Smoking, April Fools, Trade Deficit

Minnesota News

Yesterday, smoking bans went “into effect in several cities and counties in the Twin Cities area, namely: Ramsey County (including the City of St. Paul), Hennepin County, the City of Minneapolis, the City of Bloomington and the City of Golden Valley. Each ordinance differs in the range of facilities required to be smoke-free. However, they all have provisions for smoke-free restaurants, some bars, and in some cases cover outdoor smoking as well.”

On the record, I am against the smoking ban.

In other news, the SuperAmerica by our house is selling gas for $2.19/gallon.

Funny

An Old Baseball April Fools' Hoax
Sidd Finch, almost the greatest pitcher ever.

Very Interesting

Trade war: US vs the rest of the world

The article from the Asian Times Online refers to the 2004 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers from the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

“The 2004 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE) is the nineteenth in an annual series that surveys significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports. The report provides, where feasible, quantitative estimates of the impact of these foreign practices on the value of U.S. exports. Information is also included on actions taken to eliminate barriers.”

The report is fascinating. It has a pdf report on every with whom we have beef, including Bolivia, China, European Union, Ghana, Japan, Norway, and Peru. I should try to find similar reports about United States trade barriers.

If you don’t have time to read all these reports, let me summarize: gays are responsible for the colossal U.S. trade deficit.