The September 2019 US Politics Thread is great Great GREAT GR8

Tbf I have two good friends who used to smoke cigarettes who have now switched to e-cigs. They're still addicted, but they smoke much less. I think the assumption that it is better for you than conventional cigarettes is as of yet just that, an assumption, and, yeah, often one propagated by the e-cig companies themselves (and often mitigated by the apparently off the charts level of nicotine in the products). The federal move to ban, with "quitting" in mind, does not include tobacco flavored e-cigs, but the talk-tough FDA news conference threatened to take those away if the youth-oriented marketing continues.

hmm when has a company w a tobacco product ever lied about the health risks, let me see if I can think of an example

While I agree that this is a pernicious and underregulated industry, it's a bit rich that there's suddenly so much hue and cry and push for a ban after a few people get sick and die from what appears to be misuse of the product while, y'know...that whole 'guns' thing, not such a big deal.

This was an/the article I recently read about "why this in particular."

https://beta.washingtonpost.com/local/education/helpless-to-the-draw-of-nicotine-doctors-parents-and-schools-grapple-with-teens-addicted-to-e-cigarettes/2019/07/25/e1e8ac9c-830a-11e9-933d-7501070ee669_story.html

“With the Juuls, kids are able to get a much higher dose of nicotine — and dose matters,” Levy said. “These kids have behaviors that we often see in patients who have opioid or marijuana addiction, but we didn’t typically see with kids who developed addiction to traditional tobacco cigarettes.”

...

But doctors say teens consume e-cigarettes at far faster rates than they do traditional cigarettes, with some consuming a pod or more a day — equivalent to the amount of nicotine in a pack of cigarettes. E-cigarette vapor does not burn the throat as much as cigarette smoke does, and its discretion allows consumers to use e-cigarettes more frequently.

(FTR, I'm speaking of this suddenly becoming a sudden Trumpian bugbear. Bulldoze every e-cig factory on earth, imo.)

marijuana addiction lol

yeah i understand people can be "addicted" to weed but that shit is not comparable to fucking opioids

I don't know if you read the article, but it was comparing behaviors: kids stealing to afford their $5 a day Juul habit, kids skipping school/responsibilities to smoke, etc.

yeah still doesn't equate to weed use imo

I mean maybe you didn’t read the article but the quote doesn’t say that either?

As e-cigarettes have skyrocketed in popularity among teenagers in the past two years, pediatricians report seeing teens who behave less like tobacco users and more like patients with substance-abuse disorders.

Some young people have resorted to stealing from their parents or selling e-cigarette paraphernalia to support their habits, addiction treatment specialists said. And even though many teens assume e-cigarettes are safe, some turn up with signs of nicotine toxicity, a condition previously seen in young children who accidentally ingested nicotine gum. Others are reporting respiratory problems. After more than three years of vaping daily, Beauparlant was diagnosed with restrictive lung disease. His mother said she is working with an attorney to file a class-action lawsuit against Juul that would force it to set up treatment centers.

re vape panic, maybe the way to get him out of office is to offer him the Sgt Friday role in a reboot of Dragnet

This is all so sad but also completely absurd. It's like if after everything containing asbestos was banned someone came up with a whole new + fun form of asbestos that appealed to the 8-12 crowd. What could go wrong!!!

yum Strawberry Asbestos

would be a positive development imo, cause that would mean zoomers and millennials could afford real estate to dangerously mismanage.

While I agree that this is a pernicious and underregulated industry, it's a bit rich that there's suddenly so much hue and cry and push for a ban after a few people get sick and die from what appears to be misuse of the product while, y'know...that whole 'guns' thing, not such a big deal.

― Welcome To My Lifemare (Old Lunch),

and...cigarettes!

btw I still smoke my daily cigarette #ColdDeadHands

There is no difference between this and cigs. I had my own favorite spots in high school to smoke too. Including bathrooms

The major difference, amply discussed itt, is that the e-cig industry has nimbly tiptoed around the decades of slow progress made in curtailing tobacco marketing aimed at the youth.

also acceleration of addiction, ease of ability to hide and use, jolly rancher flavor profiles, engagement with social media as the prime method of promotion

But other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?

(Abe pulls monomaniacally from his vape pen like an asthmatic in the midst of an attack)

Also vapes smell WAY less horrible than cigarettes.

More children have died in ICE custody that from vaping.. just saying https://t.co/bmkGROBY5D

— Al Cardenas (@AlCardenasFL_DC) September 12, 2019

somewhere jeff sessions sheds a tear of joy

"NYC Council wants to repeal a ban on LGBT conversion therapy": https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-city-council-repeal-ban-on-lgbt-gay-conversion-therapy-avoid-court-20190911-aftmbffxp5c7tfvndve6muoyg4-story.html

The City Council is moving to repeal a ban on conversion therapy to avoid fallout from a pending lawsuit that advocates and lawmakers fear could curtail LGBT protections across the country.

Speaker Corey Johnson, who is gay, will introduce a bill Thursday overturning a law passed in 2017 that banned all forms of LGBT conversion therapy.

The repeal comes after an anti-LGBT Christian group, Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the ban this past January.

Advocates worried that the case could reach the more conservative U.S. Supreme Court – and that a negative decision on the Council’s measure could negatively affect other laws protecting the LGBT community.

Gotta wonder how old Grover is taking it.

Disappointed there were no questions on Obama and Hillary's war on VAPING through the FDA.
If Hillary wins, there will be prohibition.

— Grover Norquist (@GroverNorquist) September 27, 2016

Forget Grover, what about poor Duncan Hunter? First he's indicted, and now this!

https://i.imgur.com/H8pp3Oi.gif?noredirect

Ms Miller otm

Also vapes smell WAY less horrible than cigarettes.

true BUT something can still be more alarming to smell even if it's 'better'

Al Cardenas, who looks like a ham hock wrapped in several cool layers of prosciutto di parma, otm.

With the announcement that Trump could be implementing a ban on most e-cigarettes, it's worth exploring how harmful this could be to his re-election prospects. There are 13 million adult vapers in the US. They vote. Their families vote.https://t.co/7DfDOpg6O7

— Grover Norquist (@GroverNorquist) September 12, 2019

YES

ENSHALLAH

loool

There are 13 million adult vapers in the US. They vote. Their families vote. At about the same ~55% average rate as other eligible US voters.

gotta court the vape bloc

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Friday brought back to life an emoluments-related lawsuit against President Donald Trump. The lawsuit filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) had previously been dismissed for lack of standing. The lawsuit is revived at a time when “potential violations of the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution ” are under the microscope.

The case at hand was argued before and decided by Circuit Judges Christopher Droney, Pierre Leval and John Walker. The Court decided that U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels’ dismissal of the suit was vacated and sent back to the lower court. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of high-end hospitality business plaintiffs, alleged that the plaintiffs have been harmed by the president unlawfully profiting off of his office, as “foreign and domestic government clientele” keep patronizing Trump properties.

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/u-s-court-of-appeals-brings-emoluments-lawsuit-against-trump-back-to-life/

a time when “potential violations of the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution ” are under the microscope

As per usual regarding restrictions upon executive power, all the enforcement measures in the US constitution are incredibly weak, because in reality they all boil down to impeachment by Congress or an adverse SCOTUS decision - and neither of these "co-equal" branches has a mechanism to enforce their verdicts, aside from broad public acceptance of their legitimacy.

Waiting to meet w/Egypt’s authoritarian president at the G7, Trump called out in a loud voice to the group of U.S. & Egyptian officials: “Where’s my favorite dictator?” His question was met w/stunned silence, per @nancyayoussef @vmsalama @MichaelCBender.https://t.co/EsnQbOt1XY

— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) September 13, 2019

https://i.imgur.com/k8hvTYP.png

his question was met with stunned silence. everyone in the room knew that there were at least a handful of other dictators who were clearly more favored by trump than Egypt's President Sisi

lol xp

sometimes the Grifter accidentally breaks through to something like unprecedented presidential honesty

can I just point out how odd it is how quickly the Magasphere turns on guys like Bolton the instant they get fired, the Republican party really is just a dumb cult right now

Here’s an idea: When a party wins more votes, but fewer seats, it triggers an automatic nonpartisan remapping. The 59 million Americans living under entrenched minority rule deserve nothing less. https://t.co/u1qFDfmuom

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) September 13, 2019

wish there were more Schwarzenegger Republicans our there tbh

seems like that group contains one (1) person

who?

tina fey