Archive for December 6th, 2006
Shelton Brothers, a beer distributor, has filed a lawsuit alleging censorship against the Maine Bureau of Liquor Enforcement. The Maine Bureau has prohibited the beer distributor from marketing Santa’s Butt Winter Porter in the state.
“There is no good reason for the state to censor art, even art found on a beer label,” said Zachary Heiden, staff attorney for the MCLU.
The label for the English-made Santa’s Butt Winter Porter features a rear view of a beer-drinking Santa Claus sitting atop a barrel. The beer’s name refers not only to Santa’s ample backside, but also to the barrel. In England, brewers once used a large barrel called a “butt” to store beer.
Another government assault on freedom with no compelling state interest. Read it all here.
In a letter to Shelton Brothers, the state denied the applications for the labels because they contained “undignified or improper illustration.”
Which one is it? Undignified or improper? Give me a break!
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Your morning donut is now an endangered species.
Restaurants will still have until next July 1 to eliminate oils, margarines and shortening from recipes that contain more than a half-gram of trans fat per serving. By July 1, 2008, they would have to remove all menu items that exceed the new limit, including bread, cakes, chips and salad dressings.
But under terms adopted yesterday, some foods will fall under the later deadline, including doughnuts, fritters, biscuits and deep fried items that the board said were particularly hard to prepare with a trans fat substitute.
I am sick and tired of the government spending massive amounts of our money on stupid laws that protect people from themselves. If somebody wants to eat trans fats until their arteries clog up, let them. It is their body, not the governments.
Virtually anything consumed to excess is bad. What’s next? The slippery slope has begun. NYC bans trans fats, Chicago bans foie gras. Maybe all the pizzerias in Buffalo should be closed to fight obesity. While they are at it, ban any food with a fat content higher than 30%. Government regulations don’t go away, they just get worse and multiply.
“This is a misguided attempt at social engineering by a group of physicians who don’t understand the restaurant industry,” said Dan Flesher, a National Restaurant Association spokesman. He said one or both measures could be challenged legally.
Read the full New York Times article here.
