*note the sarcasm*  This isn’t news.  Hasn’t been news for quite some time.  Ever since the “Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran” sung to the tune of the Beach Boys “Barbara Ann” it’s been clear that McCain is openly willing to speak (sing?) his mind, and what’s often on his mind is fighting Iran.  So now he’s made another off-handed quip…

When asked by a reporter to comment on how despite the U.S.’s apparent negative stance against Iran, our exports to Iran have increased tenfold with cigarettes as the #1 export, McCain had this to say- “Maybe that’s a way of killing them.”  Which he then attempted to cover himself with the addendum, “I meant that as a joke, as a person who hasn’t had a cigarette in 28 years.”

Ah, well.  That’s good.  We need another president who makes offhanded comments about war, death, violence, and the like clearly painting the world as “us vs them”… it’s worked so well for us thus far.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate someone being candid and open about their views, too many politicians are scripted by committee (looking at you Barack) but I also don’t want another sociopathic cowboy fantasy dweller using his role in the White House as a way to drag us into another war that we can’t afford, or staff.

It was a joke, true, but it’s also quite revealing as a pattern of behavior, that’s just my opinion.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Having just finished a long binge drinking excursion at the Chicago South Side parade, an article about the Minnesota smoking ban caught my eye. Illinois (my home state) began enforcing its anti-smoking law at the start of the year. Being an avid St. Patrick’s Day fan, I was amazed this year by how pleasant the bar experience turned out to be without the usual smoky fog.

But in Minnesota, they’re coming up with some ingenious ways to get around the state’s smoking ban.

Apparently, there’s an exception to the state’s law which allows performers in a theatrical production to legally smoke on stage. Some bars are taking advantage of this loophole by printing up playbills, proclaiming the bar a stage, and dubbing customers “actors”.

About 30 bars in Minnesota have been exploiting the loophole by staging the faux theater productions and pronouncing cigarettes props, according to an anti-smoking group.

It seems like an awful lot of work to me. But I’ll give them kudos for ingenuity. One bar has named the nightly ’show’ as, “The Tobacco Monologues”. Bravo.

Which other states have smoking bans too?

As you can see, both Minnesota and Illinois (white) have smoking legally banned in three major public places; bars, restaurants, and the workplace.

That is, unless you’ve bought tickets to “The Tobacco Monologues”.

Clicking on the map brings you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_smoking_bans_in_the_United_States.

Popularity: 5% [?]