Socialist editorial

The Sept. 15 editorial ("Up in Smoke: A Year On, the Indoor Air Act Is Choked by Loopholes") is standardized anti-smoker rhetoric that ignores critical thinking. What is unfair is the law itself, not the exceptions. Government socializing private business is reminiscent of the Soviet Union, which failed miserably.

If, as the editor claims, the law is unfair to bar owners who must compete for customers, repealing the ban is the best solution. Many employees are happy to be employed by ban-exempt places for reasons of their own. The infamous "level playing field" imposed by anti-smoker forces, is the game played by them, depriving all of us the freedom to choose.

The Greeks and the Romans used sports to take people's minds away from governmental corruption and it worked, eventually causing the demise of past republics. Subtle control over free people (in this case private property owners) in the "we will protect you" mantra leads to more control. Comparing removal of freedom to a "level playing field" confirms the wicked intent of those pushing the socialist agenda.

ROBERT GEHRMANN
Pennsylvania State Coordinator
Citizens Freedom Alliance/Smokers Club International
Crafton