This presentation of the Greg Bean Common Sense Award goes to New Jersey Senate Republican leader Tom Kean, who has struck a blow against stupid bureaucratic intervention in the private sector.

Specifically, Kean — who represents Essex, Union, Somerset and Morris counties — called on state Democrats last week to support his effort to lift the ban on ladies nights at New Jersey pubs. And he filed a bill that is before the Senate Judiciary Committee to do just that — S240.

It's possible you remember when this silly ban went into effect in 2004. At that time due to a complaint, or a handful of complaints, by disgruntled men who believed they were being discriminated against because ladies got cutrate drinks during ladies night promotions, the state Division of Civil Rights banned them outright. In that case, according to Kean and newspaper stories at the time, the civil rights folk said that ladies night promotions at a Cherry Hill restaurant violated rules against discrimination based on gender.

So for four years, there have been no ladies night promotions in New Jersey and the guys who complained in the first place have enjoyed their victory. Everybody here pays the same for drinks despite their gender, pal. You happy now?

Ridiculous.

Please understand that I'm not a patron of ladies night promotions. Not only am I too mature for that kind of thing, the lady at my house would take a dim view of the behavior.

But I remember the ladies nights of my misspent youth with fondness, and I was smart enough even then to realize that these promotions weren't created to draw an entirely feminine clientele. What they did was bring single women into the establishment and give them reduced price drinks for a while, and the men came in droves to meet them.

There were no Internet dating services in those days, so it was a good deal all around.

Despite the fact that the promotions encouraged drinking at some level, I always figured they were pretty harmless. I would have laughed out loud had someone suggested they were discriminatory.

So I shook my head at the ban when it was put in place, and wondered where the Division of Civil Rights would strike next. There are lots of businesses that offer promotions aimed at specific segments of the population, after all. Not that I ever make use of them, but what about, as Kean mentioned, discounts for senior citizens at movies, restaurants and hotels? What about hotels that offer free meals or accommodations to kids? What about discounted plane fares to young travelers?

When you start looking at it through that lens, our retail world is full of "discrimination," and if you go after ladies night promotions, it seems you're ethically bound to go after all the rest, even if it costs lots of votes from irate seniors who won't get a discount on their pancakes.

But, as Kean pointed out, it's pretty hard to justify government meddling in business to that extent in the current economy, so he figures the time is right to strike a blow for common sense.

Thus, the award. Way to go, Senator. The single men of New Jersey, and many of the women (at least the ones who wouldn't mind getting a price break on theirmojitos andCosmopolitans)

applaud you. • • • Last week, these newspapers had a special section called "Color Yourself Green," and it focused on how we can become environmentally friendly and green around the house. It included

several checklists and suggestions, and I wanted to see how our family stacks up.

• Install solar lights around your property. Check. Solar lights in the backyard. Cost $200.

• Cover the pool. Check. No pool.

• Change the bulbs. Check. The new energy saving bulbs cost more and they're not as reliable as they're made out to be, but OK.

• Change your barbecue routine by using reusable plates and napkins. Check. But we're running the dishwasher more often.

• Don't be so quick to turn on the air conditioning. Check. Haven't needed it much this summer so far.

• Banish excess paper products. Check. Still ShamWows aren't free.

• Purchase fresh vegetables to save on packaging. Check. But have you looked at tomato prices this summer?

• Don't be bugged by bugs and don't use pesticides. Check. I've given my yard over to critters of all stripes, but there's a spider in my garden shed the size of a donkey. So I probably won't be:

• Growing my own food. I won't be doing that on account of the fact that my gardening tools are in the shed, and I'm afraid to go in there without a spear. Did I mention that a spider of unusual size lives there?

• Be water responsible, and don't use a hose unless absolutely necessary. Check. It's been the wettest summer on record so far, so we haven't watered much. The articles suggested harvesting rainwater, but I'm not so sure how to go about that without spending a lot of money on a rainwater harvester. I'd catch it in an old tub, but I'm afraid mosquitoes would breed there, and then I'd have to dig out the pesticide.

• Buy more "green" products at the market. Check. I've been keeping my eye out for green products, but I've noticed that they often cost a lot more than the store brand. I did buy some toilet paper that claimed to be green, in spite of the fact that it was more expensive. When I got it home, however, it wasn't as soft as my regular brand (had the texture of newsprint) and the rolls were considerably smaller, so you have to buy more. Maybe we'll just quit using toilet paper altogether and start using ShamWows. I've got a whole box of those things. The lady of the house might complain about that, but I'm sure she'll come around when I explain we have to make some sacrifices for the environment.

And with all the money we save, we might be able to afford a rainwater harvester. It might take a while though. I saw the one I want online, and it costs about 20 grand.

It's no coincidence that "green" is also the color of money.

Gregory Bean is the former executive editor of Greater Media Newspapers. You can reach him at gbean@gmnews.com.