Political Punch

No bias here at all.
The guy who ignores the rules and the law is somehow the hero? So people with allergies or sensitivities to the poison in the smoke should just suck it up and smile? The damage caused by the smoke to everything in the building isn't something he'll ever have to pay for or care about, right? Or the obvious fire hazard it presents, that's not his concern either right? Just the fact that someone DARED to call him on his smoking. THAT's the problem. Tell you what, when mr. smoker has his coronation he can do whatever he likes. Until then he can follow the rules like everyone else.
But then he's a politician. I guess he's exempt from things like following rules or telling the truth or behaving like a freaking adult.

Reuben:
On Jan. 26, 2006, the state of California Air Resources Board designated secondhand smoke as a "toxic air contaminant." In doing so, it stated that secondhand smoke is now formally identified as an "airborne toxic substance that may cause and / or contribute to death or serious illness."

And the American Lung Association posted (August 2006) an article entitled "Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet" . In the opening paragraph it states: "...(secondhand smoke) can cause or exacerbate a wide range of adverse health effects, including cancer, respiratory infections, and asthma."

Obviously you have neither suffered from asthma nor witnessed a friend frantically gasping for air due to a violent attack of the chronic disorder.

I thought our country was founded on religious rights. Thus the bible. Our founding fathers are probably turning over in their graves. But really haven't we become so smart here in the good old US of A? I' m glad I'm an old gent and lived when I did. We prayed in schools and pledged allegiance to the USA.We were poor but a hell of a lot happier than the "SMART" idiots of today. So to all you ACLU"ers, Atheists, non believers and wise lawyers who are ruining a very good thing, here's an old fashioned raspberry, pffft
and _GOD BLESS AMERICA. THAT IS GOD , G--O--D.

to dacoda==democrat? DUH

Perhaps Ellison should have spoken with Tancredo (do we know he didn't) first, but regardless, second hand smoke is offensive and a health hazard. As for congress making special accomodations for the use of a Koran, RIDICULOUS! How hard was it to get one? As an atheist, my swearing on a bible would be meaningless. Sould a Christian be expected to swear an oath on a Koran or Book of Tao? Of course congress should provide a Koran for the swearing in of a Muslim.

I'm just going to point out the paragraph from the original article (from last week in The Hill) which balance out the story and make the action seem far less aggressive:

***`Ellison’s press secretary, Rick Jauert, made the call to the Superintendent’s office when he noticed the smoke. “I called because the smoke was coming through the walls,” Jauert said, adding that the Superintendent’s office referred him to the Capitol Police.***

Now it seems a little more reasonable, huh? The smell of the cigar is coming through the wall, you call the building superintendent to see if something can be done about it.

to kieth b.
I am bored so I will respond to your absurd response to this article. First of all get your facts straight, congressmen are allowed to smoke in their offices as much as they like. They can light up a thousand times a day if they want to. There was no tit for tat period. You people are amazing, let me guess you are a democrat. DUH

To all the non-smoking Nazis out there. There is no such thing as second-hand smoke hazzards. It has been proven over and over again. To those idiots that continue to believe in the Second Hand Smoke non-sense please visit Forces.org and get the "TRUTH"about this crap. Remember this country was built on Tabacco. Stop it, just stop it, it's our freedom that these idiots want to contiue to erode. The next group of people they are starting with are fat people and it will go on and on until someone with comon-sense in leadership stops these idiots.

Since Sen. Ellison had a problem with Sen. Tancredo's cigar smoking, it would have been far more polite for him (or perhaps his office manager) to discuss the problem with his neighbor first before going to the authorities. It will be interesting to hear Sen. Ellison's side of the story.

This story is ridiculous. It is a one sided story written to make Ellison look like the bad guy. Maybe that was the point, to draw the ire of me and others offended by smokers who will fight to their last smoke filled breath to be allowed to smoke in public.

Second hand smoke is a health hazzard. That is a fact, not a theory. I have not been to these offices but it seems to me that if the smoke was offensive to Ellison and those in his office, then the smoke was in Ellison's office, not neatly contained in Tancredo's office as is suggested.

There are so many ludicrous suggstions in this short story. Congress went out of their way to accommodate Ellison regarding his holding the Koran? Only smokes a cigar once every two weeks? Is that the "Yes officer, I only broke the law a little bit" defense? Then the final tit-for-tat comment. Tancredo expended so much energy and effort supporting Ellison's right to hold his Koran so Tancredo should be allowed to get away with something in return?

Sorry, but too many congressmen already think they are above the law (or regulations or morals or whatever governs the behavior of the rest of us common folk). (Think drinking, adultry, traffic violations, coming on to pages, taking illegal money/goods from lobbyists, political pay backs, etc.)

Thumbs down to Tancredo.
Thumbs up to Ellison.

Ellison, Franken, Jesse V, Stassen, Mondale, McCarthy, Weird Al Yankovitch, and numerous other Minnesota politicos, everyone can name a few, expose the dread effect of lutefisk and cold weather on our governance.