A Special Pro Ecclesia Thanks ...

... to the Cranky Con himself, Paul Zummo for meeting me for an evening of fine cigars, draught beer, and excellent conversation at Shelley's Back Room in Washington, D.C.

I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to finally meet you in person, Paul.

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em - Just For Him Tobacco

Our old friend Advocatus Militaris (Not Really a Bad Guy, But His Record Indicates Otherwise) has an excellent post on the manly art of pipe smoking over at Fumare, which post includes a link to a family-run business called Just For Him Tobacco.

Sean P. Dailey of The Blue Boar also has a post on the subject.

I'm inspired to light up my pipe today in solidarity. I had been abstaining because I'm due to apply for a life insurance policy through the Knights of Columbus, and life insurance companies treat occasional pipe smoking the same way they treat someone who smokes multiple packs of cigarettes per day. But what the hell. It's 60-some degrees outside, my office window is open, and I might as well light up and enjoy myself.

Democrat Congress Proposes Massive 20,000% Increase on Cigar Tax ("for the Children")

From The Cleveland Leader:

Senate Considering Bill to Significantly Increase Cigar Taxes

The Senate Finance Committee is currently considering a bill that would result in a huge increase in the federal tax on cigars. Currently, the federal tax on cigars is at $0.05. The proposed bill could increase that to as much as $10.00, a 20,000% increase.

The bill is seeking to add $35 billion in funds to the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which helps uninsured children get the healthcare they need. The Senate Plan is to fund the increase in children's healthcare funds by increasing taxes on tobacco products.

President Bush has already said that if this bill were to pass, he would veto it.

My Comments:
I've already seen a couple of Catholic bloggers (see here and here) criticizing Bush's "lack of compassion" for daring to veto this 20,000% tax increase "for the children" (not having to listen to that lame-ass justification for all things liberal is reason enough to vote against the Democrat nominee for President next year).

I'm guessing the health-related costs of cigar smoking in the U.S. are minimal, and that such a tax is a pure unadulterated "envy tax" that is completely unrelated to any sort of distributionist notion of serving the common good.*

And I'm guessing the gentleman pictured above and below would agree with me.




* Does anyone else doubt that the Dems would be pushing for such legislation if Cuban cigars were available in the U.S. and weren't considered contraband? The Dems wouldn't want to hurt their hero Fidel's bottom line by placing such a burdensome tax on his main cash crop (especially since doing so would likely hurt the "model" health care system after which they'd love to pattern health care in the U.S.).