I don't know, Richard Carmona, the current SG seems to be a different, but we'll see.

Thus proving a long held theory of mine that people are stupid. The SG's, not the VP. :)

I couldn't access the whole article without paying a fee. Bummer.

The comment thread there was excellent, but I didn't see any reference to a different bill currently in House/Senate conference committee, meaning of course, that it's already been passed in both chambers, albiet in slightly different forms.

This bill is intended to bar the sale of cigarettes via mail. Their goal is to stop the practice of the Native American reservations from selling tax free smokes via mail.

Their logic is, it's to prevent the chilllllldren from buying cigarettes without I.D.

But really, it's all about the taxes.

Stephen, with all due apologies to abusing your bandwidth, I posted the details over at my small, but smoky blog.

If the Senate version of this bill passes, kiss JR Cigars, Thompson, General Cigar, Cuban Crafters and all other mail order cigar houses goodbye.

And add several tens of thousands of their employees to the unemployment rolls, too.

This bill is in the very here and now, and it's imperative that we all do our part, send our letters and make our phone calls, accordingly.

Even if you don't care for cigars, the fight for freedom is a worthy one.

Jim
Sloop New Dawn
Galveston, TX