As I read this, I found myself thinking of a horrible 1981 Lee Majors movie called The Last Chase. The premise hinged on the idea that the rather Big Brotherly government had outlawed cars. Even in 1981, as the fuel crisis was just ending, this idea was totally outrageous -- Those bastards took away our cars! From where I sat, their society looked a whole lot more pleasant than ours does, but somehow that was made out to be a bad thing. The creeps made us recycle, too.

Finally, in related news, bravo to Arlington County. They've taken a number of those ridiculous four-lane divided residential roads and turned the rightmost lane in each direction into a bike lane. Calms traffic and encourages alternative transportation in one step! Arlington is the only suburb I've ever encountered that does a credible job of providing a comprehensive enough bicycle infrastructure to make bike commuting feasible for most anyone who desires it.

Ride your bike somewhere today instead of driving. And next time you encounter a bicyclist on the road, even if they're impeding you, remember that they have the moral high ground--they could have chosen to drive a smoker like you are--and be nice to them.