A big congratulations to Tim Barnett, David Benson-Pope and all the others who persevered in the face of the Chicken Little wackos and nosey do-gooders to pass the Civil Union Bill into law yesterday.
Some years ago, I made a promise never to get married. The Civil Union Bill will allow me to circumvent this pact without condemning me to a life of solitude. OK, there are a few things to sort out still, such as finding a woman who can tolerate my highly-strung antics. But it's a start!
My prospects in finding a suitable partner will not be increased by the anti-smoking law that came into effect last night. Another attempt at extricating free will from human nature, the smokefree law provides one more reason to stay at home. L'enfer, c'est les autres!
Not content with banning doubleplusungood habits indoors, the anti-smoking lobby is now looking at putting age restrictions on movies which feature smokers. I can just imagine it; Winston Churchill's memoirs rated R18 due to gratuitous cigar smoking. Casablanca has no sex or graphic violence but will be adults-only viewing because Bogie likes his ciggies. Steven Spielberg will re-release Saving Private Ryan, digitally inserting carrot sticks where cigarettes used to be. Never mind the horrors of war. Think of how many Allied soldiers died from passive smoking!
It is bad enough that live theatre performances will make all roles non-smoking whether it suits the character or not, thanks to another stupid law. The Safety Nazis will not be happy until they curse all art with their presence too.
