A Year Later, and Everything’s Peachy

With Wednesday being the 1 year anniversary of the smoking ban, the anti-smoking non-profits are gearing up for massive press releases about how much everyone loves the smoking ban, how businesses are booming, and the same old rhetoric.
Their latest attempts to fool the masses is a “survey” that Clearway conducted and released to the [...]

California: Okay to smoke Bud, Cigarettes Still a no-no

Medical marijuana patients will once again be allowed to smoke dope in San Lorenzo Park this Saturday, after city leaders temporarily lifted a smoking ban to allow for a festival celebrating the medicinal herb.

For those of you who weren’t aware, cigarette smoking has been banned indoors in Holland, but weed is still cool, as long [...]

A Success!

I’m a little late on reporting on this, but our display at the Minnesota Conservative Issues Fair was a success. Joey, from Ban the Ban Wisconsin, helped Sheila and me put together this great display:

We had many people stop by to take copies of our Legislative Scorecard, sign up to be on our e-mail [...]

Thoughts from an Anti-Smoker

We’ve recently been sending out surveys to all the Minnesota House incumbents, as well as their challengers for the Minnesota House Elections in November. Most of the authors of the smoking ban have refused to reply or complete the survey, but Daniel Severson of Sauk Rapids was kind enough to respond.
I do appreciate Mr. Severson [...]

BS!

Below you will find 2 parts of Penn & Teller: BS! that aired on the Showtime premium cable network. It originally aired in 2003, and is hosted by magician/comedians Penn Jillete and his silent sidekick, Teller.
This episode does a great job debunking the anti-smoking industry’s claims, and supports BtBMN’s view that government should not be [...]

The Conservative Issues Fair

On Saturday, September 20th, Ban the Ban Minnesota is going to be at the Conservative Issues Fair in Bloomington. Feel free to stop by and visit our booth. Sheila and I will be there, and Joey and possibly Ryan will be there from Ban the Ban Wisconsin.
The event features speakers including conservative talk host, Jason [...]

Thoughts from Rep. Tom Emmer

Several years ago, Tom Emmer, Delano, wrote an Op Ed piece that you may have seen. It’s something we’d like to share:

MN SMOKING BAN: A DANGEROUS CONSTITUTIONAL PRECEDENT
By Tom Emmer

State Representative
I don’t smoke. I don’t like smoke. But my distaste for the habit doesn’t give me cause to have the state manage individual rights. The [...]

We’ve Finally Done It

Ban the Ban Minnesota (BtBMN) is now incorporated as a non-pofit 501(c)(4) organization.
Initially, we were strongly considering incorporating as a 501(c)(3), as Ban the Ban Wisconsin has done, but our legislative scorecard makes us ineligible for 501(c)(3). Also, as we feel that our organization will be more politically oriented in the future, and we thought [...]

The Master Settlement Agreement

In May of 1998, “Skip” Humphrey, then Attorney General of Minnesota, entered into Minnesota’s tobacco settlement agreement with “big tobacco” as a result of evidence of the tobacco companies withholding information about the potential harm of their products, and to protect themselves from future lawsuits and litigation.
As a result of this settlement, in November [...]

American Lung Association Supports Discrimination

In Minnesota, people who choose to eat excessively, drink alcoholic beverages, and smoke on their own time (when they’re not on the clock) are protected from discrimination by state law. This law doesn’t protect people who come to work intoxicated, smoke, or eat on the job. But it essentially protects an individual’s lifestyle choices, provided [...]