[Red Badger]

We should ban chocolate. It is a drug after all...............

[SkiHatGuy]

sounds like the movie "Demolition Man" and its depiction of future Los Angeles.

Be well, John Spartan.

[tfecw]

"When the state assumes the role of parent, it makes children of all of us."

Some folks like it better that way, excuse me, a growing majority of folks like it that way.

[Paloma_55]

Imagine if Hillary had her way with health care.

Once the government starts providing health care, it becomes a state interest how well you take care of yourself. Your behavior becomes a factor in government expenditure. If you smoke, drink, eat fatty foods, don't exercise, you are costing the government money, and therefore, subject to government sanction.

Its a brave new world we are heading into. A world of socialism that can give you everything you need, or take it away.

[Tanniker Smith]

When people start talking about politics in the bedroom, I usually tell them that on my nightstand, for my personal protection, I keep a condom, an ashtray and a Smith & Wesson. "You got any problem with any of that?"

Oddly enough, just about everyone does, but the start ones won't actually say anything, either because they think I'm a smartass or because they know better than to start an argument with me.

[Gabz]

Nanny State PING!!!!

John Stossel gets it!

[knarf]

Incrementalism ...

My son is athsmatic and I used to pay anywhere from $16 - $23 for his Albuterol inhaler.

About a month or so ago, all of a sudden the inhaler inflated to $32.

Imagine my shock.

I asked why (of course) and was told that 'they' had outlawed the propelant and these new puffers had a different propelant and were thus more expensive.

The only good I can see resulting from this is ... I was able to get an important lesson taught to a 12 year old boy ...

"Why, dad?"

"Because 'they' said so"

Who are 'they'?"

"I don't know, but even if I did, there's nothing I can do ... the damage has been done ... by the time anyone rallys a strength to combat 'them' ... 'they' will be dead and a new 'danger' will have developed"

"That ain't right, Dad."

"I know ... pay attention ... one day I'll be dead and you and your sister will be electing the people that control your lives."

[NeoCaveman]

Stossell nails the soft authoritarianism of the center-left.

[TET1968]

Someday all the laws pertaining to where you can smoke a cigarette will apply as well to cell phone use and Ipod listening. Just watch.

[Solamente]

However, screening for hepatitis, TB, HIV, salmonella, e.coli, etcetera from illegal alien restaurant workers will be waived so as not to seem offensive to certain voting blocs.

[Liberty Valance]

What will they Ban Next?

Foldin' money?

[nuconvert]

Bump

[Rummyfan]

Often the health police say they must "protect the children." But children are the responsibility of their parents. When the state assumes the role of parent, it makes children of all of us.

Yes indeed. And more and more people want it that way. Let the government make all the big decisions for me - health care, what I eat, can I smoke, plan my retirement, etc, as long as I get to choose what channel to watch!

[misharu]

This is EXACTLY what I have been telling people for the past few years. I smoke. Ok, I know its bad for me, but I do it anyway . . .free choice and all. I ask non-smokers who wholeheartedly support smoking bans . . "What's next?" I also tell them that when they come for thier french fries or thier soda pops, don't come whining to me.

There HAS to be a way to stop this insanity!!

[bws53]

coffee, tobacco, alcohol, exams in public schools, grade point averages in public schools, high school football, rat poison, bleach, mercury thermometers, ammonia, any ingredient in pesticides that actually kills pests, wood-burning fireplaces, salt, sugar, skateboards, two-story houses, ladders, cough syrup, table saws, lawn mowers, guns, hunting, backyard swimming pools, hang gliding, motorcycles, etc...

[unixfox]

I think investing in coffee, liquor, beer, wine, might be a good thing, in the short run.

[MissAmericanPie]

Democracy is the most dangerous form of government in which the rights of the individual can be totally stripped from him by the majority.

That is why the Founding Father's made the USofA a Democratic Republic. The Republic part was designed to
control and keep under foot the dangers of democracy, and the Electoral College was to keep smaller states from the totalitarianism of the most populace states.

As long as the power of the individual states remains sapped away into a centralized Fed what begins in NYC can spread via Federal Law to the rest of the states.

[Rockingham]

Trans fats are unhealthy, with an abundance of scientific evidence to that effect. Friedman would probably not have opposed banning them in most applications as he saw a role for the State in setting the "rules of the game," with public health a recognized basis for action.

[Husker24]

When they come for my Caffeine I will advocate open rebellion.

[Ben Chad]

The food industry has turned us into a bunch of fat asses. Ooorah to NYC.