repubgazette8-23-07smokingrightsgopcoalitionbeakes

The Putnam County Board of Health this week struck a blow for the rights of private ownership by overturning its previous ban on smoking in bars and restaurants.

By a 3-2 vote, the board reverted to 1996 regulations that banned smoking in most public places but permitted it in bars and in restaurants that have separate smoking areas.

The move was a positive development in the wake of an endless series of actions by health boards that essentially cast them in the role of legislators, making new laws targeting private business owners. Kanawha County's health board is in the midst of pursuing its own dictatorial policy which will tell private business owners they can no longer allow smoking, even if smoking signs are clearly posted and patrons know before entering whether smoking is occurring or not.

The notion that unelected health boards are imbued with lawmaking powers has been an increasingly accepted trend, as they ignore the wishes of business owners and impose their personal policies on private establishments.

Most health boards seem to believe that patrons and employees are unable to decide for

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themselves whether to enter or work in businesses that permit smoking. They and supporters of smoking bans seem under the impression that a certain group of people have the right to demand that individuals who have invested capital and work into building a business must comply with their personal preferences in regard to whether smoking is permitted or not.

As one non-smoker said in an email Wednesday, "I am not a smoker, but I respect a place where restaurant and bar owners actually OWN their establishment. I think I might drive to Teays for dinner tonight to celebrate freedom."

The Putnam decision reinforces the idea that people who do not want to be exposed to smoke have the ability to decide for themselves not to enter an establishment in which smoking is permitted, instead of adopting the position that businesses must cater to non-smokers' personal preferences.

Today's Charleston Gazette reports that some Putnam restaurant operators say they will maintain the smoking ban in their establishments. Excellent -- businesses deciding for themselves is how it should be done.

Smoking is unhealthy, but adults get to be unhealthy

Smoking is bad for you and in an ideal world no one would smoke. In an ideal world, no one would over-eat, or cross the street without looking both ways, or swim without a lifeguard on duty, or wear nasty cologne.

But people have a right to do things that are bad for them, even including some things that negatively affect others. The notion that individuals have a right to live sterile lives, even at the expense of the rights of others, is one that is increasingly accepted but alarmingly anti-freedom.

No one has to enter an establishment that allows smoking. And contrary to popular sentiment, no one has the right to work anywhere they want and demand a smoke-free environment. If you want to be a bartender, you should first understand you will likely be exposed to smoke. If you do not want to be exposed to smoke, you should not be a bartender.

Smoking is bad for you. There should be anti-smoking programs, and education programs about the dangers of smoking, and warnings on cigarettes, and parents should teach their children not to smoke.

But Big Brother should stop short of legislating -- or in the case of health boards, dictating -- one set of laws after another designed to create a nanny state, with the government starring as Fran Drescher.

In a typically overwraught display of despair, James Vance of something called "Putnam on Wellness" said of the Putnam health board vote, “They just set back clean indoor air a hundred years. How is this fair for anybody?”

What he meant, of course, was, "How is this fair for me and the people who agree with me?"

But health board member Jimmy Dillon stood up for independence when asked about the overall trend to oppress business owners.

“That’s other places,” he said. “This is Putnam County.”

Hurray for Putnam County, a rare defender of the rights of business owners. May others come to realize that engineering the public's health is secondary to protecting rights -- and not just for those with the politically correct point of view.

The just-concluded special session of the State Legislature addressed the wiretap problem because the Republican Party made an issue of it. Any spin to the contrary is just that.

In early June, Gov. Joe Manchin said a special session to address the wiretap problems raised by the Supreme Court in the State v. Mullens case would wait until the January 2008 regular session.

But after the Republican Party made it an issue, and demanded a special session to correct the problems for law enforcement, Manchin changed his tune and soon began insisting that nothing was more important than cracking down on illegal drugs.

Among his many impressive political skills, the governor is a master at reading tea leaves and grabbing ownership of issues. He is highly sensitive to even the slightest change of the political wind, and rather than resist it, he adopts the winning position and stamps his name on it.

But the fact is, the wiretap turn of events is a perfect example of what happens when organizations or individuals join with the Republican Party to stand up to the governor and the Democrats.

The Republican Party alone would not have caused the governor and the Democrat leadership to change their minds.

But when police officers, prosecutors and others joined the GOP in calling for immediate action, it was a different story, a story with a happy ending that should serve as a lesson to various groups -- particularly business groups -- who often feel compelled to abandon their principles and cater to the administration. (Can anyone say West Virginia Chamber of Commerce?)

What was demonstrated by the wiretap turn of events is that the minority party can be a more effective vehicle for change or fast action than the ruling party when it is augmented by outside groups interested in better and more positive change than the majority party prefers.

Elvis 'protest' songs rare, but powerful

Just as he was reluctant to express his political views in public, Elvis Presley also shied away from recording songs that hinted of politics.

But two songs that were exceptions are among his best music. "In The Ghetto," recorded in 1969, told the story of a "poor little baby child (who) was born in the ghetto. And his mama cries. Cause if there's one thing that she don't need it's another little hungry mouth to feed in the ghetto."

The other "political" song was recorded the previous year and might be Elvis' greatest performance. Elvis and the producers of his 1968 "comeback" special on NBC wanted a powerful song to close the show, and songwriter Earl Brown went home one night and came up with "If I Can Dream."

Elvis listened to it over and over while pondering whether to do it. It's message was relatively benign -- "If I can dream of a better land where all my brothers walk hand in hand..." -- it was a departure from anything he had done. Finally, he fell in love with it and agreed to perform it, resulting in a powerful, almost screaming delivery that even today is moving every time it is played.

Oddly enough, Elvis never performed "If I Can Dream" in concert. It's possible that he realized he could never duplicate the passion and heart he put into the original, and failure to do so would seriously diminish the memory of the "comeback" special's powerful conclusion.

So "If I Can Dream" and "In The Ghetto" remain rare but moving examples once again that Elvis could deliver just about any message in any song. Today's trivia question: What songwriter who later become famous as a singer wrote "In The Ghetto?"

Tuesday's trivia question was, what year did West Virginia introduce the Elvis Presley lottery game? The answer was 2001. Correct responses came from Tommy Phillips, Allen Loughry, Gary Howell, and Jean Colombo.

Anyone who questioned whether Mike Garrison was the right choice to lead West Virginia University had those fears calmed this week when WVU regained its status as the number one partying school in the country.

After slipping in the rankings under the ineffectual party-related leadership of Dave Hardesty, Garrison quickly righted the ship and, as his first act, made sure WVU's party-hardy rep was immediately restored. No wonder Garrison was helping students unload the couches.