Did The Meek Already Inherit The Earth?

Michigan just got a little less free. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Michigan Liquor Control Commission has banned dozens of alcoholic beverages that combined caffeine and alcohol. One such beverage, the Four Loko, contained the equivalent of three or four cups of coffee and four beers. The reason for banning it? “Experts” have warned that the caffeine masks the effect of the alcohol, which according to them makes it difficult for young people to realize just how intoxicated they are.

This is just another example of the nanny State wanting to tell us what's good for us and what's not. And if we don't listen to their suggestions – legislate. Just a few days ago we saw the same thing in San Francisco, where the Board of Supervisors voted to prohibit fast food restaurants offering free toys with high-calorie, high fat meals. Fast food restaurants will only be allowed to give away toys with meals that contain fewer than 600 calories (including the drink) and has a fat content less than 35%.

No-one wants young adults to drink too much or kids to become obese from eating too much, but what happened to personal responsibility? If you're old enough to legally drink in the United States you've been old enough to die for your country for about three years. Is the Michigan Liquor Control Commission saying that a person who is deemed mature enough to join the army is too immature to decide for himself if he wants to drink an alcoholic beverage that contains caffeine? Is the San Francisco Board of Supervisors saying that parents are too stupid to know what's good for their kids?

It sure seems that way. Whatever happened to “Don't Tread On Me” and “Live Free Or Die”? Something tells me that if Benjamin Franklin had been told he couldn't smoke because it was bad for him, he would have told the law-makers where they could shove his pipe.