This Guy Has it Right

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg filed papers yesterday "to change my status as a voter and register as unaffiliated with any political party" which he says, “...brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead my city.” Translation: Bloomberg's now an independent. Of course the big question on every one's mind now is whether he is positioning himself to jump into the race for President. For someone who works in NYC, I believe Bloomberg has been good for the city and the fact that he is not beholding to any political party or special interests is a breath of fresh air in an arena dominated by big money contributed by PACs and the like. Don't get me wrong; this not an endorsement for his candidacy, but anyone who says, "I believe we can turn around our country's current, wrong-headed course, if we start basing our actions on ideas, shared values, and a commitment to solve problems without regard for party," (emphasis is mine) has it right. This country is so bogged down in the partisan politics of both parties to the extent that Washington can truly be declared a dysfunctional entity when what we really need at this time is unity and leadership to guide us through these rough and difficult times.

Nasty, nasty, nasty...

Being a huge Criss Angel fan, I decided to check out his latest illusion that he was doing live in Times Square. So there we were Tuesday morning waiting for his big escape. It was a beautiful morning with all his fans crammed into a small area; everyone jockeying for position trying to get a better look hoping to see exactly how he was going to do it. Then, these dudes next to me decide to light up. I couldn't believe it. I mean... how rude can you get? Packed into a crowd of people and these guys cannot due without a cigarette? Everyone around them spent the next 10 minutes or so fanning away smoke that blew in our faces. Now that smoking is illegal in most indoor public places I think most people have become more sensitive to the smell of cigarette smoke. I know I have, so this makes it all the more offensive. Now I've heard all the talk from smokers about their right to smoke and it's outdoors so they can do anything they want, but come on, let's be reasonable here! Not in a crowd where people are standing shoulder to shoulder with no where to go to get away from the smoke. This is just common courtesy! And they wonder why people hate this behavior so much! And then I looked down at the ground and saw the other reason that I hate smoking so much - the cigarette butts lying all over the ground. Why is smoking also a license to litter? Most smokers will tell you that it's OK because the butts are biodegradable. In fact, cigarette butts are not biodegradable in the sense that most people think of the word. Cigarette butts take many, many years to decompose and in that time the toxic chemicals that the filters are designed to trap leak out into the ecosystem. Please go to and explore http://www.cigarettelitter.org/ for more information and to raise public awareness about this issue.