Houston in Crisis
by The Panda Man · 10/11/2006 11:44 amNever fear, Houston. Mayor Bill White knows what threatens you most and is working hard to build support at Council to tackle the tough issues. Evildoers everywhere tremble at the sound of his name. The bane of mysterious bonuses, red-light running, and smoldering butts, he is our Smoke-Free SuperMayor.
“I think the majority on council wants to provide more smoke-free areas for employees. I think the majority of council also thinks there ought to be some limited number of places where people can smoke outside their home,” he said. “But coming up with that limit has been the thing that’s hard to build consensus on.”
That is right, fair citizens, while Houston streets crumble and crack, while violent crime is on the rise, while tax dollars roll in and the police department is understaffed by hundreds of officers, and while smokers are already banished to the sidewalks, your fearless leaders are tirelessly battling the evil of someone, somewhere, smoking outside the home. Let us take a peek now behind the closed doors of the smoke-free back rooms of the Butt-Justice League.
An informal Houston Chronicle poll Tuesday showed members are split: six members, including White, said they plan to vote for the proposal as submitted, and four said they’ll vote against it or try to amend it. Five said they were undecided.
Disaster! There is dissention in the ranks of the League! Some members are even exhibiting independent thought and respect for liberty!
Council members Addie Wiseman and Michael Berry said they plan to vote against any extension of the ban. Whether to allow smoking should be the decision of the business owner, not the government, Wiseman said.
The horror! Will SuperMayor succeed in restoring unity to the League? Will evil smokers finally be banished from public view? Can Houtropolis be saved?
Stay tuned…
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So glad I live in Pearland / Brazoria county…
Let the free market system dictate whether a business is smoke free or not. The government should not be in the business of dictating how a business is run. You cannot please everyone, every time. If smoking is that bad, then outlaw it. Oh!!! I forgot all those cigarette taxes the governments would lose. Well, you can’t have it both ways.
RTG, what Houston does the surrounding area follows. I live in Friendswwod. Personally, If someone wants to smoke outside or anywhere on their own property. It’s their right to be stupid. This is just one step closer to telling me what I can and can’t do in my own home. Trust me, that’s next.
What a topsy-turvy world. Purported conservatives backing limits on freedom while socialist demonrats are opposing it. What in hell has happened here? have I woke up in Bizzarro world today?
Another example of the Gov. stepping outside the boundries of their design.
It is not their job to save us from doing stupid things, either with our health, our money, or property.
Why not outlaw obesity? That is more of a health danger than smoking?
#5
Obesity is next, the war is already on.
You miss the point. Which is they worry about the small stuff, smoking, and not enforcing laws regarding illegals, that is a big problem for all of us. They have to appear to be doing constructive legislation, but are not inclined to tackle the difficult problems. So, they do ‘busy’ work. Do nothing pile of people, useless.
#7 The point is they are not focusing on the issues the Government is tasked with doing, and instead focus on issues the Government has no business focusing on.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
I had 2 friends of mine (HPD Officers)got kicked out of the Summit during an Aerosmith concert (they were attending, not working). Another HPD officer saw them both smoking cigarettes and told them to put them out. My buddies told him to ‘EFF’ off because everyone else around them were smoking dope. With the smell of dope in the air, he threw these two eeeevil cigarette smokers out…
With the crime problems we face each day in Houston you would think our elected leaders could spend a little of thier time trying to find better ways to keep us safe. Instead they are working on revenue producing red light cameras, so they will have more money to waste, and protecting us from the evil smokers.
Don’t forget fining crime victims if they don’t clean up the mess that criminals make on their property.
The city of houston council is disgusting as is mayor rumdum.
I’d like to know where the heck they are going to get the cops to enforce this new ban? I heard on the radio this a.m. that their ban on sex-oriented businesses has been tied up in court for the last 10 years and the city has spent over $500, 000. The ban is still not enforcable. Sounds like all the bar owners would need to do is get together and hire a lawyer.
I’m just again reminded that District 22 Republican congressional nominee Dr. Hypenated Last Name that nobody can spell favors this government intrusion into our private lives. Imagine what she and the Evil One could do if they were teamed up in Washington. I don’t think even the carpetbagging union thug running against her would try this. God, please send us a conservative to run in District 22.
Rastus,
By the looks of recent events, I would believe that God does not hold District 22 in high regard. Look out for the locusts.
Simple
Does anyone wonder why people are so apathetic? The city is going down the drain and our elected officials don’t care! The populous doesn’t care! No one cares! Civilization is being sucked out of our society and soon we will all be living in “Lord of the Flies-ville!”
Rastus
#14
Shelly Sekula-Gibbs is an ass to support this crap. With all that is facing Houstonians, this is the least problem we have. I’m calling all my friends in the 22nd district and telling them not to vote for Shelly. If she supports government intrusion at the local city level, no telling what she would support on the national level. She totally lost my support with this and I hope lost the support she may have had in the 22nd district race.
I think everybody in elected offices should be drug tested. We have crime rate outa control, we do not have enough officers to enforce the laws already on the books, ex. illegal immigration…
Ummmm, do they realize that people who smoke will go to another county? Do they realize that EUROPEAN (or other foreign countries) like to smoke? Do you realize that they won’t fork money into Houston, just because they won’t be able to smoke? Dang, I need a cigarette…I’m sorry, but I thought smoking was legal….Why can’t they have smoking and non-smoking places that are left up to the establishments? Common sense? /spits - oops!
Oh yeah, and BTW, do you know what people who are forced not to smoke will do? Increase crime. Why? Because that is their “legal” drug of choice. Ever been around someone who chose or was forced not to smoke? Ask my kids…it ain’t pretty!
Southerntragedy
#18
You are right! What happens to smokers’ rights? Do they not have rights? Why is it that non-smokers have certain rights that smokers do not? If smokers want to smoke in bars and non-smokers are against it, non-smokers should just not go to the bars! Stop pushing your morality (or lack thereof) on smokers. If you don’t like it, don’t freakin’ go! Shelly freakin’ Gibbs should have more sense. Obviously she doesn’t and she is not worthy to serve as a US Congresswoman from the 22nd district.
#17 Neo: I can save you the dime(of, I forgot, it’s a quarter these days!), I wasn’t voting for her Shelly Whateverherlastnameistoday…..the GOP leadeship has made such a mess of the whole Tom Delay thing down here, they deserve to be rebuked.
While I will not vote for Lampson either(neither one of these fake bananas live here anyway), it doesn’t leave us with much real choice down here…….but what’s new?
I’m surprised “Butt-Justice League” got by without comment.