E-Cigarettes and the Law: NJOY's Craig Weiss on Proposed Regulations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported earlier this week that e-cigarette liquid is linked to an increase in phone calls to U.S. poison control centers. Reason's Jacob Sullum reported on the findings:

The total number of calls to poison control centers related to e-cigarettes during the 42-month period covered by the CDC study was 2,405, or 57 per month. These cases were not necessarily serious enough to require medical attention. The study says "the most common adverse health effects in e-cigarette exposure calls were vomiting, nausea, and eye irritation." According to the Times, about a quarter of such calls lead to hospital visits.

Poisoning reports involving e-cigarette fluid are still a tiny fraction of poisoning reports involving products the CDC is not warning us about, such as analgesics, cosmetics, cleaning fluids, anthistamines, pesticides, vitamins, and plants, all of which generate thousands of calls to poison control centers each month. In all these cases, the solution to preventing the poisoning of little children is the same: keep little children away from poison. 

When it comes to adults, caution in handling e-cigarette fluid, which can be absorbed through the skin or eyes, seems appropriate, although not always. According to the Times, the only fatality caused by e-cigarette fluid so far was a suicide by a man who injected it.

Last year, Reason TV interviewed NJOY CEO Craig Weiss to gain insight into the e-cigarette industry. Original airdate was October 29, 2013, and the original writeup is below.

"Our product is as much a cigarette as a car is an electric horse," says Craig Weiss, CEO of e-cigarette maker NJOY. "But it's got the word 'cigarette' in it and it's very hard to un-ring that bell." 

NJOY is a leading manufacturer of electronic cigarettes, and is on the front lines of the regulatory fight over the new technology. (Full disclosure: NJOY is also a donor to Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes Reason TV.) Weiss recently sat down with Tracy Oppenheimer to discuss the burgeoning "vaping" industry, what's fueling the explosion of e-cigarette use, and calls to regulate the product like traditional tobacco cigarettes.

"Our policymakers in government should be making all of their decisions based on science and data, not on conjecture, not on 'Well, if it looks like a cigarette it must be a cigarette,'" argues Weiss. "That's not data. That's not science, and that's not how we should be making decisions."

Produced by Tracy Oppenheimer. Camera by Zach Weissmueller.

Music by I, Cactus, "Chartreuse Cactus"

About 7 minutes.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube channel for notifications when new material goes live.

Comments

[SlV]

(Full disclosure: NJOY is also a donor to Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes Reason TV.)

Has anyone here used their product? How is it?

[SugarFree]

I've only used the disposable variety, but they are pretty good. Flavoring is acceptable and they work well. NJOY focuses on making their ecig look as much as possible like a real cigarette: right size, red glowing tip, right filter color. But I think this forces a compromise on the amount of nicotine fluid they carry. Their disposables run out about twice as fast than a BLU, in my experience.

tl;dr
If you are looking for the least dorky ecig possible, NJOY is the way to go, but the actual amount of nicotine delivered is not a great value.

[SlV]

Thanks

[Irish]

I've never used NJOY, but I personally like e-cigarettes. One of my friends bought some when the first came out, and those things are way more fun than they should be.

[Capo]

I was up to almost 2 packs a day cigarettes. Tried many times to quit but never made it past a couple of days. I switched to vaping about 6 months ago and I haven't smoked a cigarette since.

Not only that, within days I no longer woke up hacking up a lung, and within weeks I stopped coughing after meals. The health effects have been amazing, and even now I see myself puffing on the vapor less and less.

These products are amazing. No more smell, no more bothering people around me, and I get 90% of the enjoyment affect of a cigarette. (I say 90% because it doesn't burn my throat on a pull, which was seriously part of the enjoyment of a smoke).

[tres]

What brand/type are you using?

[Capo]

I've been with the V2 brand since I switched. I like their batteries, and the individual carts are equivalent to a pack of cigarettes and cost about 1.50 each.

[Capo]

Not to turn into a walking billboard, but I got their newest battery a few weeks ago (The EX battery) and man are they strong. The carts come in several different nicotine strengths and the strongest ones actually give me a little bit of a nicotine buzz.

Btw, if you're looking to switch, I'll say that there is a little bit of an adjustment period. Trust me, stick it out and it's really worth it.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Prison interview: Jailed Venezuelan opposition leader warns world not to ignore abuses

"Leopoldo Lopez denounces government of Nicolas Maduro for trying to silence opponents in comments sent from military jail cell to The Telegraph...

"Q: What is your message to the world about what is happening in Venezuela?

"A: The world needs to know that the abuses of Venezuela's government have put us on a path toward economic collapse and social devastation, with implications that will spread beyond our borders."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new.....buses.html

[Warrren]

The only thing that socialist countries never have a shortage of is criminals.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://money.cnn.com/gallery/l.....ne/28.html

Anyone see this retarded list?

[Warrren]

I have now. By what metric could Derek Jeter be considered a world leader?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

And Bono and Jolie?

I'm sure the pals here are satisfied with Bloomberg being ranked so high.

[Warrren]

Pals?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I tried to get cute.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Comrades

[Notorious G.K.C.]

or Palestinians

[Irish]

Good lord. What exactly has Gabby Giffords succeeded at? She made a push for gun control which failed.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Well, recovering from a gunshot to the head is actually quite impressive in my book, I am sure it was incredibly difficult.

Not a fan of her gun control response, of course, and yes, while admirably successful at that it is surely not what most people would think of as making one 'powerful.'

[Sevo]

Bo Cara Esq.|4.5.14 @ 9:09PM|#
"Well, recovering from a gunshot to the head is actually quite impressive in my book, I am sure it was incredibly difficult."

Unless she is capable of somehow "willing" a recovery, I'm going to say she got very good care (you're welcome, since I'm sure it was on my dime) and was fortunate that the damage was as limited as it was.
IOWs, I see nothing "impressive" on her part at all.

[Irish]

I've never liked the idea that we should be impressed when someone recovers from a wound or illness. If I don't want to die, I'm going to do everything in my power to improve.

Helping other people is laudable. Not dying yourself is basic human instinct. Her doctors deserve more respect than she does.

[Sevo]

"Helping other people is laudable. Not dying yourself is basic human instinct. Her doctors deserve more respect than she does."

And I've yet to hear her thank us for paying for it.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

There is a lot more to a recovery like hers than just 'not dying.'

[Virginian]

was fortunate that the damage was as limited as it was.

Well, shooting a politician in the brain isn't exactly likely to damage a vital organ.

[Sevo]

I remember that as a joke about Howard Cosell and it was funny then, too!

[Bo Cara Esq.]

There is a lot of therapy and such a person has to go through to recover from something like that, and that takes a fair amount of effort from the person, I can commend her on that.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Still not a leader for that.

This is an emotional selection.

In order to be a 'leader' one would think they need to, you know, be successful and her gun-control lobbying failed. So exactly why is she on the list?

I don't which is worse, her, Jeter, Jolie or Bono.

[politicsbyothermeans]

I'm sure being married to Mark Kelly is no fun.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Two great tastes that taste great together

"CBS' geek-fueled "The Big Bang Theory" and Lucasfilm are collaborating for a special "Star Wars" episode.

""The Big Bang Theory" has teamed with a group of special effects technicians from Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic to re-create Dagobah, the fictional planet of swamps and forests where Jedi Master Yoda lived during his time in exile in the "Star Wars" film. The final touches of the episode will be completed at Lucasfilm's San Francisco headquarters."

http://variety.com/2014/tv/new.....201152319/

[Cdr Lytton]

How about a triple?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0oAjb1PYuY

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I remember getting really annoyed while on my lunch break at work a few days ago because the local news was on and they unquestioningly repeated a story about an "epidemic" of kids poisoning themselves with e-cigs and how our noble state and local politicians were springing into action to regulate them.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Epidemic is likely the most misused word in the English speaking world.

[Warrren]

It's like a mass break out of a disease or something.

[Sevo]

Bo Cara Esq.|4.5.14 @ 8:01PM|#
"Epidemic is likely the most misused word in the English speaking world."

"Crisis!"
"Wake up call!"
"Greed!"
Dunno, there's more

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Granted, but epidemic is special. It originally and literally refers to a "widespread occurrence of an infectious disease." I think Progressives and other statists consciously started to appropriate the word for a variety of causes, because epidemics often justified the use of extraordinary government powers in the name of protecting 'the public' at large, and such measures could arguably be one of the few actual public goods that a minarchist might actually support. So they appropriated the word and hope to use its original and literal import to justify government action in a range of areas which are not like actual epidemics in important ways.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I can go with that.

Yes can do.

[DenverJay]

Local news is delivered by people who couldn't get real journalist jobs, and whose "job" consists of reading the feed from the AP, a source that is questionable anyway. They then further dumb it down/ don't understand the nuances themselves, and then broadcast their shallow/wrong understanding of an issue to everybody who is watching while waiting to see the weather girl's tits. And, they are a major part of the cause of voter ignorance/apathy/mis-education in this country.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Ben Carson Criticizes NAACP for Not Playing Race Card More, Then Criticized our Obsession with Race.

"Retired pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson charged on Friday that mainstream African-American organizations are silent when black Republicans or conservatives are criticized.

'Where are the black liberals when atrocities occur?' Carson, who is weighing a GOP candidacy for the White House in 2016, asked talk-show host Roland Martin on 'NewsOne Now' on the black cable network channel TV One. 'Organizations like the NAACP ?, do you ever see them coming out in support of a conservative black person?'

We really need to get over the obsession with race,' he added.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfro.....z2y3nC3rYp

[Warrren]

I'll get over my fascination with race as soon as everybody turns white (or gets a star on their belly)!

[Suthenboy]

Pointing out legitimate racism is not playing the race card.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Please. The NAACP is not defending black conservatives because they are, what, racist against black people?

Playing the race card is injecting race to avoid criticism, and that is what Carson is doing, as well as what, calling for the NAACP to defend black conservatives that they disagree with because they are black?

[Irish]

I'm confused how you can be criticizing Carson for pointing out that the NAACP completely jettisons all of its supposed principles when black conservatives are the victims of racism.

His criticism of the NAACP is completely 100% valid. They're a Democratic party organ that does not give a fuck about poor black people in the ghettos because their primary donors are rich white Democrats.

That's also why they don't care about racism directed towards black conservatives or libertarians. Pointing out their hypocrisy on the matter is not playing the race card any more than calling the KKK a racist organization is playing the race card.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Okay, so Carson's critique, which is based on the idea that the NAACP should support people based only on skin color rather than on whether the person is 'advancing colored people' in their eyes, is not race based?

[Irish]

Yeah, why would anyone think it's racist when a black conservative is called an Uncle Tom or it's implied that Clarence Thomas unthinkingly does whatever Scalia tells him to?

Clearly none of those things are racist and Carson is way off base here. Assuming that all black people should think the same is totally not racist and Ben Carson should apologize for saying that it is.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Careful guys, or Bo will claim you're republican sympathizers.

(which is exactly what he's fishing for)

[Irish]

Personally I think there is exactly as much racism in modern America as Democrats claim. It's just that Republicans and libertarians are 1/10th as racist as Democrats say, while Democrats themselves are about 5000x as racist as Democrats say.

When it's counted up, there's about as much racism as the Democrats say there is, it just tends to come from all over the place instead of being the exclusive property of Republicans.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I think after years to claim Thomas does what Scalia tells him to do is patently stupid. Their approach and even rulings differ demonstrably. I do not think it is racism, it probably comes from the initial snap judgment about Thomas' lack of qualifications when first elevated to the Court.

Likewise, I do not think black people that call Thomas an 'Uncle Tom' are being racist, they are clearly making a statement about how they think he, like Uncle Tom in the book, is to deferential to whites that push things seen as detrimental to blacks in general. It's not different than when some Jews call other Jews 'self hating Jews' for criticizing Israel or Judaism too much to Gentiles. Whatever else is going on there its silly to think those Jews are being anti-Semitic when they accuse some Jews of being 'self hating Jews.'

Carson and other black conservatives bring up race to deflect criticism and try to put their critics on the defensive. That is classic race card.

[Irish]

Likewise, I do not think black people that call Thomas an 'Uncle Tom' are being racist, they are clearly making a statement about how they think he, like Uncle Tom in the book, is to deferential to whites that push things seen as detrimental to blacks in general. It's not different than when some Jews call other Jews 'self hating Jews' for criticizing Israel or Judaism too much to Gentiles. Whatever else is going on there its silly to think those Jews are being anti-Semitic when they accuse some Jews of being 'self hating Jews.'

You have to be fucking kidding me. If defaming all black people who don't vote Democrat isn't racist, then what the fuck does racist even mean? The defamation of black conservatives for the grand sin of not voting Democrat is textbook racism since it rests on the supposition that there is only one way to be 'properly' black.

If saying all black people should think alike isn't racist, then I'd love to see what your definition of racism is.

FYI, calling someone a 'self-hating Jew' is also bigoted, even if the person saying it is Jewish himself.

When a poor black kid is called an Oreo or verbally emasculated by his classmates for doing well in school, I'd love for you to tell him that he's not a victim of racism.

[The Tone Police]

Late night dialogues with Bo the Troll. Man I hope you legitimately have nothing better to do.

[Irish]

My Badgers just lost, you son of a bitch. This is my way of drowning out the pain.

Admittedly, it's only slightly less damaging to my life than drinking the pain away would be.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Can't you do both?

[The Tone Police]

An Irish guy from Wisconsin? There isn't enough beer in the Lower 48 to rise to that occasion.

[Irish]

An Irish guy from Wisconsin? There isn't enough beer in the Lower 48 to rise to that occasion.

My mother's breast milk was 37% alcohol.

[The Tone Police]

So she was one of the temperate ones?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Go on.

Balance of 63%?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Have you ever seen a post by The Tone Police? Could he be some regular conservative posing as a libertarian mad at me for breaking that uncritical lovefest up?

Of course not! He's just some long time lurker who attends regular LP meetings who just could not take it anymore!

[The Tone Police]

I'm formerly known as Neoliberal Kochtopus. I change my name from time to time, o brilliant conspiracy theorist.

now go fuck back off to your Blue Trolling.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Out of curiosity, Randian, why change monikers?

[The Tone Police]

I dunno, things strike me as amusing from time to time and I change.

When I was Randian, a bunch of people made assumptions as to what I believed and never stopped harping on it. NLK arose during a hilarious conversation between two reason staffers and me on Twitter, and I liked it, so I used it.

This current one was inspired by Suey Park, because fuck yeah it's time we admitted it's OK to "police" people's tone - tone fucking matters.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"I change my name from time to time"

Ah, so Tulpa Lite.

And I thought you were 'blocking' me, as you constantly announced with great, prissy flare? Now you are not? How...sad.

But I like how you have just gone full throttle with your arrogant fantasy about you 'policing' the website.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"The defamation of black conservatives for the grand sin of not voting Democrat is textbook racism since it rests on the supposition that there is only one way to be 'properly' black."

Come on Irish, it is not about voting Democrat, it is about supporting policies which black liberals, rightly or wrongly, see as harming blacks in general.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Likewise, I do not think black people that call Thomas an 'Uncle Tom' are being racist, they are clearly making a statement about how they think he, like Uncle Tom in the book, is to deferential to whites that push things seen as detrimental to blacks in general.

Yes, claiming all blacks should have the same political ideals isn't racist at all.

Bo, you are pathetic.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Of course, Francisco, that is EXACTLY what I said!

[Francisco d'Anconia]

It IS exactly what you said you mendacious twat.

You claimed that it isn't racist for people to be derogatory towards blacks who don't fall in line with how blacks should think.

I do not think black people that call Thomas an 'Uncle Tom' are being racist, they are clearly making a statement about how they think he, like Uncle Tom in the book, is to deferential to whites that push things seen as detrimental to blacks in general.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

So a person in a group can not criticize a member of that group for what they see as views/actions detrimental to that group without, what, being racist...against that group?

That's incredible.

[Redmanfms]

That's incredible.

Fucking shit you are an insufferable cunt.

Yeah, using epithets specifically of a racial nature is fucking racist. It isn't only "black groups" on the left that call Thomas an Uncle Tom, but you've previously defended them too in your own Tulpaesque way.

[Warrren]

OT:

Here's a Bob Murphy post showing P-Krug saying that rich people take in earnings exactly what they put into the economy.

Really? This is standard economic theory is it? So Gates, however much he made, only created that much wealth for the rest of us?

[Sevo]

"Really? This is standard economic theory is it?"

See below, but does this also mean that the hypocrite Buffett is generating wealth at $100K/year?
Or is his compensation actually much higher than that and he's a tax cheat?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Before I proceed. Is Bob Murphy one of the good guys?

[Warrren]

Yes.

[Raven Nation]

Definitely. He writes at Mises a lot.

[Irish]

Here's a Bob Murphy post showing P-Krug saying that rich people take in earnings exactly what they put into the economy.

Yeah, that's absurd and completely untrue. It will vary from person to person, but most wealthy people actually put more money into the overall economy than they take out.

Henry Ford was unbelievably rich, but the value created by the moving assembly line is so huge that there's no way he took out anywhere near as much value as he created.

[Warrren]

Yeah, their pay is the commission they earn for improving the lot of the rest of us.

I remember when Eisner was CEO of Disney people were complaining about his salary + options when it was like .5% of the value the company gained under his tenure. Partly covered here, a Slate article of all things.

[TheZeitgeist]

Not to brag, but I called it with the tots-guzzling-nicotine meme being the needed excuse for the statist regulatory capture of e-ciggs months and months ago.

The fact it took the clowncrats that much longer - aided with all their resources and zealotry - to figure out that angle of attack betrays their intelligence in general.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

You did. I remember it. Good call.

*pats TheZ on back*

[Cdr Lytton]

Yes, but in fairness if TheZeitgeist can't predict pop culture, he'd have to change his name.

[Warrren]

I'd like to thank them for yet creating yet another black market product that the selling of which will undermine their authority.

[RannedPall]

Anybody seen these e-cigarette commercials? I love em, and I don't even smoke.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VZishwAt_RM

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Actually, those annoy the hell out of me, mostly because of Stephen Dorf. He kind of comes off as a docuhebag.

The ones with Jenny McCartney are worse.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

*douchebag

[Sevo]

"This is standard economic theory is it?"
Not that I've ever seen and I'd love to see how Gates' (or anyones') compensation was magically related to the wealth they generated to mankind.
Did MS' board develop some algorithm for Bill's compensation I missed?

[Sevo]

This was @Warren

[Cytotoxic]

OT: Kevin Spacey throws in with Venezuela's protesters.

http://www.kevinspacey.com/blog/item/sosvenezuela/

[Irish]

Typical American economic terrorist.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

He ought to challenge Sean Penn to the Hollywood equivalent of a bro-down.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

I think we all know who would win that...

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Dunno where Spacey lies on the political ideology spectrum. Is he one of those typical dumbass left-wing celebrities like Penn? Did he ever write about how swell Chavez was?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

From Wikipedia:

Spacey is a Democrat and a friend of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, having met Clinton before his presidency began. Spacey has described Clinton as "one of the shining lights" of the political process.[9] According to Federal Election Commission data, as of 2006 Spacey had contributed US$42,000 to Democratic candidates and committees.[36] He additionally made a cameo appearance in the short film President Clinton: Final Days, a light-hearted political satire produced by the Clinton administration for the White House Correspondents Dinner.[37]

In September 2007, Spacey met Venezuelan president Hugo Ch?vez. Neither spoke to the press about their encounter, but hours later the actor visited the government-funded movie studio Villa del Cine (Cinema City).[38] In December of that year he co-hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert with Uma Thurman.[39]

In March 2011, following Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko's crackdown on the Belarusian democracy movement, Spacey, along with Jude Law and others, joined street protests against Lukashenko.[40]

I'm not sure what it is about Clinton that could make anyone call him a "shining light" in American politics.

[Sevo]

Maybe after Monica polished his knob?

[Warrren]

Actors are used to taking direction from autocratic assholes.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

There you go.

He's another tired, left-wing asshole who worships dictatorial assholes.

Assholes have to stick together.

[Warrren]

Thanks for that visual.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You are very welcome.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I've never heard of John Fugelsang, but apparently he's famous enough to get a blue checkmark on Twitter and seriously claim that it is no possible to be a liberal and a bigot

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Well, to be fair, if we use the definition and principles of liberals BEFORE they became progressives, AND the individual lived up to those principles, he'd be right. (note I don't say Democrats, either)

That was, of course, before progressives declared anyone not progressive is a racist and worthy of their bigotry.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah, progressive co-opted the term liberals. True liberals are, it seems, hidden and lost.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

That's amusing.

Love when liberals accuse people who challenge them as not engaging in 'sincere debate.'

[Irish]

I like when progressives say we should 'have a conversation' and throw a hissy fit when anyone disagrees with them during that conversation.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

That is spot on. They mean a lecture, and it will be given by them.

[Suthenboy]

Should we call this the 'no true liberal' or the 'no true bigot' fallacy?

[Irish]

This is why I hate the terms right and left wing. There are collectivists and individualists.

Collectivists are bigots, racists, incompetents and murderers. Whether they're right or left wing bigots, racists, incompetents and murderers strikes me as fundamentally irrelevant.

[Irish]

I do realize I just collectivized collectivists so it doesn't have to be pointed out to me.

Is anyone really surprised I'm a bigot, racist, incompetent, and murderer though?

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Well, you are Irish...

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Apparently Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul have a "friendly wager" with Wisconsin Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin on this Wisconsin-Kentucky game.

[Episiarch]

Well, it looks like UConn/Kentucky now. UConn will win, but good for Kentucky. Maybe NutraSweet can burn his couch.

[Warrren]

Isn't his couch a protected habitat for micro cryptofauna?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

10 Reasons Why Young People Won't Want Rand Paul's Libertarianism

1. His philosophy of deregulation created your jobs problem.

Rand Paul loved to preach the gospel of deregulation. He went so far as to proclaim that Obama was putting his "boot heel" on the neck of British Petroleum. Why? Because BP was being asked to bear part of the cost for the oil spill it created.

Rand Paul believes "regulation" is evil...

Wall Street deregulation crashed the economy in 2008. As a result, the millennial generation is entering the job market at the worst time in modern history.

2. He doesn't believe in jobs programs.

Those of us who are fighting for jobs programs and infrastructure investment?two things that would help the millennial generation significantly?have a fierce opponent in Rand Paul. Paul believes government spending is inherently bad, and tax cuts are inherently good. There are jobs proposals that target millennials for assistance. Rand Paul is against them.

3. He thinks "tax cuts" create jobs.

Rand Paul's solution is to eliminate the income tax altogether. That would be a red letter day for billionaires, millionaires and corporations. It would spell the end of vital services for the rest of us, in everything from public health to military defense.

They scared? They scared!

[The Tone Police]

NO SALON NOT NOW AND NOT EVER

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

5. Civil rights for African Americans and other minorities wouldn't exist.

Rand Paul believes businesses have the right to discriminate against minorities, or against pretty much anybody, because he thinks that's part of their First Amendment rights.

The First Amendment, as most of you may know, reads as follows: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

There's nothing in there about "businesses that want to force women like Rosa Parks to stand at the back of the bus when there are empty seats in the front of the bus," or "lunch counters that won't serve black folks."

No, the First Amendment doesn't say that. But Rand Paul thinks it does. He also says he would've voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Here's a newsflash for Sen. Paul: Millennials come in all races, religions, genders and sexual orientations. They value their rights just as much as Americans of other generations do.

Too bad Gregory Peck is dead and can't do another series of hatchet jobs like he did on Robert Bork back in the day.

Although hell, they could just dub Rand Paul's name in.

[lap83]

"businesses that want to force women like Rosa Parks to stand at the back of the bus when there are empty seats in the front of the bus,"

If only the bus system had been run by glorious perfect government.......wait, what? oh..

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

What are you talking about? Jim Crow was totally the fault of the free market.

And politicians like Bull Connor and the like totally weren't New Deal Democrats that fell in line behind most of the Democratic Party's economic plans.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

My favorite line is buried at the end:

Rand Paul's brand of libertarian believes that "liberty" is freedom from an oppressive government. But in a democracy the government is us. The real oppressors in today's economic and political system are the corporations which increasingly dominate all aspects of our public and private lives.

War is Peace. Ignorance is Strength. Freedom is Slavery. Government is US.

[lap83]

"His philosophy of deregulation created your jobs problem."

Because he believed strongly enough in his heart?

[Irish]

I like that progs are incapable of following that line of reasoning to its logical conclusion. If arguing in favor of regulation is always good and arguing in favor of deregulation is always bad, logically Communism should end in Utopia.

The only real difference between Jesse Myerson and your average progressive is that Myerson is self-aware enough to realize the only way his worldview makes sense is to become a Communist.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I like that progs are incapable of following that line of reasoning to its logical conclusion.

[SlV]

Bang the Drum Slowly was on TV Friday as part of the baseball Opening Day programming. That is one fine movie.

Somewhat related: John Cales version of The Streets Of Laredo

[Bo Cara Esq.]

No Nips SIV?

Cosmotarian.

[Warrren]

Eric S. Roberts destroys Jeremy Rifkin...

..not that's that hard but Eric does it well and comprehensively.

[William of Purple]

more research is needed into what's called "electro-magnetic hypersensitivity" or EHS. Some think EHS is real, but the science is far from conclusive

[Big Chief]

This sounds like one of those diseases dreamed up by tort lawyers. I don't recall the numbers, but I thought I read something that debunked this largely by comparing the level of typical manmade EM fields to the natural EM field of the earth, with the earths EM levels being orders of magnitude larger. I question any article about things like this when they don't give any information to give perspective on the problem.

The key comment in this otherwise poorly detailed article was that these EHS sufferers were not able to detect higher fields any better than non-EHS people in their studies.

[pan fried wylie]

Devils Advocating here, but it may not be simply a measure of power. Size could play a role. Humans may just be too small to resonate with earth's field. Perhaps there is some structure in our heads that is particularly resonant with cm- or mm-length waves. The wave of an earthquake just tosses us around, but a subwoofer can rumble your insides. Or just our range of hearing for another example.

[RishJoMo]

Sometimes man you jsut have to roll with it.

http://www.GotzAnon.tk