To follow up on Ed Felien's attempt to clarify the right to privacy, if the space is owned or rented by you, it is your private space, and you can do anything you want in it. (Within limits of course; you cannot store dangerous explosive on your property if the property is not located a safe distance from other people or the explosives are not being used by people who know how to use them safely. If your private residence is not sound proofed, you cannot play music so loud that it disturbs people nearby.) But when you use your spaces for commercial purposes, you cannot refuse to sell or rent to various racial minorities, genders, religions, sexual orientations, etc. The toxic social effects of the exclusions of minorities from certain areas of commerce, such as unemployment, poverty, and consequent crime and hatred towards the majority group have been well established. Similarly, the toxic health effects of exposure to second hand smoke have been documented. Given that the unemployment rate is not zero and the scarcity of jobs that this entails, no one should be forced to choose between possible unemployment and long term exposure to a toxic chemical mix. As a free individual, you can smoke all you want in your own residence or out in the open air. (Incidentally, he attempt to ban smoking in open air public spaces such as parks is carrying anti smoking fervor too far and is an attempt to imposes anti smoking values on others. For instance, one woman wrote a letter to the STAR TRIBUNE complaining that her CHILD!! could pick up cigarette butts in the park and put them in his or her mouth. I'm sorry, but any child young enough to be likely to pick up things off the ground and put them in their mouth has far more threatening problems if they are wondering alone through the park without adult supervision!) Robert Halfhill Loring Park
http://halfhillviews.greatnow.com (SITE NOW BANNED ON AOL)*Write AOL to complain, here: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://halfhillblog.blogspot.com http://www.thepen.us -- "Ed Felien" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: The right to privacy is guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, Amendment X: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Please, let me be clear. I do not want the government interfering in my life. I don't trust the government. On a national level, the current government is made up of thieves, thugs and murderers. Representative democracy is a horrible form of government. It allows the most opportunistic and cynical access to power, but it's a lot better than anything else. If we must have government, then we should have a government in which we all share power and responsibility. On a personal note, if I may be forgiven a brief reverie, in 1975 I authored the amendment to the Minneapolis Civil Rights Ordinance that prohibited discrimination based on sexual preference. This was the first of its kind in Minnesota and the first in a major city in the country. It is obvious today that any employment or housing practice that discriminates against glbt people is an unconscionable violation of privacy. I cite this to show I believe in the extension of the rights of privacy. The ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces is not a violation of someones privacy, it is an attempt to protect the public health. Ed Felien Powderhorn REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
