This time Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to bar restaurants, movie theaters, sports arenas, food carts and delis from selling sodas and other sugary drinks in servings larger than 16 ounces. This will, supposedly, reduce obesity in New York City.
HUH??! What would prevent people from buying two drinks If they want more than 16 oz?? Or will that become illegal too? Will someone follow you down the street to keep you from going into another convenience store and buying a second 16 oz? It's beyond ludicrous!
He and the city of New York have already led the charge against all kinds of other things that are allegedly "bad for you"....banning things like trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and smoking in public places.
There are people who refer to his actions as attempts to set up a "Nanny State!" Well, I hate to tell you folks, but that isn't trying to be anyone's nanny, it is perilously close to becoming a Police State of the Big Brother variety.... where people are constantly watched and punished when they don't comply with laws set up by idiots!
In the 1920s Prohibition (banning the manufacture, sale, and/or consumption of alcohol) resulted in the availability of boot leg liquor, the establishment of the Mob run by guys like Capone and his cohorts, cronies, and the organized crime crowd They made a fortune selling on the black market and then quickly expanded into all sorts of other illegal activities, like gambling, and money laundering, and their influence is still felt today.
Surprisingly, the Fed fairly quickly realized that Prohibition wasn't a very good idea after all. All it did was increase crime. I seriously doubt if Prohibition convinced many alcoholics to quit drinking. In fact I doubt it convinced anyone to quit drinking alcohol. The law was repealed and the nation's drinkers returned to business as usual.
Did we learn nothing from Prohibition?? Seems not! At least not in New York City!
So what's next on the Bloomberg hit list? Meat products? Automobiles? "Dirty Books"???
Since when did a Mayor (even for a city the size of New York) get the power to become the unofficial dictator of what is permissible and what is not? That is a very slippery slope and if the citizenry isn't careful we are all going to slide down that slope and land in a place where personal freedom is a thing of the past! "Hard Times in New York Town" is just the beginning!
Look out folks, Big Brother may be a little late, but he's on his way....and his name just might be Bloomberg!!
I posted a pic on Facebook the other day, of me with a 32-ounce Strawberry Limeade from Sonic. Someone pointed out that pretty soon, that drink would turn me into a criminal in New York City. :) It's funny, I don't drink a lot of soda, so I'm glad that when I do want one of those awesome Sonic drinks, I have the right to buy it (for half price during their Happy Hour, woo hoo!)
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of city counsel does NYC have that would let the mayor run amok like this? You are right, this is bordering on a government state (or city in this case) and that is scary in itself.
ReplyDeleteAre the citizens a city of sheep that just follow along with the leaders, or they just too busy being New Yorkers (no insult to them) to even care...until it's too late.
I remember that the college that my cousin went to back in the late 60 was located in a "dry" county in KY. All that did was make the moonshine industry more lucrative. LOL! I went to visit him one weekend, and he told me that there was a certain tree stump on campus that you put money in an envelope and put it in the hollow of this tree, and an hour later, moonshine appeared. So, now that county is dry and the town where the college is has several bars!
I tend to think that if they made marijuana legal, it would cut down on the "possession of controlled substance" arrests around this area. Besides helping those patients that need it for medical purposes. That's just my opinion and liberalness coming out.
I hope the people of NYC wake up soon, and take charge of their city before it becomes someplace no one wants to live in.
>>> I'm fearful that NYC is just setting the precedent and this ridiculous idea of having a city or state legislating what we are allowed to eat or drink or have or use or want or need or....(well you get my drift) will spread across the whole country. You see, once something like this starts it rarely goes away and we are all left standing around saying "What the hell happened??"
ReplyDeleteSometimes we are such a nation of sheep!! I believe we would never allow a Hitler or a Gaddahfi into power, but yet we'll let any goofball idea proposed by some rabid bozo become a LAW, just because someone tells us its for our own good!
Sheep! And pretty stupid sheep at that!!
What ever happened to "Never trust anyone over 30." or "Hell No, We won't go!" or any of the other live and let live philosophies spawned by our peers back in the days of hippiedom??
I expect my local government to use my tax dollars to provide garbage pick-up, street cleaning, snow removal, holiday parades, animal services, community pools and the like. I DON'T want them (or anyone else for that matter) legislating my lifestyle, health, religion or morality!!
(end of rant for today!)
I really meant that the county where my cousin went eventually became "wet". Just another typo by ol'JE.
ReplyDeleteI guess we can safely assume that none of us live in "Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood anymore." In fact, I don't think those kinds of neighborhoods exist anymore.
Keep on ranting. It's people of our generation who are letting the younger ones make the rules. Maybe it's time for a "silver revolution." :>)