Posted: Friday, April 3, 2009 12:00 am
The U.S. House has voted to have the government regulate the tobacco industry. Under the bill, the Food and Drug Administration could control all aspects of tobacco but not, supposedly, ban it. But strict regulation by the FDA would likely end up the same as a ban.
The rationale, as usual, is safety and health. But let's just remember that in the name of safety and health, many aspects of life could be regulated and banned. Lots of things people enjoy are bad for them or somebody else.
So some cold day in the not too distant future - with bans on standard light bulbs and dishwashing soaps that work, when the countryside is made safe for every shrub and living beast but man, when private car transportation has given way to something else, when everybody has been crammed back into denser, greener, more "sustainable" communities, and when fines or high taxes are imposed on any form of conduct the government does not like - when that day comes, Americans will wonder where our vaunted freedom went. (hh)
Threats to children
It is shocking that Linn County's incidence of reported child abuse and neglect is about twice the state average, as participants at a "Day of Hope" ceremony on Wednesday were told. Their advice to the public included watching out for signs of child abuse and reporting it, volunteering as foster parents, and helping organizations that support families. That sort of response, inadequate as it seems, will have to do because we can do nothing else. We can't, for example, find and cure the deep character flaws that turn a few adults into threats to children unfortunate enough to be within their reach.
Too young for that name
The Albany Senior Center says it wants suggestions for a new name because some people in their 70s and 80s don't want to go somewhere with "senior" in the name. Reporter Cathy Ingalls says the Salem senior center has been renamed "Fifty +." In that spirit, how about "100 Minus"? Or, considering the name Parks & Rec cooked up for the Swanson Pool, let's try the "Cool! We're Not Old Action Center." (hh)
Our era of local cooling
Whatever the experts say about global warming notwithstanding, March was all about mid-valley cooling. The mean maximum temperature at the Hyslop Farm weather station was almost 3 degrees below what weather experts consider normal, and nighttime lows were 2 degrees colder. February, too, was a little colder than average. You already know this from your heating bills. Still, our governor, our attorney general and many members of the legislature want to drive up the price of utilities to heat your house and business in the interest of preventing a warming trend that might be a problem in 50 years. If only it was warmer already, like now! (hh)
The nose of the pay-control camel
Writing in the Portland Oregonian against federal action to restrain or confiscate executive bonuses, a Lewis & Clark law professor warns: "If the government can limit how much executives get paid, it can limit how much you get paid, or for how much you can sell your house." In Oregon, doesn't the government already assert control over how much people get paid? By law, the state adjusts the mandatory minimum wage every year. Seems like that particular camel's nose has advanced pretty far into the tent. (hh)