If there were establishments that didn’t allow smoking, I’d definitely take my business there. I do already, to the extent this is possible, but in Chicago this limits me to the Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera, Jazz Showcase, and Old Town School of Folk Music (plus outdoor shows during our approximately 2 weeks of summer).
Note how this rules out probably 99.5% of music acts, including essentially everything that isn’t classical or jazz (and most jazz, for that matter). So I’m supposed to contact basically every music act on the planet?
Also note how bars in NYC and California are still in business, even given government-imposed smoking bans, and in spite of the entertainment industry crying wolf.
Ah well - I may get my wish anyway; there’s a smoking ban currently banging around the City Council:
You’ve proven my point.
I was complaining about the unecessary spending on those items. Money that could have a) been left in taxpayers pockets, or b)spent on things like health care and education. The ‘fountains in Shawinigan’ bit refers to all the graft that our current rulers resort to to stay in power. Calling people by a term like ‘redneck’ is used to marginalize them and their ideas. Terms like that are used quite commonly in Canada especially in reference to those in the West, more specifically Alberta, whenever we object to the money we send East being spent like it was controlled by drunken sailors in a whorehouse.
PS. I could care less if gays marry each other, but that they should have the same rights as anyone else is obvious.
THe highyway system could have been done privately?
If the highway was built by a private company, or group of private companies, would they police it (speeding and safety issues)? And could they deny me and my fellow low-rung citizens the use it?
Outrageous taxes on tobacco are what happens when legislatures lack the courage to raise the revenue the state needs by other means. Of course, this is all driven by the cretins that think that government services are free and that taxes are an unreasonable burden on them. When people stop acting like general tax increases are poisonous, then there will be less pressure to raise sin taxes.
