Turning up the Heat...

I’m told that there is an art to cooking a frog. One can’t simply drop the frog into a pot of boiling water, as he’ll jump right out. Instead, one must put the frog in some lukewarm water, so he’s nice and comfy. “After all, it’s just water, right?” Then turn up the heat a bit at a time, so he has time to adjust. “Sure, the water’s warmer, but dang it, it’s just so comfy, and it can’t really hurt me.” Once the poor frog’s been in hot water for long enough, he’s too lethargic to jump out and he’s cooked.

I remember when the anti-smoking crowd pushed for smoke-free flights, only within the US. After all, you have the endurance to not smoke for a couple of hours, right? And we were reassured that it was only a small liberty we were giving up. And no one noticed how warm the water was getting until the pot was at a boil, and there was no way to get out. So now, thanks to the great unwashed, we have a smoking ban in Ohio.

In efforts at full disclosure, I will admit: I do not smoke. No one in my household smokes. Once again, I’ll admit, I see this as a private property issue. But before anyone screams “RWT, you’ve been over this before, ENOUGH ALREADY – besides, we won,” I want you to take a hard look at an editorial in the Blade today. In their effort to ban private property rights north of the Ohio border, the leadership at the daily piddle-paper let one slip. They actually told us how they felt about your rights. They remark that this isn’t a private business issue, that is “a ridiculous position, of course, because government is already involved in manifold aspects of private industry every day.” (Emphasis mine)

The Blade’s position seems to be that if the government is involved with your business in any way (taxes, heath inspections, building inspections, etc), they have the patent right to interfere with your business in any way they so choose. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but when a government entity tells you what legal activities are allowed on your property, they’re telling you that the business (or residence) has no RIGHT, even if not expressly forbidden. And the Blade supports this type of legal seizure of one’s property rights. Once the government gets in the habit of telling businesses which legal activities they are allowed to have on premises, I wonder how long before the government turns up the heat some more, and simply seizes the business completely – in essence, cooking every business owner in Frogtown. According to the Blade, jump in because the water’s just fine.

Margaritas ante Porcos,
Right Wing Toledo