HEB Grocery & "Bring your own bags" (Houston: disposal, live in)

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by Nor Cal Wahine

It's your city government that made this choice - not me, the person whom you claim "ran to this place" (without knowing a darn thing about what brought me here I might add). I simply agree with them in this particular case, much the way bible-thumpers here agree with the Sunday liquor ban. My opinion has nothing to do with where I am from, and it's just an obfuscating argument for those looking to complain endlessly about things to use it as means for rebuttal.

Did I specifically say YOU ran to this place? I did not.

How insulting to use the term "bible thumpers" to refer to religious people.

[ATX Wahine]

I'm glad that the bag ban was enacted. It will eventually lead to a cleaner city and cause less damage to wildlife at minimal cost and trouble to Austin's citizens. I'll leave it at that, and you character experts can continue your nitpicking of people who have the nerve to disagree with you.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Step by step, we dig our own grave, and don't even acknowledge that we're doing it.

All my life, I wondered why the Eastern Europeans, especially the Germans, peacefully accepted Communism. Until I lived in Germany. In case you hadn't noticed, the Germans like rules. Even in what was West Germany (and today is the agenda setter for the nation), they had rules - written into law. You must register your child's name after birth -- and your chosen name can be rejected for being "anti-social". No washing your car on Sunday. You must have your sidewalks swept of snow by 8 AM. Stores closing at 2 PM on Saturday. No grocery stores open on Sunday, unless they are in a building that houses transportation. And on and on and on. Why? Because it promotes "order".

So, when Communism came, they just took the rule knob and gave it a twist from 7 to 10. That's what THL, and others, are fearing. And for what? "Unsightliness"? Like Mom is taking her seventeen bags of groceries out of the bags in the HEB parking lot, and tossing those bags into the air. The rare instance of a bag adrift is one of two cases -- convenience store or fast food. Notice they didn't get banned at McD's, so expect to continue seeing them on the road side. If 7 Eleven bags are a problem, then ban those. But don't delude yourself into thinking you fixed the problem by inconveniencing Mom in her minivan at the HEB.

"Killing little children"? Twenty-five cases a year in the US - all from dry cleaning bags, which aren't banned. "Electric wires"? Uh, you do know that most electric insulation is plastic, so I don't get this one at all.

Like many here, we were religious about recycling our bags. One can say "no big deal -- you will get used to it". That's what they told the East Germans as well.

[owlman]

Anti-ban (pro-litter ) people here are not going to be persuaded by any of the claimed litter/waste/etc benefits.

Pro-ban (anti-freedom ) people here are not going to be persuaded by the argument that it's just like the beginnings of Nazi Germany.

Go complain to your city council members, start a petition, whatever. On C-D it's just each side preaching to its respective choir!

[woodinvilleguy]

Is this thread dead yet?

[austinrebel]

Originally Posted by scm53

All my life, I wondered why the Eastern Europeans, especially the Germans, peacefully accepted Communism. Until I lived in Germany. In case you hadn't noticed, the Germans like rules. Even in what was West Germany (and today is the agenda setter for the nation), they had rules - written into law. You must register your child's name after birth -- and your chosen name can be rejected for being "anti-social". No washing your car on Sunday. You must have your sidewalks swept of snow by 8 AM. Stores closing at 2 PM on Saturday. No grocery stores open on Sunday, unless they are in a building that houses transportation. And on and on and on. Why? Because it promotes "order".

So, when Communism came, they just took the rule knob and gave it a twist from 7 to 10. That's what THL, and others, are fearing. And for what? "Unsightliness"? Like Mom is taking her seventeen bags of groceries out of the bags in the HEB parking lot, and tossing those bags into the air. The rare instance of a bag adrift is one of two cases -- convenience store or fast food. Notice they didn't get banned at McD's, so expect to continue seeing them on the road side. If 7 Eleven bags are a problem, then ban those. But don't delude yourself into thinking you fixed the problem by inconveniencing Mom in her minivan at the HEB.

"Killing little children"? Twenty-five cases a year in the US - all from dry cleaning bags, which aren't banned. "Electric wires"? Uh, you do know that most electric insulation is plastic, so I don't get this one at all.

Like many here, we were religious about recycling our bags. One can say "no big deal -- you will get used to it". That's what they told the East Germans as well.

Very well said.

The motto of the backers of these types of laws must be "Too much freedom, not enough laws."

Like Mayor Bloomberg's Soda Ban, which was just struck down by the courts, these kinds of laws are arbitrary and capricious.

What the Left never understand is that in order to ban everything they want to ban, and regulate everything they want to regulate, it takes a BIG government. Once we have that Big Government, one day the Republicans get voted in. Guess what, the Republicans have a list of things THEY want to ban.

Signed,

A long time reusable bag user.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

We legislate environmental controls on power plants, factories, chemical plants, refineries, etc - anything as long as it does not affect someone personally and directly, so that you can actually notice. Currently, cars are the biggest polluters, but they are sacrosanct and off the table. So what do we do? Essentially making coal power plants illegal. Now, we will pay the same for our cars but pay much, much more over time in our electric bills. Cement? Too polluting and not on everyone's mind, so enforce extremely high levels of control (well into diminishing returns) and force jobs over seas and construction prices up. Not a peep from the general public, because the cost is hidden. Refineries? Not in my back yard! And why is my gas price so high? Grrrr...must be the corporations, not the specialize gas they have to make (15 ppm diesel, anyone?) and pollution 'taxes' and controls. We are so hypocritical. Bags pollute? They can't! Because that means we might be somehow responsible and may have to do something other than pay someone else (or pay indirectly) to address the issue.

Anyway, just a stupid rant - we squawk like chickens if we have to DO something, and scream about our liberties and 'the slippery slope (as if this is the first law ever passed) when we have to deal with our personal impact on the environment. Hell, I don't know if plastic bags are really a very significant environmental issue, but at least it gets people thinking (positive or negative). Could you imagine if a serious environmental issue was really tackled? Cars, green house gasses? We might have to do more than remember to bring a bag somewhere......

I am generally conservative when it comes to environmental issues - too many are just political or not well thought out, or the public is told 'look, it will save lives' (true, but you could have saved 1000x as many for the same money by funding healthcare). On the other hand, I grow increasingly pessimistic that we can turn this train before we really do hit some sort of 'law of nature' wall. The smallest attempts are so roundly opposed, that the real ones don't have a prayer.

Well said Trainwreck. Please run for city council some day.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by owlman

Pro-ban (anti-freedom ) people here are not going to be persuaded by the argument that it's just like the beginnings of Nazi Germany.

We got to Godwin's Law.

[je4xff]

Originally Posted by Nor Cal Wahine

My opinion has nothing to do with where I am from, and it's just an obfuscating argument for those looking to complain endlessly about things to use it as means for rebuttal.

Lol, I guess it was all just too darn utterly stereotypical to go unstated.

Peace.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by owlman

Anti-ban (pro-litter ) people here are not going to be persuaded by any of the claimed litter/waste/etc benefits.

Pro-ban (anti-freedom ) people here are not going to be persuaded by the argument that it's just like the beginnings of Nazi Germany.

Go complain to your city council members, start a petition, whatever. On C-D it's just each side preaching to its respective choir!

First we need to elect a city council that actually represents us. Currently there are no "your city council members" for most of the city. Those who passed this bag ban were all elected by the voters in the central City. That council could care less what the rest of us have to say, they have demonstrated that again and again. The next city council election and those elected should be very interesting.