Michigan Senate: "Hand Over That Butt"

The Michigan Senate has passed a bill that will outlaw smoking in all public places including bars and restaurants if ultimately passed into law.

LANSING -- The state Senate voted today to ban smoking in public places including restaurants and bars, sending the issue back to the House, which has passed a similar bill.

The Senate vote puts a statewide smoking ban on the verge of final approval and a victory for antismoking advocates who have lobbied for years to ban smoking in public places.

The measure passed on a 25-12 vote. Unlike a similar House bill that passed, the Senate version would extend the smoking ban to casinos and bingo halls.

How long will the sheep in this country allow big brother to herd them into quaint little pens?

We've got millions of people up in arms in this country over the US government eavesdropping on terrorists communicating with one another overseas, yet most people applaud when bureaucrats swoop into private business in this country and quite literally take cigarettes right out of smoker's hands. The former is supposedly an attack on our civil rights, while the latter is not. Go figure.

The commenters at Freep are seeing this as a smokers versus non-smokers issue when it is not that at all. This is an intrusive government versus private business owners issue. This is a case of an expanded and all-knowing benevolent government sticking its fat nose into the business of private institutions and citizens because it thinks it is so much smarter than the rest of us.

FOR THE PEOPLE!

Perhaps when big brother comes looking for our candy bars (to prevent tooth decay), saturated fats (to lower our cholesterol), pasta (to keep our weight down), salt (for our blood pressure) and force us to walk four miles a day for our cardio-vascular system, we will start to notice.

I doubt it though. Sheep really don't care much which pen they are led into.