Innocent Mistake Leads to Arrest

More and more, it seems as though common-sense is taking a backseat to bureaucracy. Recently, an Ohio man, Tom Sturgis, was actually jailed for forgetting to pay for a case of soda at the grocery store. That's right; Sturgis was jailed over the simple mistake of leaving a $4 case of soda on the rack under one of his shopping carts. What makes this case so sad is that Sturgis offered to go back in the store and pay for the drinks (just as he had paid for every other item on his bill, totaling $157.20) after he realized that he had forgotten them at checkout. A police officer at the store noticed the item was unpaid for. Instead of recognizing simple human error, the officer handcuffed Sturgis and hauled him off to jail under petty theft charges. Sturgis was forced to stay in holding for over three hours. Unfortunately, this incident is all too microcosmic of bureaucracy as a whole. Where has simple common-sense gone? Have we become so detached as a society, that simple acts of thought are beyond us? I believe that personal choice is directly related to common-sense. Once people are given back the ability to choose for themselves, it will not be long before we see people making the right decisions, and not the ones they are told to make.

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Ron Paul Hosting Fundraiser For Sabrin

Ron Paul will be hosting a Murray Sabrin for Senate fundraiser at the Newark Penn Station Hilton, with tickets ranging from $100 to $4,600. So far Sabrin has raised $357,185.78 for his campaign according to his website. This should act like a shot of adrenaline to Sabrin's campaign.

This should be an exciting event and I would encourage anyone who is interested to attend. Not many opportunities to meet people like Ron Paul come around too often.

Let There Be No Vice!

Atlantic City is currently trying to pass an ordinance that would limit smoking in casinos to smoking lounges where there can't be any slot machines or gambling tables. Right now a compromise exists between the city and the casinos where no more than 25% of the casino floor can allow smoking. Many vices exist under the same roof in the casino and somehow smoking is seen as the worst of them.

Almost no one has been persecuted as much in the last decade as the American smoker. They have been tossed out of most private establishments throughout the US. I hear my friends who smoke talk about the trials they have faced trying to find a place to light up.

What happened to the rights of the business owner, the private establishment, and the smoker?

A business owner no longer has discretion over their own smoking policy. Private establishments cannot cater to people who enjoy smoking. And smokers have been maligned by the general public.

I don't smoke besides the occasional cigar and neither does my wife. I hate the smell of people smoking cigarettes. So if I went to a restaurant where there was smoking I might fore go eating there and search for one that doesn't and enjoy my meal there. And this is the way it should be! Let the market decide, not the government. Allow businesses to cater to smokers and to nonsmokers. If all bans were lifted guess what? Some restaurants would allow smoking while others wouldn't, some bars would allow smoking while others wouldn't, some cafes would allow smoking while others wouldn't, and everyone would have the opportunity to choose.

The right to choose, that is what the government is taking away from us. And what do we get back in return, a little comfort. Well I don't know about you but I would choose the former over the latter every time.

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