While 2012 may be the year of tyrannical legislation, such as a large soda ban,large coffee ban, and sugar ban, it may also be the year of the yearning for liberty. That’s what it seems like in New York, as residents and onlookers from other states negatively reacted to news today that Mayor Bloomberg intends to ban all sugary drinks above 16 ounces in size. “I disagree with it, because it’s the right to choose. If you want to drink a Slurpee, you should be allowed to drink a Slurpee,” said Jamie Sawyer, a tourist from Oklahoma [Source] And Jamie about sums up the only reason needed to see what is wrong with King Bloomberg’s dictate. But for the sake of putting content on this blog, I’ll continue my criticism. The large soda coffee sugar ban seeks to prohibit private businesses and private individuals choosing to conduct commerce, specifically, the trade of a sugary drink larger than 16 ounces. From what I understand, no amount of sugar is specified, although diet-sodas will not be included. So technically, a drink larger than 16 ounces AND considered sugary (no minimum was specified), is a more unwise choice than a drink 16 ounces [...]
statism
The No Texting While Walking Law is a Threat to the Law
Fort Lee, New Jersey, recently expanded the Nanny State by passing a “No Texting While Walking” Law and sending police after citizens to fine them $85 per “offense” (truly there is no offense besides the use of force against peaceful citizens). “It’s a big distraction. Pedestrians aren’t watching where they’re going. They’re not aware,” Fort Lee Police Department (FLPD) Chief Thomas Ripoli said at a news conference [Source] From the various articles and websites this story has spread to, we can extrapolate that the police are actually taking this “law” seriously, already handing out over a 100 tickets to these citizens and showing no signs of stopping. With Fort Lee’s 16 robberies, 18 assaults, 42 burglaries, 262 thefts, 16 auto-thefts, and 1 arson in 2010 [Source], it’s obvious that the best use of Police Force is to harass citizens who are walking on streets they paid for while using phones they purchased from private companies (sarcasm). By now, you can probably tell I do not just see this as just another law. It’s a complete violation of the law by every sense of the word. For the law to operate correctly, in a civilized society, the citizens would offer their respect for [...]
