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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Gene, you really surprise me on this one...for the most part, my initial
comments were sarcastic and mostly just BS, but I started it, so I will
see it through...


> > I wonder if Obama will change the smoking laws and fight to get rid
> > of smoking bans...
>
> I doubt it. The extreme negative health conditions are long- and
> well- documented. The social pressure may not be fair, but more and
> more places are passing laws against smoking in public places. And,
> most presidents are not so heavy-handed. Congress proposes laws,
> presidents sign them or veto them.


I doubt it, too.
Okay, I am gonna bite, er, at least nibble here...
Extreme negative health conditions are long and well documented for
speeding in an automobile, too, and I'd bet that 90% of people speed on
a regular basis, at least it would be a higher percentage of people who
speed than who smoke (~25%).
It's funny to me that current and past presidents are almost always
blamed for tougher laws whether they veto or not.  You just don't hear
  the Senate getting any blame or credit for the laws they pass or the
justices they approve...no...what you hear is a president's name
attached to it...like Ronald Reagan and the Brady Bill(not a stellar
example, I know<g>)...or GHW Bush and Judge Thomas or Clinton and Judge
Ginsberg, etc....the president ALWAYS get top billing, for better or
worse, and especially for worse.  Anyway, it almost sounded like you
were going to be making excuses for the O-man in advance of his
coronation...lol...who knows though, he might just veto tougher smoking
legislation...I doubt it, but it would sure make me like the guy a whole
lot better than if he succumbed to social pressure. (I like anyone who
will stand up for individual rights-especially against a majority)


> > will he, as a smoker, champion the rights of smokers?
>
> I believe he is now an ex-smoker.

I think that is wishful thinking on your part, but hey, I could be wrong
as I haven't read much on his personal life.  I've always had a fondness
for smokers in my heart, since I was one for so long...he would be THE
perfect champion for an individual's right to smoke, or toke, or
whatever. :)  Barack IS the new and improved Marlboro Man...lol..
I hear the first lady smokes, too...I wonder where...lol...I kind of
doubt that they make HER stand out on the street in the rain, 20 feet
from the gate....lol...
And why is it "okay" for President Clinton to smoke cigars, but not
really okay for Obama to smoke ciggies?  If he makes it to the Oval
Office, I wonder where HE will smoke...he could prolly get a few leads
on hidey-holes from Bill, if they are still talking by then...lol...


> > I wonder...And WHY would he not endear himself to the South's
> > Tobacco World by allowing photos of him smoking a cigarette?
>
> He is a role model. Bad message to young blacks? And, I thought we 
> were against pandering.

Young blacks??
He should be a role model for young males.  Besides, more whites and
Hispanics smoke than blacks.

> > I guess California and Colorado are more important.
>
> What's the connection?

Those two states are seen by other states, at least here, as being
states with a large population of people who are obsessed-bordering on
fanatical about health.  I probably should have left out Colorado and
just included California due to the number of delegates, but I spent
some time out there and those Rocky Mountaineers are definitely health
conscious.  I think Californians are just emigrating to other western
states and bringing their culture with them...lol...
But no, what I was getting at was that the western states generally
carry a lot more delegates on the whole than the southern states, and
they are also more health minded.  All that means is that they are the
majority view, the moral high ground. We Southerners do still like our
gravy and biscuits, ya know, and the last time I checked, the southern
states were near the top of the smoking states.  I mean, the population
of smokers in California has got to be what, less than 15%, maybe 10 or
less?  Here, it's almost 1 in 4, maybe 1 in 5.
I apologize to California...I was thinking about all of this as I typed
the above...they get about as bad a rap as the South, probably deserved
in both respects, and I'm surely going to hit a nerve with my words, but
it is my truth and I am writing it.  There was a time when the US as a
whole saw itself as the country on moral high ground, now, I think
California alone has that role, and the rest of the states are just
subject to play follow the leader...it's true with education, automobile
emissions, you name it, Liberal California led the way.  This hasn't
always been a good thing, and still, some of us who live in states that
are less than perfect resent that, mainly because it hurts our economy
to play by Californian rules...and it makes us seem less than equal when
California holds such sway.

So now that I have dug a HUGE hole for myself, I think I will go crawl
inside it.  :)

Bev

--
BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm   NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W    Bev is Earth, Ron is Sky