Smoking Emergency
by Big Dog on Oct 22, 2006 at 22:33 Political
Seems to me that Omaha is not the most jumping place in the country. I have never heard anyone say they wanted to get out of their home town and make it big in, Omaha. With that in mind, why would Omaha do stupid things that might just make businesses pick up and leave? Omaha has a ban on smoking in about 97% of establishments there. People are encouraged to call 9-1-1 if they see someone light up where they shouldn’t. Imagine that, smoking in the wrong place is now an emergency crime. What next? Call 9-1-1 if someone speeds, if someone jaywalks, if your pizza is late?
Smoking is a disgusting habit, no doubt about it and even most smokers would admit to that. It is however, a legal habit. Tobacco is sold, and heavily taxed, in this country and people are allowed to use it. So why make a law that prohibits people from lighting up if they want to? Why should the government be able to tell a business what their customers may do so long as the activity is legal? Even if we concede that it was OK to make such a silly law, how is it justified to call 9-1-1?
It is amazing to me that more people do not protest the acts of the government. They ban a perfectly legal activity and ask everyone to be part of the nanny state and call in if they notice someone lighting up. This is a gross invasion and yet no one is speaking up. Those same people who fell that the government listening to phone calls is an intrusion see nothing wrong with this. Pretty soon, smokers will be hiding under covers in their houses sneaking cigarettes while child molesters walk the streets unmolested (pun intended).
If the government wants to make tobacco illegal, why don’t they just do it? They play these games and cause all kinds of unnecessary problems and force people to pay $100 fines for stupidity. Either ban smoking completely or allow businesses to decide what will occur on their property. Government will never ban smoking. It makes too much money in taxes from the sales. It would rather make it illegal in some places so that more money can be collected.
Big brother is watching you and it isn’t the Bush administration.