Someone PLEASE keep the government out of my lungs!

Good Morning and welcome to Coast to Coast.

A brief anecdote, if I may, to begin this morning's discussion. After work monday night, I returned from watching monday night football with my friends and decided I would stop and have a cigarette before retiring to my dorm for the night. What did I smell on the air but the sweet delcious smell of a Djarum Black (a clove flavoured cigarette for those of you unfamiliar with them). One of my friends proceeded to give me one and I asked where he got his pack. He told me where but then reminded me as of midnight tuesday morning, blacks along with any other flavoured tobacco product were illegal.

Now this curious piece of legislation gets me thinking: Just what is congress thinking? Was it not liberal America constantly whining about conservatives "legislating morality" during the Bush Administration.

So what (if any) is the justification for telling people what they can and cannot smoke. For that matter, where does the United States Government draw its rationalization for telling a given industry what it can and cannot produce? The answer is simple: To protect American youth.

Conservatives are as guilty as Liberals in parading American youth around as the answer to various forms of social legislation but this is rediculous, bottom line. According to the bill in congress and recently signed by President Obama, flavoured tobacco products cater directly to young people and this piece of legislation is designed to keep them from smoking.

America when was the last time you saw a tobacco ad showing teenagers or even my seven year old nephew smoking a grape flavoured swisher sweet or a djarum black?

The government needs to learn that it is in no way its job to tell the American people what they can and cannot do. It goes further to say that the current congress led by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Ried must learn that it needs to keep its greedy hands off of American industry. In a recession economy, we should not be punishing multi-million dollar industries like tobacco. Just as a side note, tobacco has been a cash crop of the United States since...well...the colonies?

I would like to close this post by saying one simple thing. You cannot legislate morality. It's just not possible. Government power has grown at an alarming rate since the Bush administration and this constant government intrusion into personal lives needs to stop now.

That is all for today and remember whether you live on the east, west or gulf coast...

THE REPUBLIC PREVAILS