Sending for my Absentee Ballot
I just sent for it today. I always take voting seriously, but this time I really am concerned. Why?
- A smoking ban referendum. There is a statewide smoking ban on the Ohio ballot, and I want it passed. Sure, call me whatever name you want, but when I go into a restaurant, I would like to be able to breathe. I don’t think the constitution guarantees the right to put a burning stick in one’s mouth in public.
- A minimum wage hike referendum. Don’t call me a liberal here, please. I am pretty conservative economically, but Ohio has a large chunk of working poor, folks who WANT to work, and DO work, but who are still poor. Even many college-educated folks are under-employed. Plus CEO pay is at an all-time high while wages for everybody else aren’t growing, and with the cost of health care and energy outpacing general inflation, some people are making less than they did a few years ago. I have to stand up for ordinary folks here.
- Mike DeWine is up for re-election. This is proof I am a mixed bag when it comes to voting. I like DeWine and want to vote for him. I am not happy with the Republicans, but the thought of Democrats in office is pretty scary too.
October 18th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
In Mass, smoking’s been booted from restaurants - and I believe even _bars_, of all places - for years now. I remember clubbing years and years ago, and thinking how strange it was that no one was smoking inside.
It’s much nicer without it, and though the Constitution favors the individual as the fundamental unit, whose rights are to be protected against the Govt., the interests of the common good will always trump individualism when it runs too rampant. It’s interesting - I was reading an interview with Michael Crichton, of Jurassic Park fame, and he claimed that all the scientific data on second-hand smoke do not give any indication that it’s unhealthy, but that some people simply claim to, or have an allergic reaction, and the rest all find it so unpleasant, that pseudo-scientific data was scarfed up by the prosecution and campaigning masterminds in order to get it banned. I don’t know whether this is true or not, but I’m glad it’s gone, I don’t care if it puts me at risk, it’s simply distasteful.
October 18th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
Smoking’s been illegal in restaurants (and in bars, I believe) in Mass for years. It’s a nice change.