Florida Mayor wants to fire employees for smoking cigarettes at home (headline)
Talk about stupid. If she wants a no-smoking policy at work, that's fine. But this is vastly over-reaching into people's rights basically - the right to privacy. Unreasonable search and seizure almost. (that is another paragraph later on!)
I don't smoke. I quit smoking 22 years ago after hubby gave me the choice cigarettes or him...I smoked the last one to the filter, stubbed it out, gave the rest of the pack to a friend, and haven't looked back. Sure, it was hard...but no harder than life normally is!
If someone doesn't smoke at work, and their job is a no-smoking environment, their smoking at home should be NO BUSINESS of their bosses. What if there is a no-drinking rule? No drinking sugary drinks? No use of aerosols? Where does the crayziness stop?
She says this: “For employees, they would have one year to quit smoking or using chewing tobacco or face disciplinary action that includes termination." Talk about stupid.
We let the politicians trample on our rights all the time - maybe this time someone will actually stand up. The article says this is not only about privacy, but personal freedom, and government encroachment.
How far will you let the government tell you what to do (or not do, in this case?) Actually, this country was built on free enterprise - your ability to do a job better than someone else, be able to offer the product for less than your competitor, etc, and TOBACCO more than the libs are willing to admit. They keep saying "government out of our bedroom" but put the government over every little piddling thing someone does! They are talking out of both sides of their mouths.
On another note, unreasonable search and seizure. If you are within 100 miles of the US border (Canaduh or Mexico) you can be stopped by the Department of Homeland Security and literally asked for your papers, drug dogs could be brought into the back of your vehicle without any reason. Don't think it can't happen? It happened to a preacher in Arizona. Family guy, father of 7 (almost 8!). Pastor Anderson was stopped - here is his saga - he won the case, by the way. They can also search your computer. Nice, eh? I was reading that Google and the Library of Congress is archiving all Twitter activity. Nothing menacing here, right? I mean, those tweets are as important as the Gettysburg Address!
Posts
2 years ago
Diane:
ReplyDeleteKudos for quitting smoking...(wish I could).
As to the "at home" thing...what YOU do in YOUR house is YOUR business, period.
If ANYONE feels the "need" to watch what I do THERE< they better:
a) Hone helluva good reason, and not some excuse.
b) Have a TRUCKLOAD of money (for me) for compensation...liberty (or the lack thereof) has a VERY high price.
Either way...it ain't cheap.
The S&S thing has a definite down side to it, and mistakes WILL be made by law-enforcement.
OUR job is to make sure that is kept to an absolute minimum...(while catching the bad guys).
It's called a SECURE border...for a reason.
Good post.
I agree - where does it stop with the at-home business? Scotts up in Massachusetts did the same thing to a guy - over him smoking off business time. Now the FDA is going to make laws on its own regarding salt in foods. "Because the individual just won't" they are going to step in and nanny-state us to death.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were coming to Texas the first time, the police stopped hubby in the van full of boxes. They insisted he was moving drugs, and dragged him to the police station, had a drug dog sniff the van, and had everything pulled out and unboxed. Paul kept telling them he worked for nuclear plants, and you CAN'T do drugs, as they do urine tests, but they kept on. He called me (I was still in TN) but he wouldn't tell me the name of the town, as I wanted to stop in on the way and give them a piece of my mind. Heh. I probably would have been arrested. It was one of those little east Texas towns...Where you CAN be arrested for driving while black. And that would be your only offense. Hard to believe there's still towns like that nowadays, but there are.
Diane:
ReplyDeleteAnd in your hubby's case, he was taken in for "driving while LEGAL"...!?!
That's a new one, even for me.
I'm beginning to think that gov't agencies like the EPA and the FDa need a good swift kick in the nutsack...(pardon my French).
Trouble is, they "might" like it.
Glad all turned out well for you guys.