County commissioners:
I am not a smoker. I do however like to visit my local tavern for a drink, conversation
and the sense of community it provides. Your reckless, thoughtless, totalitarian
smoking ban threatens this cherished privilege. If I chose to keep company with
smokers that is MY business. Not yours. Not some nanny anti-smoking zealot.
I urge you to remove this destructive, ill-conceived prohibition before it does
further damage to the economy of Hennepin County.
Thank you for your attention.

Kermit XXXXX
New Hope

Was that polite enough?

"Your reckless, thoughtless, totalitarian smoking ban threatens this cherished privilege"

Threatens this cherished privilege?

Threatened?

Your ability to go to a pub and have a beer and chat with a few friends is THREATENED???

Oh Good God...

Hennepin County Board members:

I smoke. I am well over 18. As far as I know, it is still legal for me to do so, even in Hennepin county.

Being single, I also tend to go out for dinner quite often, and do enjoy an adult beverage occasionally. Because I live in South Minneapolis, my dining and entertainment almost always occurred in Hennepin county. I use the past tense because of one simple fact: Since the smoking ban was implemented I have personally not spent one dollar in a Hennepin county restaurant or pub.

One benefit I have found is getting to know St. Paul eateries and drinking establishments. What I really enjoy is how many Minneapolis folks I'm meeting "over there" who also won't spend a dime in Hennepin Co. supporting this property-rights/personal freedom infringement. Not one dining/bar related tax dollar from me, ever, until this ridiculous ban is repealed.

Lest you think I'm joking, I used to be in sales, and traveled the state. When Duluth instituted their smoking ban, they lost my hotel/dining/bar business (read:tax revenue). Rochester, the same.

It is the right of every business owner to decide the smoking ban issue via the business case for or against. Prior to the ban, several bars and restaurants went non-smoking on their own, as is their right. The smoking ban you implemented is a solution in search of a problem. No one is forced to go to, or work in, a particular business. You have taken a choice, a freedom, away from me and a multitude of citizens and business owners. What happened to "Pro-Choice"?

You have, no doubt, caused job-loss at the businesses you have victimized, unemploying some of the very people you say you were protecting. From reducing staff to forcing some completely out of business, I guess you can pat yourselves on the back. And this was during the summer! Just wait as the weather turns colder... Many of the people who still patronized the remaining establishments, inconveniencing themselves by smoking "out back", will undoubtedly just stay home, or go to more smoke friendly locales. By the way, lose any convention business yet?

Please stop worrying about my health. Maybe your time would be better spent trying to reduce crime downtown, so that when you repeal the smoking ban, I may not feel the need to get a carry permit just to eat at Murray's.

The time is ripe. It's time for a MOB action Mitch!

http://restraininorder.blogspot.com/2005/11/lets-make-lemonade.html

We need to contact Derek to get a spiffy logo.

Let's get going!!!

"The time is ripe. It's time for a MOB action Mitch!"

Hey! Let me help too! I'll get some big pieces of cardboard and some long piece of wood from old man Johnsons hardware store and we can make some really neat signs!

Hey! We can use my parents garage on account of my brother left for college and my dad let him take the Dart so there's plenty of room in there now.

I think we might even have some Tempra paint left over from when we painted the homecoming float!

Bad news though about Derek... His dad busted him wearing his sisters panties and they sent him to military school.

"I'll get some big pieces of cardboard and some long piece of wood from old man Johnsons hardware store and we can make some really neat signs!"

No thanks dude. If you dismantle your box condo we'll have to find room for you at the Dorothy Day center..and it's pretty crowded this time of year.

"Hey! We can use my parents garage on account of my brother left for college and my dad let him take the Dart so there's plenty of room in there now."

Pfft..."college", riiiight.
http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/groups/disabilities/documents/pub/dhs_id_017672.hcsp

The ol' Doug family Alma Mater eh? Heh.

Anyway, where are you going to move your box condo if we use the garage?

Try think!

"I think we might even have some Tempra paint left over from when we painted the homecoming float!"

Wrong. Your brother took it to "college" with the Dart.

"No thanks dude. If you dismantle your box condo we'll have to find room for you at the Dorothy Day center..and it's pretty crowded this time of year."

Thanks for the concern. Interestingly, we just got our 2006 tax valuation from Washington county for our box condo. Looks like it's gone up another $22,000 from last year to $456,000. Funny thing is the appraised value for our mortgage is only $486,000. Although if we do for some reason loose our box condo, we can always move to our vacation box condo just off the Pestigo river in Northern Wisconsin. It's already paid for.

"Pfft..."college", riiiight.
http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/groups/disabilities/documents/pub/dhs_id_017672.hcsp

The ol' Doug family Alma Mater eh? Heh."

Ummm... No. My dad went to Marquette University. My Mom went to Wichita State University. I have my BFA a small private college in the Cities and my wife graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.

As for the substance abuse quip, I was fortunate enough to go through a private treatment facility 8 years ago and have been sober since. Thanks for the concern though. I do however do service work with others in early recovery, primarily vets, but I wouldn't really consider the facility it my Alma Mater...

"Anyway, where are you going to move your box condo if we use the garage?"

I don't know? New Mexico or Arizona sounds nice this time of year.

"Try think!"

Try proper verb usage.

"Interestingly, we just got our 2006 tax valuation from Washington county for our box condo. Looks like it's gone up another $22,000 from last year to $456,000. & etc, & blah, blah, blah"

Let me guess..and you are 6'5" 250 pounds of rippling muscle..LOL!

"I was fortunate enough to go through a private treatment facility 8 years ago and have been sober since."

Heh...looks like a particularly pathetic dry drunk from where we stand pal.

Listen.

Do yourself, and everyone else a big favor...give it up and have yourself an nice tall cocktail or ten.

Be sure to have your liveried chauffeur take you back to the manse though.

"Let me guess..and you are 6'5" 250 pounds of rippling muscle..LOL!"

Nope. I'm 5'9 and I'm about 195. I could stand to lose the 25 pounds I gained after I quit smoking 6 years ago but I'm in no real hurry.

"Heh...looks like a particularly pathetic dry drunk from where we stand pal."

and you look like a particularly vindictive, jealous, angry, frustrated and bitter person. Maybe you should look at that Swiftee. I could recommend a couple of good meetings in St. Paul if you'd like.

"Listen.

Do yourself, and everyone else a big favor...give it up and have yourself an nice tall cocktail or ten.

Be sure to have your liveried chauffeur take you back to the manse though."

There's actually an interesting phenomenon in the world of addiction recovery. A lot of the active alcoholics and addicts I know or have met actually want others who are in recovery to fail because in some twisted bizarre way, it makes them feel strangely better about themselves when others slip.

Would it make you feel better about yourself if I relapsed Swiftee?

"There's actually an interesting phenomenon in the world of addiction recovery. A lot of the active alcoholics and addicts I know or have met actually want others who are in recovery to fail because in some twisted bizarre way, it makes them feel strangely better about themselves when others slip."

Whereas we blog lurkers would be perfectly fine if you just relapsed from being an asshole into something a little less prick-like.

I wrote the Board, Mitch.

"Would it make you feel better about yourself if I relapsed Swiftee?"

I think that if you were to spend the next month or twelve curled up in the bottle of your choice we'd ALL feel a lot better dougie. Including you.

Can you get started on that right away?

I see... I post a response to Swiftee sophomoric call to action to boycott business and in return, I get a personal attack against me using the homeless and those suffering from addiction as a target of his humor.

After I burst his little insult bubble with the facts, he climbs further into the dumster tells me to relapse...

And you call me an asshole...

Let me guess... You guys are all self-proclaimed Christians too right?

Lee, Swiftee and Jim, As much as I frequently disagree with the positions held by the host of this blog, I doubt that he would ever stoop to your level.

Uh, oh. Now we've gone and hurt the li'l fella's feelings.

Gee..I feel so small..;-)

C'mon Doug, first round is on Derek, I got the second. And to make ya feel better, we'll invite a few homeless people too.

Swiftee, don't flatter or fool yourself. I'm not the least bit hurt by your petty little jabs. In fact, I rather enjoyed watching you slide into the gutter dragging your buddies, Crabbe and Goyle with you.

By the way, If I wasn't getting up at 6:00 AM to drive a new sponsee to the VA in St. Cloud tomorrow, I might take you up un the offer. Of course, I only drink 7UP or occasionally grapefruit juice but knowing as much as I do about you, it might be really entertaining to see you in your natural habitat.

Is everyone still writing letters to the Hennepin county board.....or is everyone lining up to buy drinks for Doug?

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