Slip Sliding Away?

Are we seriously surprised that Cambridge wants to ban sodas outright? All of a sudden, the government has declared war on sodas to fight obesity.

What's wrong with Massachusetts? Really. It's ironic all these ideas come from a place reknowned for its institutions of higher learning.

Man. Have they not learned with Prohibition and the War on Drugs? These are ideas that are not born out of a healthy society, but a sick one. It's not, I think anyway, delving into anti-government screed, there's something going wrong and people feel it.

It blows my mind at this point that someone (and its supporters) think it's a good idea. I read somewhere that some guy was arguing the point that such legislation is hardly nanny-statism. That it's merely helping people along.

Right.

Who cares what it is at this point? And just to say, yes, it is interventionism. There are no degrees of interventionism. There's just, you know, interventionism.

It's patently absurd and paternalistic, and it will do nothing (I reckon) to curb obesity. The basic premise is that sick people increase the cost of health care. That we need healthy people. I won't argue the two but it seems to me the state can justify passing legislation under such premises for almost anything.  

When does the slippery slope become slippery?

When we begin to cut down on apple pie? When McDonald's is forced out of business? When sodas become illegal and forced under ground at which point the cops will be putting Little Timmy's everywhere in prison?

What about all those 13 year-olds taken to drinking Starbucks and Tim Hortons ice-caps? Who will think of those children?

Unreal-surreal all this.

***

I mentioned this a while ago, but back in th 1990s the Canadian government was looking to ban Parmiggiano-Reggiano - the iconic Italian cheese. They had something against the way it was aged - I don't remember the details.

I actually wrote to the government at the time. My comment was simple: And Kraft cheese ok, right?

Thankfully, they backed off.

But they're always there. Ready to pounce.

By the way, Parmesan is not Parmiggiano. It's a knock-off.