Dear Governor Owens ,

Freedom is not suppose to be something one must argue for in this country ; it's almost supposed to be part of our name . But we know more and more that the fight , which is by definition , of the individual , does not end -- and in fact in many ways is more critical than any time in my 61 years .

Freedom offers great competitive advantage . Nevada's main product may be said to be Freedom and that is surely a factor in it's US leading rate of rate of attraction of people and wealth from other states .

I moved here to Woodland Park from Manhattan New York six months ago . Among the reasons I'll quote this from my parting letter to my City Councilman , Alan Gerson :

Perhaps the first of us to get out are those like me for whom the discomfort of not being able to relax with a drink and a smoke as our fathers did or as George Burns did to the age of 100 is secondary to our gut level disgust and fear seeing some bullying pisher who was a junior when we were freshman now have the force of police behind his assertion of control over details of our peaceful voluntary choices .

I'm referring of course to Michael Bloomberg who never jepardized his election by hinting at his plan to extend substance prohibition to nicotine .

I must confess , the drive to control other citizen's peaceful behavior is something I just don't have . But I've seen the glee in the smiles of tobacco prohibitionists in New York that they get by crushing your freedom ; they can't hold it in . Of course they are doing it for our own good . They might as well quote Marx . It's personal behaviors rather than economic decisions , but the arrogance is the same .

The decision whether to allow tobacco smoking in a place of business does not have to be made at the state level , they can be made at the county level and let counties compete with distinct personalities . Or it can be decided on the town level where towns can choose their rules . Or , abiding by the founding principles which made us the envy of the world , these decisions can be made by the Owner of a business depending on their tastes and goals .

In New York the false claim was made that there weren't any non-smoking choices available . That is patently not true here . So what charitable face can possibly be put on those who want to replace this freedom of choice with police force ? I see only arrogance . I hope I won't have this motive to move once again .