Cigarette Smokers Accused of Terrorism

Rep. Anthony Weiner a Democrat from New Yorks 9^th District plans to introduce legislation this week that will effectively make the buying or selling bootleg cigarettes (cigarettes that are not taxed) a felony instead of a misdemeanor.

He has decided that bootleg cigarettes are now a matter of National Security and that when I buy a carton of smokes off of the internet for twenty five dollars, instead of fifty or fifty five dollars at my local smoke shop, I am in fact supporting terrorism.

His legislation would also prohibit the United States Postal Service from shipping tobacco products.

This is an example of the United States Government going completely insane.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that failure to pay the existing cigarette tax is right. That is unlawful and I will not condone it.

However I think making it a matter of National Security is a little bit extreme.

This law does not give the Government one tiny bit more authority in regards to the company's that are selling the cigarettes. They are in other Countries and are outside of our Jurisdiction, until we decide that smokes are Weapons of Mass Destruction, and invade them. This law enables the Federal Authorities to again exert Jurisdiction over the entire United States, and effectively charge Joe Citizen with funding Terrorism.

I have three other ideas that would effectively end bootleg cigarette sales without charging me and every other American who has ever purchased smokes off of the internet with terrorism.

Idea #1: Prohibit all American Tobacco Companies from selling smokes to anyone in the world unless all US tobacco taxes are collected.

Or

Idea #2: Stop expecting evil cigarette smokers to subsidize the healthcare of every poor single mother and her offspring, and roll back the insane tobacco taxes.

Or

Idea #3: Use some of these insane tax dollars to pay for a quality Dr. Supervised federally funded stop smoking programs.

Now we all know that none of these alternate suggestions will be embraced because the US Government wants to subsidize American Healthcare with Tobacco money, but come on, this just doesn't make any since.

Please from one American to another, take a moment and drop Congressman Weiner an e-mail, suggest to him that cigarette smokers aren't terrorists, and that this is a matter that can be dealt with on the State Level.