Vote
I took Lilah with me to vote yesterday in the election. Jon voted early in the morning so I went once he was home. Our area is pretty small and full of immigrants, in which I’m sure many of them are illegal, so they don’t have the right to vote. I had to wait about ten minutes and then I was up. Lilah was playing around and under the machine. One of the volunteers was afraid it would collapse on her so she pointed it out and I got her out from underneath, but she continued to play on it or by it in some way. The woman came over three times, the third offering animal crackers that could be given on the other side of the room. I declined and put Lilah against the wall behind me. She then just played on the wall and stayed out of trouble. I was emerged in voting, reading my practice ballot and checking the screen. I did over hear them talking about a couple of things. One was they didn’t want anything to happen to Lilah because she was so cute, and they also didn’t want to get sued if the machine fell on her. Another was an experience one of the volunteers had had on another day. It was about a mother and her son. The boy was pointing rubber bands or was using something to fling things at people. Someone, if not the volunteer, had pointed the boys actions to the mother, but the mother disregarded it and was upset that others wanted her to discipline her child because of his behavior. The volunteer then told the women she would sue if her son hit her with the object, because of her disrepect for others. It was just interesting.
Yesterday I also took the time and researched each candidate and voted on all but one. The one I didn’t vote on dealt with the school board trustee. Neither were good candidates and I’m planning on home schooling anyways. I was disappointed in about half of the outcomes for the amendments that were proposed. Two dealt with second hand smoke. One was more lenient and to me pretty much kept things the way they are, the other took smoking out of any establishment that serves food. I found it to be too extreme. I guess I do enjoy completely smoke free restaurants, but it took it our of bars also, in which children shouldn’t be there anyways, so who cares if there is smoke, and those parents who take there kids to bars with them probably smoke, or are irresponsible in some way so it doesn’t matter. Like I said, I found it to bee a little too extreme. Smoking is not illegal and in essence your telling people that they don’t have a right to smoke. Now I do hate second hand smoke. You have students right outside the doors to buildings because they can’t smoke inside and everyone has to walk through their smoke to get to the building. I think that’s all that’s going to happen. People won’t be smoking inside, so they’ll be right outside the door and we’ll all have to walk through it. I suppose that’s better than sitting in it even when you’re in the nonsmoking area of a restaurant. I suppose Jon’s idea of a small and limited government is rubbing off on me. We have so many laws or amendments or rules that we can’t govern ourselves, or are even given the opportunity. I hate that parents can get fined or imprisoned for their child not going to school, but we’re in a country that has people wanting to give that same child the right to have an abortion without telling their parent. Things are just backwards. Anyways. I voted I put in my two cents and in some I was the minority voice, but at least I voted.
November 9th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
The ‘bars’ that it’s referring to are also places like Applebee’s and chilis. Basically any restraunt that serves alcohol as well as food. Also grocery stores and convience stores. I’m really happy it passed. Interesting to see how you feel about it though.
November 9th, 2006 at 9:18 pm
I suppose I wish they could have separated family restaurants, such as Applebee’s that have bars, from actually bars and restaurants that do not cater to families. The problem being that then restaurants that are family centered might say they’re not. I worked at a small restaurant/ bar in high school . It was all smoking because there wasn’t enough space to make it separate in the single dinning area and as I’ve gone back they’ve separated it from the regular sitting area to be nonsmoking to the booths right by the bar to be smoking. I guess I felt for restaurants that do not cater to families and are for adults who gather and how that restaurant’s business will be hurt by either not having smoking, or by laying off workers that did cooking and serving. While working at the restaurant I saw first hand how people come to drink, smoke, eat at the bar and play the machines they whole time they’re there. I agreed with most everything in the amendment except that it only allows exceptions for the casino’s and not the small tavern and bars that do not cater to families. The non smoking and smoking never bothered me too much, but I suppose it’s because we don’t go out very often, let alone a sit down restaurant with the kids.