tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200725440105585610.post78662356896788617..comments2012-06-18T08:49:53.087-04:00Comments on StationR in BLOGLAND: Posted tonight to the UTCSTAFF Yahoo ListRodgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588242385936341466noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200725440105585610.post-80628660756063648162009-06-02T22:28:25.348-04:002009-06-02T22:28:25.348-04:00All of this was a waste of time. Under pressure f...All of this was a waste of time. Under pressure from people who feared "big government" was trying to tell them how to live their lives, no doubt joined by the very formidable tobacco lobby, the state caved in and "postponed" the plan. I doubt the idea will ever be spoken again.Rodgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01588242385936341466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200725440105585610.post-7160536464695239262009-04-23T17:21:00.000-04:002009-04-23T17:21:00.000-04:00Nobody ever reads this, so I'll have to follow up ...Nobody ever reads this, so I'll have to follow up with my own follow-up. It seems that I am the only person on campus who likes the new tobacco use surcharge, and that cynicism, hyperbole, and the fallacy of extrapolation rule at UTC. Here's my final response:<br /><br />Remember ten years ago when Tennessee received 1.4 billion dollars in tobacco settlement money that was supposed to go toward anti-smoking efforts and research but instead was used to balance the budget? Tennessee (as most states did) misappropriated that money while laws were still on the books *requiring* that every state building have indoor smoking facilities. Given that we already spent all that tobacco money with such great hypocrisy, it seems only fitting to me that smokers themselves should pay for the programs we were supposed to put in place a decade ago.Rodgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01588242385936341466noreply@blogger.com