Saturday, March 31st, 2007,
by Fred (,
freedom, General Assembly, politics, restaurants, smoking, Tim Kaine
,
Gov. Kaine has proposed amendments to the Assembly’s kind of pointless post-a-sign-if-you-allow-smoking bill that would ban smoking in any public place where food is served. Unlike most who push these smoking bills, Kaine at least acknowledges the obvious - these laws hurt business:
A conversation with the owner of a prominent Richmond restaurant persuaded Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to seek a legislative ban on smoking in all eateries.”‘I’d like to go no smoking for my employees, but I worry if I do, I’ll lose business’” Kaine quoted the owner, whom he did not name. The restaurateur urged Kaine to apply a ban to all eating establishments.
“I thought that was a fairly compelling insight,” the governor said.
So why did the governor propose the law? A variation of the protect-the-children rationale used to support all nanny state laws, of course.
He proposed the sweeping prohibition to the General Assembly primarily to protect restaurant workers, not customers.
Despite the documented dangers of second-hand smoke to customers, Kaine emphasized, they can choose a nonsmoking restaurant or stay at home and eat.
But it’s not as easy for workers to find other jobs, he explained.
This argument is a big, fat, stinking, moldy-under-the-gills red herring. Here’s a thought experiment - if a restaurant agreed to hire only smokers, would smoking then be OK? After all, surely first-hand smoke is more dangerous than second-hand smoke is. These workers don’t need protection, so smoking should be OK, right? Of course not, since these laws are all about the government telling you what is good for you and restricting what private property owners allow on their property.
This non-smoker hates cigarette smoke as much as anybody. I’d love it if I woke up tomorrow and all restaurants were smoke free. I’d also love it if people didn’t yak on their cell phones while driving, didn’t wear those stupid Bluetooth headsets at the grocery store, didn’t stink up elevators with bad cologne and didn’t wear stupid-looking topical print shirts. But I don’t ask the government to ban any of those things on my behalf. Non-smokers don’t have a right to a smoke-free restaurant any more than smokers have a right to smoke. Private property owners, however, do have a right to control what legal activity is allowed on their property, free from government interference.
So what’s the solution? As with all things, the market. Don’t want cigarette smoke with your smoked turkey? Patronize the many, many restaurants that are already smoke-free. Business owners will get the message. Don’t want to work somewhere where smoking is permitted? Get a different job (and despite what the governor says, there are other jobs). When workers for non-smoke-free restaurants become more scarce, business owners will have to pay more, increasing the economic pressure to go smoke-free. Customers don’t have the right to use the power of the state to remake businesses into what they want them to be. They do have the power to take their money elsewhere.
Hopefully the General Assembly will vote down the governor’s nanny state amendment.
Share This
Thursday, March 29th, 2007,
by Fred (,
Campaign 08, Garrison Keillor, gay marriage, gay parents, homosexuality, John McCain, politics, Rudy Giuliani
,
It takes real talent to anger both the Bushies and the anti-Bushies, but Garrison Keillor has managed to do it. First he launched a bizarre tirade against Rudy Giuliani:
Back in 2000, for a City Hall roast, Mr. Giuliani got himself dolled up in drag and made a video in which Donald Trump flirts with him and kisses his breasts. It’s included in a new movie, “Giuliani Time,” and you can see it on YouTube just by typing “Giuliani in drag” into the search box.
Say what you will about the Current Occupant, there is no video out there of him waltzing around in a long lavender gown and a brassiere, and blond wig, while an aging tycoon nuzzles his chest. He may have sunk low back in his drinking days, but he managed to keep his adventures private. I doubt that Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney or Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) ever donned women’s apparel for the cameras….
There are plenty of bigger issues. But the video has a creepy fascination to it. The man in the lavender dress and the blond wig surely never contemplated running for president. It was the two planes hitting the towers a year later that made him a celebrity and then a candidate, nothing he had accomplished himself in public office.
Mr. Giuliani should put the issue behind him by answering a few questions: (1) How much did he have to drink that night, and what was he drinking? (2) Whose idea was it–his own or an aide’s? If the latter, was there wagering involved and how much was bet? (3) Were the garments new or used, and who picked them out? And was he wearing male or female underthings? (4) On a scale of 1 to 10, how good did he feel in that dress?
Now he’s taking on gay marriage and gay parents:
I grew up the child of a mixed-gender marriage that lasted until death parted them…. Back in the day, that was the standard arrangement. Everyone had a yard, a garage, a female mom, a male dad, and a refrigerator with leftover boiled potatoes in plastic dishes with snap-on lids….
Under the old monogamous system, we didn’t have the problem of apportioning Thanksgiving and Christmas among your mother and stepdad, your dad and his third wife, your mother-in-law and her boyfriend Hal, and your father-in-law and his boyfriend Chuck. Today, serial monogamy has stretched the extended family to the breaking point. A child can now grow up with eight or nine or 10 grandparents—Gampa, Gammy, Goopa, Gumby, Papa, Poopsy, Goofy, Gaga and Chuck—and need a program to keep track of the actors…
And now gay marriage will produce a whole new string of hyphenated relatives. In addition to the ex-stepson and ex-in-laws and your wife’s first husband’s second wife, there now will be Bruce and Kevin’s in-laws and Bruce’s ex, Mark, and Mark’s current partner, and I suppose we’ll get used to it.
The country has come to accept stereotypical gay men—sardonic fellows with fussy hair who live in over-decorated apartments with a striped sofa and a small weird dog and who worship campy performers and go in for flamboyance now and then themselves. If they want to be accepted as couples and daddies, however, the flamboyance may have to be brought under control. Parents are supposed to stand in back and not wear chartreuse pants and black polka-dot shirts. That’s for the kids. It’s their show.
Of course, Keillor’s act has always been based on his fuddy-duddiness, but he does seem to be going off the deep end a bit, seeing a chartreuse-panted cross dresser around every corner. Now that both the conservatives and the liberals recognize that he’s an ass when he’s not rolling out the well-worn Guy Noir schtick, can we just kill his syndicated column already?
Share This
Friday, February 16th, 2007,
by Fred (,
economics, me, politics
,
Internet staleness disclaimer - yes, I know that the link is old (1995), but Yglesias and Drezner both linked it, so…
The Pew Typology Test says I’m an “Enterpriser”
Enterpriser
Based on your answers to the questionnaire, you most closely resemble survey respondents within the Enterpriser typology group. This does not mean that you necessarily fit every group characteristic or agree with the group on all issues.
Enterprisers represent 9 percent of the American public, and 10 percent of registered voters.
Basic Description
As in previous studies conducted in 1987, 1994 and 1999, this extremely partisan Republican group’s politics are driven by a belief in the free enterprise system and social values that reflect a conservative agenda. Enterprisers are also the strongest backers of an assertive foreign policy, which includes nearly unanimous support for the war in Iraq and strong support for such anti-terrorism efforts as the Patriot Act.
Defining Values
Assertive on foreign policy and patriotic; anti-regulation and pro-business; very little support for government help to the poor; strong belief that individuals are responsible for their own well being. Conservative on social issues such as gay marriage, but not much more religious than the nation as a whole. Very satisfied with personal financial situation.
Who They Are
Predominantly white (91%), male (76%) and financially well-off (62% have household incomes of at least $50,000, compared with 40% nationwide). Nearly half (46%) have a college degree, and 77% are married. Nearly a quarter (23%) are themselves military veterans. Only 10% are under age 30.
All more or less OK, except for the “conservative on social issues bit.” Which is a bit odd, given that I said gay lifestyles should be accepted, not discouraged. The test is based on dichotomies that are almost all flawed. For example, Business corporations make too much profit vs. Most corporations make a fair and reasonable amount of profit. I don’t think fair or reasonable have any place in a discussion of profits of a private enterprise.
Share This
Tuesday, February 13th, 2007,
by Fred (,
government, Henrico, politics, transportation
,
Henrico County looks poised to eliminate its vehicle decal requirement.
County Manager Virgil Hazelett announced this morning that the board would consider an ordinance to abolish the vehicle decal at its regular meeting on Tuesday. Hazelett said he expected board members to support the measure.Henrico previously had issued new permanent decals to vehicle owners and required that they be displayed by Feb. 15. Some residents expressed concerns about the size of the new stickers, which can be discarded if the new ordinance is passed.
The local news has been full of people bitching about the “giant” 4×4 inch decals. Local contractor Collin Shaffer, for example, says they’re poster-sized:
“It looks like a poster,†says local construction contractor Collin Shaffer, who received the tax decals for his two cars last week in the mail and suffered a case of sticker shock when he stuck the thing on the windshield of his Mazda Miata.
“They’re huge,†Shaffer says. “It blocks — it hinders the view.â€
The new stickers are an inch taller than the old ones. Scary to think we were all an inch away from a fiery death before. I’ll be happy to see them go, not because they’re too big, but because it’s pain to take them off when you get a new one (the county’s so-called “permanent” sticker would have been good for 5 years anstead of one). Be prepared for lines at the landfill, as the gate attendant checks everybody’s license instead of using the county sticker to identify residents.
Share This
Tuesday, February 13th, 2007,
by Fred (,
Blogging, Campaign 08, democrats, John Edwards, kos, politics
,
Ann Althouse:
Ooh, everyone’s afraid of the bloggers. I mean, the Democratic candidates are afraid of the lefty bloggers. I don’t think the Republican candidates are afraid of the righty bloggers. Think that’s a problem?
You can really tell that Kos wants the candidates to be afraid of him. It’s an interesting dynamic. There’s a real paradox to this lefty blogger power. They are so powerful that they are able to hurt the Democratic candidates in all sorts of strange new ways. Meanwhile, the non-lefty bloggers will amuse themselves watching and describing it all.
The problem for the lefty bloggers is that they’ve proven they can hurt the Dems, but they haven’t shown that they can help them. Until the “netroots” notches a few victories on their belts, the relationship will remain tenuous.
Share This
Monday, April 17th, 2006,
by Fred (,
Hamas, politics, terrorism
,
What happens when the NY Times gets an “author who is writing a book about fats” to write an op-ed about trans fats? You get a load of tripe like Nuggets of Death.
The F.D.A. should set a limit of 5 percent here. Opponents of such a cap have argued that it is not worth the trouble, because the average American consumes so little trans fat. But the Danish study clearly shows that some — especially the sizable population eating fast foods — consume trans fats in dangerous doses.Others have argued that the government should let consumers choose for themselves. But consumers can’t make informed choices when so much of their food isn’t labeled. And given that we are expected to monitor salt, high-fructose corn syrup, peanut traces and other potential dangers, a trip through the supermarket is already beginning to resemble taking the SAT.
None of this is much of a surprise, of course. Nina Teicholz has been sounding the trans fat alarm for years, including a Gourmet magazine piece in 2004. She also pounds on every proponent of the nanny state’s favorite enemy, Wal Mart, bemoaning the retail giant’s entry into foodstuffs by writing in Gourmet in 2005 that “we will increasingly be eating according to mass-market tastes, shopping in massive Supercenters and living in the world that Wal-Mart built.” Can’t have the common folk eating what they want when they have good ol’ Nina telling them what they should eat, at least if they subscribe to Gourmet.
And what of personal responsibility? No, we need the government, because it’s just too hard to pay attention to what one sticks in one’s gullet. Why, it took a Danish study to determine that McDonald’s products have so many trans fats, right? Not exactly. No one disputes that too many fats of all kinds are bad for you. Current science indicates that too many trans fats are particularly bad. But the answer is not to get the government into the food content regulating business. It’s for people to take responsibility. But that’s something people like Nina Teicholz will never accept - if people have to accept the consequences for what they do, where’s the market for scolding journalism from people like Nina Teicholz.
And like all food scolds, Teicholz can’t be bothered with little things like facts when there’s an agenda at stake. Ed Cone notes that Teicholz claims that “Trans fats are also easily manipulated, able to give a Goldfish cracker its crunch, for instance,” while Pepperidge Farms’ product actually contains no trans fats.
Share This
Thursday, April 13th, 2006,
by Fred (,
education, evolution, FSM, intelligent design, Kansas, politics
,
So what happens when one of the ignorant cavedwellers who voted for Kansas’ new anti-science science curriculum comes face to face with the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a deity created specifically to show how ignorant the Kansas Board of Education is? Not pretty.
Creature’s picture irks Board of Ed member
State Board of Education member Connie Morris took exception Wednesday to a picture of a made-up creature that satirizes the state’s new science standards hanging on a Stucky Middle School teacher’s door.Fellow board member Sue Gamble told The Eagle that Morris asked for the picture to be removed.
The creature, called the Flying Spaghetti Monster, is the creation of Bobby Henderson of Corvallis, Ore. It looks like a clump of spaghetti with two eyes sticking out of the top and two meatballs flanking the eyes.
Henderson created the entity and an accompanying mythology on the origin of mankind to make fun of Kansas’ recent debate over the teaching of criticisms of evolution, including intelligent design.
In November, the board voted 6-4 to allow criticisms of evolution to be taught in Kansas schools.
Who won the battle? FSM, of course.
Gamble said she told the principal that it was his decision whether the monster could stick around.
“I advised the principal that Morris has no authority,” she said. “I told him to deal with his staff as he saw fit, not by what a state board member says.”
The picture was still on the door at the end of the school day Wednesday.
[via evolution]
Share This
Wednesday, April 12th, 2006,
by Fred (,
abortion, drugs, politics
,
The next front in the pharmacy wars? Bitter Pill
Cedar River Clinics, a women’s health and abortion provider with facilities in Renton, Tacoma, and Yakima, filed a complaint with the Washington State Department of Health this week alleging three instances where pharmacists raising moral objections refused to fill prescriptions for Cedar River clients. The complaint includes one incident at the Swedish Medical Center outpatient pharmacy in Seattle. According to the complaint, someone at the Swedish pharmacy said she was “morally unable” to fill a Cedar River patient’s prescription for abortion-related antibiotics.
The complaint also alleges that the Swedish pharmacy refused to fill a prescription for pregnancy-related vitamins. These sorts of cases cause mixed feelings for me. On the one hand, it is outrageous for these pharmacists to try to impose their moral beliefs on others. Why stop at sex-related drugs? Refuse to sell AIDS drugs to homosexuals, or contraceptives to singles - both of these groups are considered immoral by some.
On the other hand, it is equally outrageous for government to tell private businesses what they can and cannot sell. A pharmacy need not stock condoms if it is morally opposed to contraceptives, after all. But once it decides to stock a pharmaceutical, it certainly shouldn’t discriminate based on who wrote the prescription (which is what is alleged in this case).
Share This
Wednesday, April 12th, 2006,
by Fred (,
Kirkwood, Missouri, nanny state, politics, smoking
,
Kirkwood residents who think Citizens for a Smoke-Free Kirkwood’s proposed smoking ban will have no lasting economic effect better think again.
Restaurants in Ballwin, which in January banned smoking in public places, are suffering adverse economic effects, a survey by the chair of the Kirkwood Special Business District board has concluded.David McArthur, chairman of the Kirkwood Junction Special Business District Advisory Commission, said he visited seven restaurants along Manchester Road March 30 and conducted an impartial survey.
“Six of the seven reported losses in the bar of 35 to 50 percent,” McArthur told the Kirkwood City Council April 6. “The one exception, Mi Lupita, is a small restaurant with a six-seat bar area that likes the ban because it increased his non-smoking seating table capacity by five tables in the bar area. Restaurants like Longhorn Steakhouse reported bar losses of over 50 percent. No increase in restaurant sales and they now close an hour earlier every day. Also, one bar and two restaurants have closed since the ban.”
State and county-wide bans are bad enough, as they interfere with the right of a business owner to decide what legal activities are permissible on his property. Local bans like the one proposed for Kirkwood are just economic suicide, as smokers will just choose to go to a neighboring community that values freedom more highly. And it’s not like non-smokers are deprived of smoke-free environments - 16 of the 25 restaurants in the Kirkwood SBD are already smoke-free.
A city should like Kirkwood should be especially careful when considering business-killing ordinances. Kirkwood relies heavily on sales and gross receipts taxes; the General Fund receives no revenue from property taxes. In 2005, Kirkwood took in $4.1 million in sales tax revenue and $3.2 million in utility gross receipts tax revenue. General Fund expenditures were $15.9 million. Any business lost to the smoking ban would have a serious impact on sales and utility gross receipts tax revenue, and the Mayor is relying on an increase in the sales tax rate to fund some of his proposed $2 million in new spending.
Share This
Tuesday, April 11th, 2006,
by Fred (,
education, Illinois, nanny state, nutrition, politics
,
Committee blocks Illinois school junk food ban
An Illinois legislative committee voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to block the State Board of Education’s plan to bar junk food from elementary schools.The ban championed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich would prohibit the sale of soda, chips and candy in vending machines.
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules blocked it 10-1.
Good. Hopefully the ban will be killed entirely, and not just re-worked. Clearly, a diet composed entirely of candy bars and grape soda is unhealthy, but even sugary snacks are acceptable in moderation. Illinois is just caving to the food fascists at the CSPI and their kin.
Share This
