Stir Crazy and the ensuing Stream of Consciousness

And in other good news, Stir Crazy of Creve Coeur is now completely non-smoking. I went there for a business lunch today and was pleased to note that.

For the past year, except for business meals where I have no control over these things (yes, I COULD quit my job), I've only eaten in smoke-free restaurants. What an amazingly pleasant experience that's been.

So add one to the list.

St. Louis County has a countywide smoking ban in contemplation right now. That'd certainly open up the places I could go, including the casino that's located in my municipality. I think that'd be a great experiment. A casino with non-toxic air. The single most place that wants you to forget time and where you are and have you continue in your gambling ways for days on end if possible. I'm surprised none of them have experimented with this. Harrah's, the casino in question, of course is fighting the ban tooth and nail. As is my municipality, beneficiary of its tax dollars (to the extreme, let me tell you).

I care. Immensely. There's a public hearing on April the 12th that I plan to attend, work willing. If it doesn't pass, I still have hopes that more and more places will come around to the notion that, hey, the 70+% of America that doesn't smoke really doesn't want to spend its time breathing other people's noxious fumes. Or perhaps an inventor will patent the smoke containment suit. Can't wait.

In other related news, Clayton has opened up a non-smoking jazz bar and restaurant. We are so there...perhaps even this weekend. Check it out - Finale.

hln

She Wore An Itsy...

People Europeans (of all people!) are grousing because toddler bikinis are now available, er, they were.

OSLO (Reuters) - A Swedish bikini-style top for toddlers will be withdrawn from sale amid criticism from a Norwegian cabinet minister that bra-like clothing was inappropriate for small girls.

"It is remarkably daft to make bra-like bikinis for one-year-olds," Norwegian Minister of Children and Family Affairs Laila Daavoey was quoted as telling the Norwegian daily Verdens Gang Thursday.

"This is a terrible commercialization of childhood. Children are not women. Bikinis on small children are a way of linking children to sexuality. We must say 'No' to this," she said.

But, see, if these same female children went topless, no controversy.

Am I wrong?

James Joyner has it, too.

hln

New Hires

My company hired a couple of new coders.





hln

But No One Defined the Boundaries of Porn...

I was driving to a dental appointment yesterday, so I was in my car during the 4:00 p.m. hour with the radio tuned to KMOX - the Paul Harris show.

Paul was conversing with a woman named Naomi Seligman from the Committee for Responsibility and Ethics about senators and congressfolk who accept money from instutitions whom the CfRE deem as distributors of porn - cable companies and hotel chains namely. The crux of the attack was that these aforementioned senators and congressfolk are hypocrites for their stances on Family Values when they accept such dirty money. Paul's job is to keep us interested, so it's a pretty good topic. Naomi's aim was to incite us to indignant mood. Senator Bond - who called in after being named - was clearly flustered - neither party's on-air argument skills left me feeling inspired. A whole lot of sputtering "he" and "she" instead of proper debate of "Senator Bond" or "Ms. Seligman." It sounded like a playground namecalling festival.

I turned the radio off when nearing the dental office, right in the middle of a whining Naomi mini-screed, but I'd like to address the title of this post. Senator Bond didn't, and I think that he should have.

What is porn? And who decides? Certainly some cable companies offer porn channels, and some hotel chains offer same. Naomi mentioned "Skinemax" in reference to the cable channel Cinemax. Do we dis Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon for their sales of sexually-related books? Newly bankrupt Penthouse and Larry Flynt were mentioned as non-questioned porn purveyors, but Seligman linked in General Motors because of its ownership of/affiliation with (I didn't catch which) with DirectTV. A stretch, at best.

Back to hypocrisy - cracking down on things that subvert family values (as porn was so defined by the senators and congressfolk) but still accepting money from these OBVIOUS (too bad there's not a sarcasm tag) porn purveyors. Somehow, it really falls flat without the acceptance of Seligman's definition of porn. She stated that Senator Bond and those grouped with him in this report should have taken extra steps so as not to accept monies from those affilitated with "porn" - including GM, Mariott, and several cable companies.

I just don't buy it. Someone working for the Committee for Responsibility and Ethics may be cheating on his or her spouse. Does that invalidate the whole Committee and its aims and goals? Of course not. As Senator Bond did point out, the money to his campaign was delivered via individuals and PACs, not the companies. Right back to it - GM and porn? Nope.

And, oh, in case you're still reading and curious - Ms. Seligman's bio?

Naomi Seligman, Deputy Director Naomi Seligman serves as CREW's Deputy Director and Communications Director. Ms. Seligman has worked extensively as a communications professional developing and managing media strategies for campaigns, elected officials, and not-for-profit organizations. Most recently, Seligman was the communications director for Media Matters, a web-based, not-for-profit progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. Prior to that, she served as the communications director for the Violence Policy Center, a gun control organization. She also has served as a press secretary in both the Senate and the House of Representatives and has functioned as director of outreach on the Small Business Committee.

Uh huh.

hln

What NOT to do on Your Trailnet Ride

Drunken cycling!

OGDEN, Ark. - An allegedly drunken bicyclist wound up getting a ride to jail after a state trooper saw him take a clumsy spill at a state highway intersection.

Don Evans, 46, was riding where U.S. 71 and Grand Street intersect early Saturday when he fell from his mountain bike onto the highway pavement.

Trooper Jamie Gravier was about 50 feet away.

"He was pedaling through the intersection of Highway 71 at the Grand Street crossover and fell off the bike. The pedals kept hitting the kick stand and he couldn't keep it up. He was in the middle of the southbound lanes of traffic," Gravier said.

First mistake? Mountain bike on a highway. Eww. 2nd - kickstand. What's that again? I guess if you're going to go carousing it does make more sense to take the crap bike.

Doesn't mention whether the police officer impounded the bike.

hln

I've Got a Principle for You

Bill McClellan of Post-Dispatch, er, employment spends a whole column talking about Harry Stonecipher (you know, former CEO of Boeing) and the 3 Principles. If that doesn't sound like a book title, what does?

The principles? Women are smarter than men. Bosses are overpaid. And don't e-mail. He's kind enough to state this for us in paragraph two, the one that wraps around his photo because of the P-D's output software.

Here, Billy, I've got one for you. It's awfully novel, and you couldn't write about it because it would, gasp, pass judgment, and we all know you wouldn't dare do that to an individual. Here it is. Are you ready?

Don't cheat on your spouse.

There, now, really. Is that so hard? Or did you just have nothing to write about that day? Perhaps about Wednesday next week we'll hear about Brian Nichols' traumatic childhood and Judge Barnes' tendency to scowl at the homeless on Thursdays.

hln