Nitwittery Run Amok: New York Cracks Down On Toy Guns

by Elizabeth Harrington.  Expect fake murders to go down. New York is forcing Walmart, Amazon, and other retailers to pay over $300,000 for the crime of selling toy guns. The settlement stems from an investigation by the state’s attorney general office, which sent cease and desist letters to the retailers in December for breaking its strict law against   ... MORE

VIDEO: Nanny Of The Month - July 2015

Austin Petersen: Dead Idiot Blew His Head Off With Firework, Now His Mom Wants The Rest Of Us To Suffer

Either society or lack of warning label must be to blame.   A dead moron from Maine was killed instantly when he fired a firework off from the top of his head. Predictably, he will now be used as a prop to advocate for stricter controls thanks to a grieving parent… who ought to bear at least some of the blame. From the AP: The mother of   ... MORE

Flamin' Hot Cheetos Are The American Dream

by Katherine Mangu-Ward.     I disapprove of what you eat, but I'll defend to the death your right to eat it. The story of Flamin' Hot Cheetos is the story of America. The illegitimate offspring of a cheese puff and a Dorito, the snacks are a triumph of food science. With their finger-staining red pigment, infinite shelf life, sui generis squiggly shape,      ... MORE

VIDEO: Nanny Of The Month - June 2015

Political Correctness On Parade: Walmart Store Bakes Man An ISIS Cake After Refusing To Ice Confederate Flag Design

by Sophie Jane Evans.  Walmart has been forced to apologize after it apparently agreed to bake an ISIS-themed cake for a Louisiana customer - just a day after refusing to create a Confederate battle flag cake for him. Chuck Netzhammer submitted a request for a cake featuring a photo of the Confederate flag, with the slogan 'Heritage Not Hate' printed  ... MORE

David Hansnyi: The Trans Fat Ban Is Worse Than You Think

Why stop there?     The Food and Drug Administration issued a final decision this week, giving the food industry three years to phase out bad trans fats, still used in a wide variety of products, such as Pillsbury's Ready To Bake cookies and cake frosting. Now, if you're ingesting large quantities of either, perhaps partially hydrogenated oils aren't your biggest   ... MORE

F.D.A. Sets 2018 Deadline To Rid Foods Of Trans Fats

by Sabrina Tavernise.   The option reducers are at work again. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday gave the food industry three years to eliminate artery-clogging artificial trans fats from the food supply, a long-awaited step that capped years of effort by consumer groups and is expected to save thousands of lives a year. Trans fats —   ... MORE

25 Things We Did As Kids That Now Get Someone Arrested

by Daisy Luther.    With all of the ridiculous new regulations, coddling, and societal mores that seem to be the norm these days, it’s a miracle those of us over 30 survived our childhoods. Here’s the problem with all of this babying: it creates a society of weenies. There won’t be more more rebels because this generation has been frightened into      ... MORE

Steve Chapman: San Francisco Vs Soft Drinks

Politicians want to be your conservators.  Its for your own good of course. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has something it wants to say: Fizzy sugar water can make you fat and rot your teeth. 'll pause while you pick yourself off the floor, where you landed in shock at this blinding revelation. Until now, you have probably been pouring    ... MORE

VIDEO: 5 Drug PSAs That Tried To Scare The Sh*t Out Of Us

 (But Didn't)

Lenore Skenazy: Cops And Media Applaud Local Busybody For Bravely Harassing Dad Who Briefly Left Kid Alone

Minding other people's business.  Area-man Mark Herrmann didn’t choose to be a hero. No, no, he was just minding his own business when he noticed that a child’s life was in mortal danger. He acted decisively—ensuring the child’s safety, and guaranteeing a police investigation into the negligent parent’s actions. Thanks to the video of the       ... MORE

California Aims to Regulate Your Dirtiest Fantasies

by Josh Gucket. Big Brother is watching you; he says to stop before you go blind. Following five years of procedural hurdles, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health has proposed a set of safety standards outlining how adult film performers and others on set can operate in their jobs more safely. Among 21 pages of proposals, it emphasizes    ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - Blue Laws, Bootleggers & Baptists

Larry Thornberry: Tobacco-Free Ball Yards By The Bay

More lost liberty to chew on.     Go ahead and leave your heart in San Francisco if you please, but don’t leave your chaw. This might cause you to be nicked by the tobacco police. It’s another of those things that only make sense in San Francisco, so libertine in many ways, but puritan in others. An exotic mix of extreme permissiveness and micro-    ... MORE

Michael Snyder: Police Abduct 10 Children From A Family In Kentucky Because Of Their ‘Off The Grid’ Lifestyle

More evidence the government is not us.   If the government does not like the way that you are raising your kids, they will come in and grab them at any time without giving any warning whatsoever. Of course this is completely and totally unlawful, but it has been happening all over America.  The most recent example of this that has made       ... MORE

Baylen Linnekin: Will The Austin Proposal To 'Control' Barbecue Cause Beloved Food Scene To Go Up In Smoke?

Suffering the stench of busybodies.   Earlier this month, the city council in Austin, Tex. took up "the smell of barbecue and a proposal to control it," reports the New York Times, "in response to some citizen complaints." If that sounds ominous—and not just a reporter blowin' smoke—that's because it is. Daniel Vaughn, who writes for Texas     ... MORE

This Is Why So Many People Are Homeschooling!

A letter from the school:   Dear Mr and Mrs. Rossi, I understand that your family recently took a family vacation. I want you to be aware that the Abington School District does not recognize family trips as an excused absence, regardless of the activities involved in the trip. The school district is not in the position of overseeing family vacations or ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - Personal Liberty Vs. The Nanny State

State Seizes 11-year-old, Arrests His Mother After He Defends Medical Marijuana During A School Presentation

by Radley Balko.  From the website run by investigative journalist Ben Swann: On March 24, cannabis oil activist Shona Banda‘s life was flipped upside-down after her son was taken from her by the State of Kansas. The ordeal started when police and counselors at her 11-year-old son’s school conducted a drug education class. Her son, who had previously ... MORE