cur-mud-geon:
anyone who hates hypocrisy and pretense and has the temerity to say so; anyone with the habit of pointing out unpleasant facts in an engaging and humorous manner
Remember when we were able to care for ourselves? That was way back before Governor Doyle came to be our benevolent protector and members of the Republican party seemed intent on doing him one better!
The Governor is intent on protecting us from everything but increasing taxes and fees that seemingly come out of nowhere. He is pushing fees on fees...or so it seems. But, I am to be protected even if I don't want to be protected! Daddy Doyle will look out for me!
Close on his heels are the Republicans that want to appear to care for us as much as does Daddy Doyle. Our own Senator Darling [R] is apparently now protecting me from smoking cigars in the cigar shop I frequent. She is a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 150 that will forbid smoking anything in any establishment including places of employment. It actually says that one is in violation for simply holding something made of tobacco that is burning or smoldering!
Since my cigar shop employs people to sell me cigars, I presume that it is classified as a place of employment. That was my read anyway. So, I sent an e-mail to the Senator asking that she set me straight if I had misread the intent of Senate Bill 150. I have not yet heard from her, and am presuming that I did not misread the bill, but, instead that I read it precisely as it appears. I am still waiting to hear from her...and will report here if I should hear. Believe me, I'd love to admit that I was wrong...but neither you nor I should be holding our breath.
I have voted for the Senator in every election in which she has run where I was able to vote for her. I have defended her when my friends have taken her to task for this and that. At the least, I expected her to reply to my very civil e-mail. She has "people", so one of them could've been told to reply to my e-mail if she were indeed too busy. I haven't heard from any of her staff, either.
So, I am left to assume that I can buy cigars but that I cannot linger in the smoking lounge of my cigar shop since I must be doing great bodily harm to myself, my fellow cigar smokers and the employees [who are often also the owners]. These are also employees who have a choice of place of employment...but they also appear to need to be protected from themselves. And, they are also customers when not employees!
It is okay that I'll pay the significantly increased cost of those cigars since the tax on each will increase from 25% to some 65% [an increase of a small amount...about 160%] when the budget is passed and signed...unless a miracle occurs...and that seems very unlikely as it now stands since that is part of the Governor's budget. Yes, there is a Joint Finance Committee comprised of eight Democrats and eight Republicans. The only problem is that when that Committee deadlocks with an eight to eight vote...guess who wins? You're correct. Daddy Doyle wins. And when he wins, most all of us lose...unless of course we're among the favored few.
Cast me as a disgruntled former Republican. This is but one of the reasons that I am now affiliated with no organized political party [yes, that is an oxymoron]. Cast me also as a disgruntled citizen of Wisconsin...the great taxing place in the upper Midwest.
I am a cynic, as those of you who read my Blogs already know. BUT...even the cynic in me has been utterly amazed at the taxes and fees that are about to be increased. And, then, add the sheer dispair associated with our representative democracy run amuck. Where has all the common sense gone? Is there no sanity left amongst the elected? Is there no sense of embarrassment in even one of our elected representatives?
And, finally...the hypocrisy of banning the use of a LEGAL material, that still has government subsidization to growers, overshadows the whole charade.
