We have been aware for some while – at least those taking notice – that tobacco control and its evil cousins, drink aware, CASH and all the other nannying, hectoring, rent-seeking shills sucking vigorously at the taxpayer’s teat while presuming to tell us how we should live our lives are a bunch of criminally hypocritical shit-stains. We know this. However, now they choose to confirm it beyond all shadow of doubt.
The position of Tory health minister Earl Howe was under scrutiny after it was revealed he received a series of briefings from lobbyists representing a global cigarette company while drawing up his party’s opposition to tobacco control measures.
Well, yes. So what? There are two sides to this argument and it would seem perfectly reasonable to ask more than one of the vested interests for an opinion.
“It is deeply disturbing that Earl Howe not only met the tobacco industry but also appears to have connived with them to try to undermine public health policy while in opposition,”
Says Deborah Arnott who heads up a fake charity that draws its income from the taxpayer – a vested interest if ever there was one. Hardly an unbiased source, then, and hardly an unbiased opinion, so no different to the tobacco manufacturers. Both use lobbying as a means to keep up their income. Both are the opposite sides of the same coin. The only difference being, I don’t have to fund Philip Morris’ enterprise. I do have to fund the Dreadful Arnott and her gang of government funded thugs cronies and I resent every penny.
“As an opposition spokesman, it was incumbent on Earl Howe to speak to all sides in the runup to debates on government plans to ban the display of tobacco products in shops,” the spokesman said. “He met with anti-smoking groups as well as representatives of the tobacco industry. The job of any opposition spokesman is to challenge and scrutinise all proposals to ensure laws are as well drafted as possible.”
This seems perfectly reasonable to me – get all the prevailing opinions before going into battle. It would be reasonable in a sane world. We, however, do not live in a sane world. We live in a world where only the approved opinions may be consulted.
That sound you hear is Eric Blair drilling his way out of his grave.
Are these government funded lobby groups actually registered as charities, or do they just use the word charity as a label? I ask this because the National Secular Society could only register as a charity if it agreed to give up its political activities, which of course are its main reason for existing. The RSPCA got a slap from the government for poking its nose into the debate on the hunting ban because, as a registered charity it was required to keep out of politics. Either way, there is something dodgy about the government paying people to tell them what they want to be told to do.
The whole thing stinks. How they get away with charitable status is a mystery to me.
So what can be done about it? If the whole thing is actually illegal there needs to be a legal challenge. Interesting that the existence of the free press was historically there to deal with such issues. How sad that the dead tree press has descended to making up stories and photographing famous women’s knickers instead of doing their job.
Excellent post as usual LR. However I think poor old Eric would probably prefer to stay where he is, having done his best to warn us what was coming.
22.5% of their income derived from the taxpayer…….
See here http://fakecharities.org/2009/05/charity-262067/
Wish my blood pressure was low enough to risk reading the Grauniad!
“That sound you hear is Eric Blair drilling his way out of his grave..”
Don’t you mean ‘tunnelling’?
He may well have passed under the feet of WitteringsfromWitney by now. 😈
We live in a world where only the approved opinions may be consulted.
Ever tried to get a dissenting, nay downright hostile view of the vile, fascist, bullying olympics, and their odious spokes-thing, Coe on to air or into print?
Thought not!