Strangest thing happened at the Hospital

Took Mom to the ER late last night (trouble breathing). Around midnight, my 360 month old son and myself, went outside to smoke a cigarette.

While we were out smoking a male in his late 20's approaches me and says "Can I have a cigarette?". I explain to him "Sorry, they cost so much that I can't really afford to give one away." He then turns to my son and asks him the for a smoke. My son replies in kind...just too expensive to give any away.

After that man says FU. I return the sentiment. He then wheels around and gets within an inch of my face and proceeds to cuss and threaten me. My son asks him to just go on along. He continues to cuss and get into our faces, all the while, throwing his fists up like he is going to hit us.

I standing there thinking...'What is this persons problem? Why would he risk going to jail just for a cigarette?'

He continued his threats and cussing for about 5 minutes. Finally, security showed up about the commotion and asked what was going on? I told security that the guy asked for a cigarette and I told him no and the guy went ballistic.

Man then replies to security that he was just walking by and we started cussing and screaming at him.

Security instructs him to move along Man leaves while still cussing me.

What the heck happened....?
1. Man asks for smoke and is politely told no and why.
2. When security shows up and asks what is going on, the man tells a lie and says we accosted him as he was just walking by.

WTH is wrong with some people?

He was "shopping" for assault and battery.

Good thing you kept your wits about you.

Allan

Obviously some mental or drug issues. Just be glad security came along.

He did keep saying "Just come on and hit me".

Dangnabitt,

I prefer not to say what I may have done. I am too tempted to go John Wayne or Clint under those circumstance.

Why do normal folks have to endure the legal folly of the unsettled?

D.

I play music at a hamburger place on friday nights,last week a homeless guy walked up to the tip jar and took 2 dollars and walked away,,,,,,

Allen is right, the guy is searching for an A,B charge against you.
I had an incident at a bank last fall,
A woman pulls up along side me as I was about to park my truck at the bank, woman cusses me out for driving like an idiot, (which I do not) I go in the bank, make a money transfer, then walk out.....This is where it got messed up. The woman is the passenger of the car, her 16 YO daughter is driving. The girl parks her car several spaces over from mine and the mom gets out of her car as I walk fast to my truck......All the while I am thinking this woman is real Dumb.......The woman is then real apologtic and explains that she has a student driver. As I get in my truck and pull out, I look at her from 15 feet away and say out the window in a real calm direct certain voice....."Lady I try to be real careful in life, you should do the same, especially when your anger is directed at strangers" I then drove off. A good friend of mine carries a gun all the time, everywhere, he has been telling me for years to get a CPL, or CCW or whatever it is called.
I went and bought 2 small pepper spray cartridges the next day.

When our son was a junior in Highschool a senior was giving him a hard time in PE. The senior told our son, go ahead hit me. Our son did and broke the kids jaw. Our son got 3 days suspension but he was a hero at school cause no one really cared for the senior. My son doesn't like to talk about it.
What these idiots are really wanting is something that the ones they threaten have such as a personality trait.
Like John Hinkley that shot Reagan. Reagan was the President, Hinkley was no one, not known until that day...

Your easier going then i am . As the first sign of threat he would have been down and out and needing the E/R . Today ya can NOT set back . And if the shoot is going to hit the fan it is wise to turn the threat before he gets in on top of you . Many years back one of the town clowns thought he would be funny and come up behind me and put me in a bear hug. I was collecting on a snow plowing bill at a gas station when this happened i was talking to the manager and the next thing i know someone has a hold on me i stomped my right boot heal down on the top of his foot and broke the hold and came around with the right elbow and caught him in the jaw . One broken foot one dislocated jaw . Head on face to face i am not going to let anyone get the upper hand .

Greg for your sake I am glad you didn't take him up on his offer (to hit him) - somebody will and I hope they get away with it!

A radio talk show host a number of years ago had a hot topic going one night. It was about the passing of offering plates during church services. He said that if there"s someone in church who"s needy, what"s wrong with that person taking out some of the money while the plate passes by?

He has mental disorders.

So did you chase him down and beat him unmercifully? Haha

should be ok,,,the church would be needy then,,,lol
nobody said anything,and he will probably be back to grab a tip tonight too!

no,theres not enough in the tip jar to fight over,,,lol

My old boss/ neighbor us to tell me, put .50 cents in, and take a buck out. We don't go to church, he was just kidding! Lol

Kornfused- Thanks. Around here, the police arrest both parties involved and let the courts figure it out.

I sure did not want to spend a night in jail. Never been and pray to GOD that I never will.

and the guy has nothing to loose,you have a lot to loose
,,,even if you win a fight,you loose sometimes because the guy that starts it has nothing,,,,walk away,,

He was probably on drugs, meth heads rage when they come down from it. Wild mood swings.

whenever it doesn't make sense to a normal rational person, it is either due to drugs and/or money. He will meet someone carrying and that will probably be it.

As some of you have posted , the man was mentally unstable...then, why are they allowed to be amongst a "stable" society, all the while, they can accost and threaten others?

are you saying your band isent that good? Lol,, I know what you mean,

The strangest thing that happened at the hospital was you were to cheap to give a stranger a smoke.

The states can't afford to keep them locked up anymore. That"ed be my guess! Lol

Jay- Yup, I understand. Just like some of the states want to provide them with a one-way bus ticket back to their home state.

Greg

Mike, I could use some extra spending money. Could you mail me some? Please don't be cheap.

The whole situation would not have happened if he gave the guy a smoke,my goodness.Maybe he was a vetran with problems,or a guy with a knife.If smokes are that expensive maybe he shouldn't be smoking.When he eventually comes down with lung cancer we will probably be the ones footing the bill.

here we go again, someone telling someone else how to live their life.

Just think about this for a moment. Maybe some one very close to him was in a serious way or maybe passed away. I too am a smoker and I know how it is when you need a smoke in one of these circumstances. I have never in my life refused anyone a cigarette if they asked for one. Now think about it, would that have not been the best way to see the man move along, instead of him going into a rant in front of your son?

Bs, Greg dosent have to do anything he dosent want to do, no means no, so when a woman says no and gets raped, is that ok to? Should she gave in?? I don't care if its a stick of gum, you tell someone they can't have it, than that's it, he was dealing with a mentally ill person.

I would have just pulled my cell phone out an hit 911 that way they could hear what was going on and that would have put him behind bars

Animal- I said my son was 360 months...maybe ya might want to do the math again...He is 30 years old.

BTW, since you said you are a smoker, as a smoker myself, I always make sure that I have enough to get me through or I will go buy more. I can honestly say that I have never 'bummed' a cigarette. Heck, I may not even like what they offer me if I asked.

Another question, How do you reply to someone if they ask you..."Can I borrow a cigarette?" I sure as heck don't want the butt back.

Larry,
the guy probably figured it was worth $2.00 cause the music offended his ears. Seems he knows good music,and the $2.00 was his objection to what you played.lol. He could have been your agent and was collecting his fees. He must own BTA (Bad Talent Agency)lol.
LOU

Well it is your right to give or not to give anything to any body. Also there are a lot of crazy people in the world.

Here is a thought: Pack of cigarettes cost maybe $5-8 dollars. Lets just say $10 for easy figuring. So with 20 in a pack that would be 50 cents for a single cigarette. So you chose to not "give" something away with a value under 50 cents. That is your God given right here in this great nation and I applaud the fact we all have this right. NOW for my thought. What would you have done IF the crazy guy had pulled a weapon an hurt or killed YOUR son over a 50 cent cigarette??????????

I understand your point and your actions. I also have learned, as I have gotten older, to try to defuse situations rather than throw gas on them. The way you told him no really sounds like a smarta$$ed remark. Just a simple NO might have been better.

So think about how costly that single cigarette could have been???? You or your son could have been hurt. I have become VERY paranoid as I have gotten older.

Me and my brothers Benito and Louie could always use some practice. Hows abouts yous tells me where wes can to meet yous so yous can points dis guy outs, dens yous goes ins to da hospitals and draws a lots of attention tos yourself sos if its comes up, yous has plentys of witnesses dat yous was insides da hospital when dis guys fell down or somethin. Nots a bad ideas to bes in front of a security camera sos is a tape of you being inside when dis guy might have an accident. Hows about it? How many security guards dis hospital gots? We might needs to bring our cousins Joey, Vince, Alphonso, Danny and maybe Jimmy and Angelo and maybe Fat Dino and Renaldo.

Franky from Philly

Instead of pepper spray try hair spray its legal no questions asked i tell that to every woman its actually better than a gun as aim isnt as critical and you can always shoot the person latter

In a perfect world no means no,in todays world that logic means nothing.Give him the whole pack and walk away,why make a fuss over such nonsense.Yes, he has the right to say no,but I'm sure that bum see's it another way.Have some common sense.

Lots of folks walking around who aren't right. Never know how screwed up their life is.

Everyone is overlooking the obvious. Wouldn't have happened if you didn't smoke.

So what are you saying you want to deny a freedom??? Yes I do not smoke but did at one time and to me it is a freedom and no one should tell you you should or should not smoke

Let me guess. Mom is a smoker too? Why don't you save your son from this fate and quit smoking and set the proper example? What a great tradition, a cigarette with your son. That is disgusting.

You "went outside the hospital to have a cigarette". You try that here in Wisconsin and you would be ushered off the hospital "campus".

Let's see here....your mom had trouble breathing and you and your son light up another one????

Let's also see here... you can't afford to give one away yet you can afford to buy a whole pack? Or buy a carton?

AND, let's see here some more....you are telling the world about all this????

"Dear Abby' and "Ann Landers" must be spinning like a lathe.
LA in WI

I don't refer to it as paranoia, I call it wisdom.

i was wondering when the cigarette natzie's were going to chime in.

I have to go along with Gordo and Goose. Mom went in the hospital with breathing problems and you went out for a smoke?

My 46yo bro-in-law is just out of the hospital from having throat surgery, due to cancer. Now has a hole in his throat to breath, and has a tube up his nose to eat. He smoked since he was 16 and can't make the connection. Guess folks just don't get it.

Some people have "wiring problems" which is only said half jokingly, the synaptic firing in the brain just isn't right.
I'm seeing more of them it seems and I live in a rural area. I can only imagine how the cities are.

These kind of people are nuts and basically should be allowed to starve out if political correctness is going to prevent locking them up on nut farms and in nut houses like we used to. I see all the tobaacco nazis are blaming you, people such as the ones blaming you for smoking a cigarette are the same idiots that elect the type of public officials we have ruining the country today, they don"t deserve any freedom because they don"t want other people to enjoy their freedom..

Evidently he found you to be a totally selfish person.
SDE

(quoted from post at 00:07:36 02/22/14) These kind of people are nuts and basically should be allowed to starve out if political correctness is going to prevent locking them up on nut farms and in nut houses like we used to. I see all the tobaacco nazis are blaming you, people such as the ones blaming you for smoking a cigarette are the same idiots that elect the type of public officials we have ruining the country today, they don"t deserve any freedom because they don"t want other people to enjoy their freedom..

Click to expand...

amen

Odds are that character is well known to both security and Police.

I knew they would expose themselves sooner or later.

He is an addict just like you and you wouldn't share your "Fix". Any addict would do the same thing in that situation. He is obviously of the entitlement mentality and somebody must provide for him.

I've been at the gas pump and another customer will ask for some money for gas. When I didn't respond in a manner that they wanted I received the similar response that you did.

Feel lucky that you didn't get knifed or shot.

sounds like that dude needs one of those left handed cigarettes.
RICK

So if a guy happens to wan't you to give him a few acres of your farm say of equal percentage to the cigs. What would you do? I think the real problem here is an entitlemnet society and I applaud the OP for not feeding the problem. I also agree that it seems a bit stupid to be outside smoking while your mom is having trouble breathing. Might just be a wakeup call.

I can't figure out whether the guy was a pill head looking for pain meds (local lady took a box cutter to her own head for pills) or a person that has a disorder. Neighbor is a great guy until he is either upset, disappointed, confused, etc then he acts just like the guy you met. I bet it's one or the other. There are weirdos out there.

Aaron

By the way JD Seller. I just want to say that no harm is meant towards you in my previous post. I do not post here often and more read for the wealth of knowledge that exists on this board. Based on your posts I believe you to be a standup guy and I typically mirror your approach to life. Sometimes we all see something from a different viewpoint though and in this case my focus happened to be the parallell of the guy asking for a cig and being turned down as just the problem that exist in this society today. To many think that someone owes them something and when they do not get it they turn ugly.

amen ,, I concur

Maybe he jus needed change for the juke box.

I agree it is the apex of foolishness to smoke. Especially knowing the health issues that exist-but remember it is still somewhat of a free country and people are allowed to make poor decisions. On the cigarrette issue he doesn't have to give the guy one if he doesn't want to

The way you're talking I'm wondering if it was you there asking for the smoke and causing all the trouble.

I went to a hospital, to visit a friend. Of corse
you can"t smoke in the hospital, but right in
front of the front door was a hugely pregnant
teen age girl, in a hospital gown, smoking. It was -15 F. I wonder if babies are born addicted to
Nicotine ?

My wife was in and out of hospitals for ten years before she died. I was in the garden yard they have. Had a guy ask me for a smoke. Told the guy I don't smoke and started to walk off.He knocked me down and was going through my pockets looking for smokes. Others pulled him off and held him for the police.There are some real nuts hanging around hospitals.

Wow. How about some street smarts here. Mom in hospital and your out for a smoke. A time when most would be feeling hospitable and generous.

Hate to be crossing the country in a way back machine and my horse and I wanted some water and stopped at your well.

If you really did not want to share you could have just said: sorry, only got one left.

Never seen anyone turned down for a smoke ever except if smoker is down to one or two.

I think the guy was mad because he was down and out. Asked for a smoke and You insulted him with the mightier than thow response.

Ever in your whole life run out of gas. Did that make you a looser that deserved no help or empathy.

Your attitude makes me think you could never be my friend. Because I could not trust you.

Do you yell at others while driving.

You are a little too confident in yourself for me.

Sorry everyone. That was my gut immediate response not my head. Maybe I did the same as Greg.

just nock the crap out of him then go inside and say hay thers a guy out hear that just fell down> Bob

I gotta laugh at how some people's first instinct is to beat you up for smoking. Many of those who are anti-smoking surely have other vices and participate in other "unhealthy" activities. Others beat you up for declining to hand out something you paid for. I doubt those who are using the "it's only a cigarettte/$.50" argument would willingly hand out 50 cents to any and all who asked them for that. Some say that the guy could have hurt or killed you or your son over a smoke. If he wished to harm you, he may have done it even if you gave him the smoke, and if your hand was busy reaching for the pack, it would have been a better opportunity, as your hand(s) would have been busy and you may have been distracted.

Heck, there was even footage on the news the other night of thugs holding up a hospital waiting room. Those people were asking nicely for just a small bit of something from those people, and were probably just brandishing weapons to speed up the process. Maybe they were double-parked or blocking the ambulance enterance or something.

Some people need to be "shacked up in the wacko-basket". There were many institutions for these people at one time. Unfortunately, many of these places were heck-holes and were closed down. Medications have improved to control many conditions, but only if people take them and doctors follow up.

Some are also lawsuit hunting. If you swing first, you may get sued. A black eye or busted tooth may provide a good return on that investment.

None of us knows why the guy went off on you. All of us (at least should) know he shouldn't have.

AG

Just remember, it was your idol,Reagan that closed off the funding for mental hospitals and turned these nuts loose on the streets.

And I agree, you should be able to smoke tobacco and ride a motorcycle without a helmet but you should be required to to sign a pre-nup agreeing that when you get lung cancer or congestive heart disease or when you turn yourself into a vegetable by hitting a tree, we don"t have to pay your hospital bills or feed, cloth and house your surviving family.

We were working in a "bad" neighborhood one time. Two guys were working in a hole in the street, and one was running a jackhammer. You can imagine the racket. I was across the street, and watched a Cool Dude walk up behind the guys in the hole. He tapped Darren on the shoulder and said something. Darren shook out a cigarette and handed it to him. Cool Dude pulled out his own pack of cigarettes and added Darren's cigarette to his pack, then put the pack back in his pocket. Then he moved over to Spud and pulled the same trick. Spud didn't even know the guy was there, and he also stopped and shook out a cigarette for Cool Dude, who promptly and openly added it to his pack. By then I was ticked, and sure enough, here came Cool Dude over to me and asked for a cigarette. I told him I didn't smoke, and then he asked for money to buy a pack of cigarettes with. I guess I became unhinged, because he was high stepping it down the street in short order. I might have given him a buck for cigarettes if I hadn't seen him game those other two guys. I was glad to get out of that neighborhood.

“I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” John Wayne – The Shootist (1976)

Time to blade your target when anyone gets near your face uninvited!

Brad

The supreme court closed all the nut houses by saying if a
person could take care of him/her self they didn't need to be
incarsurated. Reason ewas blamed for this because it
happened while he Gov. Of CA. The problem is they can take
care of themself but can still be a danger to others to lock
them backup you you have to prove the later which means
someone will get hurt. Sometimes people don't look at both
sides of the story before giving out advice.
Walt

Hey Gregg arent you glad you shared that event with the forum. Now you've been trampled and beat up for not being sypathetic, for being an addict, for being stupid and for putting you and your sons life in danger. You'll know better next time since you've had all this free advice.

This is the way our country has become since we no longer put Christ first in our lives

You did the right thing by not being invoked into a confrontation.

The man clearly was looking to create an event hoping you would assault him so he could claim some kind of damages to drop assault charges against you.

I don"t usually chime in on this type of discussion, but I have a few things to say about this. For the first thing Greg I applaud you and your son"s decision and the way you handled yourselves. Secondly, I am a smoker and have many times had people come up to me and try to bum a smoke. I"m with you, they are expensive and I have no desire to support someones habit that they can"t afford themselves, this goes with the entitlement society. Yes I am employed and work long hours for my money. Third, I made the decision to smoke, I was not forced to become a smoker by anyone or peer pressure, just the job I was doing when I started was very stressful and I required a release to keep my sanity. Now all that tell me from their vast knowledge of experience that smoking is bad for me don"t know the type of life I have led to that point. There have been many times that I should have been pushing up daises but I am still here. So I let them know to mind your own business concerning my smoking. Also where I live the police will run crack downs on underage smoking. They will enlist a willing participant to stand outside of a convenience store and bum smokes coming out. If you give them one you are arrested and cited for contributing, just like with buying beer for your kids grad party.

So my feelings on this are if you can"t afford to smoke don"t expect me to support your habit.

Sorry for the long reply.

Leonard

Reagan did not turn any nuts out on the street, that is a fable manufactured by the MSM for lofo voters, you got to feed those too dumb to think for themselves some sort of propaganda to keep them jealous and voting against freedom. The nut houses and nut farms were closing since the 60"s, they were closed by liberals that were sure they knew best for everybody, I remember the Louisiana state mental farms were self sufficient in food and had a dairy and slaughter house on campus, Washington DC ruled it ""cruel"" to work those people and it all crumbled, this started at least 10-12 years before Reagan took office. I never said a word about feeding anyones family if they get lung cancer but I bet you vote for plenty of politicians that steal money from taxpayers to support all manner of stupid, lazy bums and their offspring. I am 100% for ending all welfare, period, pare down the US government to what it was in 1793, me and mine can make it, can you?

How does water for a horse or gasoline for a car compare to bumming a cigarette? Also why must he tell a lie to avoid giving a bum a cigarette? He did right and he most likely has enough friends already. TDF

Warning! Teasing Alert! The following has some humor mixed with the silly facts. Oslo, Netherlands and English studies show the economics benefits to the state of smokers. the smoker pays tax"s during his working life, has a few missed work days but minimal effect during working life to states revenues. At retirement the smoker tends to smoke a bit more until getting really sick and dropping dead relatively quickly compared to the health nuts, non smoker who live another 10 years drawing pensions and being treated for chronic- but not quickly fatal- illness. SO, smokers are good for governments budget. Cigarette smokers are sort of silly- they pay much more tax than pipe smokers and the roll your own smokers--and have much less hassle with people trying to bum smokes than the ready made smokers. Some jailhouse domiciled smokers have learned to roll a very tight smoke from discarded butts, old rednecks will be growing their own and some of the newer smokers can roll a tight joint with other than tobacco filling-- but most bummers won"t be able to handle loose tobacco. Carry a pipe and a butane lighter with adjustable length flame and keep it turned to max so easy to light upside down into pipe--or sideways into face of cussing nicotine addict getting to close and "accidently" burned by his own fault trying to sniff smoke next to your face. To really discourage smoke bummers, get a pack and load the ends with some gunpowder or the prank exploding toothpicks. Used to be a guy at work that smoked while changing disc packs on a 2311 drive and ash caused some problems, data checks. After cleaning bill and note from Memorex that ash found was customer cost- not Memorex warrantee- the smoker found that the packs of cigarettes he"d stashed had been loaded- after about 6 blow ups in his face he stopped smoking in computer room and cut down smoking a lot- he"d get a cig and carefully probe the end before lighting, took long time checking it out since somebody had cored a couple filters and loaded a few from the rear end then replaced the filter core so front end exam didn"t show anything, got to smoke half down before POOF!. Crazy cussers get the 911 and disorderly conduct complaint to arriving police- Then a later incident when cusser is badly injured is a intimidation of witness/complainant charge to cusser who tried to injure the guy that called police on him. Initial "Complaining victim" was trying to turn and run away when attacker stepped forward and got into range of a spinning back kick to ribs and fell down hard. Knocked over 2 motorcycles on way down and was bandaged tight around broken ribs for a month, couldn"t ride. OH Well, det handen. Mentally ill addict confronts you at hospital -call the Mounties and tell them the mayor of Toronto is on another bender, come and get him. Need to be careful of confronters looking for lawsuit- tell them you have a lawyer on retainer for that situation since the last family of deceased attacker tried a wrongful death suit and got hit with all the legal cost plus a perjury charge. Makes some people stop for about 5 seconds- that indicates they know they were trying to scam you and are reconsidering. If they keep pushing- they are either completely brain dead or definitely going to try to kill you and you respond accordingly--and that is what you tell the grand jury. Hospital security at ERs can vary- police on site common, some special ER attendants hired direct from the Dojo and football teams. RN.

(quoted from post at 15:57:41 02/22/14)

And I agree, you should be able to smoke tobacco and ride a motorcycle without a helmet but you should be required to to sign a pre-nup agreeing that when you get lung cancer or congestive heart disease or when you turn yourself into a vegetable by hitting a tree, we don"t have to pay your hospital bills or feed, cloth and house your surviving family.

Click to expand...

Maybe we need seat belts on horses and certified and regulated docking stations to get on and off. Many have been thown or fallen from the saddle or when mounting/dismounting and have been seriously injured or killed. Maybe horses need to be registered, tested and taxed (to at least partially recoup expenses for all of this new regulation) to make sure they pass federal safety standards as far as temperment and what level of experience you would need to ride said animal. Riders should be registered and tested, and taxed too. Want to ride? Get extra insurance. All add-on "attachments" such as saddles, bridles, harnesses, will need to pass vigorous testing, and be inspected for proper fitment, too. Riding "bareback" or without a helmet would require a special "endorsement" on the license, and a few extra bucks. Proper lighting and signaling should be necessary as well. Four 100-watt replacement CFL's wrapped around the horse's neck or the equivelant amount of light from another source, such as a single 2-cell flashlight with half-dead batteries ought to suffice, along with LED turn signals on the head and hind ends. Must be EnergyStar approved. If you're going to make a turn while riding leisurely, or perhaps you'd like to pass while racing, you must signal properly! It's disrespectful and dangerous to others if you don't. Always pass on the left, too. Slower horses should keep to the right if racing or travelling in a group. Gotta regulate carts, buggies, sleighs, and equipment, too. We wouldn't want any loopholes, would we? It should also be mandatory that all horses be ADA compliant, and have accomodations for child safety seats, and have rollover and crash protection, but those are other issues for another time.

Skiing, skating, snowboarding, etc. should be illegal. Helmets and padding just doesn't cut it. Possession of hazardous contraptions you strap to your feet for conveyence or performance purposes should be a felony--skis, skates, blades, boards, snowshoes, flippers, novelty clown shoes, and whatnot. If skiing were illegal, American treasures like Sonny Bono would still be with us. Or perhaps the family should have been able to sue the tree that dared get in his way. That tree should have had liability insurance and should have payed millions. Sonny Bono's been proven irreplacable. Look how Cher's career was forced to move in a whole new positive direction when they split. How many others could have experienced that same good fortune if he were still here? Dozens? One will never know. Heck, there isn't a sport out there that exists that couldn't hurt or kill participants or even spectators. Let's do away with them all and save the headache of trying to regulate them all (and of course do away with the head injuries, too).

Speaking of hazardous contraptions for the feet, maybe women (and I suppose "men" and "other/miscellaneous" genders have to be included too--gotta give equal time in this new and improved USA) who wear high heels need to have extra health insurance, and/or we could tax by the inch of the heel or hours in/distance travelled in the shoe? Something similar to hub meters, but for footwear could be a whole new innovative job-creating industry because of government regulation. Sadly, China will get all of the mfg. business from the regulation. Lots of injury and disfigurement potential and insurance claims could be stopped. Or, like tobacco, let's throw the liability back on the manufacturers of these products that injure and maim for not disclosing injury or disfigurement potential at the point of purchase, even though doctors have said for decades that they are bad for the wearer. Maybe force the makers to put graphic pictures of broken ankles, damaged achilles tendons, and hammer toes all over the box, add a "Podiatrist's Warning" with one or two of the many possible dangers in big bold letters, and let the manufacturer have a small 2 inch by 2 inch area to put their logo and the product's identity on the package.

How about having everyone wear reflective clothing all of the time? Those vests sure look snazzy, how 'bout some matching pants? Like SMV signs, let's have an established level of reflectivity and ticket those that don't make the cut. Some states will want you to be more reflective than others, which will be tricky if you want to cross state lines. Illinois will be the first of many states who will want you to glow in the dark and be visible from 30,000 feet in any direction, at any time of day or night, and in any weather condition. Injury and deaths would surely decrease. If we could save just one life...........

If you haven't guessed Edd, the above is sarcasm with plenty of truth slid in for good measure.

We're already paying to (at least partially) feed, clothe, and house plenty of worthless people who will never do anything productive for society and many more who are counterproductive skid marks on the underpants of society on their best days. What monumental difference would a few more that at least contributed the pot at one time or another make?

Tobacco use is still legal and will remain so for at least the following two reasons: Vice taxes are a huge cash cow, and it would be impossible to keep people from using the products anyway. Same goes for alcohol.

AG

Yes, babies born to smokers are born with addiction
and are fussy and cry often until they get over the addiction. There are other problems with the babies but I'm not up on them.

BTW, I don't smoke, but if I did I would grow my own. $4.50 for a pack of cigs? At a pack a day, a $120 a month habit??

KEH

That's why I don't concel carry. I'd be too much a vigilanti.

(quoted from post at 16:31:11 02/22/14)
Yes, babies born to smokers are born with addiction
and are fussy and cry often until they get over the addiction. There are other problems with the babies but I'm not up on them.

BTW, I don't smoke, but if I did I would grow my own. $4.50 for a pack of cigs? At a pack a day, a $120 a month habit??

KEH

Click to expand...

50 gram pouch roll your own tobacco in Canada today $32.40,..30 years ago same pouch... 89 cent.
rolling papers not included,..$1.50 for that.
Do the math.

Yep. We can make it. I am and will always be a conservative, but not one that rewrites history to match my beliefs. I was an adult, voting and paying taxes when the Reagon changes were made. I remember them at the time and facts are facts. You can rewrite it and alibi, all you want, but that don't make it so.

I am surprised at your defense of someone who knowingly lives a very risky lifestyle and expects to dump the risk on the country. Is that really your position?

You might want to check out your story - cause right now you don't know what you are talking about.

Returning the sentiment is usually asking for trouble. It can be a signal that you have accepted the challenge for a fight. Choose which battles you really want to fight.

Now we know why congress never gets anything done, or done right. Too many contradictory and opposing viewpoints and everybody has to be right.

Gene