Subject:
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Re: Censoring Unpopular Speech? (Re: Good news for collectors (was Re: 1593 box photos!))
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 23 Mar 2001 16:24:35 GMT
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Viewed:
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1438 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Dave Schuler writes:
> In lugnet.off-topic.fun, James Simpson writes:
>
> > I resent my government intruding on free speech regarding a legal activity.
>
> Out of curiosity, were the warnings broadcast by government decree or by
> voluntary (perhaps preemptive) participation of the station?
Whether the warning was mandatory or voluntary, I do not know; assuming it was
voluntary, it was a) because of government strong-arming, or b) because of
private-interest strong-arming.
> As long as the government has a vested interest in keeping medical costs
> down (in that the gov't subsidizes a huge amount of medical care through
> public funding) it is not unreasonable for the gov't to try to protect its
> investment by reducing the number of tobacco-related ailments it has to
> subsidize. This is nominally the argument behind a lot of pro-motorcycle
> helmet legislation. Your point remains, though, that such efforts can
> quickly become overwhelming to the point of farce.
Point well-taken. People who engage in dangerous behavior at public expense
should be accountable to the public to some measure; kind of reminds me of
something that I saw on TV a while back (nothing too noteworthy - it was just
one of those eureka moments that puts everything in a nutshell; the type of
thing that lets you say, "yeah, that pretty much sums it all up:" We had a bad
flood here in 1994. There is a riverfront neighborhood of "beach houses" right
on the banks of a flood-prone river. Anyway, the flood was reaching right up to
their front doors (about 12 feet high on stilts), and the Fire Dept. was
carrying people out in motor boats. The news showed these crusty oldtimers that
refused to leave - they all snarled at the camera and gave the stock speech
around here about how "I sat through Hurricane Alicia and ain't nobody gonna
budge me from this spot." Basically, what they were saying is "Come back and
get me later when all of our lives are in greater jeapardy. People who live off
the public nickel (but don't have to) really irritate me. Memo to people who
live on barrier islands/riverbanks/fault-lines: Subsidize your *own* insurance!
james
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