Thursday, May 8, 2008

Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

Ray accuses the Portland city council for "socially engineering our lives" by mulling a ban on smoking outside restaurants and bars.

11 comments:

Bruce said...

Ray,
So I should be able to drink in Public as long as I do not harm anyone else or get drunk and disorderly?

I cannot believe a father would not be in favor of a ban on people smoking in a car with little kids in it. The conservatives get more upset about a dog in a hot car than a child having to inhale second hand smoke.

Kudos to Bangor for leading on this issue.

Ray Richardson said...

How many liberties are you willing to give up?

Do you believe the government, in a free society, should constantly dictate what its citizens do?

I find it interesting that the government is so worried about the child in the car with second hand smoke. They don't give a hoot about the child in the womb.

It is all politics, nothing else .... well, except social engineering.

Bruce said...

And the right cares more about the unborn fetus than they do about the living breathing child.
Until as a dying person they may want to end their own life and then the right says no,we love you too much

So can I drink in public by your standards?
Can I go over the speed limit in my car?
It is a lot about politics. We are lucky to have politics. But I suppose you would prefer a god fearing benevolent dictator

Ray Richardson said...

No Bruce, I just do not believe that liberals should socially engineer our society.

Pretty simple concept, but it gets sold as fairness.

You act as though eating outside at a resturant is a God-given right.

IF you don't like the food, don't eat there. If you don't like the fact that they allow outdoor smoking, don't eat there.

No one is harmed. They are not trapped inside where the arena is captive.

This is just more liberal, two-faced garbage.

Typical liberals, they hate the thing, in this case smoking, but it brings in toooooooo much in precious tax dollars so they do not have the courage to ban it.

I say if they think smoking is so evil, have the courage to stand up and ban smoking, in fact, ban all tobacco products. If they cause half the health issues liberals claim and cause half the expense on society that liberals claim, just have the courage to ban tobacco.

If they did that, I could at least respect them.

Bruce said...

Potholes!!
Ray, While I was flipping channels to get Morning joe, I couldn't help but here your rant about how potholes are the cause of our string of trafic fatalities.
Blaming the govt for driver failures!!
Aren't "you all" conservatives always saying liberals are blaming the govt. and others for their problems.

How does a young woman dropping her cell phone on the interstate and croosing into the path of a van, end up being a potholes fault.

Most crashes are caused by drivers inattentiveness or excessive speed.
Not the fault of the roads that have potholes or snow on them.


Blaming that "stupid " statement, to use your favorite word, on your wife was not good either.

By the way, where does the money come to fix potholes? Those dreaded taxes. How about starting
www.fedupwithpotholes. too.

Unknown said...

Portland Officials have lost their mind!These offiials should realize that smokers have rights too, and how is smoking outside dangerous to anyones health? Smokers have given up way too much. If non-smokers don't want to be around those who smoke outside..STAY INSIDE RESTRAUNTS & BARS!!! You non-smokers fought for that, you won, now utilize your win and leave smokers alone, take advantage of the victory you won. You can't have it both ways folks.

Bruce said...

Again,
Why can't I stand on a sidewalk and drink a beer. I am over 21, no one will be affected by second hand alcohol fumes. It is not a given that i will get drunk and cause trouble by having one or two beers.
American Society for the most part has said no. I guess it is ok for us to say no to public smoking then. Go for it Portland.

Jenny said...

Obesity is extremely dangerous and causes devastating health issues.

I know...Let's ban all fast foods in vehicles that have children in them!!

Quick, take away the Gameboys from those kids in that Chrysler!!

Oh no, would you look at that? That mom is letting her toddler share her ICECREAM! agghhh

I better shut up before the legislators get any more ideas.

BTW Bruce, not to pick on you even more, but no one else is answering your question so I figured I would.

I personally cannot stand beer or even the smell of it. Yes, a non-drinking person can smell an opened beer. And the belligerent loudmouth who added a beer to his gizzard and turned into a jerk is very offensive to me.

It has been proven that one beer does impair judgment in most people therefore it is possibly detrimental to my health if that person doesn't wait a full hour and a half after drinking his or her single beer.

http://www.80beers.com/php/education.php

BUT, I would never consider supporting a ban on beer in bars. I trust that responsible adults will wait their 1 1/2 hours after completion of consumption before getting behind the wheel. Do you?

Bruce said...

Thank You I was feeling neglected

What is BTW?

Wow
How big are that one beer

Must be Hof Brauhause size
So you think having an ice cream is as bad to a kid as inhaling smoke in a car? HMM

The behavior of a drunk person should be the issue not whether or not a responsible adult can drink a beer on a public beach.

Jenny said...

Oops, I figured you knew BTW was "by the way" because you seem to enjoy blogging. It is a very common term used online.

Believe it or not, yes. I believe feeding high sugar and fat laden foods to kids are just as dangerous as second hand smoke when "exposed" at the same rates. Unhealthy eating leads to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and many other terrible, life threatening diseases that shorten life expectancies.

The point I am trying to make is anything in excess is bad for a person.

As for your beer, according to the source given, a standard 12oz beer impairs judgment. Maybe you haven't noticed your judgment being impaired because that one beer impaired your judgment enough that you think you are ok. (grin)

The fact is, smoking is legal, smoking causes health problems, but so does many other choices we make, and smokers are getting crucified because of a personal choice that no one has a right to judge them over.

I am just so tired of those smokers out there getting crapped on all the time.

Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.

But the real issue here is not our differences of opinion, but how much we're going to let the government dictate our personal choices. Is smoking outside restaurants more "dangerous to the public" than driving without seat belts? Having worked in the medical field, I know the advantages of seatbelts well, but I'm not sure it should be a matter of legislation. What's next? A law mandating brushing of our teeth so that people don't have to look at rotten ones or smell bad breath? How about mandating the use of helmets while mowing the lawn?

Bruce said...

Actually This is the first thing I have ever blogged on.
Ray just gets me going I guess.
He must be without sin because he spends all day casting stones.
I figure he was one of those kids that enjoyed knocking his building blocks over more than putting them together.
Dictate ?
Our Govt is "by the people and for the people" They do not dictate.
We the people allow them to pass legislation. The Motorcycle lobby is a good example of not allowing the leg. to dictate personal choice. and they are not a large group. Maybe its just because we need organ donors.
Another example, Look at that idiot Heath, Ray's "Friend" no one is stopping him from pushing his agenda ahead even though he is trying to tell a group that they cannot do something.
The smokers and heavy eaters just aren't organized enough to push their cause, I guess.

Isn't it nice to eat in a restaurant now without all that smoke?