Common Sense!

I have realized that sometimes we have to make a stand-- whether its for our Freedoms or for our RIGHTS!

Ya know I write sometimes about sports-- and I sometimes write about using common sense! WOW! 

There's a phrase that has died somewhere along the lines!

We now have to have law makers in Washington, D.C. to tell us-- that being on a cell phone without the aid of a hands free device or texting is dangerous to our health, especially if you are behind the wheel of a car! REALLY!? You're just now figuring this out? There are some cities that have made it against their city codes to drive and text in school zones-- DUH! COMMON SENSE PEOPLE! There are those who text while driving 70 mph down a Tollway-- and you wonder why you get into accidents and maybe cause deaths... DUH! COMMON SENSE PEOPLE! OH and let's not forget the biggest one of all-- drinking and driving-- there are laws against doing that too-- but IF you are caught or worse-- you've already caused the accident or death! DUH!!!! COMMON SENSE!!!!

Now we have lawmakers passing a bill in the state of Texas that will now make it against the law to smoke anywhere-- PERIOD! REALLY???? You're wasting your precious time worrying about second hand smoke in places like Bars and Clubs???? REALLY? Where people go to drink (oops there we go again) and socialize with others? REALLY? WHY? that's the 64MILLION Dollar question to be asked... WHY is it that the State Legislature under taking such a bill? Because they CAN!

When did we assign the word BABY SITTER behind their designation of being a State Senator or Legislator ? HMMM? I don't remember it being there, yet they seem to deem it necessary to be just that.  They claim that second hand smoke cause people to have breathing difficulties, or worse contract some illness like cancer- and even death... the last one is a bit hard for me to swallow, since it has never been proven by any medical doctor or medical examiner in any city in any county, in any state of the Union! Smoke inhalation by fire is one thing, but sitting in a bar or club is another.  OH they go on to say that they're protecting the workers in the bar.. really? have you asked them why they work there in the first place.. most will tell you, aside from the tips, which are pretty good in some bars-- they can SMOKE WHILE THEY ARE AT WORK!

Now you might ask the question, why am I so bent out of shape over this.. because the use of tobacco is not illegal, just like consuming alcohol is not illegal until you get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, then we have a problem, because now you are behind the wheel of a deadly weapon, which in turn could be considered using deadly force on a person! But smoking is not!

Let's face it, smoking is a culture, and back in the golden age of cinema we didn't see a movie when the two main characters or for that matter everyone on the set was lit up smoking a cigarette-- product placement was important in certain TV Shows, we thought of it as glamorous, no different than when the man of the house came home from work, the wife was dressed in a dress, heels and pearls and had a martini waiting for him as he took off his jacket and hat. Alright so that's a little over the top, but the point is, I know that this is not 1950, but 2011!

But it is still your right to do as you please, what makes you comfortable, as long as it is not breaking the law-- and last time I checked tobacco had not been deemed illegal.  Though today-- they make it where purchasing pipe tobacco, you have to take out a small loan just to purchase a few ounces... hell at those prices, no wonder the choice is to smoke the illegal substance-- its cheaper, because it's not govern by Congress!

If the owner of an establishment wishes to make his or her location a smoke free environment, then good on them, however if they choose to allow smoking in their place of business (Bar or Club or Restaurant for that matter) that's their business and it should not be left up to a state or federal body to tell them how to run their business.  We speak of less government, and more pro-active ways of making our country better! Well right now, I don't see it happening.  What I do see is that the generation that is making these decisions are doing it for their own agenda.  They are not protecting you, they are governing you!

IF you don't wish to patronize a place because they allow smoking, then it is your right not to go in there, don't complain, just leave.... if there are enough like you, that turn away from that type of business... most likely the owner will get the hint and make that choice on his own, not leave it up to the government to do it for him! If a CHAIN of bars and clubs tell all of their locations that they are smoke free that's their business, and their right, and if you choose not to go in there because you are not permitted to light up a cigarette or cigar, then that's YOUR choice, and you may go else where. BUT MAKE IT THE CHOICE OF BOTH PATRON and BUSINESS OWNER, to do as they please. 

You tried outlawing alcohol, we saw how far that got you.... now you are going to force the person who enjoys a good cigar or pipe, or even a cigarette to go under ground and feel like a criminal for doing so.

I- for one- do not advocate the use of cigarettes, I never understood the appeal to them, but they are still legal to smoke, however cigars and pipes that's different, because most of those smokes, like wine aficionados will tell you, its all about the taste of the product. Not the inhaling, and if you consider that second hand smoke from a cigar or pipe is deadlier than cigarette smoke, then you are on another planet... neither one has been linked to anything more than breathing and most likely that person already had a pulmonary  problem to start with, and being around the smoke exasperates the issue.

It is time that you stand up for what you believe in, if you think I am half cocked off my rocker, than do nothing, say nothing, if on the other hand you think that Government should leave the choices of our lives alone, then I suggest you get a hold of your Senator and your representative in both Austin and Washington D.C. and bombard them with your voice and your email, let them know that they were not voted as your baby sitter but someone who protected the State of Texas and the U.S.A!  PERIOD!

Just a thought!