First of all, I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas - and please allow me to extend to you and yours my wish for the best of the New Year.

I've been amused reading some of your comments about the Ohio smoking ban which, though approved in a vote of the people, seems to be languishing at the hands of lackadaisical legislators who, of course, don't want to offend anyone. So, a law it was made, but one with no real teeth in it (in terms of budget for enforcement). So if you're a smoker, you're probably not feeling too concerned if you light up at your nearby pub.

Now, I want to state for the record - I do not smoke and, other than for a brief couple of week fancy with it way back in the 70's, have never smoked. (OK, forget the times I did "inhale" as a younger guy, if you get my drift...but that was then. I think the statute of limitations expired on that a long time ago...)

But, I am not, nor have I ever really been a cigarette smoker. But, I grew up around plenty. My mother and grandmother both smoked cigarettes...my Dad smoked a pipe. So, I don't recoil in horror if someone lights up in my presence. If the smoke begins to make me uncomfortable...I move.

I also believe in the right of the individual. So, I have no problem if you smoke, provided, you do not infringe on the rights of others.

That's where the sticky part of this comes in. You see, I also have no problem if a business owner wants to not allow smoking at his or her business. In a "family" restuarant or similarly styled business, it's probably for the better not to allow smoking, given the young lungs which may be patronizing the place with their parents. If you smoke, you have the right to decide whether or not to spend your money at that establishment.

But, likewise, private clubs (such as American Legions and the like), ones that do not just allow citizens to walk in off the street without "joining", should, in my view, be within their rights to poll their members. And, if a majority of the membership wants the right to smoke in such an establishment, so be it.

I guess (with sincere apologies to Neal Boortz), my libertarian streak makes my issue with the smoking ban merely the fact that, once again, we see Big Daddy Government and the people who supported the ban attempting to legislate personal behavior. And by the way, I feel the same about proposed "obesity taxes" (though I drink diet sodas exclusively) and other forms of legislative "nannyism".

I feel that there should be businesses who voluntarily say "no smoking, please" (and are not afraid to remind you of that policy if you light up), as well as businesses who feel it's in their interests to permit smoking on their premises. You, with your wallet, have the right to decide what businesses you support with your dollars. I support you either way.

I just think that the current law, as it was passed and written is about as good as no law at all, particularly with the Ohio legislature's refusal to spend the money to enforce it. So, if our legislators are going to be the namby-pamby wimps they seem to be on this subject, you might as well ditch the smoking ban. Then, those of you who don't smoke, and don't like it, can remember those legislators come next election.

The city fathers have some tough choices to make.

Dayton faces a budget shortfall, as does the state of Ohio as a whole. It's inevitable that some city workers will be pink slipped.

So it is heard, some 25-40 or so Dayton employees could find themselves out of jobs.

Hopefully, the cuts can be minimized. But, until the economy in general improves, this is what we're probably going to be looking at...at home, in the state and in the nation.

If this is as far as it goes, we should throw a party. Though, personally, I think things are going to get worse before they get better. I fear we're looking at only the tip of the iceberg.

There's no doubt the economic times are making it hard for some people to make ends meet here in the Miami Valley.

But, there are always cases where people go above and beyond the call of duty to help out their fellow man in times of need.

So, with this post, I'd like to invite you, if you have a story about a church or community organization that's having, say...a food drive, or a toy drive or is doing something good to help people in need this holiday, to please respond to this post and let me know...so I can give a "virtual" pat on the back to people who deserve it.