First They Came For the Smokers

Small town in California has banned smoking in one's home. The stupidity and arrogance dumb founds me. What's next? Will margarine be outlawed to use in the home as well? The people who pushed the law once again drummed up the "second hand smoke" excuse, something that has never been proven to be harmful. I don't like the smell of second hand smoke, but I also hate how my hallway smells when someone is cooking fish. You know what I do with that? I deal. You are not going to like everything in life, I would expect a 84 year-old man to realize that.

Public health advocates are closely watching to see what happens with Belmont, seeing it as a new front in their national battle against tobacco, one that seeks to place limits on smoking in buildings where tenants share walls, ceilings and - by their logic - air.

Not surprisingly, habitually health-conscious California has been ahead of the curve on the issue, with several other cities passing bans on smoking in most units in privately owned apartment buildings, but none has gone as far as Belmont, which prohibits smoking in any apartment that shares a floor or ceiling with another, including condominiums.

That's not what I would call this law, "ahead of the curve" more like "piece of crap legislation". Also, notice that the lawmakers were moved by "walkers, wheelchairs and oxygen tanks - and telling harrowing tales of life surrounded by secondhand smoke." Obviously, Hollywood-style tearjerker symbols trump reason and liberty - just another baby step in nanny state politics. Obviously the reporter didn't know what "horrowing" meant, since I can't imagine this word being used in the context of applying a smell.
Okay, I'm so pissed I can't really write a coherent post. I'm going to go shovel my car now. And if it wasn't for the stupid cancer, I would go have a cigarette.