FORCES columnists offer news and perspectives on such issues as smoking and public policy, smoking and science, and the increasingly evident slippery slope that is leading to tobacco prohibition. They also venture into adjacent territory to chart the course of an authoritarian and censorious political and bureaucratic elite that uses state-of-the-art propaganda techniques, corporate handouts and tax dollars to woo the public towards a vision of the future that offers utopian illusions about health and safety in exchange for the privacy and freedom of both mind and body.
The concerns of our columnists range from a detailed examination of local legislative issues to broader philosophical considerations touching, for example, on the gradual (and decidedly undemocratic) globalization of public health policy.
Latest Articles
Injustice in Canada
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Author(s): Robert Prasker
Article Published: 2010/04/19
Founding Weed
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Author(s): Robert Prasker
Article Published: 2009/11/25
Obama's Bold Vision: Conformity and Newspeak
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Author(s): Robert Prasker
Article Published: 2009/05/08
Sit back. Relax. President Obama wants to help you, so he's hired some experts. The President would appreciate it if you'd be still while his experts get the straps on. It won't hurt a bit, and you'll have no idea what happened when they're done.
Can You Get Lung Cancer from a Toilet Seat?
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Author(s): Robert Prasker
Article Published: 2009/04/15
Tolerance for some, vilification for others, is the policy of "public health authorities."
Dear Governor, Part I
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Author(s): Robert Prasker
Article Published: 13 March 2009
Why should government buy broken banks and mortgages, when it could buy the suffering bars and restaurants it has declared to be "more profitable" in the wake of smoking bans?
One restaurateur in Ohio has asked the governor to put the state's money where its mouth is.
Environmental Alarmism Losing Acceptance
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Author(s): Robert Prasker
Article Published: 08/12/2008
Questioning the wisdom and authority of climate alarmists is getting to be a dangerous business.
A Gathering Storm
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Author(s): Robert Prasker
Article Published: 2009/01/16
In discussing the issues and problems imposed upon us by public health, we often speak in terms of the near future. We say things like "that's going to lead to... " or "pretty soon you won't be able to..." or "next thing you know, they're going to demand..." The time has come to stop couching our worries in such futuristic terms, and face what really lies before us, as exemplified by the newest, and perhaps greatest, assault upon freedom and reason yet devised by the health fascists.
The health fascists have planted a campaign in their traditional testing ground of downstate New York that will make your skin crawl.
This ain't a smoking ban, folks. It certainly has nothing to do with anything resembling "public health". We're up against an unabashed, organized, fascistic, conspiracy of hate. Actually, hate isn't even a strong enough word. Other words come to mind... thanatos ... death force .... evil ... For the moment, We'll compromise toward a kinder and gentler term. We'll just call it fascism.
Hollow Victory for Beantown Cigar Bars
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Author(s): Robert Prasker
Article Published: 2009/01/12
The old saying goes: "You can fool some people all of the time, and you can fool all people some of the time, but you can't fool all people all of the time." It's a tried and true adage, but when even those most victimized by tobacco control won't stand up for themselves, what hope is there for the rest of us?
The attitudes displayed in the fall-out of a recent public health effort to impose draconian tobacco restrictions in Boston, MA indicate the all-too-common symptoms of a widespread derangement. As Robert Prasker explains, all that is required to "fool all of the people, all of the time" is the cooperation of the victims themselves, as exhibited by some of the reactions to tobacco control's recent efforts in Boston.
Innocent Men, Open Prison
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Author(s): Robert Prasker
Article Published: 2009/01/05
"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt."
Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged"
"Innocent men" do not fit well into the design of progressive ideals.
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