The Crystal Ball

ST. PAUL, Minnesota - Minnesota would ban smoking in bars, restaurants and other establishments under a bill approved by the Legislature. The bill passed the state House by an 81-48 vote early Saturday, hours after the state Senate approved it 43-21. It now heads to Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has said he will sign it. Minnesota would become the 20th state to prohibit smoking in bars and restaurants.

THE CRYSTAL BALL:

This ain't rocket science, folks. Almost half the states have passed one form or another of a smoking ban. Smokers are the social pariah now. At work, they huddle outdoors in all sorts of weather, in bars and restaurants they are relegated to the front sidewalk. Pull up to a local pub and you would think that the joint was standing-room only, but it is just the smokers hanging out, and I'm still getting used to it here in New Jersey. "Watch my stuff" is the request I get most often, as the smokers go outdoors for the post-beer butt puff.
They still sell the cigarettes, even though they know they kill us. Soon, all 50 states will have a smoking ban, and the only places they will be able to smoke is in their own home. I hear talk about banning smoking in cars, in front of children and even outdoors sometimes. Part of me feels badly for them, because they cannot or will not quit. Quitting is hard to do, since we also know that cigarettes are addictive.

New York City has banned trans fats from food, even though five years ago we didn't know what a trans fat was. States are enacting tougher drunk driving laws so that it is almost impossible to leave your house, drive to a bar and drive back without being in violation. I wonder why the cops just don't sit outside and pull over everyone leaving the place, since the odds are that they are legally intoxicated. Maybe that's an idea for them?
So, where is all of this going? We will not be permitted to eat fatty foods, smoke or drink outside our homes. The old saying, "Once the camel gets his nose under the tent, it isn't long before the whole camel is in there with you" is coming to fruition. The camel is neck-deep, gang.

All of it is under the guise of what is best for us, or so they say. They are telling us that we cannot be responsible for our own actions. Free will and money are no longer good reasons for us to make our own life-threatening decisions. I like a hamburger once in a while, and because I don't eat them every day, I don't give a rat's ass if there is trans fats in it or not. I don't smoke, but as long as people are respectful of my air space, I don't care much if you do. If you can't drink and operate a vehicle at a blood/alcohol level of .08, then maybe you shouldn't be out to begin with, but I wonder why we still have bars if the driving laws are going to be more prohibitive. Each beer is .02, and it takes 90 minutes to run that out of your system. Anybody drinking a beer in an hour and a half? No, more like 5.

There are, however, so-called do-gooders who believe that they know what is best for us - or bad for us as the case may be. Lately, they have been focusing on cigarettes, seat belts, fatty foods and alcohol; which even the not-so-do-gooders figure is the right thing to do. But, how long before laws are being passed regulating other forms of behavior? The camel's nose is under the tent, and if somebody in your state legislature thinks they are "helping", your funny little habits will die a painful death.

Meanwhile, little bits of your personal freedoms are eroded - so gradually and painlessly that you hardly notice, until ...

... something that you really like to do is illegal.