By Scott Tibbs, June 15, 2012
I went to McDonald's last week and grabbed a meal. I made a mental note as I drove away to be sure to ask for the smallest meal, because I cannot finish the large size and it winds up going to waste. Now, thanks to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (officially an Independent because he fears the public's reaction if he reveals his real party affiliation) I do not need to do that if I go to New York City. Thanks Mike! I appreciate you deciding you know how to run my life better than I do, because I am thoroughly incompetent to make my own choices.
Bloomberg has decided to ban the sale of soft drinks (and other similar beverages) in containers greater than 16 ounces, in an effort to fight obesity. This is the latest in a long line of authoritarian behaviors by the nation's most prominent nanny state ninny. Meanwhile, first lady Michele Obama applauds Bloomberg's authoritarianism, although she graciously said that there is no need for a federal ban.
Why thanks, Mrs. Obama. I appreciate that you do not think the federal government needs to regulate the size of my soft drink. I guess I will not have to worry about predator drones shooting the Big Gulp out of my hand. At least not yet, anyway. After all, Obama will have more freedom in his second term, as he told Russian President Medvedev.
Folks, this is ridiculous. Yes, obesity is a public health problem. There are too many people carrying too many pounds, and it's leading various diseases and causing people to live shorter lives. But obesity is not a public health problem in the same way that measles or other contagious diseases are public health problems. This is a condition that is brought about by private choices in one's life - and not simply one choice, but literally hundreds of thousands of choices made every single day. Obesity is a problem that can also be reversed by making different choices.
We should not expect government to micromanage every single one of those choices. That is the road to authoritarianism, further eroding the freedom we have to live our lives and make what reasonable people consider to be even the most simple and harmless choices. One "expert" interviewed by PBS even suggested that soda be treated like alcohol and tobacco, with merchants forced to check for proof of age in order to buy it. Are we now going to have people using fake ID's to purchase a can of A&W Cream Soda? Really?
I can take potshots at Democrats like Obama and "Independents" like Bloomberg, but there are nanny state ninnies in both parties. After all, President George W. Bush and a Republican Congress passed a law mandating that every pharmacy in the nation restrict the purchase of pseudoephedrine, because people apparently cannot be trusted to take it for cold symptoms and will instead make meth with it. I do not appreciate the Republicans who have so little trust in and respect for me, and this insanity is one of many reasons Republicans deserved to lose the House in 2006.
What we really need here is a new Red Scare. We need someone to take the role of Joe McCarthy and go after these Communists. Sadly, McCarthy is not with us any more, but his legacy lives on. Who will be the next McCarthy? We need someone to take a stand for liberty.
