Saturday, June 30, 2007

Toking Horses

The Capitalist Pig must be positively squealing.

It seems that the city council of Louisville, Kentucky, has seen fit to ban smoking everywhere ... with a couple of small exceptions.

The ordinance would prohibit smoking in all public places in this one-time tobacco hub, with the exception of Churchill Downs racetrack and any tobacco manufacturer.


Why would anyone want to infringe upon the liberty of a business owner to permit smoking in his establishment? According to ASH (Action on Smoking and Health, a "National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Donations"),

The Health Department study found a clear tie between secondhand smoke and health problems not only for children and adults but also on developing fetuses.

Pardon me if I go all Coulter on you, but: How quaint. Louisville city council only wants gamblers, quasi-sports broadcasters, tobacco manufacturers, and racehorses to have heath problems ?

By the way, there's another phenomenon out there that has a proven link to heath problems on developing fetuses; his name is George Tiller, but I find the local magistrates of that murderer's fair city somewhat slow to pass ordinances calling for the forced impoverisment of that entity.

I had thought Louisville to be a bastion of liberty among our darkening metropolises. Say it ain't so.

Friends, Americans, Countrymen, lend me your eyes!

To begin, "Schrag" rhymes with "Blog." Please don't forget.

Greetings, one and all. And yes, even if you are not a friend, an American, or a countryman of mine, you are certainly more than welcome to browse, skim, meditate, commiserate, retaliate, or just read.


This is my first attempt at blogging for myself. It is commenced on the encouragements of one Mike Tams and one Terry Morris, two gentlemen whom I would not only like to thank for many other encouragements over the past two years but also count as my dearest friends. May Providence richly bless you both for the blessings you have brought to me.


So, what do I do here, or what do I intend to do here? The answer is an emphatic "I'm not sure yet!" Well, I am sure about some things. I intend to write about things that interest me. Also, and more importantly, I intend to write about things that interest America; and the one thing that I believe is in America's best interest is American Federalism. A revival among the people has been taking place, and you, kind reader, may already have felt it or seen it ... or heard it. This revival involves a reawakening of the electorate in the face of a growing arrogance of many levels of "government" and an alarming politial illiteracy among the population at large. I, for one, was awakened on June 23, 2005, as the Supreme Court's decision on Kelo et al vs City of New London, Connecticut, was handed down ... and I do mean down.


We had barely been acquaintences as regulars among the readership of the Federalist Patriot until that time, but Kelo et al ingited something of a passion in each of us that seemed to burn at the exact same ... focus. We felt that we were being called of God to do something together, what exactly was unknown and much yet remains unknown, but He has given us vision and direction.


Now, Terry and Mike are far more outgoing and literarily prolific than I am, so in their company I see myself as a bit of a grasshopper. You can see at the American Federalist Blog that they each outnumber me more than 10-1 in posts (not to mention average post length). So, I thought that I might be able to hone my talents or simply lay out my own ideas in an individual blog alongside the flagship AFB. Also, I expect that my efforts here will also help to streamline the AFB, making it a more efficient and effective vessel on the high seas of American political discourse. During this streamlining process, I hope to continue to post on the AFB but with a focus more relavent to the AFB. Meanwhile, there will be serious posts here that, though tangential to the specific velocity of the AFB, are of equal political importance to me locally, regionally, and/or nationally. For example, though the topic of Bi-State II (placing the burden of upgrading and maintaining the Truman Sports Complex upon the backs of the people of Jackson County, Missouri) might be something of a liberty issue about which we in the AFB would have a mutual opinion, it is something of a distraction to the broader message of self-government that we intend for the AFB.


While the intent here is to focus primarily on American Federalist matters, do not be alarmed if you find me ranting about how the Dallas Stars are doing themselves no favors by wedding themselves to the Finnish talent pool, or how skull-splittingly frustrating it is to be a Royals baseball fan, or even the joys and terrors of being a newlywed.


Allow me to close this inaugural Schrag Blog post by welcoming you, kind reader, and thanking you for taking the time to stop in. Don't let anything I have to say keep you from replying, disagreeing, or returning in your own due time. Please be sure to spend at least twice as much time at AFB as you do here. I insist.


And I'll see you later.


Stand, and Live Free,


Edmund Schrag