Life Liberty and the pursuit of happiness
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
These are probably the most famous words in the American Declaration of Independence. I would consider them to be probably the most basic rights of any man on earth.
The Americans are always on about liberty, and make great play about how they are probably the freest society on the planet. I would argue that, especially since they introduced their Homeland Security thing, but that’s not what I’m on about today.
I was browsing yesterday when I read a piece in The Rest of the Story. Quite honestly I had to read it a couple of times before I could believe my eyes.
"To further our mission of building healthier communities, effective February, 1, 2010, Memorial Health Care System will no longer hire individuals who use tobacco or nicotine products in any form. Memorial Health Care System and its affiliates recognize the major importance of associates’ health and well being, and the responsibility of maintaining a healthy and safe environment for all associates, volunteers, patients and visitors. Therefore, all individuals who are offered a position with Memorial Health Care System or any of its affiliates, are screened for illegal drug, alcohol, and/or tobacco/nicotine use as part of the post-offer health screening. Individuals whose post-offer health screening results are verified positive for illegal drugs, alcohol, and/or tobacco/nicotine use, and/or whose reference and/or background checks are verified unsatisfactory, will be disqualified from employment, their job offer will be withdrawn, and they may be disqualified from applying for employment for six (6) months from the date of the post-offer health screening."
In the land of Freedom; the land of Liberty, an organisation is refusing to employ people who have contact with nicotine. Now, the anti-tobacco crowd will see nothing wrong with this and maybe even some of you rational people may see no problem here, but I would ask you to stop and think.
I suppose it is within the realms of logic that a company could refuse to employ smokers. There is a marginal argument that a company may not like their workers nipping outdoors for a fag break during working hours. I would contend that if a company were so concerned, that they should fight to have the indoor smoking ban removed.
However, when you examine this ‘mission statement’ above, you will find they are going do regular screening – presumably blood/urine tests? – and therefore a person who may smoke say two cigarettes a day over breakfast is ineligible for employment.
However, this is not the ultimate farce.
A person who may be trying to give up smoking, with the aid of nicotine patches or an inhaler cannot be employed.
This drive against smoking is reaching new depths of depravity. We are reaching a level where the mere mention of nicotine will be a crime. Irrespective of the fact that there is no scientific proof whatsoever that nicotine causes to anyone [with the possible exception of the smoker, but I would even dispute that] there is a drive to criminalise a sizeable portion of society. Not only that, but they are criminalising even those who are trying to quit smoking. Smokers are now not only being treated as second class citizens, with no rights, but are actually being deemed unemployable. Where is the liberty here? Where is the right to the pursuit of happiness here?
This doesn’t just concern smokers. This should concern every single right thinking person.
This is not about smoking. This is about how a group of fanatics whose cause is based on hearsay, prejudice and irrational fear can inveigle their way so deeply into society that their twisted thinking becomes the norm.
Do we want a world where one group can discriminate so outrageously against another?
Do we want a world where, on the unsubstantiated claims of one group can turn another group into second class citizens?
Today, it’s smokers. Tomorrow it will be drinkers, eaters, you name it.
Am I the only person who is terrified at the way the world is going?
You can’t even reduce your water usage over there either:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bad-lawn2-2010mar02,0,3613612.story
And it’s getting just as bad here. The health and safety authority have issued a warning to a garage owner in Limerick for having a topless calendar on the wall. Quite what the Pirelli calendar has to do with health and safety is anyones guess:
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/garage-owner-warned-over-pornagraphic-calendar-2087067.html
The world is being weighed down with petty laws, few of which are for the common good. One of the most telling comments from the US article above is
“Compliance, that’s all we’ve ever wanted“
We all have to fall into line, no matter how inane the regulations.
It’s all about control.
Obama still smokes
I gave up smoking 3 years ago & I still hate the Anti smoking lobby especially that shower of cunts ASH.
This is taking it to a new level though, this is an invasion of human rights, liberty & pursuit of happiness my arse
.-= Lafsword´s last brainfart .. Minister for Defence (His own, not the Country’s) =-.
Hello Grandad
Great post. As usual.
The Legislation Game:
Constitution of Liberty gives way to a Constitution of Tyranny
http://www.newswithviews.com/Emord/jonathan120.htm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1254126/Pub-landlord-Nick-Hogan-given-smoking-ban-jail-sentence.html
Neighbour – So he is disqualified from holding many posts in his own land. At least we know he isn’t one of the fanatics.
Lafsword – I respect anyone’s lifestyle choice, be it smoking or non-smoking. This Anti lark has gotten completely out of hand though, to the point of farce. My only hope is that the general public will see just how nonsensical it all is and will begin to fight back, but unfortunately, people have been brainwashed into all the lies and propaganda.
Quiet Reader – That, unfortunately, is exactly the way the world is going. At this rate, they can soon remove the word ‘liberty’ from the dictionary, as it will cease to have any meaning.
Johnie – I have been following that. A man sent to prison for allowing people on his own premises to do something that is entirely legal, yet went against the Nanny State’s view of things.
The World Health Organisation announced they wouldn’t employ smokers a couple of years back.
The WHO guy who made the announcement at the press conference in Geneva is an inveterate smoker. Presumably they all got in their cars afterwards and fucked off in various clouds of smoke along the Alps.
I’d say that the US story is an attempt by an employer to bring in mandatory drug testing under the guise of an anti-smoking drive.
Some Canadian newspapers some years back tried to introduce a policy for Free Lance reporters that they had to sign up to mandatory drug testing even though they weren’t employed by the paper.
And bear in mind also that a drug test sample can also be used to screen for genetic predisposition to certain illnesses as well and you can see where we are heading.
I worked for a multi-national based in London some years ago where it was announced that the company were going to put software on the IT systems which would monitor all communications.
It was pointed out that in the UK such monitoring was illegal as employers have to demonstrate a case before they can monitor an employee’s phone or email (a bit like the ‘just cause’ rule which used to exist in the states).
We then discovered some months later by accident that the company had gone ahead and set up an email mirroring system which piled copies of every outgoing email off a printer in the IT department- no systems around confidentiality or anything. The only way we discovered it was because some of our external contacts had received ‘mirrored’ emails by accdent- like a ‘double send’.
Esentially we now have commercial organisations taking a lead from government and intruding massively on people’s lives- employers now seem to think that they have a right to spy on their employees.
Cap’n Con – We are heading into an era that is an amalgam of Stalinism, Nazism and 1984, and the sheep are just letting it roll in. There are times when I am really glad that I’m not starting out in life.
Don’t you think you a part of liberty is that you should be able to hire, or not hire, whomever you choose, for whatever reason you choose ? Be it PC or not.
I was standing on the platform of Twickenham station ( or whatever it’s called) after the rugby last Saturday. Now there was 85,000 people trying to leave the stadium which puts a huge strain on public transport. So you would imagine that the stewards would have more to contend with that me having a quick smoke in the open air while waiting for a train? But for some reason I seemed to be the main attraction. No less than ten different stewards asked me to stop, even though I was still technically not in the station plus I was also given numerous warnings of ejection, until I was given a “final” warning by the man in charge.
On been given my final warning I asked him, “what’s your fascination with me smoking?” I pointed out that I had a good look around and there was no signs indicating I couldn’t smoke and I asked people surrounding me if it was a problem, which it wasn’t . He couldn’t answer, it’s just ingrained now that smoking is completely anti social to the point as in my previous post people are being jailed. When in reality it is the most social aspect of the majority of my nights out….
Fear and self-justification play too big a part these days. For example the non-smoking part of society being brainwashed into fearing smokers, and ASH justifying their existence on the back of a fear they helped introduce in the first place.
The way the world will be, barring natural disasters and world wars, is pretty much defined. Younger generation future decision makers already shaped to suit – the train is on the track.
The truly wealthy (those in control) don’t care too much though. Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a few private drinking clubs hidden away where a brandy and cigar doesn’t raise an eyebrow. There’s bigger issues to contend with, but hey if fear keeps the masses distracted then everything’s nicely under control!
GD, boy do you bring the cynic out in me!
.-= Mick´s last brainfart .. Shane MacGowan and Friends for Haiti =-.
You can smoke in the Members Bar in the House of Lords and the Members Bar in the House of Commons. The Palace of Westminster was exempt from the ban on smoking in the workplace.
Presumably there is something in the rarefied air of both these places which automatically protects the lungs of the staff.
I bet the staff aren’t allowed to smoke there either.
Employer drug testing is huge in the states as someone else stated. But barring someone from employment because they’re not smoking, and chewing gum instead, is nuts. The place no doubt has it’s quota of unhealthy, couch potato obese fuckers but the gym going, long distance running ex smoker is a no-no.
Work recently swapped my phone for a Blackberry. I turned the GPS off as Blackberries can run third party software in the background tracking you. Using a third party browser also bypasses their server, quite a lot of normal sites are blocked at server level. You have to assume everything is being monitored. There’s already 6 people that I know of who have permission to see my email not including security who will have access to it all anyway.
.-= not twitter´s last brainfart .. Not my fault =-.
“Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a few private drinking clubs hidden away where a brandy and cigar doesn’t raise an eyebrow”.
You’re dead right there Mick .. its called the Palace of Westminster ..
The rules which they so rigorously enforce against us don’t apply there .. Funny that, eh ?
The other place where one may smoke without fear of criticism or prosecution is in Prison …
Johnie …
If you were standing on the platform of a Railway Station, presumably owned & operated by Network Rail .. then the Steward from RFU Twickenham has no powers whatsoever to issue a “final warning” to anyone about anything ..
Inside the Ground, it would be different .. but outside, he’s just the same as any other busy-body and you’d have been well within your rights to invite him to partake in sex & travel ..
sorry was standing in a que waiting to enter the station smoking on route, did eventually arrive at the platform. not sure if they were network rail staff or not. this is a good walk away from the stadium itself.
Same thing applies Johnie ..
So long as you’re in a “public place” (like a street) .. as opposed to a “place where the public have access, whether on payment or otherwise” (like a Sports Ground or Rail/Tube/Bus Station) ..
No-one has the right to either ask nor demand that you stop smoking .. not even a Police Officer has that power (yet) ..
All the signs on Pubs, Shops etc which read “It is against the Law to smoke in these premises” are in fact a load of old bollocks & are grossly misleading ..
Smoking is not actually illegal anywhere .. It remains the responsibility of the owners/operators, or their “agents” (employees) to stop you from smoking in said premises .. if they fail to do so, it is they who commit the offence .. NOT the smoker ..
They have the right to ask you to either stop smoking or to leave .. if you refuse, they do NOT have the right to physically eject you .. if they attempt to do so, it becomes an assault ..
Which is why the interfering old bat who gave the bloke on the South London railway station platform a hard time for smoking deserved to end up on the line .. serves her right .. it wasn’t her job to poke her beak in ..
The USA was a free country for about the first 100 years. That was when the federal government started to become more controlling and more intrusive.
They try to give an illusion of freedom while giving very little actual freedom. If the founding fathers were alive today they would be leading a revolution against the government.
The question is how the USA will fall. A gradual slow decline or a violent revolution. I had hoped for the former, preferably many years from now, but fear the latter maybe more likely.