as crazy as those idiots who think some @!$%# politician will tell you how much soda you are allowed to drink. lol After all this is Amerika!!!
Get him out of there let the people think for themselves hes not happy unless him and his army are in the media
Lisa -
All liberals believe they speak on behalf of everyone, and they also believe they should because they are smarter than everyone.
Honestdebate
That goes both ways.
I wonder. Can Mayors be recalled? Or impeached?
Sheeple of NY ....wake the hell up. This guy wants to CONTROL your every breath and action. Next thing you know, he'll be restricting access to stuff like baby formula. Oh wait.....
Sieg Heil!
That is all.
How to Recall a City Mayor.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2093099_recall-city-mayor.html
"Breaking the bank" is not the issue, the issue is expecting anyone to fork over even one red cent promoting something that just maybe, might work a tiny little bit even though even the slightest bit of common sense says it won't.~backcountry
I can think of a few advertising excutives that would disagree with you. Displaying products has been recognized for a few years now as being an effective way of promoting sales of the merchandise displayed/ promoted. I'm sure you have heard of the concept before
lovemymemems -
It only goes both ways when you cherry pick the conservatives that fit your stereotype, but I can walk down the street and find 99/100 liberals that fit mine.
I think the New Yorkers get what they deserve. I don't feel sorry for you at all. As a fellow New Yorker, I am so glad I got out of that State. I sure don't need this Mayor telling me what to eat drink, say or do. It sounds to me like dictatorship if not by these Liberals in Washington and now the Liberal's in these certain Democrat States. Maybe next time Vote more wisely people. Otherwise Bloomberg will have to change your diapers and put a bib on you because you can't take care of your selves. NANNY STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bethcat, I'll see you one and raise you one on impeachment. One of the reasons we have a National Guard is so they can remove people like Bloomberg from public office when they do not do their job and/or overstep their bounds and pose a direct threat to the rights of the citizens. Unfortunately, we've made the mistake of making civilians commander-in-chief at the state and federal levels. This means the National Guard can be obstructed by civilian "leadership" should a situation arise where the Guard needs to remove a bastard regime at the state level, and Mike Bloomberg certainly qualifies as a bastard regime. The sooner we demand the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs be made Commander-In-Chief at the federal level, and a state-level Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to take over Commander-In-Chief duties of state military operations, the sooner we can be rid of bastard regimes at the state and federal level.
Now, onto tobacco products. Cigarette and tobacco companies pay retailers for shelf space and facings; that money goes a long way toward retailers paying their bills and staying in business. Retailers won't see that money if Bloomberg has his way. Furthermore, all of that product is behind the counter to begin with. No one can walk into a store, grab a pack of smokes, self-scan them, and walk out the door. Anyone who wishes to purchase the stuff needs to show proper identification to any retailer who complies with carding laws.
What would go a long way toward reducing underage smoking? The obvious: a real effort to enforce carding laws. Stores should also be subject to unannounced compliance checks where the counters and understocks are checked for "loosies", also known as single cigarettes which are sold for about a buck each. Where you find "loosies", you will find guys who sell smokes to 10 year olds. The stores are already subject to unannounced compliance checks for tax stamps, so it only makes sense to add "loosies" to the check list.
Or you can lower the legal purchase age to age 10. You'd be shocked how many kids wouldn't even buy cigarettes if they could walk in and buy them legally.
No, it's not. The VHS tapes were hidden from children. Adults could go into that room and peruse at will. This proposal would prohibit adults from perusing the cigarettes (and presumably cigars, God forbid) and selecting what they want. And tobacco is not pornographic.
Fire Bloomberg the NAZI. He has lost it and obviously does not have enough to do in his position. Second thought, since he has too much time on his hands, eliminate the position.
Weird, cause I work in an office full of conservatives who all think they're smarter than those "entitlement idiots that voted for Barrack Hussein Obama", any of that sounding familiar?
Drowning said:
Sorry, you are wrong. Here is an analysis of the ID card (http://www.cchfreedom.org/pdf/Final_UPI_Report-Use%281%29.pdf) and on page 13 it says "Databases combining public and consumer information could be used for behavioral risk rating". So if databases exist it is not far fetched that government would use that public and consumer information to affect consumer decisions.
Then on page 18 it says "Data linked by the citizens' national patient ID number could include demographic data, diagnoses, genetic code, ......., behaviors, lifestyles, .........., and myriad other data". And you say I am having hyperbolic paranoid fantasies?
You are just naive to think that the government does not try to manipulate consumer behavior. We see it every day with Cafe standards in the automobile industry, taxes for utilities/electrical use, and so on. To think the government would NOT use an id card that has that very information on it to manipulate our behavior is incredibly naive.
Someone get his guy a blind-fold..... if he can't see it, maybe he'll go away..............
Will he use the same tactics on alcohol? Isn't alcoholism a problem? All beer, wine, and liquor should be behind curtains....
Do you understand that it is illegal for a minor to buy cigarettes? If they are getting them, it is not directly from a merchant. Hiding something doesn't protect someone from it. A lot of people before you who banned and burnt books thought like you do. It doesn't work.
I don't smoke, but just because I don't smoke does not give me the right to tell others that do not to. This is (so far) still a free country. Bloomberg needs to shut up and mind his own freaking business; he is a mayor not a dictator.
I see where you're coming from on all this Pro, but I think the real question would be motive. Why would the government try to control our lives into keeping us alive? Wouldn't it be better for them if we all died of a heart attack at say, 65? Then they'd get our entire working lives to tax us and they could tax our retirement savings that we leave to our kids.
To Wiser Than You at 1.61;
Honestly, I don't live in NYC and I couldn't care less either but I have a question or three. You say you are not a city of fat slobs. Question #1: Who are all those people I see on the news from NY with all the extra padding under their clothing? That must be body armour for protection from your damn street gangs, right? I'm one of the knuckle draggers from elsewhere in this country but I know how to use Google Earth street level and I see the same body type all over the city. Question #2: Does NYC keep all their really obese people off the streets and behind a curtain? Question #3: Is Papa Bloomberg more concerned with dictating to his minions what LEGAL activities they can indulge in or in getting control of the out of sight level of serious crime in The Big (with a worm in it) Apple? No doubt it's better to get shot, stabbed, mugged or raped on NYC's infamous subways than it is to have a large soda and smoke in your own home. Also, if he has his way, you won't, legally, have a gun to protect yourself or your family. Bonus Question: What party affiliation is Bloomberg going to register with the next time he runs for a place at the public trough? He's already been a Democrat, a Republican and now an Independent. I know!! He going to form his own party. The "I Know What's Best For Everybody" party. All the Wise-Ass people will elect him again.
Want to read something familiar? Read 1984. The direction things like this take our country are eerily similar to that novel.
USA soon to equal Oceanian?
So I guess Sarah Pain will be smoking a cigarette next time we see her.
ihara saikaku
And probably a lot of other people too. Just like everyone started drinking big gulps. Tell someone they can't do something and that's usually what they do.
They are smarter than them, but they don't go around telling them how to live their lives, do they?
Or rushing out to buy AR-15's, ammo, 30 round mags, etc.
Yep, i think Sarah was shooting an AR-15 while smoking a Camel, after visually inspecting Russian from her front porch with a 40 ounce big gulp in her hand.
What a joke. Nearly 80% of all the senior programs for the state of New York are paid for with cigarette taxes. Do they SERIOUSLY want people to quit smoking?!?
What next???? Get a fricking life and allow citizens to make their own (albiet sometimes WRONG) decisions! Is he pushing for the Surgeon General position?
The only reason he wanted to ban the BIG GULP was because he knew people would purchase two or more smaller drinks and they would have to pay additional sales tax. (Usually double). It was a blaitant way to try to increase tax revenues.
I'm no fan of Sarah Palin, but I feel compelled to point out that it was Tina Fey, doing a parody of Sarah Palin, who said that she could see Russia from her house. Palin, on the other hand, said that there were islands in Alaska from which you could see Russia. And that is correct. It's also third grade geography. I wish the media had been critical of her lack of poise, rather than trying to imply that she was incorrect.
Bloomberg, ultra-liberal billionaire, he doesn't care he will just raise taxes elsewhere, duh.
I am very ashamed to say, I actually agree with him on the cig matter... since those actually effect other people, where as me drinking a double big gulp doesn't.
Idiot alert at NYC Mayors office.
It's beginning to appear this kind of nonsense is more about the diminutive mayor's enormous ego than anything else.
As much as I hate smoking, it is none of his business where a store places them to sell. he is a control freak liberal, he is not doing any of these things for people's health.
When will people realize there are 7.2 billion people upon this Earth and still growing by 70 million per year, all the while science continues to strive to eliminate the need for manual labor, cure every disease and extend life ever longer. The world population has more than quadrupled in less than 100 years.
People also do not seem to realize this Earth is of a specific size with a limited supply of life sustaining resources. As regrettable as it is, we have to stop trying to save every life that is conceived and extending live expectancy ever longer. It is time we let those over 65 (including me) die of natural causes to allow more jobs and resources for those still climbing the mountain. Cigarette smokers live almost ten years less than non-smokers saving millions of dollars in Social Security and Medicare. So why not let them help conserve life sustaining resources?
It is not just a health and financial issue, it is a common sense issue of conserving the little left for those who follow........I myself am 70, have 9 stints in my heart, one in a kidney, a huge one blocking an aneurysm in my Aorta in my stomach and I have COPD, yet doctors are frantic to extend my life longer at taxpayers expense. I came, lived a full life, witnessed and experienced and it is time to check out. I am not afraid, however, because I know life upon Earth has nothing to do with sin and forgiveness, but is all about the education of a soul in preparation for things yet to come. And I know, there is no devil nor hell, lest God is not all-mighty, all-knowing and all loving.
When are you libs going to figure out that it is not all about you?? Where does 1 person come off trying to tell people how to lead their lives. it is an outrage! There is information everywhere about how bad smoking is for you and how bad carbonated beverages are for you. if someone wants to destroy their health that is there decision, not mayor boomybergs. they will suffer the consequences, especially with obummercare coming around the corner. stop trying to control something that is not in your control or anyone elses, we will all be alot happier
ProBusiness
Drowning is correct. You are in fact, engaging in the (il)logical fallacy of the slippery slope.
If the people of NYC don't like what their mayor says or proposes, there are numerous political instruments to change it, as well as venues as voters, or through the courts, to maintain, preserve or promote them, as well.
BTW, the private sector insurance industry uses databased information as part of their risk-loss management with their actuary tabling.
And government regulations exist as a necessary infrastructure for the private sector to succeed by setting and enforcing standards. Obviously you haven't worked in the field of real estate where they depend on "the government" to track prior ownership of land plots and buildings. It's also obvious you haven't worked in the construction industry or in the electrical industry, otherwise, you would understand how critical it is to have codes and safety standards as set by the public sector.
And it's obvious you haven't worked in the insurance industry, for that matter ...or even with database development and its application as fact-finding tools in the business world. And if you want to live in a work "free" of "consumer manipulation," better not go into the field of marketing. It's one of the cornerstones of capitalism, trade, commerce and enterprise.
If anyone's being naive about how the real world works, versus how you idealistically demand that it works out ...it's quite possible that it just may be you. And your fear-mongering predictions based on your hyperbole, five, ten years down the road, isn't going to convince people. It only deters a minority of those unwilling to adapt to changing conditions. The rest of the politically non-conservative population -- of which constitutes a majority of this nation ( Source: http://www.electionstudies.org/nesguide/nesguide.htm ) and much of the industrialized world -- continues to go forward in their parallel as well as diverse paths, whether you like it or not.
Conservatives' brains hard-wired for sensitivity to fear: study
http://www.examiner.com/article/conservatives-brains-hard-wired-for-sensitivity-to-fear-study
The Republican Brain: Why Even Educated Conservatives Deny Science -- and Reality
http://www.alternet.org/story/154252/the_republican_brain%3A_why_even_educated_conservatives_deny_science_--_and_reality?paging=off
Smoking rates have been steadily declining for years. This is asinine.
Stand up to power, New Yorkers. Today its sweet drinks and cigarettes ~ tomorrow, beer and pussy. These encroachments on your liberty have no end once they start.
And the link he posted had such a great example to counter PB didn't it? No, it didn't. It was not speaking at all of how people will test the waters then eventually move all in. They used buying a Green Day album for Christ's sake, how stopid was that. Where do you think phrases like "slippery slope" "give an inch, take a mile" came from?
You think they were just made up recently as false idioms to counter control freaks like Bloomberg? Use your head, of course it is a slipper slope to start banning little things, then move on to bigger items.
The only reason you and that other fool don't care aout the slippery slope is because you are liberals and you believe anything a liberal does is justified.
rradiko: A lot of mumbo jumbo talk that meant absolutely nothing.
All I know is to supposedly help an arbitrary number of 10 million "uninsured" this government passed a law that directly effects over 315 million people. We had to hire 20,000 IRS agents to handle the Affordable Care Act taxes. That's right, 20,000 TAX AGENTS are needed for this law.
And includes a mandated ID card to track information. You are SO naive as to think with 20,000 IRS tax agents (just to start) there are not going to be taxes initiated for behavior? And how do you TAX behavior? Well, all the information they need is on this card.
You see the difference between you and I is you believe government is there to help you. If they REALLY wanted to help the 10 million uninsured there was an easy solution - subsidize their insurance. But THAT doesn't fit the goal of government. Government can't CONTROL you and increase TAXES on you if we simply helped someone else. No, it requires control. So they write a law that affects 315 million people. The ACA is now over 20,000 pages (now since they started writing the regulations) and that is just a start. It will be 500,000 pages before long and there will be nobody in this country that truly understands it.
But yet we give much of that interpretation to the IRS. Brilliant Sherlock. The CBO already has estimated this catastrophe will be more than $3 Trillion over the next ten years and that is BEFORE it has even been implemented. Sorry, it will be $10 Trillion before it is all said and done. This thing is a mess and now not only is your DOCTOR involved (if he is still in business) but also includes the Federal Government AND the IRS. Can you spell Clusterf#$k???
I wonder if Bloomhead knows that the rest of the country now thinks that New York city is a joke!!
Yet another reason why I would never live in NYC.
Everything we do affects other people. If I smoke a cigarette, my second-hand smoke affects other people. If I get fat, your taxes will subsidize my increased healthcare costs (thanks to Owebama). If I stop eating apples, the apple farmer takes a hit.
So does the fact that our choices affect others give the gov't have the right to make our choices for us?
I've never a been a fan of "big brother" but I find the following idea intriguing, at least in theory.
In an effort to place the responsibility where it truly lies, consider the following: Said product is determined to be directly related to a known health issue, whether it be sugary drinks or cigaretttes. Place an additional tax on these products, with said tax money going to an account to be used for future health care costs as a result of you using these procucts. You play, you pay. If you choose not to use them, you avoid the tax.
This does not infringe on your freedom of choice and notice I never said the manufacturer cannot continue to market and sell their products. Nothing says you can't use them. Just know that if you do use these products, you will have to pay more for them. If I choose not to smoke, why should I be part of the money needed to pay for your health care because you did choose to smoke? If you choose to make a dietary habit of soda and chips, topped off with a cigarette, it's highly likely your health issues will place more of a demand on future health care costs than one who chose healthier alternatives.
Who determines what products should be taxed and by how much? - Don't know
Could a governmental organization or otherwise be disciplined enough to seperate and leave untouched the proceeds of this "tax" for it's intended purpose? - Probably not (no history of that so far!)
Is this much different than being expected to pay more for premium gas if I choose to use it? Or being expected to pay more for my heat bill if I choose to keep my house at 78 degrees instead of 68?
my2cents,
Where have you been, they have already raised tax by 600% on cigarettes and the number of teenage smokers is on the rise?
I don't like the government telling me what I can and cant do but as an ex smoker I think this is a good idea. I hated having to look at those addicting cancer sticks everytime I walked into a mini-mart to pay for my gas when I was trying to quit. I had always wished they were less visible. It won't hurt smokers ability to purchase them at all but they wont be right in the face of children and people trying to quit.
So just like Bloomberg, it is all about you.
Funny that your posts seem to lean left and you state openly it is all about you.
my2centsworth - The problem with that is that smoking does not actually cost more health care money. While statistically you have slightly elevated risks of certain diseases, such as lung cancer, very few smokers actually get lung cancer, and many nonsmokers get it too. Most smokers will not die of a so-called smoking-related disease. And everybody dies of something. Regardless, if their lives are statistically shorter, then they use less health care money, not more. You die at 70 of lung cancer, or live to be 90 and die of something else - who will actually cost more money to keep alive and treat?
This is all smoke and mirrors. The intent is to vilify smokers, and thus justify confiscatory taxes on them. And those taxes are generally not used to fund health care. I don't know for sure, but I bet Obamacare could be funded by existing cigarette taxes if they were to actually use those taxes for healthcare.
@ Ellis B. 1.146
Don't know what your comment has to do with what I posted. I am suggesting where the tax money should go and what it should be used for.
Realist,
There has never been a single autopsy which determined somebody died from second hand smoke, it is far less dangerous than the carbon monoxide from traffic, factories, etc. you breath everyday.
Also, if you get sick from fatty foods or pollution, studies show you will die ten years sooner and save taxpayers money
my2centsworth - The problem with that is that smoking does not actually cost more health care money. While statistically you have slightly elevated risks of certain diseases, such as lung cancer, very few smokers actually get lung cancer, and many nonsmokers get it too. Most smokers will not die of a so-called smoking-related disease. And everybody dies of something. Regardless, if their lives are statistically shorter, then they use less health care money, not more. You die at 70 of lung cancer, or live to be 90 and die of something else - who will actually cost more money to keep alive and treat?
This is all smoke and mirrors. The intent is to vilify smokers, and thus justify confiscatory taxes on them. And those taxes are generally not used to fund health care. I don't know for sure, but I bet Obamacare could be funded by existing cigarette taxes if they were to actually use those taxes for healthcare.
honestdebate
Don't try to pawn Bloomberg off on us liberals, he is as conservative as they come, he is anti-marijuana, anti-privacy, anti-porn and pro gestapo-like police force, he came after the peaceful Occupy potestors as if they were terrorists but allowed the real terrorists (the tea party) to march through the streets with loaded guns. He can't decide what party to run under, he was a dem, then a repub, then an indie, but his legislating morality makes him all conservative
And no "honestdebate" it's not all about me, what about the kids who have that shoved in their face all day? and the millions of other ex-smokers who don't want the addiction rubbed in their face. This isn't about milk or soda, cigarettes are highly addicting DRUGS, and to the people who the cigarette manufactures conned into smoking with their lies and their deceptive advertising it is not fair at all. Anyway keeping them under the counter hurt no one, they are still available to purchase, just not shoved in the face of people trying to kick the addiction or children.
Tabasco Ed @ 1.149
You are suggesting that smoking 2 packs a day for 40 years gives you only slightly elevated risks? Most smokers will not die of smoking related diseases? I remain unconvinced that a lifetime of engaging in behavior that is known to be terrible for your health is not contributable in a huge way to your health care costs for most people. Your statement also assumes that just because I live to 90 with a healthier lifestyle will cost me more in health care than one who dies much earlier who engaged in an unhealthy lifestyle.
I'm not necessarily advocating the idea, as I said, just that the concept sounds to have merit.
@ Patrick Hanna
The same way limiting gun magazine capacity is going to limit insane people from shooting up a school/mall/office building. In other words it isn't.
my2cents,
Did you not know several states settled a law suit with tobacco companies a few years back for a few billion dollars, and most of it went into the general fund, not to curtail smoking? That is the same thing that is happening with all the additional tax on cigarettes now.
As I said, all about you. And you got extremely defensive about the liberal position because it is true, liberals are all about themselves, they just do what you did and lump a bunch of others into their little desire.
"It's all about the children" LOL
Most of you people just want to argue, if this were happening in a Red state you conservative wingnuts would be applauding it as a good measure to keep kids from starting smoking.
You want the government to legislate morality on everything else, the conservatives say gambling is a sin, that porn should be outlawed, that pot should be illegal, that gays can't marry (or even exist), that you can't have sex out of wedlock, but you get your panties in a wad when someone wants to put a curtain over addicting drugs like cigarettes. WHY? oh yeah tobacco is grown in the south and your republican politicians get kickbacks for helping to keep the mass murderers who sell the highly addictive cancer causing death sticks.
And "honestdebate" by not putting them behind a curtain, who's it all about? YOU, the cigarette manufacturers? I say we put it up to a reforendum, there are far more non-smokers and ex-smokers than there are smokers, so since you think it's all about me lets put it to a vote, you will definately lose this battle.
That's the thing, it wouldn't be happening in a non uber-liberal state, the people wouldn't tolerate it.
Everything else you said, is said by the small minority of people but those are the people you libs use as the face of every non-lib; eg Todd Akin.
But the reality is, YOU are the face of liberals, and you love the controls as long as they suit you. Just like all liberals, you feel that if you like it, or don't like it, everyone else should feel the same way. So to make yourselves feel good about being control freaks you compare yourselves to a tiny minority of people.
To sum up for you, you elitist liberals have to get over yourselves, you don't speak for everyone.
my2centsworth - Everyone will get sick and die of something. Everyone. That will cost healthcare money. Everyone. If you live longer, you will see the doctor more times. But you will still get sick and die of something.
That "minority" is who you wingnuts pick to be your spokespeople, Honestdebate, you elect the Michelle Bachmans and the Todd Akins who want to control everything we do, including our sex lives, and BTW even though Bloomberg ran as an Independent, he ran on the REPUBLICAN ticket. 99% of the Republicans in congress are all about legislating morality, thats how they get the religious wingnuts to vote for them, if they didn't PRETEND to be concerned about who I was screwing then the only people who would vote Republican would be the 1%, and they would never win. So if you don't want us to associate your party with the freak show from CPAC then stop voting them into office and pick some real freedom loving libertarians, not these sex obsessed wingnuts who want to put cameras in my bedroom because they think their fictional father figure wont come back for them if we are having kinky sex, this is all your fault, not mine!
AND ONCE AGAIN SO YOU CAN GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL, BLOOMBERG RAN ON THE REPUBLICAN TICKECT, HE IS NOT A LIBERAL!
Speak for yourself dude. Me and Walt D are going forever.
Like the rest of your post...WRONG.
My idiot gov use to run as Rep too, because of his father, there is nothing Rep nor intelligent about the liberal idiot he is. So what's your point? Bloomberg most likely ran Rep for ease of a primary.
The rest of your post of course is silly because you proved my point. You name 2 people and label half the country to be stereotyped with them.
But keep on typing and you sound just like everyone I label as liberal idiots.
This fellow has had his 80 years on planet Earth, doing as he pleased. Now he wants to be everyones Grandad and is lost in perfect world daze. People don't elect mayors to live their lives for them and dictate their morality.
Truly embarrasses me to be a Democrat when I read trash like this.
Bloomberg has seen the movie "1984" too many times.
Next you know, he will try to pass legislation forcing the public into daily exercise sessions.
Sieg Heil!
I am sick of people constantly wanting large sodas and cigarettes. This sort of behavior is ruining my life on this planet. I am often forced to witness people drinking these vats of sugar, all the while knowing the effects that it is going to have on them. And then to have to smell their smoke also?!? All people have a responsibility and duty to keep themselves in excellent physical shape so that I can look at them and feel pleased! I want to be part of an elite society. I can not believe the selfishness of these pigs.
In case you could not tell, just a tad bit of sarcasm there...
That's right, stick yer head in the sand...it will all go away. /sarc Seriously? Hide it behind a curtain? That makes it all better... Has he ever watched the Wizard of Oz? A curtain.... WOW. I hear that the people of NY are so kind and caring...best city on earth.... WOW. Really? PASS!
This mayor is using his charitable contributions to portray him as Mr Nice Guy who is totally concerned about the well being of all New Yorker's, when in fact he has his own agenda of being more powerful and superior to others.
His recent actions are just the beginning of the things he will do to achieve his objectives.
New Yorker's should be outraged and stop his nonsense immediately.
New title for Bloomberg...Czar. Moving right up there with Stalin. Being as New York isn't, nor ever was, a Republic, to interfere with the civil rights of its people in this way on a local level is a direct contradiction to the Constitution. This Mayor is attempting to place free enterprise in his hands without a vote from the people.
Bart, yeah, it has every right, but not from the mouth of one man or group of men or state and local legislators. These are direct Civil Rights issues and should be met with local propositional votes from the people, not his hineAss Bloomberg. Blocking sales of cigarettes would hurt New York in many ways. Ban cigarettes for sale within city limits would most likely exempt it from all the high dollar taxes cigarette purchases make toward medical care. Bloomberg would be better off flapping for more cessation programs, prescription aid programs for smokers and increasing the city taxes on tobacco products. More and more people are quitting everyday. I quit after 50 years of smoking. Three years smoke free and never going back. During my preteen and teen years, we had advertisements on television for cigarettes, hell, tobacco companies even had real doctors on their ads telling of the advantages to smoking menthol cigarettes to the bronchial system and as an 8 year old I could walk in any store and buy a pack of cigs for 35 cents for "my Dad"!
Many better ways of doing this but not by limiting/eliminating peoples rights on a whim or telling business what they can and can't sell when the product is legal in all 50 states!
republican Bloomberg wants to tell people how to live? I'm soooooo surprised. lol He should run for governor of Texas or Florida. Good thing that liberal judge blocked the ban.
It never ceases to amaze me how this little Hitler Bastard can send out new decrees like some emperor of a kingdom does to his people with the penalty of fine or confinement if you do not go along with the little runts program. I sat there and listen to this arrogant little POS boast how being an A-hole was a Badge of Courage that he was honored to be given it by the public. And notice how the POS states what he thinks is best for his subjects, whether they like it or not. This is why dictators in the past have been removed from the planet. I think he must be under the misconception that he is untouchable when he becomes an ordinary citizen after this term, providing the people of NYC don't hang him first from a tree branch in Central Park. But that's okay Bloomberg, you keep imposing your will on the people of NYC and see how long you enjoy retirement before one or more of your New Yorker's stops putting up with you pompous a$$. I am personally going to enjoy reading about it in the news. LOL!
It seems like it would be impossible for something like this to happen, but they did it in Canada, across the WHOLE country. If you have anyone under 18 in your business cigarettes are not allowed to be visible, the only way around the law is a sign prohibiting anyone under 18 from the premises, and this is just the beginning, then the enormous taxing will start, when I left Canada 2 years ago cigarettes were $13.00 a pack.
In Canada they are sheep too i wonder if he is using his own money for all this crap
...
first, @honestdebate, the link I posted was essentially a dictionary definition describing exactly WHY the "slippery slope" is a logical fallacy. And it most certainly is one.
Second, @ ProBusiness, the link YOU Provided is pretty much scary boogeyman bull@!$%# from the "Citizen's Council for Health Freedom," a paranoid delusional "citizens" group with the overriding goal of overturning Obamacare.
Yeah, as if they're some unbiased source in all this. On their main page (http://www.cchfreedom.org/) they have articles entitled "The Battle for America" and "Baby DNA warehousing" and other such scare tactic nonsense. I put exactly ZERO credibility in ANYTHING "reported" or discussed on that site.
In addition, the "page 13" ID card mumbo jumbo you directed me too is bull@!$%#. The "risk adjustment" clause it's talking about has to do with assessing risk to reimburse INSURERS who take on high risk folks. This is to give some incentive for insurance providers to cover high risk folks, IT IN NO WAY MEANS PAPA JOHNS IS GOING TO ASK YOU FOR YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE ID CARD WHEN YOU ORDER A FREAKING PIZZA! (which was the original scare tactic posited by ProBusiness, and the nonsense that I pointed out as a laughable "slippery slope" argument coupled with "reducto ad absurdum". That's two MAJOR logical fallacies in one nonsense talking point. Yeah...)
ProBusiness, if you believe that nonsense, you're insane.
Lie more imo, scaremonger more imo, make up bull@!$%# more imo.
Bart Conner -
"The city pays BILLIONS for healthcare. It has every right to limit things that cause illness. Cigarettes is a major cause of disease."
Then simply make cigarettes illegal. No wait, that would eliminate some of the highest tax rates in the nation on cigarettes for New York coffers...
There is ZERO chance Bloomberg would do that, so he comes up with this crackpot feel good law...
Drowning: Amazing you are even able to tie your shoes in the morning with such inability to rationally follow a valid argument.
It boils down to this. Government states obesity (for example) is dangerous to the country. Heck, we have a number of people in this thread who state the government SHOULD limit things such as unhealthy food and cigarettes.
So when the government says obesity is going to cost more money many believe the government should "do what it can" to restrict access to unhealthy foods. But what is the governments most effective weapon? Taxation. They tax our gasoline to get people to buy less. They tax cigarettes. They use taxes to affect consumption.
So here they have a card that has all your information on it. It can hold all your medical records and doctor orders. And we have a system where the IRS is DIRECTLY involved to already track and manage tax collections within the Affordable Care Act. Why are you so hesitant to realize it is just a small step to manage what we are allowed to buy (or what we are taxed if we buy) from information on this card?
5 years ago very few thought it was possible that the government (city/state/or federal) would consider limiting salt, soft drink size, or limit cigarettes but yet here we are. How can you be so naive to think that an ID card with medical information, doctor's orders, AND a system already authorized to collect taxes WOULDN'T use that card to use taxation and limits as a way of managing obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol? What rock are you CURRENTLY living under?
What valid argument did you present? Your original post, which I called hyperbolic nonsense was as follows:
This is in no way, shape, or form, a "valid argument." It's hyperbolic, slippery slope, reducto ad absurdum NONSENSE make up in the fabric or your imagination.
There is no other way to slice it.
First, doctor patient confidentiality will prohibit "Papa Johns" from accessing your healthcare information.
Second, insurance companies ALREADY collect information on risk factors or their insured groups to assess premium costs and payouts. If your hypothesis is true, why are insurance not ALREADY calling up Papa Johns and telling them not to sell pizza to their fat customers?
You're getting completely bent out of shape over dystopian machinations of our own imagination with very little basis in reality and no hope of withstanding Constitutional muster from an inevitable court challenge. I can't even wrap my brain around how someone could possibly believe the stuff you're posting. Seriously, and you're calling ME "naive"?!?
Addendum to above:
They would do what the government HAS ALWAYS DONE. When it became apparent that cigarettes were bad, they didn't ban them, they added a surgeon general warning.
When it became apparent that trans fats were bad, they didn't tell individual citizens "you can't eat that" they pressured the packaged food industry to use fewer trans fats.
Honestly, to believe that the government is going to monitor your credit card transactions and blackball individual citizens from ordering Domino's is so laughably absurd I can't possibly take it seriously. Your tinfoil hat is wrapped way, WAY too tightly...
Drowning: All I can say is I am glad you are buying the shoes with the Velcro straps because clearly even tying your own shoes must be extremely difficult.
:rollseyes:
I'll take that as a compliment from the man who thinks Papa John Schnatter is going to be administering healthcare benefits and blackballing obese customers at the behest of the federal government...
DrowningGrover
A slippery slope argument is not merely a logical fallacy. It is an informal logical fallacy, which implies a possible error in deduction. It is not a formal fallacy, which implies an error in deduction. Unlike formal fallacies, informal fallacies are much likely to be correct because the induction required to reach the conclusion is not as rigorous. There are many examples throughout history of slippery slope predictions that have come to pass.
It is not enough to merely label an argument as a slippery slope argument to refute it. You must actually deal with the inductive reasoning behind the argument. You have not done so. What you have done is make a few appeals to authority (and a few appeals to non-authority) in order to refute these claims. That doesn't cut it.
Bloomberg is "sick".
Just figured it out----his wants are ridiculous---now tabacco---He just wants every American to remember who is, or was--this is HIS identification---the Narcissist--desperate for a Legacy---Tabacco cannot be sold to minors in NY. Next, Alcohol?
NY Mayors are usually well-remembered. This one is a weasel. Remember the late Mayor Koch, Guilliani (9/11), and some of the others who were Mayors of New York. This one, Bloomberg is an empty suit with nothing of substance to be remembered. Koch and Guilliani were superb in their Politics--not Bloomberg--
Hah!---Everyone will associate him for his desire for attention, and being so stupid! He should go play with his billions of dollars---
Doesn't this guy have a city to run?
Apparently not. I visit NYC at least once a year, and I sure can tell that Giuliani is gone. Dirtier & dirtier, certain cops nasty again, etc.
Fabulous! I know all New Yorkers will now quit smoking because they will forget to buy them because they are out of sight....wtf? What's next? Underground donut shops?
It wasn't Giuliani, it was the thriving economy under Clinton. Now that Bush killed the economy, everything is a little more run down EVERYWHERE.
Of course it wasn't Giuliani, everyone knows it's all that dang Bush's fault! Even in New York? Seriously "Bart"? Grab some air when you get your cranium pulled out of your rectum...
The purpose is to stop children from starting to smoke. If you think the tobacco sales person doesn't know what they are doing as far as marketing to children, I have a bridge to sell you. If your an adult who is already addicted to tobacco you don't need to see the advertising to know a store sells cigarettes.
Bart get a new line!!(LIE)
That dog will not hunt!
Jvalen13...Really? You think a young person sees cigs on display and then decides to pick up the habit? I also have a bridge to sell you....careful what you wish for, guys like this will eventually take something away from you and then your story will change. Try to think outside the box little sheep.
Really, you don't think tobacco companies spendmillions of dollars trying to get new customers. All their old ones are dieing. If you go into a deli or a bordaga all the tobacco signs are below an adults eye level. As far as I'm concern they could outlaw cigarettes all together, but then you wouldn't be able to regulate and tax them.
I guess the teabaggers on here still can't handle the truth....someday Bart...
more idiot libtards... don't go away mad.. just go away!
Bart your check is in the mail from the White House. You and RI Mom are very good Democrats, you don't have the ability to think for yourself, thank you!!
Bart has a hard time breathing...with his head stuck so far up his poop chute!
Well I will tell you that the Mayors in Canada dont have time for nonsense like this. As far as the cigarettes are concerned we have had them covered for a few years now - pharmacies have stopped selling them and the government has them up to 93.00 a carton. You cannot smoke in anyplace inside - pubs, bars, etc. etc. Now we cannot even smoke outdoors at a park or near the entrance of any building and it has encouraged a lot of people to quit smoking. The government will even pay for any method of quitting smoking for 3 months. And all this is good - but my point is if they are going to put all these restrictions on smoking then why not ban cigarettes completely?? No they wouldnt do that cause they want the taxes (high taxes) they get off of them. Seems a little hypocritical to me. As for hiding cigarettes it is no big deal. They just get like a rolling blind that pulls up and down and people know they are there. Oh and I am a smoker.
But as for banning sugar drinks the Mayor is going too far. People have to take responsibility for what they eat and how they exercise etc. The government should have no say on these drinks whatsoever. As far as I am concerned they are already governing too much in our lives and taking away our freedoms that it needs to stop in the US and here in Canada. And when these restrictions are brought in it isnt our Mayor of one of our cities that does it - it is the Provincial Government and it has to be made into a Bill to be passed. Our Mayors dont even go near something like this. Sounds like this Mayor is looking for Power and Glory neither of which he is attempting in the right manner.
Nudge them behind the curtain, nudge them out the door. This is the reason liberatarians need to fight all this lib nanny state nudging.
I see this, and I can just think of what I read on a blog years ago.
Talking about the excuse a Canadian judge used for dismissing a rape case on the grounds that the woman was dressed slutty and was "asking for it,"
They are attempting to price cigarettes out of range for most smokers, who, like most people, are generally poorer. The taxes they are making off of it, some of it goes to good use, like cancer research, etc. Most of it just goes into the slush fund, and it's an unsustainable fund because the higher the price, the more people quit, the fewer taxes you get in. So I don't really know where they're going with this, but it looks like it's just make-it-up-as-you-go-along combined with CYA to the extreme. In other words, it's a bunch of stupid people, who listened to a few smart people, and then decided to market purely to the short-term interests of the government, increased taxes and possibly fewer sick people.
Yeah, I'm not worried about this one. They already tried to force shop owners to take down ads for cigs in their stores. The 1st Amendment chewed their asses once. Guess Bloomy's just a glutton for punishment. Think he's running for the post of whipping boy now?
It's people like Bloomberg that would mandate things like eating broccoli if they could...and if we keep letting them get away with popular mandates, they may actually be able to mandate broccoli one day.
The very last thing in the world that we need in NYC is another Giuliani. Talk about living under a dictatorship, Rudy had it down to a science. Americas mayor??? What an effing joke that is. He was among the worst mayors we've ever had. The police were a corrupt military force that resulted in more police harassment trials and fines than under any other mayor. Rudy couldn't get re-elected the mayor of NYC under any conditions. Look at how great he did getting that republican nomination for POTUS. The more anyone learns about Rudy the worse he becomes, and those of you who worship him don't have a clue... just because you heard it on the news doesn't mean Rudy was America's mayor. We hated him by the time he left and he'd get laughed at by millions of us if he ever tried to run for city or state office in New York again. We might elect him to the office of dog crap cleaner upper, but not much else.
I believe that Bloomberg is suffering from The Little Caesar Syndrome.His own life is no doubt out of control so he feels this burning need to control the people of New York city.He will go down in history as the biggest behind wipe that New Yorker's have ever elected.
PLEASE Mr. Mayor ban all sales of cigarettes as they do more harm to our being and health care system than 32 ounces of soda does.I also want to see the fiscal hit your budget takes from the loss of the cigarettes tax revenue be bold and ban them dont be a hypocrite and just hide them and yet want the tax monies from them
Smartman1:
Smoking is a personal choice. Don't like it, don't smoke. Next you will be telling us when and where we can have a cocktail or beer.
Smokers are tax payers. You have already ostracized smokers to the fringes of public spaces and banned them from the very facilities their taxes have paid for such as Airports.
Pick on another demographic. Gang Bangers should be banned, besides the crime and violence, they contribute nothing to society.
People don't realize that taxes from cigarettes go back into the state. or bloombergs pocket. I am an adult so I am very capable of making my own decisions. I'm tired of people making for me. I'm not heavy weight. I smoke and drink soda. I don't need some dumb ass politician lording over my life to tell me what i can or cannot do
Sluggo I am not picking on you I am showing the hypocrisy of this Mayor every thng he does he says he is doing it for health reasons but yet he wont dare ban cigarettes sales because he needs the vast amount of tax money they generate banning 32 ounces of soda is pennies on the dollar,tax revenues from cigarettes are tens of millions for the city without them he really would have to lay off teachers police and fire but not the nannies to watch over salt and sugar
Agreed.
I still want a ban on gangs!
Smartman,
Obviously you're not because you don't know how to use capital letters or punctuation.
Sluggo,
That's right! Ban the gangs, because they are SUCH good, law-abiding citizens that they will disband immediately! (EYE-ROLL!)
smartma1,
I got what you were saying the first time I read it...good post! :)
OK New Yorkers...
When will you get so tired of this "policing" that you move the hell out of New York forever? Ungodly taxes, no coffee, no soda, no smoking. I've got news for you...New Yorkers are moving to Florida in RECORD numbers!
"Mrs. Paddy: I hate everything in the world but most of all I hate lightning, skunk cabbage, custard, mustard, spiders, blisters, girdles, mice, bees, keys, ragweed, chloroform, rhubarb, barnacles, bats, glass, eels, crumbs, drunks, tombstones, gallstones, salt and thunder. And, I hate everything in the world but most of all I hate revolving doors, cuspidors, fights, fuzz, fleas, bumblebees, prickly heat, bats, gnats, pills, pots, pans, butts, bladders, worms germs, pachyderms and politicians!"
From "the curious savage" by John Patrick....
Bloomberg is a typical liberal, "I don't like it, so you can't do it". Our country is being run by a bunch of tyrannical bu**monkeys.
What is liberal about his methods of banning or hiding what he does not like. He is a mini tyrant.
Shanaldo,
Lol! Most if not all of FL is already no-smoking!
He is just like that fool in the white house.. they want complete control of everything and all the koolaid drinking libtard idiots are too blind with Republican hatred to notice.
I think that we need to stop categorizing them as "Liberal" or "Republican" because all they really are is INSANE!!! THEY want a gun ban,THEY want a food ban/restrictions, THEY want to be able to tell us what we can and can't do but yet WE are the crazy ones?
To me,this is sounding A LOT like that whole "Good will become Evil and Evil will become GOOD" verse in the bible. I think from now on,I am going to trust my heart and my instincts instead of trying to "Stay inside the lines" I know what is right and just in my heart and I don't need a couple of Nut jobs on a high ladder telling me how to live.
Who does Bloomberg think he is, trying to tell people what they can drink ,the size of what they can drink, and now cigarettes! I thought we loved in a FREE country, FREE America, and he seems to be trying to make it communist! I am a non-smoker, but I am sick of the smokers rights being taken away from them. You can have stinky , smelly, hairy pets in a motel room, but you can't smoke in one, how is this not discriminatory? I am sick of it!!!!!!!
Moving to florida? Is that why there's so many crazy people in florida now? Someone must be taking their place when they move out because it's still crowded everywhere.
Doomberg... Is there anything else that you need to tell us with how to live our lives ?
New Yorkers let this loser be your mayor TWICE, then, you let him break the rules to run again!
You think he'll run AGAIN? Maybe the question is....Will you elect him AGAIN?
Twice was bad enough but then they were stupid enough to change the rules to let him run again. It proves that some people can be stupid again and again and again....
Unfortunately, there is a growing segment of the US population that required someone else tell them what to do , where to go, how to spend their money, what to eat and drink, what products they can buy, etc. Those guys probably love this guy. He's the nanny they've been looking for.
You have to understand....the people that live in NYC love this kind of stuff. They subscribe to the idea that government knows best and that they are incapable of making decisions for themselves. Sadly, the city and state has been dominated for so long by this type of liberal mindset that many are now incapable of thinking for themselves and they need the government to take care of them so they don't have to think.
Mike your name is ridiculous since you have no common sense. You obviously have never been to nyc let alone outside of your little one horse town. NYC is the most diverse place in America, you're too used to having one mindset. Stop listening to Limbaugh and get out of the basement once in awhile.
I think it's awesome of you to continue commenting and demonstrating my point. Like I keep trying to explain....the people in New York love this kind of stuff. They want somebody to do their thinking for them so they don't have to......and so many are incapable of doing it anyway...lol
Perfect running mate for Hilary
Common Sense Mike... You don't have a clue in the world what "the people who live in NYC want"!!! Not a clue! You down grade us because we live in the most liberal city in the country... that's what you can't cope with about New York or New Yorkers... the fact that we are LIBERAL and Democratic, and just so happen to be living in the best city in the entire country. The old saying... "if you can make it here (NYC), you can make it anywhere"... is true, because in NYC you are competing with THE BEST... not the stupidest.
New Yorkers are among the smartest, best educated, and most intelligent people in the country. Our taxes pay for many of you low to middle class white conservatives living in red states who are the true users of the welfare state, but you refuse to recognize the fact. Funny how the poorest, worst living conditions, lowest paying jobs, lowest standards of living, paying less to DC in taxes than they get back from DC in welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, etc. etc. are red states and red state inhabitants, NOT blue states and liberals. You are the financially deprived... that's what scares the living crap out of you middle class and lower middle class conservatives... those people... those 'others' that you fear might be catching up to you...
When will you poor and middle class conservatives learn that your real enemies are not the poorest people in the nation collecting enough to barely survive every day. They have nothing! How can they be the danger? Your REAL enemies are people like the Koch Brothers, The Waltons, Mittens, Ryan,.... the millionaires and the billionaires... they are the true TAKERS... taking from you... the MAKERS. But they-the true Takers- have managed to fool you into believing that they are your "friends... the job creators BS"... they are the Slave Labor job creators and you are their slave labor work force... the poor are not creating your lousy, financially insecure lives... it's the wealthy that are taking it all for themselves. Wake up. The 7 members of the Walton cabal are worth more money than the lowest 40% of the nation!!! That's a FACT. Many of you right wing ranters and ravers are among the lowest 40% of the nation in income, and one family owns more than all of you... yet you think they are on your side... what a joke... The Waltons and the Koch Brothers are laughing at you fools for thinking that they're on your team.
Have you ever been to New York City? Have you ever even known a real life New Yorker? We are the financial center of the country, we are the intellectual center of the country,we are the fashion center of the country, we are the commercial center of the country, we are the arts and culture center of the country, we have the finest medical facilities in the country, we are the most independent people in the country because you can simply do whatever you want to do in ways of lifestyle, employment, entertainment, and anything else you can think of. That's why people move INTO New York City... to get away from one horse, one car, one frame of mindset towns or villages like the one you most certainly live in... as well as to get away from people who think like you do.
Moi,
WOW....you pat yourself on the back with a post like that? "simply do whatever you want to do..." Of course unless you are talking about having a soda drink of 16 ounces or more, right? You mean like that kind of freedom? I've never been to NYC...from the people I know that USED to live there it was the worse time of their life. Overpriced housing, overpriced transportation, high crime, low wage living, high taxes...need I go on? Go ahead and keep your NYC...when the big one hits and NYC slips into the ocean, there won't be alot of people shedding a tear for you with an attitude like that...
Bloomburg will not need to run again. One of the next things he wants to ban are elections for the position of mayor. Think of all the money he can save by only having election when a mayor dies, quits or is finally committed to the luney bin.
As always, leftists know better than you do and want to constantly expand their power so they can impose their will on you. Why do the American people keep putting up with this?
The folks that vote this way, for Bloomberg, Cuomo and so on, don't think for themselves. They are like sheep and just follow with out thought or common sense.
I bet you two are big Fox News fans.
JValen lucky for you the vast amounts of Democratic Kool Aid you are drinking doesn't fall under the 32 ounce limit
Jvalen Maybe if you looked at other news sites you might be better informed. Fox is far more honest then this site is.
Just like a dumocrate trying to make a statement before running for a higer office. What a dick-head!! Always knows what is best for us "little people".
I hope you New York losers keep this jerk in New York with Hillery!!
LIBTARD is your answer.. the people who vote for idiots like this are liberal retards! just like what's his face in the white house.
I know, it's hard to believe people can be that dumb and ignorant.
I would have no clue what Fox News has to do with my post, the post was about this article and Bloomberg.
You talk about sheep. The folks that watch Fox News are sheep. Yeah Fox news tells the truth. Only in your minds!
We must all submit to the idea that government knows best, quit your job, go home and wait for a check to show up in your mailbox....no wait.....they do it all electronically now.....they just deposit money into your bank account. So stop watching FOX and submit to the change.
jvalen13
I again ask, what does Fox have to do with anything, you are the only one that mentioned it.
I think Common sense Mike gets my comment. By your comments you sound like Fox News sheep.
Seriously? What's the big secret about cigarettes? We all know what they do to human lungs. Is this about more government control. Did he not learn with the 16 ounce debacle?
Mayor Bloomberg, I think you have bigger fish to fry than worry about than if stores have their cigarettes displayed or not.
Fried fish are bad for you and should be banned, broiled or baked are better.
Right on! Wait...doesn't it depend on the oil it is fried?
Fried fish........shinny ball
Oh wait, we are talking about cigs and sodas.
I don't buy certain foods at the grocery store just because they're on the shelf. If someone decides to start smoking for no other reason than because cigarettes are displayed - that person deserves lung cancer.
Bizzer, well, I think no one deserves lung cancer but smokers know the risks that come with it. Your statement would be similiar to me saying I hope when you grocery shop you buy meat that contains salmonila and get sick. There are risks to eating too.
This is typical progressive behavior and is not unique to this era, New York city or the USA. I would recommend reading Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg.
to be fair, I wouldn't recommend reading ANYTHING by Jonah Goldberg unless you want to become dumber...
DrowningGrover is just another libtard idiot .. move along and pay no mind to this fool, nothing important here!
Whats with you Bloombug ???? GET A FREAKING LIFE !!
Best bet: Ban Bloomberg!
Work on the NYC Animal Control Shelter kill factory, Mr. Mayor!! Stop trying to legislate abstinence; Prohibition proved that you can't do that!
This guy is an egomaniac. He has spent millions of tax dollars running all over the country with his fruitcake gun-owner control laws, and has decreed that his subjects must not drink out of a certain size cup and now he wants to require merchants to hide legal merchandise. (I despise big drinks and cigarettes but they are legal and he has no right to issue these "royal bans.") Have the New York City voters lost all backbone? Stand up and fight King Bloom.
I wonder what he will go after next...or has he made his
crusadeagenda known? New Yorkers better get their act together and take away this guy's power. Isn't that how America was formed? By taking away power from those in authority who abuse it? C'mon people! Fight back!On the other hand if New Yorkers take his power away, he may go somewhere else. What's worse is he may come to my city. Don't let him come to my city!
just like the fool in the white house .. can't wait to say "I TOLD YOU SO"
Bryan... don't hold your breath while you're waiting... cause the jokes on you.
Just because this scoldy old auntie managed to steal a few billion bucks it doesn't make him king. Leave me alone you putz.
A couple of decades ago in southwest VA I remember being told that beer needed to be in a bag when exiting a convenience store...so that it couldn't be seen. I never knew if it was legit.
Let him try to ban donuts because of health reasons. He will have every cop knocking on his door.
Welcome to the new world order. How this guy ever thought he was a Republican is beyond me.
Well, compared to the rest of the city he was pretty conservative for a while. Then he turned left and fell off a cliff.
He drank the koolaid LOL
This guy is just wacked..
Greetings from Florida! You keep him.
Oh boy....this guy really needs something else to focus on than being the savior of health for people. He could try tackling the subway clean up. Better use of his time than telling people what they should and shouldn't have.
Bumf_kberg is a liberal, socialist MORON! Some judge needs to declare him criminally insane!!
If this nut job represents the people of New York, they are more screwed up than the rest of the country already believes. The guy is a dick tator! Try reading the Constitution you moron! Better yet, try upholding it!
I've lived here in NYC all my life. I've always hoped it would get better. You're right, I'm surrounded by nut jobs. Time to look for a state that doesn't tax my pension on top of everyother tax they can dream up.
I think he should pass a law banning himself from holding any public office EVER again.
This guy has a bad short man hang up.
If he would just get pancreatic cancer and die.....everything would be good again. We can only pray and hope for tumors to eat him alive, preferably in front of his family.
Wow!! Bloomberg makes Khrushchev look like a candy ass. "Rebuild that wall, Mr. Bloomberg!!"
You got what you voted for deal with it.
Got to agree with you, Baylor - this guy didn't just suddenly show up and start spouting off; he's been doing this stuff for years (he got re-elected).
You guys that voted for him (or didn't vote at all), here's what you deserve.
Sometimes politicians don't show the crazy side until after they have been elected to their stations. That's why they have people on their campaign staff who advise the candidates what to say and do to make them more likeable to the public. It sounds like after this term is over, he'll be cast out by the way people are getting their feathers ruffled every time this idiot feels the need to tell people what they should and shouldn't eat, drink and smoke.
After the first term they should have saw through all his B.S. and what he really stood for and what he did and did not do. But he got re-elected anyway I reinforce my statement you got what you voted for election's have consequences shut up and take the pain!
I don't recall any crazy policies similar to the soda and cigarette issues that took place in his first term. Of course I am not a New Yorker, but I am just stating that if his first term didn't have all these crazy requests, I guess he felt if he waited until his second term he could do what he wanted thinking he had a majority of the people behind him to support his wierd policy rampage he is on. I am only throwing possibilities out there, but I do agree that if he showed signs of radical pushes regarding the public's health during his first term then people should have known better.
I feel the same about obama .. all the lazy igorant fools who voted for him .. GOOD LUCK living off handouts and the wealthy after the wealthy leave. I will be the first to say "I TOLD YOU SO"
Mayor Bloomberg is immensely popular in New York City. Although the extra large cup ban and now this new idea to hide tobacco products is extreme, he is trying to curtail the cost of healthcare on the tax payer. I don't necessarily agree with the ban, but this is nothing compared to the other things he has done for New York City. The economy financial district is booming, and much credit goes to the mayor. It appears most New Yorkers are pleased with their vote.
If the people of New York are pleased with their vote, then kudos to them. This just means that Bloomberg better be careful that any future battles he takes up are not this extreme or he'll find himself losing a lot of people in supporting him in the future.
And Bryan, this article is about Bloomberg, not Obama. There are plenty of articles on him you can go to and comment your displeasure.
Jack Dulouz -
How in the world did Bloomberg have anything to do with the economy of the financial district?? I think people are giving him credit for things that he has NO control over if that is the case.
Should Mayor Bloomberg be pointing the finger at the FDA and the big corporations instead of the merchants. He may be impressing a few voters but in the end he seems to be attacking small business. Yeah that helps
He is the mayor of the city. It is not as if I was talking about the guy to sweeps the floors in the UN building. You can do the research yourself, but Mayor Bloomberg does have a very good reputation in NYC as far as the economy and the financial district. I guess he can only take the blame for when things go bad, but can take no credit when things go well. Sounds familiar...
If you are making so much why are you pushing it here? Or are you making it by posting your scam here?
@ Jack Dulouz...Thanks for adding a little common sense into the equation. The city is booming, people are walking around happy, making money, living our lives in this most enjoyable city to live in. It's amazing how all of these red state hillbilly under educated, almost poverty stricken conservatives who for the most part haven't been out of their local communities for more than a day or two at a time know... they know for absolute certainty, what life in NYC is all about. Just ask Common Sense Mike... as he knows everything about New York, New Yorkers, and how we live, love, think, and what we do with our spare time. He's heard all about it in Hicksville where he lives.
@ C'est Moi, you know as much about the rest of the country as Common Sense Mike knows about NYC.
Also, it's funny how cycles go. Under Reagan, Wall Street people who made money were evil. Under Clinton, it was a sign of Bill's great economic savvy. Under Bush, they were again evil people who destroyed the economy. Now, under Obama, rich people are undoubtably evil, but good Wall Street news is great for the economy. Just like Bloomberg gets credit for people on Wall Street being successful, even though most of his constituents hate the 1%. Bloomberg, of course, gets a pass for being in the very top 1% of the 1%.
What hypocrites the Obamas and Clintons are! How can they say the rich are evil when they lives of wealth? When they sell off their excess, give it to the poor, and work to get people off welfare, THEN AND ONLY THEN, will I listen to them. Does Chelsea Clinton need a 10 million dollar home?
Socialism does not work.
Mayor Bloomberg,
If you really want to make a positive change, why not find I way to create more jobs, or a way to feed the hungry & find housing for the homeless? These are major issues that people would appreciate in help with. Everyone's individual health is not really your concern and it is obscene for you to think you can change a whole nations view on how to behave. You need to understand that most of those people you complain about being obese are that way because nutritious foods like fresh fruits & vegetable often cost more than their food budgets allow. Milk is $4 a gallon while you can buy soda for less than $3.00 a gallon. You want to hide cigarettes so children don't think it is a normal occurrence; what are you going to d about all the people who smoke outside in public and in the privacy of their own homes? Not to mention illegal drugs aren't displayed in stores and still children find a way to try everything available.
If you feel your only real issue in office is to "change" individual lifestyles, start free classes to help people make better choices and learn ways to curb bad habits like smoking and eating junk food. Find ways to reduce costs on healthier item choices and STOP being so damn judgmental; no one is perfect and if push came to shove I am sure you have some bad habits people would object to as well.