smoke comes better in a pipe

Smoking. The last bastion of individual liberty in this country.

I love cigars. I chew on them when I’m not smoking (or barred to smoke my law). I have one readily available everywhere I go. I can have a lengthy conversation with other cigar lovers, but I found a new love. Smoking a pipe. It’s smoother. It’s more enjoyable than a cigar and it takes less labor to inhale a nice draw. The flavors pipe tobacco offers is more substantial than cigars. Sure, don’t get me wrong, I still love a cigar, but once you go Pipe you’ll want to return again and again.

It all started about a month or two ago when I smoked on a tightly rolled cigar, Romeo Y Julieta Madura Reserve, and became tired of it. I rarely become tired of a cigar. Normally, I am wishing it would last longer. But, this particular cigar left my mouth straining as I inhaled the draw. I extinguished the cigar frustrated saddened. A few days later I entered the local cigar shop and spotted a pipe. They have always sold pipes and pipe tobacco but I never paid much attention to the selection. But, this time I gave the selection an overview and decided on giving it whirl again. (A few years ago someone gave me a pipe and an ounce of pipe tobacco. I smoked it but it didn’t give me much of an impression, so I never tried it again).

The owner of the shop suggested me to try a medium ranged priced pipe instead of a cheap one. He said the cheap ones were for the young guys who don’t know what they are doing. With a modestly priced pipe plus an ounce of good smelling tobacco, I ventured into the relatively unknown world of pipe smoking. After a few minutes of relaxing with the new pipe, I found it much more pleasurable and calm than cigars. I was hooked!

Since that day, I have opted to smoke a pipe over a cigar each time I had a choice. I think I have only smoked once cigar in two months. Even on the golf course, I chose the pipe over the cigar. When my group of guys lit up their cigars, I reached for my pipe. Some of my friends gave me weird looks, “Hey, grandpa!” But, some where more welcoming, “Hey! I’d like to try a pipe someday.”

Regardless of what your taste is, I recommend trying a pipe over a cigar. When you do, don’t skimp on buying a cheap pipe. A cheap pipe will not make the event enjoyable. I first started out with a $40 pipe and last week I broke down and purchased a $200 pipe. Immediately, I noticed a BIG difference. The new pipe is beautiful, had a nice grain of wood, nice stem, and a flashy chrome rim where the stem and bowl meet.

As I write this, I am looking for the next available time to smoke the pipe. I think tonight I will venture out a little further by substituting a Beer with a glass a Red Wine with my pipe. I haven’t had a glass of wine with my pipe yet, but it could be a match made in heaven….. will keep you up to date.

“Failure to Launch”

The love affair the mainstream media (not to be confused with ‘main street’ media) has with Obama is blatant. How much non-truth, or may I say lack of truth, reporting will the American people tolerate? The alphabet channels did not report the DOJ’s decision to drop the case of voter intimidation by a New Black Panther member in Philadelphia back in 2008. (Note: CNN and the New York Times did mention it) This event was clearly captured on camera, anyone with an ounce of intelligence could see the violation of law. But, did the Obama’s Department of Justice pursue a sentence against the accused? No, they did not. They elected to drop the case and reprimand the violator by barring him from visiting only that one polling place and agree not to carry a “deadly weapon” near a polling place for 2 more years. No jail sentence, given.

This is despicable! How can we live in a nation that is governed by Laws but have politicians who choose which laws to enforce and which laws to ignore? We cannot continue being the Greatest Nation on Earth when political appointees, with consent of the elected, use political ideologue to influence enforcement of laws.

Even after a former attorney at the DOJ blew the whistle on this case, the alphabet channels still failed, or refused, to report how this clear violation of voting laws were dropped by the Department of Justice. Former Justice attorney J. Christian Adams testified before the Civil Rights Commission that the DOJ not only abandoned the voter intimidation case for racial reasons, but had given instructions to its attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims. Absurd!

As of Thursday, July 8th, 2010, the Civil Rights Commission agreed to renew this case but they have to go through the DOJ to pursue it. So, who’s holding the hand that feeds them? Outside of the CRC trying to pursue the case, the President is the only other person to have a say in sending this violator to trial. Will Obama pursue this case against the criminal & put the New Black Panthers on trial? This author will not hold his breath while awaiting decision. On a side note, I wonder if Obama will blame Bush for the DOJ’s lack of enforcement?