Amerika 2009 with Apologies to Martin Niemoller

First they came for the heroin and crack addicts and I didn’t speak up because I don’t use heroin or crack.

Then they came for the smokers and chewers and I didn’t speak up because those are nasty habits.

Then they came for heavy drinkers and I didn’t speak up because speakeasies sounded fun.

Then they came for people who cook with trans fats and I didn’t speak up because I quit those years ago.

Then they came for the overweight and I didn’t speak up because I was too winded from the treadmill.

Then they came for me and they had to pry my bacon from my cold dead fingers.

Obama pledges to quickly sign anti-smoking bill

To hell with that, I’m speaking up.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Your life, your liberty and your pursuit of happiness are your own and the relative value you place on each are your business, not mine. For myself, I’ll take more life rather than pursue happiness with tobacco. But ultimately, my liberty to make that decision is exactly the same and in the same measure as your liberty to make the opposite one. Liberty doesn’t mean the liberty to make the choices someone else thinks are right for us. Real freedom means having the freedom to make bad decisions. It’s past time to really roll back the nanny state and get government off our backs, out of our pocketbooks, and out of our bedrooms.