4 Lib Senators Ask Baseball to Ban Players From Using Tobacco
Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 11:41 AM
With the unemployment rate at record levels democrats want to ban chew.
Majority Whip Dick Durbin and three other lib senators wrote a letter today to the baseball commissioner asking him to ban tobacco in baseball.
The Sun Times Blog reported:
The day before game one of the World Series, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and other senators are asking Major League Baseball to ban players from using tobacco products at games, especially smokeless or chewing tobacco.
“Tomorrow night, an expected 15 million viewers, including many children, will tune in to watch the first game of the series. Unfortunately, as these young fans root for their favorite team and players, they also will watch their on-field heroes use smokeless tobacco products,” wrote Durbin and other senators to MLB executive director Michael Weiner.
“During the upcoming negotiations over the bargaining agreement, we write to ask that the Major League Baseball Players Association agree to a prohibition on the use of all tobacco products at games and on camera at all Major League ballparks. This would send a strong message to young baseball fans, who look toward the players as role models, that tobacco use is not essential to the sport of baseball.”
click below for senators’ letter…
below, Durbin release….
DURBIN, LAUTENBERG, HARKIN, BLUMENTHAL ASK MLB PLAYERS ASSOCIATION TO VOLUNTARILY BAN TOBACCO USE
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – On the eve of an expected 15 million viewers–including many children–tuning in to watch the first game of the 2011 World Series tomorrow, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today called on the Major League Baseball (MLB) Players Association to ban the use of all tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco, on the field, in the dugout, and in the locker rooms at MLB venues.
“Tomorrow night, an expected 15 million viewers, including many children, will tune in to watch the first game of the series. Unfortunately, as these young fans root for their favorite team and players, they also will watch their on-field heroes use smokeless tobacco products,” wrote the Senators. “During the upcoming negotiations over the bargaining agreement, we write to ask that the Major League Baseball Players Association agree to a prohibition on the use of all tobacco products at games and on camera at all Major League ballparks. This would send a strong message to young baseball fans, who look toward the players as role models, that tobacco use is not essential to the sport of baseball.”
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Published May 22, 2012 at 5:04 am - 81 Comments
More Liberty commented:
The last thing the government wants is people to stop buying tobacco. They would lose so much tax revenue.
How sweet would it be if MLB replied with – “We will ask a free and independent individual to stop using tobacco when you clowns balance the budget, stop these foreign wars and stop bailing out banks and auto companies.”
RKflorida commented:
First thing is to make the Senate booze free. No alcohol use. Alcohol alters conscientiousness tobacco does not. So lets get rid of the booze. Most of the senate are rum-dums and we know a large part of the House is, just look at Bohner.
tommy mc donnell commented:
it just goes to show the dictatorial nature of the modern american politican. why don’t they ban alcohol, its a hell of a lot worse for your health than tabacco.
More Liberty commented:
These crooks, even most republicans, are all about telling the individual how to live. They could care less about individual liberty and freedom. It’s none of the governments business.
Granny commented:
#1 October 18, 2011 at 11:46 am
More Liberty commented:
The last thing the government wants is people to stop buying tobacco. They would lose so much tax revenue.
___________
Yup, between local, state and Federal taxes on tobacco the government at all level would be in a huge world of hurt. Same thing with booze, which is FAR more destructive on both an individual and societal level. By some reports, Phillip Morris lists taxes as 56.6% or so of the cost of a pack of cigarettes.
Mike commented:
Its good they dont have anything important to be working on, like jobs or terrorism.
BarbaraS commented:
It’s all right to kill the unborn no matter what stage of gestation they are in, but, for goodness sake, don’t smoke or chew tobacco. It’s all right to smoke marijuana but not tobacco. Libs are so confusing or is that confused.
One Man's Thoughts commented:
TERM limits, and all of these “Senators” would be out of office. Fat cats is appropriate when describing most of these folks, from viewing them on camera. Maybe we should ban cameras, as the 10 pounds added by them to an individual does not help these guys either. Get out of peoples lives, and go about your own business.
Charlie commented:
—”It’s all right to smoke marijuana but not tobacco. Libs are so confusing or is that confused.”—
It’s worse than you thought. Because if you are Obama you can smoke tobacco… and still be the healthiest man in the country.
tommy mc donnell commented:
they want to ban tabacco but legalize marijuana. makes you proud to be an american.
RS commented:
How about endorsements for GE? That’s mandatory for ballplayers, right?
RedBeard commented:
It fits, having the despicable Dickie “The Turban” Durbin (he of the “our troops act like Nazis” infamy) leading the charge for yet more coercive social engineering.
Dear Senator Durbin: Sit down and shut up, Sir. You are embarrassing yourself, your state, your country, and the entire concepts of personal responsibility and common sense.
Illinois voters, please get rid of this man and the stain he puts on your great state. I know, not much chance of that unless Cook County were to slide off into Lake Michigan, but try.
Crackermike commented:
Cheryl Crow wants the Gov’t to limit you to 2 squares of toilet paper per wipe too. Ain’t the Democraps just got it all figured out?
Patty commented:
Communists, whether on the left or right! It is here and it is coming more often. Need to stop it.
http://debates.juggle.com/should-the-government-take-actions-to-deter-individuals-from-smoking
Cutlers bad knee commented:
This is par for course Dick Turbin and the Chicago Cubs chronic Losers from Illinois.
And whats amazing is there is Morons out there that still back these useless pieces of $#!t.
Valerie commented:
It’ll send a message alright: Big Brother is arbitrary and capricious.
Frank Scarn commented:
Liberals reach their freedom-depriving fingers into and onto everything. From kitchen to garage to back yard to everywhere else.
They want to regulate, to their way of thinking and action only, every aspect of our lives.
No one s/b surprised that the reach goes to the bullpen and the dugout.
Freddy commented:
What about all of the inappropriate scratching? Why does congress not demand fines for anyone that has an itch and needs to scratch? Which always seems to happen just as they get to home plate to bat!
Who could possible be against no scratch zones in baseball?
Adirondack Patriot commented:
Aren’t these “Pro-Choice” politicians? “What I do with my body is my business?” “Keep your laws off my body?” If someone chooses to smoke, why is that a federal matter?
moron commented:
Make daily drug and alcohol tests mandatory for Durbin, Schumer, Pelosi, Reid, Obama, Waxman, Jackson. Also monthly IQ tests.
John03 commented:
@ More Liberty
How sweet would it be if MLB replied with – “We will ask a free and independent individual to stop using tobacco when you clowns balance the budget, stop these foreign wars and stop bailing out banks and auto companies.”
Excellent response. Let them get their own house in order before they start telling others how to run theirs.
Midwestengr commented:
Why stop there Dick? How about banning cursing in public? Smoking in ALL movies? This is just mind boggling!
Stuart commented:
And golly, let’s bring back prohibition while we are at it, it worked so well the first time around.
gosh! commented:
#9 #17 bing………………………..
Molon Labe commented:
Baseball players should ask these senators to give up graft while in Congress and cease lying.
Georg Felis commented:
Dear Dick.
No.
Sincerely,
MLB
FedUp commented:
Ah Geez!!!! put these bleeding heart, do-nothing nannies in a convent and let them meditate on their sins. They aren’t doing us any good – just taking up time and space. VOTE THEM OUT!
Valerie commented:
Perhaps they are doing this because they’d rather talk about anything, than this:
http://situationroom.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/17/blitzers-blog-poll-numbers-bad-for-obamas-reelection-prospects
“Among all voters, 59% think that President Obama’s policies will fail compared to only 36% who say they will succeed.
In 2010, 47% thought the president’s policies would fail. And back in 2009, only 32% thought the president’s policies would fail.”
**************
This is Wolf Blitzer’s interpretation of results from a new CNN-ORC International poll, which is likely to be skewed in favor of the Democrats. It’s coming from a friendly source, but it’s asking an important question — whether a person thinks the president’s policies will fail.
With these numbers, the TEA Parties can pivot the next elections, provided they continue to focus on a limited number of policy issues.
The TEA Parties will have to make common cause with the Republicans because the only way to win the next round of elections is through one of two national parties, and the Democratic Party is currently wedded to failed policies. The House has been cleaned up a bit, but the Senate and White House need to be swept.
Then, the coalition needs to be prepared to govern.
xiphos commented:
2012: Dick Durbin before he Dicks us ….. again and again
Highlander commented:
Are they going to want to ban whoring around and acting like a jerk too? Come on people. Are we going to let this country become some sort of police state?
hermie commented:
Then they can ban beer in the stands, prohibit soft drinks (since they have all that nasty sugar and carbonation) and forbid those unhealthy hog dogs, pizza and other foods from being sold to the fans. Bean sprouts and tofu only!
Strip searches at the gates to keep a Snickers bar from coming into the stadium and acccidentally coming into contact with people who have peanut allergies!
StrangernFiction commented:
But a president that lies every time he opens his yap, he is a terrific role mode.
Patty commented:
An issue just like this was brought up years ago. Now, with more courage, if you could call it that, these liberals mustard it up and now, they are trying not only to take individual rights away, but because of the embarrassing way that government as perform its duties: Jobless rates, Solyndra, Fast an Furious and Obama care, now they are just grasping at straws to get name recognition.
Seriously, the more the liberals are in power the more we look like old communist Russia.
BS-meter commented:
Ya’ gotta admit, Durbin’s mama sure knew what she was doing when she named him.
Ripped commented:
Senator Durbin focus on the economy and STFU.
Ripped commented:
Durbin, probably a Cubs fan
Patty commented:
Waste of Taxpayers time and money. These Senators will lose their jobs come election of 12.
Rats will be running everywhere in Washington. To think this is how they are using their time.
WillofLa commented:
“…tobacco use is not part of playing baseball.” Yeah, but it’s an American tradition. If you don’t want your kid to chew, you tell them don’t chew it could be bad for them, could be. Otherwise the government should just stay out of our mouths, lungs, stomach’s, bowel’s, and in the case of men, our penis’s. Just leave our traditions alone, and leave us alone as well. All these do gooder’s who believe we shouldn’t be sending “negative” messages to “the children” about everything we do as a nation.
The message the government is sending our children about consuming tabacco products is, “America is a bad nation to still allow tobacco companies to offer their products that are known to have caused health problems and cancer. America is a bad nation if it allows these companies to exist.” What do gooder thought it would be a good idea to take a right that they don’t have to tell a privately owned business what it should have the employees do and what they tell them not to do.
It’s none of the government’s business to be our “nanny” and look after our health and how we bring up our children. If we eliminate the Federal Department of Education, we can eliminate a lot of these intrusive behavior from the nanny stater’s. They think we don’t have enough sense to consider what our children believe about some athelet’s habits that we need to warn them about, that some particular aspect of a sports figure’s habits aren’t part of the image their children should follow.
Besides I don’t believe the kids are concentrating on what a player has in their mouths has anything to do with the sport. And it’s the government who is wrong to point something like that out as part of the players image that shouldn’t be there. It’s not. No kid wakes up one morning and decides to start chewing or dipping because the kid wants to play baseball.
The government needs to get the hell out of always trying to kill off all of America’s traditions because those traditions don’t suit liberal’s idea of good, bad, or otherwise.
Finncrisp commented:
Let’s make the White House a smoke free zone; start there and see how that goes. Good grief.
Let’s also make the Attorney General stop lying to Congress. Mr. Clemens is going to trial twice for that one. Why is Holder, a.k.a. “the fool’s tool” getting a pass?
Mermaz commented:
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
~ Thomas Jefferson
The Democrats love to pretend they are taking care of us – that they’re just looking out for our general welfare.
Militant Conservative commented:
Geezus what’s next no scratchin your huevos?!
Not to worry many of you will be replaced.
#1AMERICAN commented:
how about we ban all liberal brain dead demo-turds
john03 commented:
Next thing you know, they’ll try to ban smoking in public places. No, wait. They’ve allready done that. Oh well, then they’ll try to stop smoking in private businesses. No, wait. They’ve allready done that.
overthehillbill commented:
I would much rather meet a person on the highway “under the influence” of a half pack of
cigs than a person who is under the influence of half a case of booze!
ohiochili commented:
I think a lot more kids are damaged by watching their parents booze it up and beat the snot out of each other.
I don’t think I ever heard of anyone beating up his wife because he had one too many smokes or chewed one plug too many.
lemonaide commented:
Not only do we have to abide all this BS from these libs, but PETA will probably try to ban the St. Louis Rally Squirrel! Why don’t we all just hide under the bed in our drab, institutional grey rooms like good little lambs. Probably safer that way.
RedBeard commented:
We banned smoking inside our business long ago, because we wanted to do so. Private business, and our free choice. But then when the government came along much later, sticking its big nose in and giving orders banning smoking inside business places, I was tempted to start smoking cigars inside, just to put a thumb in the eye of the power-mad politicians and their bureaucratic drones.
I should be the one to decide these things, not some government nanny-twits.
squeaky commented:
“Tomorrow night, an expected 15 million viewers, including many children, will tune in to watch the first game of the series. Unfortunately, as these young fans root for their favorite team and players, they also will watch their on-field heroes use smokeless tobacco products”….nothing like being lectured to by these corrupt bozos. advanced warnings tags should be run before any of them run their mouths. it’s a lot easier giving up smoking, etc than getting any of these creeps out of office after they show their true selves. they are a clear and present danger.
aprilnovember811 commented:
I would tell them when they ban stealing and lying, they will consider it.
aprilnovember811 commented:
Obama is a chain smoker isn’t he? He also used cocaine. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
CV1 commented:
Baseball players don’t even smoke while on the field or in front of a camera. Second-hand smoke is not an issue. we’d all be hard pressed to name players who smoke, based on televised baseball games.
Ball players are tobacco chewers. Their habit impacts no one. I watched them chew when I was a kid and I NEVER had an inclination to try it.
Atlanta Media Guy commented:
Durbin screwed us the bank customers with his silly amendment in Dodd/Frank bill now he wants to tell million dollar players, that he is going to take more of what’s in their wallet and tell them they can’t stick anything in their mouth that resembles tobacco. Dick needs to take a vacation to Mars! This guy will never quit. How many regulations has this man called for this year alone?
Liz Thompson commented:
According to a post in the Daily Rash, New York City police will begin executing cigarette smokers next month. Mayor Bloomberg says the new law will help save lives. http://www.thedailyrash.com/new-york-city-passes-law-to-begin-executing-smokers
Bruce commented:
Typical liberals—–If they don’t like something they insist it be banned.
Craig commented:
I agree with all your comments, governments should stay out of our lives. But I disagree with you, that it is only the democrats who do that.
The Republicans brought you:
- The Patriot Act
- The EPA
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- The Consumer Product Safety Commission.
- The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that mandates the phase out of incandescent light bulbs
- The federal drug laws
- The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003
- Etc., etc….
All of the above are related to a Nanny State
Craig commented:
Oh, and I forgot the TSA…lol
RedBeard commented:
Hoft never said that only Democrats do this garbage. But it is somewhat telling that all four of those lefties who proposed this ban are Dems.
Nixon (EPA and OSHA) might have been a Republican, but he was no conservative. Neither was Bush, when he foolishly signed off on the Dems idiotic light bulb ban.
The difference between the parties is that Dems are hopeless, marching in leftie lockstep, while there are actually a few conservatives in the Republican Party.
JK commented:
This is such transparent pandering and completely outside of the agenda of important issues. Dick Durbin couldn’t get the Democratic senators to break the cloture filibuster on the Jobs bill, and now he’s wasting the Senate’s time with this nonsense.
What a terrible Senator, not that any of the other current crop are much better.
BurmaShave commented:
Who says “Liberal” are not control freaks? Who thinks we should turn our health care and our lives over to these jerks?
Pat commented:
Refuse to play, boys! Cancel the Series! Go on strike if the the big powers force you to do this.
Downer commented:
Of course. Don’t our smart, caring elected officials know what’s best for us? Of course, it’s for our own saaafety. Come on sheeple, time for us to tell these “representatives” to go to hell.
Annoyed In Illinois commented:
I’d offer that Dick Turban is a hopeless Cub fan (aren’t ALL Flub fans that way?) but since he was born in East St. Louis and lives in Springfield, Illinois you Redbird rooters will have to claim his sorry a**.
Francis commented:
#10 “they want to ban tabacco but legalize marijuana.”
Well, in fairness, tobacco is responsible for about 400,000 U.S. deaths each year (about 400,000 more than marijuana). And this story is not about attempts to ban tobacco. The lawmakers are simply encouraging the MLB, a private organization, to restrict its members from using it during games. Look, if you want to be outraged by this, that’s fine. (I agree that it’s obnoxious.) But you should be a lot MORE outraged by the fact that these clowns are sending men with guns to lock people in cages for possessing cannabis.