ObamaCare: A Fairy Tale – or How the Gay Community Lost Its Magic Power

Big Government by Charles Winecoff
Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away – called New York City – there was a special place where fairies could go when they weren’t feeling well.  It was known as the Gay Men’s Health Project.  The friendly bears and slender youths who ran this magical dispensary helped unlucky fairies mend their wings and wee-wees so they could get back to working through their issues and flit off to the nearest after-hours disco, bath house, abandoned truck or dilapidated pier.

Because they knew the empire wasn’t going to do it for them, the handsome lords and lads of Greenwich Village worked in unison to take care of their own kind.  An invisible tribe that blended easily into the population at large, they understood that the heterosexist king’s medicine men were not attuned to their unique needs; they did not want uncaring jesters from the court making choices about their bodies.  So the fairies raised their voices as loud as they could to make sure they had access to like-minded, sympathetic healers who would not make them feel ashamed of their behavior (and would get them back on the dance floor ASAP).

Then, in the year of eight tens and two, the fairies began to wither by the thousands and fall from the sky.  No one knew why.  So those who were still of able body came together again to build a new safe haven specifically for their sick brothers: a non-profit service organization called the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.  Thanks to the actions and determination of these bold heroes, GMHC succeeded in providing legal aid, counseling, and even some housing to 15,000 fellows affected by HIV and AIDS.

But the elders, led by the prophet Larry Kramer, soon became weary of doing all the work themselves. They wanted support from the royal court.  So they amassed an army specifically to agitate and create awareness of  the needs of their ailing brethren.  They called their legion of troops ACT UP, and their motto was SILENCE = DEATH.


The warrior fairies did not trust the king and queen, who hailed from a make-believe place called Hollywood.  Even though there were many fairies in Hollywood, the elders imagined that the king, whose name was marked by a malevolent ”R,” would round up their infected friends and lock them in concentration camps.  The fairies only trusted royals whose names boasted a benevolent ”D.”

So fearing the worst, they paid no heed to the warnings of their own shamans.  Instead, they fought to protect their underground turf from the imaginary menace of the “R” invaders by keeping their fairy-only, non-reproductive recreation centers open.  Thousands more fairies fell from the sky.

Time passed.  Powerful potions were eventually conjured up to keep infected fairies healthy and alive.  Kings began to grant them audiences, and the peasantry as a whole became more accepting of their existence, and appreciative of their hard history.  The fairies were celebrated and honored for the injustices they endured.  The peasantry took extra care to be more tolerant of fairy feelings.

But the fairies couldn’t reciprocate.  They didn’t know how to trust or to let down their guard.  They had become addicted to attention, self-pity, and anger.

When the two mighty towers were destroyed by flying far-right religious trolls, who had a blood-soaked and homophobic history, the new king took fierce action to prevent any further attacks.  But because this king also sported an “R’ after his name (and wore a cowboy hat), the fairies felt it was against their religion (D-ism) to support his efforts.

Instead, they mocked him, accused him of plotting a sinister master plan, and prayed for his assassination.  They stood in solidarity with anyone who railed against the “R”-lettered king.   And they remained willfully ignorant of the plight of their less fortunate fellow fairies in far-away lands, who were still being brutalized by evil trolls.  They were no longer capable of recognizing an enemy.

Domestic fairies enjoyed many fetishes, but none was so great as their fetish for the letter “D.”  They became isolated from the rest of their countrymen within their own affluent domain, commonly referred to as “the gay ghetto.”  They became obsessed with how they were portrayed in minstrel shows, and they presented golden statuettes to any princess who extolled their virtues in the Land of Make Believe.  They became lazy and self-satisfied, but annoyed that some people still lived by ancient beliefs and rules that did not include them.  They demanded that all beliefs and customs that did not take them into consideration be “reformed” (whether or not they really wanted anything to do with those beliefs).

Finally, in the year twenty and nine, a Savior arrived who was similar to the trolls in color and name, but who wore a holy letter “D.”  He promised to be the fairies’ best friend.  He promised to ban the law of the land that prevented them from joining in blessed unions like the rest of the peasantry.  He also vowed to allow the fairies to serve, in all their proud flamboyance, in His armed forces.

But the King’s seductive words proved meaningless.  He was more concerned with soothing the savage trolls with His charm - to what end, no one was sure – while dreaming up ways to siphon the peasants’ money.

To that end, the King passed a grand law that, He declared, would improve the physical and financial health of every single person under the crown, including the fairies.  But the peasant majority was suspicious of the King’s intent, and challenged Him, loudly and publicly.  This made the King frown, and totally threw Him off his game.

The King wasn’t interested in what the peasants wanted.  He believed He was the smartest man in the world.  So He just scowled, and lectured, and got His way.  His royal henchmen laughed in the faces of the good, hard-working peasants.

The fairies, who were once the most boisterous rebels in all the land, didn’t rush to the peasants’ defense.  They made not even a peep.  Transfixed by the King’s big “D,” their fairy spirit had been paralyzed.  Polarized by pride (and prejudice), they were no longer able to question authority - and certainly not the motives of their smiling Messiah.

It didn’t matter that many of the witch doctors who had long toiled to eradicate AIDS doubted that the King’s costly law would actually be beneficial to ailing fairies, leaving them instead with fewer, less potent spells.
It didn’t matter that nowhere in the final law passed by the all the King’s men were the fairies’ needs – medical or legal - even mentioned.  Those crucial words had vanished, quietly replaced by a pricey call for abstinence, something the fairies had long shunned.

It didn’t matter that a provision giving the loving partners of fairies the same tax exclusion as peasant spouses on the value of employer-provided health benefits was also removed.  It didn’t matter that the King’s law (which He called “my bill”) made it more advantageous for fairies to remain unmarried.
It didn’t matter that a prosperous mouthpiece for the fairies openly announced his disappointment in the decree, or that a spokesperson for the King declined to comment.

It didn’t matter that one of the King’s henchmen declared that, more important than healing fairies’ bodies, the new law would fix the “mal-distribution” of wealth among the peasantry.  Nor did it matter that another apple-polisher let it slip that the underlying goal was “to control the people.”

And it didn’t matter that the UN, which was teeming with fairy-hating trolls, hailed the King’s bill as a demigodsend.

The only thing that mattered to the fairies was that their King had a “D” after his name. In their hard-won comfort, they had forgotten how to fight.  They waved away any inconvenient reality that didn’t glorify the mythical icon.  Their own tough, triumphant past no longer moved them.  A pampered new generation of fairies mistook ”equality” for “freedom,” and had no knowledge  of the fickle nature of politics or safety.  They believed Lady Gaga was forever.

SILENCE now equalled COMPLICITY.

And so they marched in unison again.  Only this time, it wasn’t a movement born of urgency, compassion, or even thought. It was the catatonic death march of the true believer.  The fairies had turned into the fanatics they once abhorred.  And that is how they gave up their magic power and lost their ability to soar.
Yes, Virginia, there is an end to this story.  We just don’t know exactly what it is yet.

Tanning Beds the New Marlboro Reds - Goverment Tax

latimesblogs.latimes.com

December 22, 2009 | 

Baking your body inside a tanning bed has always been detrimental to your skin. But it may soon also wreak havoc on your wallet.

This past weekend, the Senate amended the embattled healthcare bill by replacing the proposed 5% tax on elective plastic surgery procedures with a proposed 10% tax on indoor tanning. The tax would raise an estimated $2.7 billion over 10 years.

The so-called "Botax" on elective surgeries raised the ire of the American Medical Assn., which cried discrimination against women (as they're more likely to opt for plastic surgery than men). Apparently, the tanning bed industry doesn't pack as much clout -- so weekly trips to the local tanning salon might be significantly more expensive in the future.

Lawmakers love to tax things that are bad for you -- the higher costs are meant to be a further deterrent. And like smoking a pack of Camels every day, "bronzing" your epidermis regularly has been inextricably linked to cancer. Nose jobs may be steeped in vanity, but they at least have the power to improve mental states.

So I started thinking about what other societal "ills" could raise a little bread for our hobbled economy...
* Stiletto heels over 4 inches tall. Bad for the back, bad for the foot arch -- good for the economy?
* Vanity dogs. That pint-sized Pomeranian in the Louis Vuitton case that yaps at you in line at Whole Foods could pitch in for the greater good.
* "Embellished" jeans and T-shirts dripping with tattoo graphics and "crystals." OK, so they're not exactly detrimental to the wearer. But they've been making our eyes bleed for some time now.

Las Vegas Aurea Privee Wins Million Dollar Jackpot Casino Won't Pay

thegameonline.net -Aurea Privee, a local Las Vegas woman, plays slot poker at the Fiesta Henderson and wins a million dollar jackpot. The casino claims it was a malfunction and won’t pay her. Local Las Vegas CBS news affiliate KLAS interviews Aurea and her attorney, Nikolas Mastrangelo.

Child Trafficking in India

Right To Protection

Decoyed Lives

www.tehelka.com

Unprecedented migration is feeding child trafficking like never before, reports DIVYA GUPTA

PHOTO: SHAILENDRA PANDEY

SEX WITH a virgin will cure men of STDs and HIV/AIDS: this common, if ludicrous, myth is just one example of the cultural complexity and otherwise enormous challenge of child trafficking in India.

The instant connection, while talking about child trafficking, is with sexual exploitation. In reality, the reasons run into an ever-expanding list – marriage, adoption, labour, entertainment and sports (beer bars, circus troupes, camel jockeys), begging, drug peddling and smuggling.

Experts across India acknowledge, sometimes sheepishly, that the statistics on child trafickking are at best, highly varied, and at worst, highly underreported. In 2006, the National Crime Records Bureau put the total number of child (below the age of 18) trafficking cases at 5,638. That same year, the Nithari killings of children sparked national outrage. The government admitted that at least 30,468 children had been reportedly missing across the country.

Mohammad Aftab, a child protection expert with Save the Children, makes a direct link between migration, agrarian neglect, the drying up of rural livelihoods and the increased incidence of “disguised” child trafficking in India. “The amount of displacement that has taken place in India in the last 15 years has never happened in human history,” he says.

One of the worst “source” states for child trafficking, West Bengal, is illustrative of this trend. Manabendra Nath Ray, state programme manager for West Bengal with Save the Children, says, “It starts in the villages and ends in the cities and happens through well-organised networks. Most people fall for the lure of money, jobs or marriage prospects.” He recalls the story of 12-year-old Bindu from East Midnapore District. Bindu fell into the trap because her mother required an operation, which her family could not afford. A close relative promised her a job in Delhi to help pay for it. In the next four years, Bindu was sexually exploited as domestic labour in Delhi and Bengaluru, trapped by a placement agency to act as a trafficker herself and finally rescued by the Jai Prakash Institute of Social Change.

Ray reveals the biggest challenge of their work: “Child trafficking has become a socially and culturally acceptable thing.” For a family that earns Rs 500 a month, even a one-time bait of Rs 5,000 can be an overwhelming temptation. But it would be simplistic to think that poverty is the only driver. Most parents are not aware that they are sending their children into harm’s way until it is too late, says Ray. They realise only when their kids stop sending money or stop calling. “They don’t have any idea of the grim reality of city life,” says Ray. West Bengal also bears out other telling linkages. Two-thirds of all trafficked children are girls. Eighty-six percent of those are primary school dropouts or have never been to school. The issues are similar in other big “source” states – Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh.

THE ONLY Indian law governing child trafficking, the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, does not clearly define “trafficking” and is limited to only sexual trafficking, says noted child rights expert Enakshi Ganguly Thukral. The only government scheme for prevention of child trafficking named “Ujjwala”, put in place in December 2007 is “not grounded yet” says Aftab. Finally, experts argue that child welfare has simply never been a priority for law enforcement agencies, which are critical to curbing child trafficking.

‘Our challenge is child trafficking has become a socially acceptable thing,’ says an expert

And yet, there are uplifting success stories in both India and beyond – political advocacy that has led to a tightening of laws in the US, Mozambique and Bolivia, Apne Aap (self-help) through small social and economic cooperatives; Prerna (inspiration) through its pioneering work to assist victims of organised crime, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Movement) through strong campaigns and Save the Children through all-inclusive village committees.

Bindu had fire in her belly. She planned an escape many times but didn’t succeed. When she finally found her window, by sheer chance, she burst into tears and pleaded, “If you can protect me, then I can cooperate.” But in the world’s largest democracy, luck should not have to be the main determinant of freedom, particularly for its most defenceless citizens.

CASE STUDY

They Gave Lime Powder For Stomach Aches And Filled Our Wounds With Matchstick Powder, Then Lit Them

PHOTO: SAVE THE CHILDREN

WHEN I was eight years old, I went to the forest with my friends to graze the goats. Two men came there, gave us sweets and offered to take us to Madhepura to see a movie and eat in a restaurant. We went out of greed to eat good food. When we arrived in Madhepura and asked to watch the film, they took out a knife and threatened to slit our throats if we said anything.

From there they took us to Mirzapur and sold us to the malik (boss). We worked there for five years weaving carpets.

The malik made us work day and night. We had to wake up at 4 in the morning and after washing up we would start working. We used to work in the basement till 12 in the night. If the electricity continued we were made to work through the night.

For food, they used to give us some rice and watery dal. They didn’t give any clothes, just a pair of underwear, a vest and one towel. For sleeping they would give us a bora (sack), and to cover ourselves they would give the malik’s wife’s old saris.

One night while I was weaving I fell asleep with the knife in my hand. Then the malik came in great anger, snatched the knife from me and struck me twice in the chest. There he filled matchstick powder in the wound and lit it. While I was screaming he held me down. They wouldn’t even let us cry.

If anyone ever had a stomach ache they would give us khaini-chuna (lime and tobacco powder) to take with water. And if by God’s grace we recovered then it was okay, but if we died, then they would not go very far to dispose the body. They would put the body in a sack and throw it in the well.

We would not think of running away from there. If I walked ten paces, there would be dalals (supervisors) watching our every step. Then somehow my villagers came to know about this and informed Mr Gurun Mehtoji of Bachpan Bachao Andolan who then conducted a raid. From that factory about 65 children were freed in one go.

I want to give people the message that what has happened to me we will not let it happen to others.

Kalu Kumar is a former trafficked child and bonded child labourer-turned-activist for Mukti Caravan (Liberation Caravan against child labour) – a street-theatre group that travels around rural Bihar raising awareness.

Lawsuit Wants Wynn Las Vegas to Butt Out

www.lasvegassun.com

Wynn Las Vegas suit follows similar suit filed against Caesars Palace

A second Las Vegas Strip casino is being sued over allegations that the health of employees is being affected by second-hand smoke.

A suit seeking class action status to represent all affected workers was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas by Wynn Las Vegas employee Kanie Kastroll against the casino resort and its parent company Wynn Resorts Ltd.

The suit was filed by law firms including KamberEdelson LLC of Chicago, which in July filed a similar suit against Harrah's Entertainment's Caesars Palace hotel-casino.

Attorneys for Harrah's and Caesars have not yet filed their answer to that complaint. That suit has also not completed the significant legal hurdle of being certified as a class action.

Wynn Las Vegas and Wynn Resorts had no comment on the Wynn suit Wednesday, citing their policy of not commenting on pending litigation.

The suit alleges exposure to smoke is causing eye irritation, coughing, sore throat, sneezing, shortness of breath, dizziness, wheezing, tightness in the chest, asthma, headache, nausea and ingestion of cancer-causing chemicals and toxins.

The suit claims some Las Vegas resorts have taken measures to minimize second-hand smoke on their gaming floors. MGM Mirage's Bellagio has a high-tech air filtration system designed to minimize such smoke while Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s Palazzo hotel-casino built "smoke-free corridors" in its gaming area and designated 50 percent of its casino floor as non-smoking, the lawsuit says.

"Wynn Las Vegas, however, continues to gamble with its employees' health and welfare in order to cut costs and maintain the status quo," the suit charges, alleging Wynn has not designated certain sections of the gaming area as smoke-free, doesn't allow dealers to have fans on their tables, hasn't monitored the health of employees subjected to smoke and hasn"t helped employees harmed by smoke.

The lawsuit alleges floor supervisors can designate tables as nonsmoking, but only at the request of a patron.

"If a customer asks a dealer "do you mind if I smoke?", Wynn Las Vegas prefers its dealers to answer "no, not at all," even if the tobacco smoke does in fact bother the dealer and causes him or her adverse health effects," the suit charges. "Dealers who tell customers that second-hand smoke bothers them will likely be subject to discipline."

"Employees at Wynn Las Vegas are forbidden from complaining about the amount of second-hand smoke that they are forced to inhale and risk losing their jobs if they voice dissent," the suit charges.

The resort sometimes makes accommodations for casino employees who are pregnant, but only at the discretion of individual floor supervisors, the suit says.

The suit seeks an order requiring Wynn "to take reasonable measures to protect its employees from second-hand smoke" and unspecified costs and attorney's fees.

The suit against Caesars Palace noted Caesars and sister properties Bally's and Paris were included in a study released in May by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health finding casino dealers had traces of a tobacco-specific carcinogen in their urine.

The NIOSH report concluded: "Non-poker casino dealers at Bally’s, Paris, and Caesars Palace casinos are exposed to ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) in the workplace air, and have absorbed an ETS-specific component into their bodies, as demonstrated by detectable levels of urinary NNAL (a known lung carcinogen). The increase in NNAL in the urine of most non-poker casino dealers at the end of their work shift demonstrates that non-poker casino dealers are exposed to a known carcinogen in the tobacco smoke at the casinos. Non-poker casino dealers reported a higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms than to unexposed workers, but the results were not statistically significant. The best means of eliminating workplace exposure to ETS is to ban all smoking in the casinos."

Discussion: 42 comments so far…

1.

By vc

10/21/09 at 9:34 a.m.

Suggest removal

I believe that when you take a job as a dealer you know what the risks are as far as second hand smoke is concerned. If you dont like it you shouldn't be working as a dealer.

2.

By bigb

10/21/09 at 9:41 a.m.

Suggest removal

FIND A NEW JOB!!! You know the risks before you work there. I am anti-tobacco and feel that smokers are the rudest people on the planet, however, if the establishment allows smoking then so be it. I work in the industry and I am surrounded by smoke all day and night. I was well aware that I would be working in those conditions before I began working. If you cant deal with it, learn a new trade or find a new job.

3.

By denro

10/21/09 at 9:44 a.m.

Suggest removal

I believe that smoking should be banned from casino floors.

Workers or patrons in any business should not be subjected to effects of second hand smoke, under any circumstances, period.

I also hope that people that are still tied to nicotine whether by addiction, choice, or both get it worked out and are able stop doing it.

4.

By VegasGM85

10/21/09 at 9:44 a.m.

Suggest removal

Exactly vc & bigb - What next, a suit about bartenders forced to be around intoxicated people... Everyones just trying to get rich quick...

5.

By pickone

10/21/09 at 9:45 a.m.

Suggest removal

vc...isn't it time that we non-smokers have some rights also? You want to smoke? Respect my space and do it in designated areas where I don't have to work or go! Good luck trying to win a lawsuit against the Mighty Wynn.

6.

By bremskraft

10/21/09 at 9:50 a.m.

Suggest removal

It's about frikin' time!

7.

By thekube

10/21/09 at 9:59 a.m.

Suggest removal

Isn't it in the job description before you are hired where they say something to the tune of: must be able to deal with loud noises, smoking, bad air, and things of that nature? Every job nowadays has that clause and they make you sign a piece of paper stating that you are aware of these facts. This plaintiff may not be trying to get rich quick, because 1) she's not Erin Brokovich, who had a sound case and 2) those people had no choice and weren't aware their water was tainted.

8.

By RebelRon

10/21/09 at 10 a.m.

Suggest removal

If the smoke bothers her so much why don't she quit. I'm sure there's a thousand people willing to take her place.

Take a look what happened to the Illinois casinos when they went smoke free. Business went in the toilet. Casinos in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Missouri took the smokers business.

9.

By idabessie

10/21/09 at 10:06 a.m.

Suggest removal

Oh for the love of God when does this debate end? What are the odds any and ALL employees KNEW that there are smoking patrons ( & employees)thru out the casinos of Las Vegas? Nobody forced these people to take jobs where smoking is allowed. Last I checked smoking IS legal regardless of what you crybabies crying foul think. What is this crap about "respect my space" about? I didn't realize nonsmokers had priveleges to 100% non toxic air(good luck finding that air)... when did that one pass? Do me a favor & take your healthy self attitude and make a real idiot of yourself and continue to jog down the streets where the car fumes must be acceptable to you.

10.

By go_rebels

10/21/09 at 10:51 a.m.

Suggest removal

If this idiot wants to make a living in the gaming business, then she has to deal with the vices. Smoking is not illegal in casinos, therefore her lawsuit constitutes a frivolous attempt to extort money from Wynn. What a POS. Every employee hired reads and signs an agreement acknowledging they the conditions of employment, yet some people think the world revolves around there ass. Go get another job, you joke of a human being. What is really funny is they sue about tips and now they want to reduce their tips themselves by eliminating smoking(which will elimate gamblers). I don't smoke and I worked in gaming 28 years. She should be fired for filing a bs lawsuit against a company who provides her with a living.

A message to alll non smokers from a non smoker. You do not have the right to tell other people what to do. You can however find a job where smoking is not allowed. I hope she loses her job, gets black-balled, and ran out of town It is what she deserves. Maybe someone should tell her unemployment is 13.9% and there are plenty of people who would love to work for Steve Wynn.

11.

By LasVegas2009

10/21/09 at 10:52 a.m.

Suggest removal

Good luck with the suit. Smokers have a habit of killing people with the second hand smoke who do not want to smoke. Allowing a known hazard in a work environment puts the employer at risk of suit. If the player was cooking Meth at the table im sure the casino would have made them stop. Well smoking is a known killer and affects people as far as 20 feet away with cancer causing chemicals. Like I said before GOOD LUCK with the suit the casinos should make smokers go out side to smoke and come back in once they have the high.

12.

By environprotector

10/21/09 at 10:58 a.m.

Suggest removal

I gave up smoking years ago, but I'm not one of these Nazi non smokers who feel that their space is violated every time someone lights up five blocks away. Employees in the casino business know that they are working in a smoking environment and if they don't want the danger of second hand smoke, then they should work somewhere else. PERIOD!!

13.

By jtrudeau

10/21/09 at 11:05 a.m.

Suggest removal

LasVegas2009 - Problem with your example is cooking meth is illegal from the beginning, but smoking is a 100% legal activity. Can I sue the players with really offensive body odor or stinky farts?

14.

By Crm

10/21/09 at 11:19 a.m.

Suggest removal

Just THINK a little before you pass judgement on innocent people trying to make a living in a smoke filled Casino. After more than 20 years of being a nonsmoker and alcohol free I suffer like EVERYONE in a smoke filled environment with Heart, and Respiratory illness caused by SECOND HAND SMOKE. In the beginning of my dealing career I had No problem with the smoke. After 20 years of breathing other peoples smoke I am having a LOT of health issues. Insurance companies, the surgeon general, the world health organization, the EPA, Doctors and many others KNOW that second hand smoke is a SERIOUUS PROBLEM. We (the Casino Industry) cater to people who are being allowed to Kill innocent workers with their filthy smoking habit and pass it off as entertainment for the reckless. We don't allow people to eat the wonderful meals served in Las Vegas and then dispose of their WASTE at the Blackjack Tables. That's what the bathrooms are for. Even the bathrooms are off limits to smokers. Smokers, PLEASE stop forcing others to breathe your WASTE. You would'nt like it if someone filled your pockets with their human waste.. I PRAY that I live to see this Law suit win and we see reform SOON on this issue. GO LAWYERS !!!

15.

By livinginlv

10/21/09 at 11:26 a.m.

Suggest removal

ok I am a person whom grew up around second hand smoke and could not wait to turn 18 to get out of the house because of it. I think smokers are selfish. If you want to kill yourself fine but others around you should not have to risk getting a disease because of anothers stupid choice to smoke. I am all for no smoking in Casinos you don't have to smoke to waste money at tables or machines. I would vote to ban smoking except in a designated area of all casinos. I think casinos should be made to have smoking rooms with gaming in them and they should be sealed off from the rest of the casino so those that make the lame decision to smoke and someday kill themselves with it can do it without risking everyones health around them.

16.

By silver13

10/21/09 at 11:27 a.m.

Suggest removal

As long as cigarettes are a legal product there shouldn't be any laws against their consumption.

17.

By aprilrayne

10/21/09 at 11:29 a.m.

Suggest removal

I quit smoking - and just like environ stated above - I am not a crazy non smoker either - who demands "non-smokers rights"

everyone has the same rights, non-smoker or smoker

smoking is not illegal - and thanksfully Las Vegas offers smoking area's in which tourists and residents can smoke and gamble and drink (all at the same time) if they wish

las vegas has never been the type of city to discourage addictions, bad habits or excessive leisure activities - in fact, if you read up about it's history, las vegas was always sort of a refuge for people whether they wanted a quick divorce (or marriage) or whether they wanted to participate in "sinful things" which they could not do in any other city

these employees ALL know what they are getting into before get hired - they are the lucky ones who actually have a job

suing their employer for second-hand smoke issues is like my friend suing dominos for making him have to breath the car exhaust fumes while waiting at a red light during his delivery shift...

SIDE NOTE:

if they really are concerned with their health they should look to what they eat - being overweight is more harmful to a person than smoking since it causes a LARGE range of "sure thing" health problems - where as smoking only causes a few solitary health issues which aren't even a "sure thing"

----

Sure smoking is bad for you (so is poor diet, having unprotected sex, gambling, tanning in the sun too much, and drinking) but this is Vegas... deal with it

-besides- in my home town, Burbank, California - you can't even walk down the street or smoke outside in general (in the whole city) - and if you rent most land lords won't let you smoke inside either...

18.

By aprilrayne

10/21/09 at 11:37 a.m.

Suggest removal

Crm - did someone hold a gun to your head and tell you that you HAD to work in a casino?

NO.

Myself and plenty of my friends would LOVE to have a job in a casino at the moment - we just don't have enough experience and it's competitive.

- In result I just work as a receptionist at a vet hospital, exposed to aggressive animals (and sometimes aggressive people), harmful chemicals for cleaning, radiowaves from X-rays, among other animal carried diseases... They don't offer health insurance and I make a measly 9$/hr

Do you want to trade?

19.

By denro

10/21/09 at 11:44 a.m.

Suggest removal

Crm hit it on the head.

There was a time when people were not present to the effects of second hand smoke, let alone first hand smoke.

Now that we are aware absolutely aware of the impact, it is time to change things.

It seems to me people weighing in otherwise are most likely smokers. defending this nasty, often fatal habit.

20.

By Crm

10/21/09 at 11:50 a.m.

Suggest removal

There will always be the IGNORANT and the LAME excuses for why we should allow something this DEADLY to continue. Driving cars on the road is legal. Running over innocent people with your car IS NOT. We need tighter REGULATIONS and BIG PENALTIES for the SELFISH SMOKERS and the Industries that allow this behavior. Take your smoking habit OUTSIDE. It is the LAW in ALL INDOOR PUBLIC PLACES where Children are present except Casino floors. The cost of health care keeps going up thanks to the irresponsible SELFISH SMOKERS. Should we just step aside and allow theives to STEAL our cars and drive up the Insurance cost or allow Drunks the right to Drive while under the influence of Alcohol?? Alconol is LEGAL too! When YOU become affected by this terrible injustice and step back away from the smoke long enough for your mind to clear then you will SURELY see how bad this habit REALLY is!!

21.

By bigb

10/21/09 at 11:52 a.m.

Suggest removal

If I elect to work to put out oil fires, I am WELL AWARE that the air quality in my enviroment will be very poort. If I elect to work for the sewer department, I am WELL AWARE that there is a very real possibility of coming in contact with human waste that might be communicable. Again, I am very anti-tobacco, anti-smoker, however, smoking is very much so LEGAL. Smoke filled enviroment is like any other occupation that will have possible health risks involved. We all understand that prior to getting hired. Those morons who expect the casinos to have smokers step outside or ban smoking all together are living a pipe dream. The casinos already do what they can to improve air quality, including multi million dollar air filtration/ventilation systems and designated non smoking areas.

22.

By snyderm

10/21/09 at 11:58 a.m.

Suggest removal

I totally agree denro.

It didn't used to be so obvious that second hand smoke was so harmful.

The most recent news about how second-hand smoke can trigger heart attacks is what really concerns me.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12556194...

23.

By LasVegas2009

10/21/09 at 11:59 a.m.

Suggest removal

I think most people defending the casinos case are smokers themselves. Addicted to a substance that you know is killing you must be an awful thing. Still no reason to make the rest of the world suffer because of your stupidity. Smokers are paying $6-$8 a day to commit suicide and think they have the right to force everyone else to live with it. We all know the right thing to do is not smoke, even the cig. manufactures agree smoking kills. Only an idiot would spend money on such a nasty and deadly habit in this economic recession. I see people begging for change at the stop lights and smoking at the same time. They spend enough to buy a house over 10-20 years yet they still do it.

24.

By Aquos

10/21/09 at 11:59 a.m.

Suggest removal

Wouldn't the Nevada State Workers' Comp laws make suing the employer virtually impossible unless gross negligence can be proved on the part of the employer? How do you prove gross negligence when the activity in question is totally legal and unregulated by the EPA? If the workers at the casinos want to pursue this nonsense, let them file workers' comp claims and start with proving their complaints are totally work related.

25.

By atdleft

10/21/09 at 12:10 p.m.

Suggest removal

livinginlv-

That sounds like a fair deal. Let the smokers kill themselves and each other in their own area while the rest of us get a chance to breathe. I'm sick and tired of coughing endlessly while trying to find a part of the casino without so much second-hand smoke.

vc & bigb-

Maybe if our economy weren't so addicted to tourism, perhaps they could find new jobs... But that's not the case. And obvoously, not all the casinos are doing what they can to protect their employees. Why won't Harrah's and Wynn Resorts install filtration systems and designate non- smoking areas? I'm just a paying customer, and I get sick after being exposed to all those lit up cancer sticks.

26.

By Det__Munch

10/21/09 at 12:35 p.m.

Suggest removal

The cost of health care keeps going up thanks to the irresponsible SELFISH SMOKERS.

Beg to disagree with you on this. It is OBESITY that is causing healthcare costs to go up and ALL THE RELATED DISEASES/COMPLICATIONS that are almost 100% guaranteed when you are OBESE. Anything from high blood pressure to high cholesteral and it shows no age limits either. Children are being diagnosed with high bp. high cholesteral and Type II DIabetes - all normal adult problems - because they eat nothing but fast food and get no exercise. You think insurance premiums are high now - wait until these kids hit their early 20's. THAT IS WHO you will be paying those high premiums for. Smoking isn't the culprit. However - those who are obese and smoke are killing themselves - not you!

BTW - I am an exsmoker, but I don't begrudge others from doing it especially in a casino environment. But I never have even as a smoker and never will tolerate smoke in my face!!

(Gosh, I missed everyone!)

27.

By youhopeirot

10/21/09 at 12:37 p.m.

Suggest removal

Im gonna sue the people my who made my toothbrush because the bristles keep wearing out :\

28.

By jaesun

10/21/09 at 12:47 p.m.

Suggest removal

i'm going to sue Nike because they led me to believe I can jump like MJ, but couldn't after I bought the shoes.

Who do I sue for the air pollution caused by cars?

29.

By wizardofOz

10/21/09 at 1:40 p.m.

Suggest removal

This is just the tip of the smoking "Addiction Iceberg".

People smoke LIKE CHIMNEYS in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, (and as do about 60% of the old people over 60 who live HERE) .

Casinos WANT losers, and LOSERS SMOKE.

Cigarette companies simply moved their cigarette addiction-machinery offshore when they got their butts whacked here in the US.

And if CANCER STICKS were introduced as a "new" product, today, the cigarette people would have to run to keep their death-product-butts out of JAIL.

30.

By oldvegas

10/21/09 at 1:42 p.m.

Suggest removal

Does the fire department protect firefighters from fire and smoke? Does the police department protect policemen from bullets and give them gloves to handle criminals? Do construction workers get hardhats? Dealing is a trade like any other and dealers are human beings like everyone else. They deserve safety. There is a happy medium and it will not be found by greedy corporations who do not care about their workers or by greedy lawyers. Some may not like this but the only answer is a third party, someone who can look out for the interests of the industry and its workers. A Union just like firefighters, policemen and other workers have. A dealers Union can solve this problem.

31.

By Txtea

10/21/09 at 2:08 p.m.

Suggest removal

idabessie, Love it so very true. If you recall people a few years back there was the Silver City Casino. Smoke Free the place was allways dead? So if there are so many non smokers gambling and working makes you think what happened too it.

32.

By cisea

10/21/09 at 2:30 p.m.

Suggest removal

Non-Smokers shouldn't gamble and probably don't. Gambling is a risky behavior and so is smoking. (So is walking across the street for that matter.) Leave people alone and let them enjoy the casino experience. If that includes me smoking while I watch my savings disappear that's my business. Oh, non-smokers and casino employees complaining here's a suggestion, why don't you and the employees get your money together and buy you own casino (non-smoking) and see how long the doors stay open?

33.

By oldvegas

10/21/09 at 2:51 p.m.

Suggest removal

Everyone has lost focus here. The conversation is about people dying, not being uncomfortable but DYING!

34.

By wizardofOz

10/21/09 at 2:55 p.m.

Suggest removal

-And-

This is the SAME crappy pro-smoker arguments we had about smoking on AIRPLANES until the FAA stepped in and BANNED SMOKING OUTRIGHT on all flights.

End of story.

35.

By nevadaappleslices

10/21/09 at 3:19 p.m.

Suggest removal

No one held a gun to your head to work there, it was your own choice! You could work somewhere else. So suffer the consequences of your own choice. Frivolous!!

36.

By skerlahdee

10/21/09 at 3:19 p.m.

Suggest removal

Smokers banned from Colorado casinos in July. It seems to be working out ok. Smokers take it outside, or use the designated smoking areas which are open-air but have heaters to make it more comfortable now that winter is setting in.

My guess is that the smokers get a patch from their doctors to reduce the need for smoke breaks.

Ban smoking in public places, please.

37.

By serious

10/21/09 at 3:34 p.m.

Suggest removal

The Silver City Casino on the Strip went to a totally non-smoking casino several years ago, and it closed within 12 months. It was located next to the Peppermill Restaurant, and our Casinos try to have non-smoking areas, tables, and slot rows.

38.

By CaptJack

10/21/09 at 3:50 p.m.

Suggest removal

Ban it indoors. There's no sense in letting a tiny minority of people affect the health of everyone around them.

I don't smoke and I don't want to be around smokers. And when I used to smoke (10 years) I was courteous about it. I didn't smoke in crowds and I rarely smoked indoors.

Ban it.

39.

By MJB-

10/21/09 at 4:11 p.m.

Suggest removal

Cool... Let's sue California for their second hand forest fire smoke. At least I can avoid the tobacco smoke by staying out of casinos.

40.

By RussC

10/21/09 at 4:27 p.m.

Suggest removal

This law suit is totally rediculous. Non smokers do have rights. They have the right not to enter an establishment where smoking is allowed. They have the right to refuse a job where in their working environment, smokers will be present. I know for a fact that there are companies who won't even hire people who do smoke. Go work for them and keep these frivilous law suits from clogging up the courts.

41.

By CynicalObserver

10/21/09 at 4:39 p.m.

Suggest removal

I wish these guys would sue the South Pointe.

I was there last Thursday night and again on Sunday night, and the smoke was so thick on the casino floor, in adjacent restaurants, and in the hallway to the hotel tower, I got a terrible pain in my throat which didn't end until about 10 minutes after leaving the South Pointe.

I feel very sorry for the employees.

Don't the people who run these casinos realize that lacking an adequate ventilation system, they will end up losing business to a casino down the road?

How do Drugs get in the US? Video

No Positive School Activities Encourage Students with Negative Behavior

NO SPORTS, NO BAND, NO HOMECOMING, NO PROM

Teens need social activities to keep busy and out of trouble. This fall we might see more than the occasional smashed pumpkin as bored teens find other outlets to keep themselves amused, like drugs and alcohol which leave to steeling from parents and neighbors.

USAToday article:

Gannett News Service - Sep 2nd, 2009

Instead of gearing up to run cross country for Grove City High School in Ohio, Andy Bennett is training for a marathon.

It will give the 16-year-old some consolation because sports programs and clubs at his school have been shut down. An hour after the last bell each afternoon, it’s lights out at the school.

Bennett and his classmates won’t have homecoming, prom or a student government - activities that, like sports, are fixtures in American high schools but no longer exist at Grove City because of a financial crisis.

That’s the plight of all students who attend South-Western City Schools, which serves part of Columbus and nearby towns and is Ohio’s sixth-largest school district. The district has been in dire financial straits for years and is being squeezed further by the economic downturn. By canceling activities, the district cut $2.5 million in expenses, district spokeswoman Sandy Nekoloff says.

“I thought it was the worst thing in the world,” Bennett says of the school board’s decision to cancel activities after a proposed property tax hike was rejected by voters in August, the third time it failed.

In this district, no one has been spared, not even Grove City High’s marching band. “There’s no football games. There’s nowhere for the marching band to march,” Nekoloff says.

High schools across the USA are reporting that the recession has led to similar financial difficulties for extracurricular programs, forcing cost-cutting that is particularly painful now, as fall sports seasons open. From Hawaii to Rhode Island, school systems are trimming compensation for coaches, eliminating transportation, adding or increasing athletic fees for students, holding fundraising drives, cutting back on night games to save electricity costs and dropping some sports and related events altogether.

In Nevada, this “is going to be the worst year financially for school districts in history - and 2010-11 is going to be worse,” says Eddie Bonine, executive director of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association. “We may be told to do more next year.”

In Michigan, Jamie Gent, athletics director at Haslett High near Lansing, says, “There’s no money, period. We’re coming to a stage in the next three years that if things don’t get better, (it could damage) sports altogether. Who do you pick? What stays? What sport doesn’t stay?”

Bennett says he was close to transferring to a school outside his district so he could earn his third varsity letter in cross country. His parents were willing to pay more than $3,000 for him to attend an out-of-district public school or private school, he says.

He knows of other families who are paying steep tuition so their teens can play sports.

Such a move from Grove City would have been difficult academically and socially, Bennett says. He is a top student taking Advanced Placement courses and didn’t want to hurt his chances of getting into his dream college, the Air Force Academy. “I’ve been in the Grove City public system forever,” he says. “Switching to another school with no friends was not very appealing.”

Some athletes may miss out

The mood at school is grim, others say. “We’re going to have all these idle hands,” says Drew Eschbach, who was the cross country coach.

Top-tier athletes will be OK, Eschbach says, because they will transfer to schools with better-funded programs or form their own clubs. He says he worries about average athletes who will miss out on the collegiality and sense of belonging that a team or club can provide.

Some in the community have accused school system officials of canceling activities to strong-arm residents into passing a tax increase. Nekoloff says activities were canceled after other cuts failed to help solve the financial problems. “We’ve had $22 million in reductions and more than 330 positions reduced over the past three years,” she says.

Residents will vote on a scaled-back property tax increase in November. The district estimates the new proposal would cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $18.89 a month in property taxes. The median household income for the area was $54,965 in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Pay-to-play plan considered

District officials are studying a pay-to-play model, which increasingly has been used across the country. Nekoloff says if South-Western’s proposed tax increase passes, the board could bring back activities under this system and students would share costs with the district.

At most schools, pay-to-play fees cover a portion of a team’s expenses and school districts kick in the rest. But those amounts can be disproportionate, as is the case at Brighton High School in Michigan.

Brighton offers 32 sports and fields 98 teams, enviable by any school’s standards. But the district funds only 38% of the athletic department’s nearly $1.5 million in expenditures; the other 62% is self-generated through fundraisers and fees, athletics director John Thompson says.

Athletes pay $175 a sport, although the fee for a third sport is waived. Students also pay transportation fees ranging from $30 to $70 a sport. Fees are waived for those with financial hardship.

“We’ve started chipping away at the model that existed when I was a kid,” Thompson says.

“Unfortunately, one day sports will be out there for people who have money. We can say we’ll take care of those without money, but I can tell you it will be the kids with talent. The average kid is going to get left behind. That whole development factor, they’re going to miss out on it.”

FDA says residue is frog or toad; how did it get in Pepsi can?

(CNN) -- The "disgusting" blob that Fred DeNegri's wife says she poured out of his Diet Pepsi can was probably a gutted frog or toad, the Food and Drug Administration said.

Amy DeNegri took pictures of the can in question right after her husband gagged on its contents.

DeNegri was grilling in his backyard tiki bar in Ormond Beach, Florida, when he popped open a can of Diet Pepsi, took a big gulp and started gagging, his wife, Amy, said.

He emptied out the can down a sink but something heavy remained inside. His wife took over and shook the can over a paper plate until something resembling "pink linguini" slid out, followed by "dark stuff," Amy DeNegri said.

"It was disgusting," said Amy DeNegri, 55. "And now, what started out as a normal afternoon in our tiki bar has blown up into this crazy thing."

The DeNegris took pictures before calling poison control and the FDA, which showed up the next day to examine the can in question and collect it for lab testing.

The couple received a copy of the completed report last week from the Food and Drug Administration Office of Regulatory Affairs, which concluded the foreign matter appeared to be a frog or a toad.

"The animal was lacking internal organs normally found in the abdominal and thoracic cavity," the report notes.

A second, closed can from the same 36-pack of Diet Pepsi from Sam's Club, was also submitted for testing, according to Amy DeNegri. No abnormalities were detected, the report states.

The FDA also conducted an investigation at the local Pepsi bottling plant in Orlando from August 4 to 11 and "did not find any adverse conditions or association to this problem," spokeswoman Siobhan DeLancey said.

"We have not determined when or how the contamination occurred," DeLancey said in an e-mail.

Pepsi says the FDA results "affirmed" the company's confidence "in the quality of our products and the integrity of our manufacturing system," according to spokesman Jeff Dahncke.

"The speed of our production lines and the rigor of our quality control systems make it virtually impossible for this type of thing to happen in a production environment. In fact, there never has been even a single instance when a claim of this nature has been traced back to a manufacturing issue," Dahncke said in an e-mail.

"The FDA conducted a thorough inspection of our Orlando facility and found no cause for concern. In this case, the FDA simply was unable to determine when or how the specimen entered the package."

When asked if Pepsi believed it was not responsible for the animal getting into the can, Dahncke said, "We have addressed the facts of the investigation and stated our position. It's not appropriate for us to comment beyond that."

But the DeNegris say they're hopping mad over Pepsi's handling of the matter.

Amy DeNegri said she hasn't heard from Pepsi since the day after the incident occurred, when she spoke with someone over the phone. At first, the woman was apologetic, but DeNegri says her attitude changed after she told her that the FDA had taken the can for testing.

"She asked for my pictures, I sent them and never heard back," she said.

The retired school staffer says she and her husband are seeking legal advice to examine their options.

"I want to see Pepsi fess up to it and compensate my husband for the negative publicity they have caused," she said. "I'm easy, but they're the ones that are making it hard."