BUTT OUT OF OUR BUSINESS MIKE BLOOMBERG

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NEW YORK CITY
CONTINUES TO
STAMP OUT FREEDOM!
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Christine C. Quinn

You know, I am so sick of the government telling us what to do and not to do. For years while I was growing up, the government told us that cigarettes were safe. When I was 11 years old, government golf courses and beaches were all selling me and my friends cigarettes. They told us cigarettes were safe. The even had children's cigarette shaped gum, that blew smoke. They wanted to hook us so they could reap the tax benefits. And they did. Now our Mayor Mike Bloomberg along with one of my favorite ladies, councilwoman Christine Quinn are proposing to ban smoking in Times Square, City Parks and our beaches like Coney Island. This is a outrage. When are our city officials going to butt out of our business. They all can yell at second hand smoke. There is really no real study that really confirms the dangers of second hand smoke. They say there is, but nothing has been proved beyond a shadow of doubt. They already banned smoking in restaurants, bars, clubs and just about everywhere else. When will it stop. They ban things that we like to eat like trans fat. We should have the freedom to choose what to eat. Now I am going to hear from some anti smoking readers. They will tell me they have rights not to be exposed to smoke. Well you know something, I have rights too. I don't drive, I use mass transit, yet I have to breathe all this carbon monoxide from all these cars in Times Square. There is so much pollution in New York City, that every apartment now has to have a carbon monoxide detector. Yet they continue to allow the endless parade of cars to pollute my air. The cars should be charged 50 bucks to come into the city. Cars are the biggest air polluters to our lungs. But I am expected to breathe all their pollution, and not allowed to have a quick cigarette at the beach. I have been trying to quit smoking. I have the patch, the plastic nicotine cigarettes, the pills and endless other things. I am hooked. I am hooked because the government said it was OK to smoke when I was growing up. They supported smoking because they made money. And now they are taxing cigarettes so much, each pack in New York City is almost 15 dollars. They are still making money off me. You want to make New Yorkers healthier? Ban drinking. More people die from drinking than from cigarettes. Drunk drivers kill innocent people each and every day in New York. New Yorkers die from liver disease from Alcohol. Billions are lost from hangovers when people call in sick to work from a night of drinking. A huge percentage of hospital stays are the result of drinking. Why are we not taxing alcohol like we tax cigarettes? I also wonder where are the cigarette companies are in helping the Americans they hooked. They allow the states to charge unfair taxes without even a court challenge. They do not come to the defence of their customers. Where were they when the city banned smoking in the clubs? I will tell you where they are. They are in third world countries, hooking people there to smoke, because there will not be a cigarette industry in this country much longer. This is why cigarette companies are buying food companies and other investments, they see the writing on the wall. I have supported Mike Bloomberg and Christine Quinn in every election for years. Since Bloomberg is on his last term, unless he pulls another fast one, I urge every smoker to not vote for Christine Quinn if they pass this law. I am pretty sure, if every smoker refuses to vote for Quinn, she will lose her council seat and she will lose when she runs for Mayor, which she will be doing. Our government officials are acting like Adolph Hitler. They are telling us what we can and can not do. This has to stop. Already most of the big clubs in this city have been closed down, because our officials do not want them. Billions of tax revenue already has been lost. Imagine the biggest city in the world, is being run by the smallest minds. This city has gotten stale, it is being run like Disney Land. All they want is the endless stream of tourists that are bringing in people pollution as well as the current bed bug infestation. It takes me 40 minutes just to walk a few blocks because of all the tourists. It's bad enough that I can't even enjoy my own neighborhood, because of all these people. The only time I can relax at a table in Times Square, is around 2 am when everyone is sleeping. Now they are telling me that I can't even smoke in Times Square. If Christine Quinn wants to stamp out our freedoms in New York City, then it's time for us to stamp out her election bid for Mayor. Maybe we should outlaw Lesbians, that would hit home to Christine. I'll print up tee shirts that say no licking allowed!

Photos By: RD/Dziekan/Edstrom/Retna