Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Vote on April 8!


The residents of Kansas City, Missouri get their chance to vote on April 8. Exercising your right to vote is a fantastic gift in this Country, so get off your butt!!

Two issues I believe are important are the bus tax and the smoking ban. The bus tax is an economic issue. People need to be able to get to jobs. Without public transportation, many folks can't get to their jobs. The pennies of the tax are important in allowing people to pursue the American dream. And, all those folks who take the bus to the Chief's games, they benefit, too.

Shall the City of Kansas City continue a city sales tax for the purposes of developing, operating, maintaining, equipping and improving a bus transit system by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority for Kansas City, Missouri, as authorized by Section 94.605 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri at a rate of 3/8% for a period of 15 years? _X___ YES ____ NO


The next issue is a public smoking ban. I believe that the ban enacted by City Council is soft. The voter led initiative is tougher. This is not a human rights issue, as the bar owners would have you believe. No one has the right cause others injury through second hand smoke. As to the stadiums, no one smokes in their seats. I can't take my kids to the Chiefs because of the drunks who stand up the whole game, not the smokers.

Shall the City of Kansas City prohibit smoking in enclosed places of employment, enclosed public places and on public sidewalks abutting acute care hospitals, while allowing it in casino gaming areas until all casinos located in the Missouri counties of Jackson, Platte and Clay, and the Kansas counties of Johnson and Wyandotte are obligated by ordinance, statute or law to prohibit smoking within the casino areas where gambling games are allowed for the purpose of promoting public health by decreasing citizen's exposure to secondhand smoke and creating smoke free environments for workers and citizens through regulation in the work place and all public places? __X__ YES ____ NO


See you at the polls or no complaining about the direction of our government.

5 comments:

Phil Cardarella said...

Blanket smoking bans are virtue gone berserk. If you do not wish to go into a bar that allows smoking, drink elsewhere or stay home and play Nintendo. Otherwise, grow up and allow others vices you (and I )do not share.

Sophia X said...

Steve,

I'm calling the voter suppression hotline to report you for publicizing the wrong date in your headline.

Sophia X said...

Ok, now that I've read the whole post, I have to comment again.

I can't take my kids to the Chiefs because of the drunks who stand up the whole game, not the smokers.

About the drunks, you've got a point. About people standing up the whole game... come on. It's a sporting event. Half the fun of Arrowhead is the excitement of the crowd. Don't act like a grumpy old man.

Stephen Bough said...

Sophia,

Thanks for noticing my error (I'm serious). I changed because it was important and wanted to note the change here so people will know I'm the dork, not you. OK, that takes care of voter suppression.

Next, I skipped some logic in my thought pattern. It relates to Phil's point of don't take your kids to a bar. A key difference between the council bill and the bill people are voting on, according to Councilman Ed Ford, is that the voter bill exempts the stadiums. I know there are old political feuds on city council that make this a bigger issue, but no one has time or energy for that.

I am a grumpy old man. I go to bed at 10:00, I get up at 5:00. Right there is all the proof you need about grumpy old man. I would, however, like to take my kids to a Chiefs game. However, the drunks standing up the whole time make it impossible for them to see (they are 9 & 4) the game. Given the steep rise in ticket prices and poor performance, this may no longer be an issue.

The Royals are a different story. They play before my bed time. There is very little standing up. We stand no chance of winning, so they are calm drunks. My kids have a ball and they bring cotton candy to your seat. So, despite a horrible record, we will go to ten games again this year. And, for all you Royals fans, Opening Day is April 8. This grumpy old man will be there!

Anonymous said...

Steve nice post! You are right about this smoking ban actually being a light one when compared to most cities. Many cities, like the one I live in, not only ban the mentioned, but also ban children under the age of 18 from being in areas where smoking is allowed (ex: bars that build a separate smoking patio, etc).