(Might have been a rerun) I caught 5 minutes of 60 Minutes. They mentioned the Florida city that had quit hiring smokers, but was now back to hiring them. They said they only saved 5% on insurance by excluding smokers and it was hard to find enough qualified police with that policy.

They also had that Weyco guy on and they trapped him into a corner. He said he didn't care what employees did on their own time. The 60 Minutes interviewer said the Weyco health policy followed them home. The Weyco guy admitted the policy followed them home. The 60 Minutes guy said the Weyco guy made the policy. Weyco guy said yes he did. 60 Minutes guy said well then YOU do care what they do at home. Weyco guy smiled and said yes.

They also had some company that if employees join their Wellness program they'll save 20 bucks a month on insurance. Among other things, the employees are called at their home and "nagged" about their lifestyles.

Then there was a guy who said something like smokers were once just looked at as just having a bad habit, but are now looked at as doing something morally wrong. He didn't know how this change had come about. Something like that.

quote:

They also had that Weyco guy on and they trapped him into a corner. He said he didn't care what employees did on their own time. The 60 Minutes interviewer said the Weyco health policy followed them home. The Weyco guy admitted the policy followed them home. The 60 Minutes guy said the Weyco guy made the policy. Weyco guy said yes he did. 60 Minutes guy said well then YOU do care what they do at home. Weyco guy smiled and said yes.

I caught a minute or so more than you did. Just before the part you describe above, Morley Safer asked him, "Doesn't that sound like Big Brother watching?"

And he answered, "Maybe Big Brother should be watching."

(I paraphrased because I don't remember the exact wording. I also don't know what was said to prompt that question from Safer.)

I wanted to reach through the TV and slap him as hard as I could...and this was a man who looked to be in his seventies. He should be old enough to know better, but I guess fascists come in all age groups.

Here's the online version of the interview at the CBS 60 minutes site:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/28/60minutes/main990617_page2.shtml

It certainly talls it like it is, "this has become more than a health issue, it is a moral issue".

Morallity is again being used to tell us what's "for our own good".

Hmmm, I wonder, if we start a church based on tobacco consumption, does that fall into the protected religious freedom circle?
Something to think about.

This was an old repeat of the Weyco story. Months later the guy admitted that he has no statistics to back up his beliefs about smoking or second hand smoke. The guy is a health nut who owns a health isurance company. He therefore finds ways to eliminate employees before they get old enough to develope health problems. Also by employing only people 40 years younger than himself he can live in a dreamworld where he is not aging himself.

I am looking forward to the day when he passes on to that warm gym on the other side. I can only hope it is heated using tobacco fires.

I can only imagine this is CBS's responce to the Surgeon Generals fairy tale. I changed channels.

I know that segment was a rerun; however, AOL apparently didn't know that and picked it up, linking to it from their sign-on screen today with the caption "Can you be fired for smoking?".

Maybe - just maybe -it's the beginning of a backlash. If I remember correctly, 60 Minutes was the show that went ga-ga over the tobacco "whistleblower" ("The Insider" movie was based on him). I wonder if they would be as eager to put on someone like Dr. Siegel to blow the whistle on the Surgeon General's garbage?

quote:

Originally posted by Freedom:
Maybe - just maybe -it's the beginning of a backlash. If I remember correctly, 60 Minutes was the show that went ga-ga over the tobacco "whistleblower" ("The Insider" movie was based on him). I wonder if they would be as eager to put on someone like Dr. Siegel to blow the whistle on the Surgeon General's garbage?

This is not a bad idea. Perhaps if you contact someone at 60 minutes or a producer there, they might be interested. Or better yet - if the producer got contacted by a fair number of us, they'd actually look into it.

Just a thought. Thanks!

I think the original intent of the piece was to create outrage amongst the public, but instead opened the door for more businesses to follow suit. The best thing that could happen would be a tape of the guy who owns the company in a motel room with a young boy, smoking and drinking.

By the time any rebuttle piece was ready to air the antis will have gotten statewide bans passed. The reason for the wurgeon general to make a statement was to energise the masses to strengthen reistrictions where they exist and get restrictions passed where none exist. Based on the editorials around the country it is having the desired effect.

As the antis loose funding, their minions are still at work to convince legislators this is important. I have yet to see a rebuttle published on tv or in any newspaper.

It is up to us to ad comments wherever possible to show that meta studies of meta studies of meta studies are not science. The last biological study was condusted in the early 1950's and found no connection between smoking and disease of any kind.

It is also necessary for boomers to point out that they were children exposed to second hand smoke from birth and there are still a lot of us out here who are healthy. Many of our smoking parents or former smokering parents are still alive, but suffering from diseases related to a lack of nicotine in their lives.

Actually Bruce, I believe you are correct about the original intent of the story, but, IF I recall correctly, the Mighty Anti's got whiff of this story before it was aired, and demanded many changes to it's content and tone, succesfully so I hasten to add.

Every single person who believes that the government has the right to tell us what to do "for our own good" should be compelled to see the movie Rabbit Proof Fence.

See-BS will NEVER do a whistleblower type story that goes against the mantra of any control freak group..........unless of course the group is seeking to fix the FCC control over what See-BS and the rest of the lamestream put on the air.