So this is a bit late

But I'm doing a post about the past election (yes, a week ago).

So St Louis, MO now has a smoking ban in effect. And this is what my whole post/rant is about. Two notes though: I do not smoke, and I did not vote (yay for anemia making me want to sleep).

But I got a rant to go on and pretty much no one is safe from it.

First: To The Smokers Who Didn't Vote.
You want to be able to smoke in places, then you need to get off your ass and vote. If you are of age (which if you are smoking you should be) and can legally vote (citizen of the city/not a felon) you have no valid excuse to not vote and then bitch about not being able to smoke in places. You guys more or less forfeited that right by not letting your voice be heard. And while I would have voted against the ban had I voted, this was not a vote that changed my life and I am not going to bitch about my rights being trampled on.

Two (and yes, I'm kinda being a hypocrite for ranting about this without voting): To The Government
1. Those who smoke are legally adults. They no longer require having a parent telling them what to do. Why do you feel that it is your place to parent your citizens as opposed to keep them safe from other people? This ban has little to do with non-smokers being in smoke then to do with trying to keep people from smoking by making it increasingly difficult for them to do so. Personal choices are just that, personal. When will you learn that prohibition against things other than alcohol fails just as surely as prohibition of alcohol did (smoking, drugs, prostitution)?

2. Even if not a personal choice this is a choice to the businesses. If you were so intent on instigating this ban, you could have still respected the choice of the business to follow suit (especially since you gave casinos a 5 year loophole and places who make most of their profit from alcohol a full loophole) by instigating that they either go with the ban or incorporate a smoking area complete with it's own ventilation system.

So to the government: how about giving some power back to the people? And to the people: get off your ass and make sure the government knows you don't agree with their actions.

Rant done... now I'm going to drink some hot cocoa.

First Rant: Dog Bans

Why? I mean really, have these politicians never heard of personal responsibility. DOGS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM, irresponsible owners who don't properly train (at the minimum) or abuse (at the maximum) their animals are the ones to blame.

Yes, dogs bite. So do cats, birds, people, pretty much any type of animal will bite when they feel threatened. So guess what, if you don't make the animal feel threatened (whether by cornering it or because the animal feels threatened just by the nature of their life) then you shouldn't have to worry too much.

I was bitten by a Rottweiler when I eight, in fact here it is 15 years later and I still have the scar from that attack. But I know that wasn't the dog's fault (and I also know it wasn't the owners because the poor thing had a brain tumor).

So what to do? How about we punish the owners who turn their dogs into something dangerous rather then telling people they can't have a specific breed or calling for that breed of dog to be put down.

So I'm entering the world of the blog

So I've done journal writing (and still do on a regular basis), but this concept of a blog is a new one to me. Not exactly sure what will come out of my fingers or how things will go.

But I guess as a good start I should introduce myself. My name is Amanda, I'm 23 and a undergraduate student at Webster University. I will be graduating this May with my Bachelors in Psychology. I ride horses and have done so since I was 12. I love music, dancing, and being outdoors.

I guess the biggest news I'm dealing with now is my school newspaper has misquoted me and despite writing to the editor no retraction has been printed. Going to the faculty adviser next, hopefully he takes care of it.

I also have to write a difficult paper. It's about how society has formed a rape culture and this book by Alice Sebold called Lucky. That book was a difficult read.

So pretty much whenever something comes to my head I'll write up in here. Debates, P.o.V. discussions, just aspects of my life. Random junk like that.