THUMB AWARD PARANOID AND PICKY

Thumbs down to Dallas attorney Ron Kessler and Dallas Police Association president Dick Hickman for their tasteless lobbying appeals during meetings of the Dallas City Council. Kessler, representing the cigarette industry at a recent hearing before the council’s health committee, called a proposed ordinance banning smoking in many public places “onerous” and “anti-business.” Kessler went so far as to say that life under such an ordinance would resemble the totalitarian world of Orwell’s 1984. At a recent council meeting, Hickman spoke against a proposed budget cutback that would eliminate 10 gas station attendants at city service centers, saving the city $148,000 annually. If police officers were forced to pump their own gas, Hickman said, they might soil their uniforms and spill gas on their shoes. “You wouldn’t want me to come to your home smelling of gasoline,” he told council members.