Power to the people: Blowing smoke in Bloomberg's face.

Although oddly placed in the style section of the paper, this interesting New York Times piece gave the werewolf a reason to smile. Although not a smoker himself, he has long thought that smoking bans aimed at independent businesses were one of the worst assaults on freedom, commerce, and the individual. The people of New York are starting to rebel against their imperial no-fun crowd chieftain, and super-nanny, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, by lighting up and puffing away. Open defiance instances like this are the small victories against tyranny we must savor in this struggle called life.

I am sure that within the next few days, legions of public health brown shirts will descend on the various venues mentioned in this article on a mission to fine these freedom loving transgressors and the proprietors of the bars. However, the sign that the law is being flaunted in an instance like this is a tell-tale indication of dissatisfaction with the intrusion of government into the details of our day-to-day lives.

The werewolf has always thought that a market based solution to the so called concern that non-smokers have about entering smoking establishments would be best. If you're a savvy entrepreneur, and notice that large segments of the socially active population are unhappy about smelling like an ashtray at the end of the night, the solution is simple. Open up a hip, and edgy bar that offers a similar ambiance to the popular smoking bars, only it's sans smoke! If people are truly concerned about their proximity to smokers, this business model should thrive, and we can enjoy a tolerant society, where smokers, and their non-smoking kinsman, can co-exist on the same active social circuit. Sadly, the no-fun crowd and their imperial army of nannies can't stand a society where people are free to make their own choices. Here's to the defiant New York hipsters!