Max, what's the story on the other silly politician on the Montgomery County Bd. of Supes that recently proposed to ban tobacco smoking indoors?
It didn't happen.
What did happen was that a law was passed providing civil remedies to someone who could show they were seriously vicitmized by a neighbor's smoking. So you could be smoking like a chimney but if the smoke didn't bother anyone else there is no harm. Alternatively, if your smoke drifted into the house or apt of someone to a significant degree, you could get a citation.
This was fully ventilated on one of the aforementioned radio programs. A local anti-smoking activist, professor of law John Banzhaf (sp) went on the show, totally wiped out the babbling host. Then once he was gone, the host made out like the prof was terminally stupid. It was pretty amazing to hear.
Montgomery County is a model of open access government. The council holds interminable, televised hearings on everything in nauseating detail. You realize the limits to democratic participation when you really have it. No ordinary citizen has time for all that stuff; only the ones with some special axe -- progressive or otherwise -- to grind.
mbs