I was stuck in Lafayette yesterday, mostly to deal with the bank. In case you hadn't already figured it out, "free" credit reports aren't quite the deal they're cracked up to be. But, fraudulent charges have been refunded, and Kristine and I now have new card numbers. So, problem solved, I suppose. I won't be writing tomorrow, either, because it's the Fourth of July, which means you* should probably be doing something other than reading blogs, anyway. I would say go check out the Indians, but that game is officially sold out. *"You," of course, pretty much only applies if you are American, which Google kindly informs me that not everybody who reads is. Still, it's a pretty overwhelming majority that you are American. No, today, the stick in my craw has much more to do with one of Indiana's new laws. The new smoking ban. Basically, I want to know when did smokers become second class citizens. I've never smoke a cigarette, or anything else, for that matter, in my life. So the ban won't really affect me personally. But, you know, there is just no call for this ban. Beyond nobody being able to really prove that second hand smoke does anything beyond annoy anybody, last time I checked, tobacco is still a legal substance. Of course, private business owners can allow or disallow smoking in their establishments all they want. That has always been the case. But, as long as tobacco is considered a legal product, there should be no restrictions on where it can be used on public property. This seems to be a much bigger restriction of liberty than the upholding of Obama's health plan that has everybody all up in arms around here. If you want to make tobacco illegal, fine. It clearly doesn't do great things for your lungs and throat, and smoking rates have gone way, way down in the last twenty years or so. But as long as it is legal, this public smoking ban just seems wrong on a lot of different levels. I haven't read the law itself, but surely this smoking ban won't extend to private businesses. If so, that seems even more misguided and illegal. If that's the case, how long before somebody brings this up to the Indiana Supreme Court? And furthermore, why have we become a nation of babies? Really, if you don't like something, there's no reason to make a law against it. Don't like smoking? Don't do it. Don't like gay marriage? Don't marry somebody of your sex. Don't like buying alcohol on a Sunday? Don't do it.* Really, it's all that simple. Whether you're for or against "Obamacare," at least the idea behind it was noble. The idea was to open healthcare up to segments of the population who couldn't otherwise get health insurance. Maybe the execution was off, but everybody's heart was in the right place. Laws like the smoking ban and it's ilk? Nothing noble at all about that. *Another Indiana-centric one, but I don't think Indiana is the only place with restrictive liquor laws. Now I can head into Independence Day with a lighter chest. Happy 4th! Don't burn anything down! UPDATE: I most likely won't be writing anything on Thursday, the 5th, either. I've got an interview in the middle of the day. Wish me luck!
Jonathan
7/4/2012 10:04:48 pm
Good luck with the interview! Comments are closed.
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