Hotcha!

Via Awearness, Germany's high court overturns portions of its national smoking ban:

Germans like their smokes -- cigars, cigarettes, cigarellos, pipes. But the government in that country has followed America's example and tried curbing its nation's habit by banning cigarettes in restaurants and bars, unless a given establishment can build a separate non-smoking section. (This, it should be noted, is a step in the right direction, even though it may sound a bit archaic by American standards.)

But many corner bar owners worried that such a ban would force them to either break the law or close their doors for good. They just don't have the space to build two distinct sections, they argued, and can't afford to expand.

In response, the High Court of Germany has ruled for the corner bar owners, agreeing that the ban is unconstitutional in the two states of Berlin and Baden-Wurttenberg. The decision is controversial not only because of it concerns smoking, but because it suggests that every state's ban requires rewriting.

While you're over at Awearness, check out Taki Mag's own Richard Spencer on Blue Dog Democrats. They're on the rise!