What is it with most smokers? What possible thought process goes through their mind when they finish a cigarette and just toss it on the ground? Or, even worse, out their car window?
I support your right to smoke. It's not something I've chosen to do, but I fully support your right to ingest anything into your body you like, so long as it doesn't harm anyone else. But if you're dropping your butts on the ground or tossing them out your car window, STOP IT. It's not okay.
Yes, I know your cute little 180 pound rottweiler, Attila, would never hurt a fly. And I know he's happier when you let him run free on his walks without a leash. And I know you're right there with him, less than half a block away at the farthest.
All the same, if your dog weighs more than 50 pounds, put it on a leash. Any dog can bite. I know. I was put in the hospital once by two Saint Bernards that I had known for months and had just played with a few hours before. If it hadn't been for a passing car that distracted them momentarily and allowed me to climb up on a truck to escape, I might have died. Little did I know when I went to return a lost kitten to the neighbors that the dogs' owners had gone away for the night. They were protecting their territory. Perhaps they didn't recognize me or perhaps they didn't care, but all the same I ended up in the hospital for the better part of a week.
So when I see your Rottweiler or Doberman or whatever giant, muscular dog you've got that makes you proud of how tough he is, I see a little kid riding past on his bike and getting maimed or killed. I see parents with strollers turning around because they don't feel safe walking past your house. I see your dog biting someone and getting its head cut off to perform a rabies test (that was the fate of my Saint Bernard buddies). I see a lawsuit in your future.
I've got the solution to internet pornography. It's really quite simple. The pornographers want to be found by the legions of porn consumers. The porn consumers want to find pornography. Nobody else wants to know they exist.
The solution: All pornography sites must register a domain ending in ".xxx". Further, no non-.xxx site is allowed to link directly to a .xxx site.
This makes it a trivial matter for those who don't want pornography to filter it out. It's unambiguous. And it'd be impossible for children to accidentally wander into a porn zone.
The pornographers win. They don't waste their advertising budget on non-consumers. The porn fans win. They know where to go to get their porn. And the rest of us win. We can put on our .xxx blinders and pretend they just don't exist.
Enforcement? Yeah, it could get a little dicey. But if the system works for everybody, then the few scofflaws who violate the boundary can be dealt with via consumer complaints. Repeat offenders (even those in foreign countries) could be filtered out using a blacklist on the routers. What, exactly, constitutes porn? If you've ever wandered into one of "those" sites, it's immediately apparent. We can start with "if you are selling images of sexual acts involving genitals, then you are selling pornography" and refine it from there. The point is, we don't have to forfeit our right to free speech, nor our right to privacy. With this system, everybody wins.
I also have the solution to unsolicited bulk commercial e-mail. It's also very simple.
The solution: All bulk commercial e-mail must contain a "flag" in the subject that identifies it as such.
That way, we can filter it out easily and permanently. Personally, I have made the decision that I will never...ever...purchase anything sold via spam. Same goes for telemarketers. I don't care if you're selling Ferraris for ten bucks. I don't care if you're selling gold bullion for pennies on the ounce. I don't care if you're giving away cash money. I'm not interested.
It would be nice if we could get everybody together and all agree on this. But bulk marketers need only a tiny fraction of low-sales-resistance-sheep to survive. Say it with me now, people:
Thank you for your cooperation.