WE Blog

Let’s vote! That’s a great idea.
Then, when the anti-freedom of choice anti-smoking crowd finds they will lose, we can re-schedule the vote until they get the votes. Good idea!

Well I missed a word…
Besides, I would “like” to see how they are going to enforce that law in a biker’s bar.

I don’t smoke.

However, I can not stand the busy bodies who want to tell others what to do.

How about places like “Mort’s Cigar Bar” ???

If there was a market for clubs and restaurants that don’t allow smoking, we would have more of such places.

A large number of the people who support these mandatory rules never go to the establishments that they complain about, and will continue to avoid such clubs in the future, even with these stupid smoking bans.

Smokeless cigarettes appear to be in order here. Or, there is chewing tobacco – make shift spittoons every where, waiting to be kicked over. :)

Oh and cough syrup, that’s up next since the kids are drinking whole bottles of it to get high.

Yippee. How about we stop banning everything? Lets try that and see how it works.

Boy o boy o boy. Every time I see a controversial issue being put up to a public vote, I thank God Kansas does not have “Voter Initiative”. For those of you who slept through Government class in High School, let me remind you that we have a “representative republic” form of government. We elect representatives to legislate for us. Direct democracy was an anathema to our Founding Fathers who considered it as a transitory form of Government that is always followed by a tyrannical dictatorship. Unfortunately, far too many of our legislatures and city council people are more than happy to shirk their obligations and put controversial issues up to a public vote.
I do take heart in the fact that the KC vote was so close. It tells me that many people, including many non smokers are not buying in to all this crap about second hand smoke and so called public health concerns trumping a business owners right to run his or her business as they see fit. But even if the vote had gone the other way and the ban had failed, I would still have been opposed to their having a public vote.

“It tells me that many people, including many non smokers are not buying in to all this crap about second hand smoke and so called public health concerns”.
Chris..there isn’t a doctor in town who would agree with that statement. Only someone who is in serious denial or totally ignorant would believe that second hand smoke doesn’t cause health problems. It’s been proven over and over that people who get exposed to second hand smoke suffer because of it.

Let’s be fair about this Mary.

YOU are a former smoker. And having tried to quit before, I KNOW you must nearly die for wanting a smoke every time you are near it. I sympathize.

But it does not entitle you to make me a pariah.

Ya know? I have a pretty sensitive stomach myself. I don’t know how many over perfumed women or occasionally men who have forced me wretching from their presence. How do we legislate that?

You also have the right to choose a non smoking establishment.

I smoke about a pack and a half a day.

Now I KNOW that the fact I smoke hangs on me. My kid tells me his friends can tell he lives with a smoker.

But.

I’ve met you a couple times Mary. You did not SEEM to have any averse reaction despite standing only a few feet away from me. If you did, you did not say so.

At the first meetup, I even ASKED if anyone would be bothered if I smoked.

At the risk of sounding like a conservative?

Let the market work on this one. IF a business owner chooses to go no smoking fine. I’ll take my self elsewhere. But allow us smokers places of our own.

Not indicting you Mary, but on the whole?

The people who are really anal about smoking are just not much fun to be around anyway. I mean really. There was a woman in a park once. Her and her kid were like 20 feet away from me.

She VERY loudly told her little one, “Don’t go anywhere near that filthy smoker!”

There’s no excuse for crap like that.

I quit smoking on my birthday, 2001. I decided that the habit could kill me.

Thus the decision was easy. I was uncomfortable the first day, I would have periodic craving every once in a while the first 6 months, but those temporary discomforts passed.

Quitting was not that difficult for me. Deciding to quit was. But, I’ve never regreted the decision.

I am glad I quit. My daughter when she was about 4 years old would call me and tell me that some medicine on TV that could help me quit. I am glad that she and I don’t have to worry about that problem any more.

In re-reading my 9:15 post; Deciding to quit smoking was difficut and easy. Doing so was easier than deciding to do so. It’s kinda Zen-like really – at least for me, it was.

Smokers are inconsiderate slobs. They seem to think that they have the right to engage in their addiction anyplace they want and the rest of us be damned if we don’t like it. I was so glad when they finally banned indoor smoking here in Georgia. It is nice to walk into a Waffle House and not have to smell the stench of the addicts. You cannot make stupid people smart and smokers are amongst the dumbest of the dumb. Nobody would actually spend $1000 a year or more killing themselves unless they were dumb. I would never hire a smoker if I ran a business and businesses should be able to say NO to hiring smokers.

Each side has their horror stories of encountering an obnoxious person whom did not follow the rule of social interaction. Being a smoker I have had several but one was similar to JR and stick out in my mind.
Long ago I moved away from the entry doors of any business I and my wife would go to while smoking.
I was standing at the corner of the building at Dillon’s, when I saw a man and little boy walking from their car. They were parked towards the other end, but the father took his son and made a wide ark so he could walk by me. This had to be his intent as there was nothing that far in my direction.

As he walked by, he announced to his son “(Cough-cough) SOME PEOPLE ARE SO RUDE!”. I was a good thirty feet from the entry doors and it was not I would was being rude. Until this subject was brought up about a year ago. I was not aware there was any restaurants left in Wichita that even allowed smoking!

When Felipee’s east went non-smoking I quit going there and even then I would step out side because my wife does not smoke. After they moved to a new location they went back to having a smoking section.
BUT I didn’t know that because I had not eaten there in over five years and that is my favorite restaurant!
I do respect someone right not to smoke or be exposed to my smoke, I just wish that others would show as much respect.

I tend to agre with Paul and others – to each his own. I would, however, ban smoking in certain places – grocery stores, post offices, etc. As for bars – as long as posted so I know the rules no problem. I go to Players from time to time to watch ball games – smoking is part of the reality. Fortunately Dave has a good air handling system.

Years ago I saw a design for a smokeless ash tray. It had a small fan that pulled ‘idling’ smoke through a charcoal filter. Add those Purifans to the mix and I think we might be onto a win-win for smoker and non-smoker alike.

“The people who are really anal about smoking are just not much fun to be around anyway. ”

When I said that?

I was referring to folks like “Kev”.

Fella? You don’t gotta light up.

But you might want to lighten up.

Elsewise you might die from a full blown hissy fit.

Mary do you forget when we met at Dillon’s?

I was not more than a few feet from you and indoors. I had smoked during my walk there.

And the rest of your post?

Chilling. I mean that.

Black Americans are not a majority. Neither are gay Americans.

And neither are pro life Democrats such as yourself.

I think we want to watch about bending to the will and demands of the majority. Err to tolerance at least?