Monday, August 28, 2006

Smoldering Rants UPDATED!

Last December, I coughed up RANT WEEK, a series of posts that addressed the burning issues of the day, from smoking, to Tom McGee, to the befowlment of the naughty bits of an equestrian statue. Nine months later, let's see what's going on with these controversial subjects.

Day One: The Riverfront. The controversial plan to bulldoze Kanawha Boulevard into the river and plant trees or something has seemingly stalled. The only thing new on this front is the grudging acceptance of the powers that be that large numbers of people still like and use the Boulevard. Nothing much has happened, and that's a good thing.

Day Two: Smoking. Following a landmark report from the Surgeon General about the effects of second-hand smoke, the Kanawha County Board of Health has begun making noise about expanding the ban on smoking to all indoor public places, including bars and restaurants. Not only does this make me extremely happy, but you can't beat the entertainment value of smokers trying to play the victim after years of them inflicting their addictive poison on the rest of us. Their whiny cries of persecution is music to my ears. After years of being told to "suck it up," when I was forced to be around tobacco smoke, I love watching the tobacco addicts squirm. Hey guys, my right to breathe supersedes your right to indulge in your dirty, dirty addiction. It has been fun watching the same Restaurant owner/pro-smoking advocate go crying to the media about how the smoking ban has ruined his business. Hey fella, I tried eating at your restaurant once, the reason your business is down is because, now that you're smoke-free, people can actually taste that crap you try to pass off as food.

Day Three: WHCP's Newscast. It wasn't pretty. The newscast bit the dust in a very public way back in February, and the station changed their call letters. No word on if Mark Hunt has put together another newscast for the local market. You can read about the ugly end here.

Day Four: Vandalism! Somebody defiled the most delicate part of the Davis Square horsey statue, placing a sticker on its privates. I wrote about this last year. IT'S STILL THERE! SEE! Shouldn't there be some user fee money left over to pry this sticker off of the equine unmentionables?

Bonus Rant: Metro Gubmint. The user fee was upheld by a court-ordered vote wherein a tiny percentage of Charleston citizens voted to tax people who live outside the city. And the sensible dream of a Metro Goverment that would combine Charleston with the rest of Kanawha County scoots that much farther out of reach. When it comes time for the citizens of Kanawha County to vote to merge with Charleston, the politicians will learn just how long people's memories can be.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Your smoking rant should be required reading in all junior high schools. if those pathetic losers knew how stupid they looked, then maybe they wouldn't get hooked on that drug to begin with. They always talk about how pot is a "gateway drug". How come they never point out that more than 99% of all heroin users started out with tobacco?