Postscript to the Today programme
Wednesday, January 6, 2010 
Following last week's Today programme which featured a short interview with Joe Jackson (left) about smoking bans, someone (I think it was Joyce) commented: "I was quite surprised by the lack of anger coming from Joe Jackson who, when he writes, does so very passionately."
Further to his earlier comments which I posted HERE, Joe has written to say:
"On the Today show I didn't even get to the subject of secondhand smoke. I was on my 'best behaviour' ... I did say that I understood that a lot of people personally quite liked the ban, but that I wish they would stop and think about what has happened: government has banned adults from using a legal and heavily-taxed product in places which are actually private property ... and where will this end? etc.
"I thought this was well-put and that they would use it but it seems that even this was too 'controversial' - they really did use only the most innocuous couple of quotes they could find. As I said, it really is all about nothing more than personal feelings about bans one way or the other. There is no real debate."
PS. You can listen to bits of the programme, guest edited by David Hockney, HERE. Joe is featured in Caroline Wyatt's report.
Reader Comments (2)
Well this is just it.
When Joe says "they only used the most innocuous quotes they could find".
You could have the best arguement backed up by statistics or whatever, but what us mere innocent honest mortals dont reckon on is that the the antis have immense wealth (paid for by us the taxpayer) and the best spin doctors that money can buy (paid for by us the taxpayer) at their disposal, to enlighten them on the right weasel words to make any oponent look stupid, or hone in on their weak spot, thus making themselves look like they have won the argument and it makes it sound to listeners or an audience, who are for the most part brainwashed anyway, that they really know their stuff and they must be right.
Its a long road we poor smokers have to travel to combat this form of corruption and lies.
But Rome wasnt built in a day either.
The Joe Jacksons's of this world just have to keep chipping away to save us all.
Well done Joe for all your efforts.
Well, Joe's response just highlights the lengths that the biased media will go to in order to spin, which we all suspected anyway. It must be maddening, though, to feel strongly about an issue only to find that your message has been mangled.