Everything they said was bad for us…

To paraphrase Woody Allen in Annie Hall, everything they say is bad for us may actually be good for us. Or at least not so bad for the people in the same room.

Here’s a study that lays the out the science of second hand smoke, hinting also at the politics of it. The US Surgeon General being, after all, a political appointment. Bottom line: second hand smoke cannot be used as a moral bludgeon to ban smoking.

And how about this? The benefits of psychoactive mushrooms? Apparently users feel more centered afterwards. Hm.

And demon alcohol gets an undeserved bad rap, especially our the yeasty brewed kind. George Will outlines here how civilization would have been, well, nowhere without the water purifying and genetic weeding-out benefits of the ultimate carb…beer!

And finally, drinking AND smoking may be your best defense against rheumatoid arthritis, depending. But you don’t have to take my word for it, here’s the story from some hot shot researchers in Stockholm. That’s in Europe, you know.

So essentially in spite of all the anti-smoking and growing anti-alcohol brainwashing going on out there it looks like in some ways you are actually wrecking your health if you DON’T smoke and drink. Anyway, that’s how Mrs. Shears and I now rationalize our occasional puff. We’re taking our anti-rheumatoid arthritis treatment. And when we drink beer (and Mrs. Shears can drink some beer) we are actually doing our bit for advancing civilization.

Now for the whole centering business.