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She just keeps getting better and better!!

Pelosi bans smoking near House floor

Smokers may be one minority in Congress with even fewer rights than newly demoted Republicans. Now they're losing one of their last, cherished prerogatives — a smoke break in the ornate Speaker's Lobby just off the House floor.

New House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a ban Wednesday, effective immediately.

"The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States Capitol are over," Pelosi said. "Medical science has unquestionably established the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke, including an increased risk of cancer and respiratory diseases. I am a firm believer that Congress should lead by example."

Lawmakers will still be free to light up in their own offices. But they'll no longer be able to mingle in the Speaker's Lobby in a haze of cigarette smoke during House votes, as they did just Tuesday night while passing anti-terror legislation.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio, a heavy smoker and often at the center of a group of smokers puffing away in a corner of the lobby, had little to say Wednesday about Pelosi's move. Questioned at a news conference, Boehner described it as "fine," without elaborating.

Smoking is banned in most federal buildings, and the District of Columbia recently barred it in public areas, as has Pelosi's home district of San Francisco and a number of other cities.

So congressional smokers will be forced outside — onto the balcony off the Speaker's Lobby, perhaps.

"That's how life is now. They're banning smoking everywhere," said Rep. Devin Nunes (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., an occasional smoker.

The scent of California GOP Rep. David Dreier (news, bio, voting record)'s cigars has regularly filled the third floor of the Capitol, especially during visits from Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Dreier took the decision in stride.

"I like to have an occasional cigar in my office," Dreier said, but "she's the speaker of the House, she can make these kinds of decisions. ... No one wants to encourage smoking."

The news hadn't filtered to everyone Wednesday. There were still ash trays in the Speaker's Lobby, and around noon a House official sank into an armchair and lit a cigarette. Informed about the hours-old ban he made his way to the balcony.

"It just finally gets cold, and now they tell us you can't," he grumbled.

Capitol Hill smokers have been seeing their habitat shrink for more than a decade. In 1993, then-Speaker Tom Foley banned smoking in hallways and other public areas. Last year, it was banned within 25 feet of the entrances to House office buildings.

Reminders of the days when tobacco was king remain throughout the Capitol.

Tobacco was a leading export of the early colonies and a mainstay of the U.S. economy well into the 20th century, a fact recognized in the tobacco-leaf motifs carved into the top of many of Capitol's columns.

Cigarettes can be purchased in a House store, and are sold by the carton at a sundry shop underneath the Hart and Dirksen Senate office buildings where the phone is answered, "Hart tobacco shop."

There's no smoking in public areas near the Senate floor, and New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg (news, bio, voting record) is trying to get rid of cigarette sales at the tobacco shop.

It's been 2000 years. He's not coming back. Get over it!

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quote:
Originally posted by David L.:
She just keeps getting better and better!!

Pelosi bans smoking near House floor

Smokers may be one minority in Congress with even fewer rights than newly demoted Republicans. Now they're losing one of their last, cherished prerogatives — a smoke break in the ornate Speaker's Lobby just off the House floor.

New House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a ban Wednesday, effective immediately.

"The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States Capitol are over," Pelosi said. "Medical science has unquestionably established the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke, including an increased risk of cancer and respiratory diseases. I am a firm believer that Congress should lead by example."

Lawmakers will still be free to light up in their own offices. But they'll no longer be able to mingle in the Speaker's Lobby in a haze of cigarette smoke during House votes, as they did just Tuesday night while passing anti-terror legislation.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio, a heavy smoker and often at the center of a group of smokers puffing away in a corner of the lobby, had little to say Wednesday about Pelosi's move. Questioned at a news conference, Boehner described it as "fine," without elaborating.

Smoking is banned in most federal buildings, and the District of Columbia recently barred it in public areas, as has Pelosi's home district of San Francisco and a number of other cities.

So congressional smokers will be forced outside — onto the balcony off the Speaker's Lobby, perhaps.

"That's how life is now. They're banning smoking everywhere," said Rep. Devin Nunes (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., an occasional smoker.

The scent of California GOP Rep. David Dreier (news, bio, voting record)'s cigars has regularly filled the third floor of the Capitol, especially during visits from Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Dreier took the decision in stride.

"I like to have an occasional cigar in my office," Dreier said, but "she's the speaker of the House, she can make these kinds of decisions. ... No one wants to encourage smoking."

The news hadn't filtered to everyone Wednesday. There were still ash trays in the Speaker's Lobby, and around noon a House official sank into an armchair and lit a cigarette. Informed about the hours-old ban he made his way to the balcony.

"It just finally gets cold, and now they tell us you can't," he grumbled.

Capitol Hill smokers have been seeing their habitat shrink for more than a decade. In 1993, then-Speaker Tom Foley banned smoking in hallways and other public areas. Last year, it was banned within 25 feet of the entrances to House office buildings.

Reminders of the days when tobacco was king remain throughout the Capitol.

Tobacco was a leading export of the early colonies and a mainstay of the U.S. economy well into the 20th century, a fact recognized in the tobacco-leaf motifs carved into the top of many of Capitol's columns.

Cigarettes can be purchased in a House store, and are sold by the carton at a sundry shop underneath the Hart and Dirksen Senate office buildings where the phone is answered, "Hart tobacco shop."

There's no smoking in public areas near the Senate floor, and New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg (news, bio, voting record) is trying to get rid of cigarette sales at the tobacco shop.


Oh wow... Roll Eyes And that is MUCH MUCH worse on America than, ummmmm, lets say:

1. Reading your first class mail as signed by dubbya!

2. Wiretapping your phones also signed by dubbya!

3. Oh and lets not forget monitoring everything and everywhere you go on the internet...

4. Or invading a country with WMD, ooops, NONE FOUND there, as done by dubbya!

JUST TO MENTION A FEW "BETTER" THINGS THAN MS. PELOSI IS DOING... Can you detect the sarcasm???

!!!!Dang, that is one mean woman!!!!! What a horrible example SHE is setting!!! For shame, for shame... Eeker !!!!!

OHHHH, could you point me to a Court House, or Public Building, Department Store, or anywhere else, other than resturants or bars that DOES allow smoking, even around here??????? RIGHT!!! There are none!!!

My hat is off to her, she did a great service by enacting that, no more tar-stained ceilings!!
Last edited by Kindred
Kindred, THANKS, I don't even have to bark on this one, you said it all. I mean come on, if the entire city of New York can ban it why not the capitol? And I am no advocate of non-smoker rights, just think nit-picking by rabid "sour grapes" Republicans will go on for awhile, can't wait to see what solution (and I think I know) Dumbya is gonna spout out tonight for Iraq. Maybe he will stop the whole city of Baghdad from smoking due to car bombs! THE DOG
quote:
Originally posted by Kindred_Spirit:
quote:
Originally posted by David L.:
She just keeps getting better and better!!

Pelosi bans smoking near House floor

Smokers may be one minority in Congress with even fewer rights than newly demoted Republicans. Now they're losing one of their last, cherished prerogatives — a smoke break in the ornate Speaker's Lobby just off the House floor.

New House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a ban Wednesday, effective immediately.

"The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States Capitol are over," Pelosi said. "Medical science has unquestionably established the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke, including an increased risk of cancer and respiratory diseases. I am a firm believer that Congress should lead by example."

Lawmakers will still be free to light up in their own offices. But they'll no longer be able to mingle in the Speaker's Lobby in a haze of cigarette smoke during House votes, as they did just Tuesday night while passing anti-terror legislation.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio, a heavy smoker and often at the center of a group of smokers puffing away in a corner of the lobby, had little to say Wednesday about Pelosi's move. Questioned at a news conference, Boehner described it as "fine," without elaborating.

Smoking is banned in most federal buildings, and the District of Columbia recently barred it in public areas, as has Pelosi's home district of San Francisco and a number of other cities.

So congressional smokers will be forced outside — onto the balcony off the Speaker's Lobby, perhaps.

"That's how life is now. They're banning smoking everywhere," said Rep. Devin Nunes (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., an occasional smoker.

The scent of California GOP Rep. David Dreier (news, bio, voting record)'s cigars has regularly filled the third floor of the Capitol, especially during visits from Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Dreier took the decision in stride.

"I like to have an occasional cigar in my office," Dreier said, but "she's the speaker of the House, she can make these kinds of decisions. ... No one wants to encourage smoking."

The news hadn't filtered to everyone Wednesday. There were still ash trays in the Speaker's Lobby, and around noon a House official sank into an armchair and lit a cigarette. Informed about the hours-old ban he made his way to the balcony.

"It just finally gets cold, and now they tell us you can't," he grumbled.

Capitol Hill smokers have been seeing their habitat shrink for more than a decade. In 1993, then-Speaker Tom Foley banned smoking in hallways and other public areas. Last year, it was banned within 25 feet of the entrances to House office buildings.

Reminders of the days when tobacco was king remain throughout the Capitol.

Tobacco was a leading export of the early colonies and a mainstay of the U.S. economy well into the 20th century, a fact recognized in the tobacco-leaf motifs carved into the top of many of Capitol's columns.

Cigarettes can be purchased in a House store, and are sold by the carton at a sundry shop underneath the Hart and Dirksen Senate office buildings where the phone is answered, "Hart tobacco shop."

There's no smoking in public areas near the Senate floor, and New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg (news, bio, voting record) is trying to get rid of cigarette sales at the tobacco shop.


Oh wow... Roll Eyes And that is MUCH MUCH worse on America than, ummmmm, lets say:

1. Reading your first class mail as signed by dubbya!

2. Wiretapping your phones also signed by dubbya!

3. Oh and lets not forget monitoring everything and everywhere you go on the internet...

4. Or invading a country with WMD, ooops, NONE FOUND there, as done by dubbya!

JUST TO MENTION A FEW "BETTER" THINGS THAN MS. PELOSI IS DOING... Can you detect the sarcasm???

!!!!Dang, that is one mean woman!!!!! What a horrible example SHE is setting!!! For shame, for shame... Eeker !!!!!

OHHHH, could you point me to a Court House, or Public Building, Department Store, or anywhere else, other than resturants or bars that DOES allow smoking, even around here??????? RIGHT!!! There are none!!!

My hat is off to her, she did a great service by enacting that, no more tar-stained ceilings!!


WELL SAID!I agree!
quote:
Originally posted by Mott The Hoople:
A lawmaker ...worried about second hand smoke???Ah, nothing else much going on...just a few wars...jeesh!


Mott, I love your dry humor, it makes me smile. But we STILL have to see what has been going on in Dubbya's world for the last six years. He/Cheney/Rumsfield and we cannot forget Rice... All are war mongers, and it is costing us about a Billion dollars a day, and people WANT to worry about smoking? For goodness sake, most cities have already banned it, while the WHITE HOUSE KEPT IT GOING??? That right there is hypocracy... It just keeps on adding up, and up and up....
quote:
That right there is hypocracy... It just keeps on adding up, and up and up....

Yes I agree...but it does seem kind of trivial with all that is going on right now.


The real hypocracy...tobacco being legal...rich people getting richer.
Cool
Later I am going to explore the subject I hinted at earlier (black nobility)

There is a multitude of things tied in with this...even the founding of the U.S.. And to think...many believe it was founded on Christianity.

The subject is deep and requires deep thought. I am trying to become familiar with what has been discussed here, to judge the mindset before I present it.


On another note. I admire your recognition of my posting (articulating) habits. On some it takes a knowledgeable, if not downright intelligent reader to understand the meaning. My hats off to ya!
Last edited by Mott The Hoople
I am a card carrying Republican (really, I have my Platinum-level membership card in my pocket). However, I find it difficult...actually almost pointless...to attempt to defend the actions, or lack thereof in some cases, of my compatriots in the Legislative and Excecutive branches of our government. Some I agree with, some I don't. It is the basic ideology that keeps me in the party, not the actions of her members. But to defend some actions only to get slapped around with the Left's list of the Right's faults seems fruitless to me. Likewise, when anyone trys to defend the actions of the Left they are usually slapped by the Right holding their list of the Left's faults. Everyone has an opinion of what is best. RAMBLE! geez, sorry 'bout that....anyway.

Honestly, I welcome the change and am excited about the prospect of a fresh batch of BS coming out of D.C. and the shenanigans used to make it. I wonder how the next few years will play out with Ms. Pelosi holding the gavel. Interesting indeed.
quote:
Originally posted by Mott The Hoople:
quote:
That right there is hypocracy... It just keeps on adding up, and up and up....

Yes I agree...but it does seem kind of trivial with all that is going on right now.


The real hypocracy...tobacco being legal...rich people getting richer.
Cool
Later I am going to explore the subject I hinted at earlier (black nobility)

There is a multitude of things tied in with this...even the founding of the U.S.. And to think...many believe it was founded on Christianity.

The subject is deep and requires deep thought. I am trying to become familiar with what has been discussed here, to judge the mindset before I present it.


On another note. I admire your recognition of my posting (articulating) habits. On some it takes a knowledgeable, if not downright intelligent reader to understand the meaning. My hats off to ya!


Mott, I am used to picking up on the way you write, my boss is very analytical, and took me a whie, but I can "play" the game now, LOL...

Personally speaking, I dont give a whit about them smoking in the White House, but I work in a Federal Building and anyone who tried THAT would be fired in a NY minute!!! So yeah, TOTAL hypocracy, at best!!!

Looking forward to your research.... I wish I had more time to do that, but gotta be at work in six minutes, lol.. may be a tiny bit late today!
quote:
Originally posted by MADDOG 20/20:
Kindred, THANKS, I don't even have to bark on this one, you said it all. I mean come on, if the entire city of New York can ban it why not the capitol? And I am no advocate of non-smoker rights, just think nit-picking by rabid "sour grapes" Republicans will go on for awhile, can't wait to see what solution (and I think I know) Dumbya is gonna spout out tonight for Iraq. Maybe he will stop the whole city of Baghdad from smoking due to car bombs! THE DOG


And boy, did he EVER spout. I looked at his eyes, and they looked blank... just blank. He was reading and even HIS heart (or mind) wasn't in what he was saying. Probably a good thing though, because what he was saying reeked to HIGH Heaven!!!

What a total hypocrite!!!! He should win top honors for that!!!

NOW that he is running scared of what direction OUR politics is going, he cannot be the TOTAL DICTATOR that he wants the entire world to think he is , and it is showing on his face.

He reminded me of a kid who got his hand caught in the cookie jar and was trying to "EXCUSE" it all and trying to spoon feed all us Americans his BS, and the entire world.

Funny though, he didn't say ONE word about Tonly Blair, only mentioned Leiberman.. Hmmmmm... yep, that is another political move... I hope everyone picked up on that one...
quote:
Originally posted by REDNEVEDNAV:
I am a card carrying Republican (really, I have my Platinum-level membership card in my pocket). However, I find it difficult...actually almost pointless...to attempt to defend the actions, or lack thereof in some cases, of my compatriots in the Legislative and Excecutive branches of our government. Some I agree with, some I don't. It is the basic ideology that keeps me in the party, not the actions of her members. But to defend some actions only to get slapped around with the Left's list of the Right's faults seems fruitless to me. Likewise, when anyone trys to defend the actions of the Left they are usually slapped by the Right holding their list of the Left's faults. Everyone has an opinion of what is best. RAMBLE! geez, sorry 'bout that....anyway.

Honestly, I welcome the change and am excited about the prospect of a fresh batch of BS coming out of D.C. and the shenanigans used to make it. I wonder how the next few years will play out with Ms. Pelosi holding the gavel. Interesting indeed.


I think that Pelosi might just surprise even the most seasoned Republican. She is tough, tempered, and smart... like I said earlier, there is NO way she can do any worse....

Or should we get Haig back? hehehe... JOKING!!!!!
quote:
Originally posted by dogsoldier0513:
FWIW, I'm an INDEPENDENT, and would vote LIBERTARIAN if there was a VIABLE candidate in the running.


I consider myself Independant also, but I like to think I research candidates before voting for them.

I DO know though, that I cannot tolerate another Administration like we have had for the last six years... NO WAY!

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