What is wrong with everyone quitting?

I used to smoke, don't care if you do, but ideally everyone would quit. It is a nasty habit and a shitty way to consume nicotine.

Nothing..I recently quit myself...and it helps me keep off them if not around smokers and smoking.

However, I don't feel it is the place of the govt. to tell me or direct me or try to influence my decision what legal, adult activities I wish to participate in.

I agree, horrible habit. Everyone should try to quit, but only if THEY want to, not because a govt. entity mandates it or tries to use its power to take away your $$ or freedom (which they may do if you don't pay your medical fines/taxes) to mold your behavior.

Smoking also causes illness in other people that things like, say being overweight, don't.

Not unless you hang out in close proximity to smokers. No one holds a gun to your head to patronize a bar that allows smoking...freedom of choice and all.

And really..the tax/penalty isn't against second hand smoke...it is on the individual doing the unhealthy action, so this argument really isn't a valid one...you know?

I remember one time driving through the Indian part of town in the UK with my American girlfriend and saying something about how they drive like they're still in Bombay as a car on the wrong side of the road barely missed us. Any local would have agreed since it was completely true, but she was absolutely shocked by my EVIL RACISM.

Interesting...what part of the US was she from?

I find different parts of the country will tolerate different levels of that type speech against different ethnicities, etc...with different levels of offense.

When not around said groups of people, I often hear the terms spic, chink, nigger, wop, (insert non-PC racial/ethnic/sexist term here) in the course of conversation and jokes, and no one gets upset or offended at it.

In different parts of the country, some of those will raise the ire of some not in those groups, but more often than not, publicly everyone is agast at such language, but in private, I find most people aren't that offended and regularly use such language in a very natural manner.

If you don't choose the lives of your passengers, then you are immediately disqualified from being a pilot, regardless of race or gender.

That this should be a qualifying attribute should be a no-brainer.

That's because you are racist.

I think that's ONLY if he is also a White Guy saying that.

He only said he was American, so we can't be sure if he is racist in saying that unless we can also verify HIS race and sex as being the appropriate one to be called a racist.

Let us not jump to premature conclusions!!

This isn't unique to the government. When I was at my previous fortune-100 employer, they penalized smokers as well (actually what they did was raise the rates for everyone, but gave non-smokers a "discount"). It's not that uncommon. Additionally some places will hand out "fitness incentives" (i.e. penalize overweight people).

But there is a huge difference between a private company's policy on this (I dislike those too, but they have that right). When a company does this, you are free to leave and find a less onerous place to work.

When the govt does this, it COSTS you money, all with full force of the govt behind one. An entity that can deprive you of your money, your freedom and in some cases your life.

You can't change that shy of leaving your own country which is something wrong.

I'm about to start thumbing through my US constitution, can someone give me a head start by suggesting where I read in the constitution about the federal govt being empowered to mold its citizens behavior through forced fines and taxes? I could swear I've never seen it there before, but I might have overlooked it.....

I'd not heard about the new smoking thing, forcing smokers to pay an extra penalty.

Why was smoking specifically targeted? Hell, with the ongoing climb in obesity, the increasing incidents of type II diabetes and related complications will soon FAR outweigh problems we have with smokers.

Are we going to penalize (by monetary means) those that have the wrong BMI (not a good scale I know, since it looks really bad for those that are super fit)?

Are we going to tie the IRS and healthcare into the grocery store customer tracking system to see you're buying fattening, high calorie low nutrient foods?

Will they trace how much booze, beer and wine you buy at the grocery store (or wherever you buy it in your state)?

Where do we stop having the govt STOP trying to tell you how to live, and fining you for your CHOICE in lifestyle?

I guess maybe it is easy to pick on the smokers first, but seriously, what about when they start also charging for more common behaviors that are really driving up health costs for the future? How will that go over?

Is this really something the government should be doing at all? Doesn't sound like freedom to me, if the govt is trying to drive human behavior with govt. enforced sanctions.

Only the guilty would try to get someone else thrown in prison.

Someone should be thrown in gaol for this.

Google, Apple, and MS all have the bend over and take it attitude. Is the "do no evil" company some Linux support brand?

10% = .1 = 1/10 = a tenth....

So, in the future, please keep your stories straight.

An Apple Hater couldn't keep his story straight if it were sitting under a hot iron.

Now we can introduce even more people to tinker toys that they'll never use after they get out of school!

You mean critical thinking and the ability to work with computers?

I would say I've used both skills quite a lot in the real world.

I would say most everyone in whatever field would need those skills.

Even McDonalds workers are better served understanding how to think and use computers...

And this is true for as long as someone has a jailbreak available for your device

Which so far is every device.

it voids your warranty.

No, actually, it doesn't. By law in fact. Kind of odd Apple Haters keep bringing this up, when even Congress told them it wasn't true... do you have a mental deficiency that keeps you from processing new information?

ALL Android devices come with this as a simple checkbox option; no rooting or warranty voiding required.

No, you only need to root if you ever want a software update. SO MUCH BETTER!

Meanwhile all the non-technical users check that box so they can use the Amazon app store and prompt download viruses that SMS for them to paid numbers... yeah that situation sure is awesome! Well, for technical users. But screw normal people right? I mean, hundreds of millions should suffer so it's a tiny bit easier for you to sideload, right?

Once again the Apple Haters show they know nothing and care even less for normal people.

Cool, where can I download the source and compile my own build without the spying/advertising?

You just use the provided Apple OS builds since they don't spy or provide advertising details, if you've switched that option off in settings.

Surely someone as technically "knowledgeable" as yourself can find a settings switch?

Or you hook into the OS services and block anything you like.

the core OS is open source and can be operated without any link to Apple/iTunes/App Store etc, right?

Yes

you are in an arms race with Apple who keep trying to disable the exploits

Not really, they only disable remote exploits. Tethered jailbreaks they do not care about because they draw ideas (and sometimes hire people) from the jailbreak community.

Again, none of that is an issue... if you are actually a technical user who wants low level access.