tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6931353.post6138060530729129904..comments2023-10-28T09:25:39.790-04:00Comments on The Atavist: Canadian Tax Dollars At WorkThe Atavisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12529157597486952484noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6931353.post-81108277420845108752007-12-19T08:26:00.000-05:002007-12-19T08:26:00.000-05:00Sometimes, it seems the current chapters of life o...Sometimes, it seems the current chapters of life on Earth could be made into a soap opera. Title: As the Stomach Churns.The Atavisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529157597486952484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6931353.post-13213291593018591252007-12-19T01:09:00.000-05:002007-12-19T01:09:00.000-05:00Big Brother arrives with a vengeance. The "War" on...Big Brother arrives with a vengeance. <BR/>The "War" on drugs has been a failure for more years than I can remember. It has failed because too many users smoke or ingest their vice of choice in the privacy of their own homes. <BR/>The do-gooders, recognizing that failure, now have to have something else to attack. Someone needs to open a legal method of revolt against "the common good" that is neither.Catmoveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13192091477404637971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6931353.post-91654179801778249642007-12-18T20:05:00.000-05:002007-12-18T20:05:00.000-05:00*disgusted sigh*More damned authoritarianism!!!I k...*disgusted sigh*<BR/>More damned authoritarianism!!!<BR/>I know two very good restaurants in my home town that have gone under because of this crap; all because some Papist bastard wanted to impose his will on everyone "for the common good", and the city council was bribed, coerced or stupid enough to let them - I strongly suspect the latter.<BR/>I repeat my mother's favorite prayer: "God save U.S. from the do-gooders." Amen!!!TheWayfarerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15074292938877766871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6931353.post-5917981558128713702007-12-17T20:11:00.000-05:002007-12-17T20:11:00.000-05:00In this case, it was not a 'public place' in any s...In this case, it was not a 'public place' in any sense of the word. It was open only to members, who clearly wanted to be there, who wanted the right to smoke on the premises, and who were not concerned by the presence of second-hand smoke, as evidenced by their signing agreements to that effect.<BR/><BR/>There is a very real danger in legislating against anything that should be a matter of personal choice. Once the precedent has been set, then the legislated idiocy will reflect the preferences of the goons who hold power at any given time.<BR/><BR/>My mother, a very moral woman, used to say that certain things that she considered immoral should be outlawed. I pointed out to her that the situation could easily resolve at a future date where Christians, for example, could be outlawed, persecuted and vilified, because the precedent to legislate personal behaviour had been set.<BR/><BR/>How far are we from that state right now? Not very.<BR/><BR/>I don't smoke. But legislating against any number of so-called victimless crimes is vary, very dangerous. The war on drugs has caused more grief, death, loss of assets and income, than similar harm caused by the drugs themselves. Much crime is drug-related because the profits are so high in controlled markets. <BR/><BR/>I have no problem with prohibitions against smoking in airplanes, because airplanes are private property and the owners should be able to allow or disallow whatever they want. A competitor, for example, should be able to offer smoking-allowed flights, if the demand for such services exists.<BR/><BR/>Restaurants and bars could be designated by their owners to be smoking allowed or otherwise, and customers could choose which to patronize.The Atavisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529157597486952484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6931353.post-44139632570039289422007-12-17T18:01:00.000-05:002007-12-17T18:01:00.000-05:00Smoking, like so many other things, should be left...Smoking, like so many other things, should be left up to the person who wants to do them. However, smoking in a restaurant or any enclosed space is taking it to the next step of affecting others. It's not just an annoyance, it's a health risk.<BR/><BR/>Living in a province that does not allow smoking in any workplace, I totally appreciate it, and am surprised at other places that still allow it.<BR/><BR/>Truly, I can barely fathom the days when smoking was allowed on airplanes...Trooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01226230848965379947noreply@blogger.com