Thursday
Jun052008
Writing worth reading
Thursday, June 5, 2008 Claire Fox, director of the Institute of Ideas, is an old friend of Forest. She chaired our David Hockney event at the 2005 Labour party conference (see below) and has spoken at several other Forest events, including last year's Revolt In Style dinner at The Savoy.
In this week's Spectator (available in London today, the rest of the country tomorrow) Claire has written a searing attack on Britain's political classes and their obsession with the "denormalisation" of smoking. Read it online HERE or buy a copy of the magazine. And pass it on.
Update on Sunday, June 8, 2008 by
Simon Clark
Simon Clark
Claire has also written THIS article in Municipal Journal.
Reader Comments (8)
Excellent little article. Good to see a hero of mine, the eminently readable John Stuart Mill, brought into play...about time too, as I have often thought of him turning in his grave.
Excellent article. Of course, the logic of hiding cigarettes under the counter to take away the temptation will be negated by all the smokers forced to stand in the street and smoke, who people will pass on their way to the shop that has hidden it cigs!
I also think that more and more people will do what we do and that is go abroad a couple of times a year on holiday and stock up! The cigs are cheaper, the hassle far less and you get to have a holiday too and it is still cheaper than holidaying in this country, especially when you take into account what you save on your cigs!
I keep asking the question 'what planet are these idiotic politicians on as it can't possibly be the same one as the rest of us' - no-one, not even a politician, has been able to answer the question yet!
Lyn, the next logical step after this will be to ban us from smoking on the streets like some cities in California.
As a Spectator reader for many years I can only say thank God for Claire Fox. Her blasts of refreshing honesty have consistently lit up Radio Four's 'The Moral Maze' for a long time and in this brilliant article she delightfully demolishes a legion of spurious 'anti-smoking' views. Children being wheeled out as battering rams rings so true on many issues.To be denied a basic consumer right to openly buy a perfectly legal, and highly taxed, product should be seen as indefensible. The fact that it is considered the next 'logical step' shows how blind and stupid our legislators have become. They get away with it because we only represent about 20% of the population. Some folks say that alcohol and unhealthy food are the next targets. They won't be because most of us drink and all of us eat. The smoking laws are all about minorities. That is what I hate about the constant barrage of new ideas and legislation on smoking. It is gesture politics at its most nasty. I say again thank God for the Claire Foxes to speak up for us. He, or she, must be very wise. He brought forth the Mogadon Dawn and, thankfully, balanced against her the super Claire.
A wonderful article. Thank you!
Simon, I don't know if anyone's already mentioned it, but your link leads to page two of the article.
Corrected, thanks.
Well Done Claire Fox.
There still intelligent people left in our corner thank God, but it is up to Joe Public to raise the roof as well. Will they ? No! Sheep to the slaughter.Deserve all they get.
Ah, Claire Fox - or Claire Foster as she used to be known in her Living Marxism days. I just can't take her seriously after all the atrocity-denying she's done.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Living_Marxism