Nick Hogan: A true British hero
February 27th, 2010
A former pub landlord yesterday became the first person to be jailed in connection with the smoking ban.
Nick Hogan, 43, was sentenced to six months in prison for refusing to pay a fine imposed for flouting the legislation.
Two years ago Hogan, who ran two pubs in Bolton, became the first landlord convicted of breaking the law for allowing his customers to routinely light up in his bars.
A judge fined Hogan, of Chorley, Lancashire, £3,000 and ordered him to pay £7,236 in costs after finding him guilty of four charges under the Health Act 2006.
But the married father-of-two refused to pay the fine and yesterday, after repeatedly being hauled back before the courts, a judge sitting at Bolton Crown Court finally lost patience and jailed him.
This man is a TRUE HERO.
That pub is PRIVATE PROPERTY.
If the owner of that PRIVATE PROPERTY allows his patrons to smoke, that is a PRIVATE ARRANGEMENT between him and his customers.
Anyone who does not want to drink beer in a pub where smoking is permitted by its OWNER can GO TO ANOTHER PUB, or THE DEVIL.
This is unambiguous and very simple.
Either there are property rights in Britain or there are not.
If you can smoke in your own house and invite people to your house to smoke, and hire servants to serve them beer, then there is no reason why you should not be able to utilise your own property if it is called a ‘pub’, where people come to your PRIVATE PROPERTY to do what you allow them to do. The fact that people pay you for your beer and services is entirely irrelevant.
If the state can tell you that you cannot invite people to your PRIVATE PROPERTY to smoke, drink and eat, then you do not have the right of property in Britain. PERIOD.
Nick Hogan was simply asserting his property right in the pub that he was the landlord of. No one was forced to drink at his pub. The state has no business WHATSOEVER telling landlords that they MUST forbid smoking in what is their PRIVATE PROPERTY.
Nick Hogan is a HERO for standing up for his rights. The judge was completely arbitrary in gaoling him, simply because he had ‘lost patience’; if the judge had been a more patient man, would Mr. Hogan now be ‘at liberty’?
Absolutely appalling!
One thing is for sure, the incandescent rage that the British people are manifesting is starting to make the edifice glow red hot. Soon it will be white hot, and the structure of this insane, madman run regime will start to crumble like the impenetrable door in this film.
UPDATE:
Donate to Mr Hogan in cash to this address:
Nick’s address is:
HMP & YOI Forest Bank
Agecroft Road
Pendlebury
Manchester
M27 8FB[…]
And see this post by Old Holborn:
http://bastardoldholborn.blogspot.com/2010/02/nick-hogan-jailed-over-no-smoking-ban.html