Quote of the Day
Let us be grateful to the mirror
for revealing to us our appearance only.
Samuel Butler
Legislating Away the Right To Smoke a Legal Product?
If it isn't New York trying to micromanage your life, then it has to be California....
Personally, I've never been tempted to smoke cigarettes or marijuana. I can still remember that my Dad smoked when I was really young (like preschool age). My guess is that he probably picked up the bad habit while he was on his isolated tour in Korea (before my folks got married). I think he kicked the habit well before I hit my teens. My maternal grandfather and uncle used to smoke a cigar on Sunday afternoons; cigar smoke smelled a lot better, and of course I liked the little cigar rings. I also remember a sister-in-law's mother was living in the basement of my brother's house in the far Chicago southern suburbs. My brother invited me to stay overnight one day--I think they had a second bedroom in the basement, and somehow I ran into the mother-in-law smoking. She begged me not to tell; it wasn't my brother she was worried about but her daughter (whom tolerated her mom's smoking but only outside). (I think the late mother-in-law eventually developed some sort of cancer. I don't think it was lung cancer; I suspect though it was related to her smoking.)
Personally, I think smoking is a disgusting habit, and I hope that if any of my readers are smokers, they will think twice about the long-term risks to their behavior. I'm sure when my nephew recently graduated from college he wished that his maternal grandmother had lived to see it.
But I don't believe in requiring restaurant, hotel or apartment owners to micromanage the personal habits of their customers. So long as as their smoking patrons aren't invading my personal breathing space, I don't care.
[Note: an embedded video should appear immediately below this paragraph; I've noticed that sometimes it's necessary to view this post standalone to see the video (click on the time/date link at the bottom or the post link on the right).]
New Blog Posts
I published posts in all 3 blogs over the weekend, including an earlier one today for this blog.
Remembering John Horse and the Black Seminoles
I believe the text from this video actually stems from a 2007 article in Reason. I've been hinting at a series of commentaries talking about Presidents (and almost-Presidents). Andrew Jackson is another in a series of what I regard as an overrated President. I think many of the things that happened to Indians at Jackson's hand were genuinely morally outrageous. For more information on John Horse's leadership in migrating his people to freedom in Mexico, see here.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
Little River Band, "Lonesome Loser" I love this variation on The Eagles' "Desperado", one of my all-time favorites (especially the indominable spirit of resilient guys whom repeatedly brush off rejection). Of course, I think (along with "The Immigrant"), the relevant "Solitaire" is one of my favorite Sedaka tracks. (I think I first heard it sung by the late AWESOME Karen Carpenter. I used to pretend that she was singing it about me. RIP, sweet angel. I remember. Always.)
