Et tu, Norfolk?
With utter disregard for principals espoused in the enlightened documents upon which our nation was founded, the local elected political heroes of Norfolk, Virginia jumped on the bandwagon of America's new national pastime: flexing political muscle to compel others to your world view.
Starting as early as January, customers, employees, and owners may lose their freedom to smoke in certain specific and targeted private retail establishments, namely restaurants.
posted by Randy @ 12/14/2006 08:28:00 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Rats, this must mean they rejected my petition to have all public smokers shot on sight. Maybe Newport News...
I don't think the government (at all levels) is taking this far enough. There are so many more aspects of our personal lives they could be regulating. Why stop at defining marriage, banning smoking in bars/restaurants, etc.? Obviously, we can't be trusted to make these decisions for ourselves. I've been having trouble lately deciding whether I should make the move from boxers to boxer briefs. Perhaps this is an area in which the government could be of some use to me. I'm going to write to my Congressman tomorrow to see if he can't possibly sponsor some new legislation in the next session--perhaps a ban on boxers, after all, briefs offer more support and we don't want the nation's collective balls swinging dangerously free. Until then, I'll just have to content myself with the government telling me who I can and can't marry, where I can and can't smoke (and what I can and can't smoke).
What about the public health concern? What about other people? How many innocent victims have to die agonizing deaths from inoperable, fatal ailments before you realize you should have stuck with boxers??
As a soon to be reformed smoking Norfolker (bahahaha), I personally have no problem with the restaurants implementing a smoking ban. However, we're talking about a government inplemented ban, and that's a whole different smoking loon all together. Just as Harris expressed, I'd prefer the government remove their colective nose from the private sector's ass.
That's exactly it, Todd. If bar or restaurant owners want to declare their establishments non-smoking, more power to them. I know several restaurants, hotel chains, etc. that have done so. This seems to me to be a fair, market-based decision. If someone doesn't want to sit in a smoky environment, they don't have to go to a smoking bar. If employees don't want to be exposed to second-hand smoke while they work, they can choose to work in a non-smoking establishment. Simple economics, no? Why does the government have to get involved?
The government should tax individuals for thinking about smoking in public...
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