Smoke 'Em Out

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Opponents of the attempt to ban smoking in D.C. bars and restaurants are hosting a series of events tonight to rally the troops. Pop by and show your support if you're in the area.

NEXT: A Penny Earned

Julian Sanchez is a contributing editor at Reason.

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  1. drf

    you can have my camel when you pry it from > it from my cold--

    nevermind 🙂

    seriously - is the NYC "no smoking or we deport you" law a state one or just a NYC one? my wife and I were in Rochester, NY last week (talk about a place whose people have a hyperinflated view of themselves and their town!!!!!!! but is in a pleasant part of the state) and we noticed that NOBODY was smoking in the establishment!

    And we told our hack -- um -- LA to the Alderman that we were against the smoking ban here in Chicago. We're all grown ups. we don't like smoke, but we can go to places to adjust. and so can they. it seems to work in our neighborhood!

    happy friday.

  2. Rhywun

    It is a New York State law. New York City had a law too, but it was superseded by the state law. And... don't get bent out of shape because my hometown is most wonderful place in the world 🙂
    Just kidding - it's not, obviously. In fact, it's gone down the toilet like most every other small city in the Northeast.

  3. drf

    Hi Rhywun - right. the hierarchy of laws. just wasn't sure about the state law. it was kinda creepy

    here's a fun one: people told us that the town (Pittsford) was "stepfordized" and people were nice "until you get moved in".

    and someone else was explaining to us - from chicago , born and bred in the midwest - how rochester is "midwestern".

    when it reminded us of vermont (where people are also local hyperpatriots 🙂

    nice landscape, tho!

  4. Rhywun

    drf,

    Pittsford is probably the wealthiest suburb of Rochester - hence, I don't know it very well at all (I'm from the city).

    Now that I've lived in NYC for 8 years, I've come to believe that Rochester and especially Buffalo ARE midwestern. The accent is midwestern. I think the Allegheny mountains are the dividing line between eastern and midwestern.

  5. blammo

    It's not Midwestern, it's fucking Canadian!

  6. drf

    i'd weigh in that while the accents share certain great lakes trends, we could definitely hear east-coast strains. "dollar" "current" {sell-sale} difference.

    come live in the midwest and you'll see the difference.

  7. Rhywun

    drf,

    Yeah, I guess there's a difference, but it's closer to midwest than to anything on the eastern coast. In fact in one of my liguistics courses we discussed American accents and western NY was included in the "midwest" region.

    blammo,

    Not sure what you're getting at.

  8. Cedarburg

    In my experience as a Midwesterner who has lived out East for the last 8 years, when an Easterner tells you that where they live has a Midwestern flavor, what they mean is that the cost of living is actually bearable and the people are actually nice and laid back, unlike great swaths of the East.

    Now, I live 20 west of Harrisburg, and I wonder if I'm in Appalachia, the South, or the East.

  9. For those inclined to attend, I made an annotated Google Map of the Takin' it to the Streets sites, which shows where the bars are located and what time Brooke's group will be there.

  10. mk

    You know, as much as I would like to go downtown and help support this, the fact remains that I do not drink and really don't feel like hanging out in a smoky bar tonight. What is a libertarian to do?
    I have in the past gone downtown to dine and smoke with friends and spent an enormous amount of money in the process. We chose a cigar-friendly downtown establishment at least partly thinking that we may not have the same opportunity in the future. I won't kid myself into thinking that this sort of thing makes any difference. The fact that some people want to have the option of having a smoke after a meal doesn't register with these people. At most, spending some money now in these establishments will lessen the blow later when some of them have to shut their doors.

  11. Sam

    Cedarburg:

    You, lucky fellow, are in a region known as Pennsyltucky.

  12. Brian Courts

    Damn, wish I was still in DC. I don't smoke, but I'd be willing to take it up for the evening to support the cause! 🙂

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