New York City, the Mecca of modern liberalism, is a much safer place. The "Big Apple," under the guidance of Mayor Michael "RINO" Bloomberg, has taken another step to ensure the health and safety of its subjects.
Bloomberg, who ascended to the throne in 2002 and still reigns by the Divine Right of Kings, has taken a tough stance on foods with trans-fats and on smoking. He decreed a stiff tax on cigarettes and has banned smoking in workplaces, parks and beaches.
Yes sir! Only in New York City can one find gambling, prostitution, strip clubs, drugs, gang violence, massage parlors, gentlemen's clubs, legions of homeless and the New York Mets, but you can't smoke a cigarette in Central Park or on Coney Island beach.
Luckily, the Occupiers who seized Zuccotti Park for months only smoked dope, did drugs, committed sexual assaults, excreted body fluids in public and harassed the police. Had they smoked a Marlboro, they would have been in real trouble.
Just recently, Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Board of Health also proposed a ban on jumbo-sized sodas and other "sugary" drinks. No more super-sized Cokes for NYC subjects.
The limit is 16 ounces, but wait! There is no refill limit. You can pack your chubby self with as much sugar, either natural cane or high fructose, as you want, but only at 16 ounces or less at a time. It's a better world!
According to MyFoxNY.com, "His proposed first-in-the-nation ban, formally announced May 31, would apply to venues across the city, from restaurants to street carts to movie theaters. The ban would not apply to diet sodas, fruit juices, dairy-based drinks or alcoholic beverages, nor would it include drinks sold in grocery or convenience stores. Food establishments that don't downsize would face fines of $200."
Obviously, Mayor Bloomberg doesn't want New Yorkers super-sizing sugary drinks. However, during "Miller Time," you are allowed to chug brew from a gallon container, but fill that jug with 7UP and "It's gonna cost ya big time!"
MyFoxNY.com also states, "Interestingly, employees at the media and financial information company he founded can guzzle all the free soda they want, while they work. Employees at Manhattan's 55-story Bloomberg Tower, which houses Bloomberg L.P., retail shops, restaurants and condominiums, enjoy unfettered access to pantries stocked with juices, soft drinks, coffee and tea.
"Although no one counts how many trips workers make to the freebie shelves, drink portions are 12 ounces or less, smaller than the giant gut-busters Bloomberg wants to ban at city restaurants, sports arenas and movie theaters." Twelve ounces or less _ I feel better now, but do we sense a little liberal hypocrisy here?
Next in the crosshairs are moviegoers. That's right. (You fat moviegoers know who you are.) For your own sake, New York City is taking aim at yet another of your life's gluttonous pleasures. Brace yourself; hot buttered popcorn is next.
New York City Board of Health member Bruce Vladeck has proposed limiting the size of movie theater popcorn containers. "Popcorn isn't a whole lot better than the soda," he said.
Other board members have started brainstorming additional ways to cut the fat. One nit-wit suggested limits for milkshakes and "milk-coffee beverages."
Good heavens! Can you believe this? Government is dictating our sugar consumption. I suffer from an affliction called the Dun-Lop disease. That's when your belly "done lop over your belt," and I'll tell you Mr. Mayor, if you want my 32-ounce Pepsi, you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead, fat hands.
Seriously, obesity and sugar consumption are not good things, but neither are AIDS, career politicians, single moms with seven children born out of wedlock and the thousands of other lifestyle choices that people make that cost society dearly.
I've never been an advocate of government sticking its nose into our business. America became great because of personal freedom, not by being coddled from cradle to grave. Think of our Founding Fathers, the Minute Men fighting the mightiest army in the world, pioneers taming the continent, industrialists such as Henry Ford, such bold inventors as Thomas Edison, and our astronauts riding rockets into space and beyond.
Bold men and women made my country the greatest nation in history, not some PIA, Barney Fife, Walter Mitty, feel-your-pain, big-time politician worried about my diet.
Unfortunately, it has become so bad that now our food choices are being decreed. Even the Lord Mayor of London, in an interview this week discussing this issue, offered to take the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free" to London, if they wished to flee New York. Boy, that sounds familiar. Where have I heard that phrase before?
In a larger context, it's just another example of liberal-progressives telling you that you are an idiot, too stupid to make your own life choices. Not to worry! Big Nanny Government will always take care of you, as long as you remember to vote for them and behave like a mindless twit.
Chuck Pinkey is the owner of River Valley New Holland Inc. in Otego. He can be reached at chuck.rvnewholland@gmail.com. The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of The Daily Star and its editorial board.
Columns
Related Photos
-
CSS2EEC.jpg
Discussion
COMMENTING ON STORIES:
Welcome to our story comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including the unpopular ones. We only ask that you keep your conversations clean, civil and on the topic of the story you are commenting on.
Coinciding with our websites redesign, we launched our new story comments feature through Disqus.
Disqus gives users the ability to log into our story comments feature so that they may be able to track their conversations, receive emails when their comments get a reply or to even have your comments update onto your Facebook or Twitter accounts.
For the time being, our story comments feature will continue to have the ability to post comments anonymously. We reserve the right to require registration in the future using your name and verified email address.
Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified at the newspaper’s discretion for a number of different reasons. Please follow our Online Rules of Conduct at all times.
RULES OF CONDUCT:
We reserve the right to remove comments that are unacceptable, to wit:
1. False and inacurate statements.
2. Personal attacks. Explicit name-calling.
3. Harassing, harmful, vulgar, obscene and defamatory language.
4. Threatening statements or statements that suggest violence.
5. Hate speech of any kind.
6. Intolerant comments on religion, race, age, gender, sexual preference or disabilities.
7. Accusations of criminal activity.
8. Content that is harmful to children and minors in any way.
9. References to any type of sexual activity and other private matters.
10. Random and inflammatory statements that are off topic.
11. Advertising of any kind.
12. Typing in all caps.
WE ENCOURAGE REASONABLE AND COURTEOUS COMMENTS THAT:
1. Create conversation on issues of interest and concern to fellow readers and local community members.
2. Express opinions and contrarian views.
3. Stimulate debate with respectful language.
4. Stay within the boundaries of these rules.
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE ACCESS FOR:
1. Violating any of these Online Rules of Conduct.
2. Deliberately disrupting discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or spam.
3. Misrepresentation of identity or impersonating another user.
WE WELCOME:
1. Flagging violations of these rules that you observe to our attention.
MONITORING:
We monitor comments regularly Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Approval of comments outside of this time (including weekends) will be sporadic.
Welcome to our story comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including the unpopular ones. We only ask that you keep your conversations clean, civil and on the topic of the story you are commenting on.
Coinciding with our websites redesign, we launched our new story comments feature through Disqus.
Disqus gives users the ability to log into our story comments feature so that they may be able to track their conversations, receive emails when their comments get a reply or to even have your comments update onto your Facebook or Twitter accounts.
For the time being, our story comments feature will continue to have the ability to post comments anonymously. We reserve the right to require registration in the future using your name and verified email address.
Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified at the newspaper’s discretion for a number of different reasons. Please follow our Online Rules of Conduct at all times.
RULES OF CONDUCT:
We reserve the right to remove comments that are unacceptable, to wit:
1. False and inacurate statements.
2. Personal attacks. Explicit name-calling.
3. Harassing, harmful, vulgar, obscene and defamatory language.
4. Threatening statements or statements that suggest violence.
5. Hate speech of any kind.
6. Intolerant comments on religion, race, age, gender, sexual preference or disabilities.
7. Accusations of criminal activity.
8. Content that is harmful to children and minors in any way.
9. References to any type of sexual activity and other private matters.
10. Random and inflammatory statements that are off topic.
11. Advertising of any kind.
12. Typing in all caps.
WE ENCOURAGE REASONABLE AND COURTEOUS COMMENTS THAT:
1. Create conversation on issues of interest and concern to fellow readers and local community members.
2. Express opinions and contrarian views.
3. Stimulate debate with respectful language.
4. Stay within the boundaries of these rules.
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE ACCESS FOR:
1. Violating any of these Online Rules of Conduct.
2. Deliberately disrupting discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or spam.
3. Misrepresentation of identity or impersonating another user.
WE WELCOME:
1. Flagging violations of these rules that you observe to our attention.
MONITORING:
We monitor comments regularly Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Approval of comments outside of this time (including weekends) will be sporadic.
June 19, 2012
Mayor Bloomberg needs a Big Gulp of common sense
- Big Chuck D'Imperio
-
-
Upstate theme parks offered affordable thrills
I saw in the news last week that Disney theme parks are raising admission prices to almost $100 a person. Children (who Uncle Walt considers 10 and under) are now $86 a day.
Continued ... - Getting creative with gifts for grads
- Safety Patrol D.C. visits never get old
- My pal Brucie, savior of Sidney's hospital
- Catching a whiff of 'Vermont Vapor'
-
Upstate theme parks offered affordable thrills
- Cary Brunswick
-
-
Book-banning has a tendency to backfire
So what does the 1960s game show ``What's My Line'' got to do with the Bloomsday festivities occurring in Dublin, Ireland, this week? Surprisingly, there is a link.
Continued ... - Envisioning a world without terror
- We've become our own worst enemies
- Plenty of blame to go around for Bangladesh horror
- Obama is going against his word on Social Security
-
Book-banning has a tendency to backfire
- Chuck Pinkey
- Guest Column
- Lisa Miller
-
-
A view from above
Fire towers in the Catskill Mountains have always been destination points, built to capture some of the region’s best views. These sentinel stations served an important role for the earliest possible sightings of forest fires in the remote mountain ranges. But the fire towers and those who manned them fulfilled a multitude of other roles as well.
Continued ... - Being a parent is a constant learning process
- Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive
- A family era ends with close of Potter series
- Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
-
- Mark Simonson
- Rick Brockway
-
-
Don't play around with snappers
The other day, I was driving along Route 205 between Mount Vision and Hartwick. Suddenly, I had to swerve out of my lane to miss a huge snapping turtle. It was crossing from a large swamp on the left to some higher ground on the other side of the road.
- Emmons Pond Bog is pretty easy to enjoy
- Fishing has gotten a lot more complex
- Waterfalls are even better when you keep them to yourself
- Kids have sparkle in their eyes
-
Don't play around with snappers
- Sam Pollak
-
-
Justice Dept., IRS abuses worth screaming about
"If this had happened while a Republican was president, the liberal media would be screaming."
Continued ... - THIS WEEK'S POLL
- Using time off in the worst way possible
- Terror lives on, and there's no end in sight
- Remembering the glory of their times
-
Justice Dept., IRS abuses worth screaming about
- William Masters
-
-
Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
As the time to vote draws near, we need to remember how money can run politics more than we can. Raising funds is a prominent (if not the dominant) task of getting elected. Raising issues is also crucial, but those efforts are subject to distortion and fear-mongering.
- Republicans feelentitled to allthey can garner An entitlement is a legal benefit available from the government to individuals who are within a defined category of recipients, such as needing insurance for unemployment or health services.
-
Romney focuses on self; Obama emphasizes unity
Mitt Romney criticizes President Obama for saying a person's success is rooted in his community, and is not all his alone. Romney belittles this with his belief in individual initiative. He is better at the put-down than the push-up.
-
Romney shows little regard for common man
The Republicans in Congress have voted over and over, 33 times, redundantly and uselessly, to rescind what they call Obamacare.
-
Scouts' gay ban creates problem where none exists
The Boy Scouts of America's "emphatic reaffirmation" of its vow to exclude any and all homosexuals from its hallowed ranks is ill-considered and pathetic, especially in view of its having reviewed the matter for two years.
-
Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
