Drew Carey on the Nanny State

Banned! What is banned, you may ask, well, just about anything that might be fun:

Whether you love it, hate it, or have never thought about it, chances are some politician wants to ban it. "Welcome to the Nanny State Nation," says reason.tv host Drew Carey. "Where the government minds your own business."

Saggy pants, fire places, plastic bags, light bulbs, poker—it's all been banned somewhere. Same with owning swine or fowl, feeding pigeons, owning pit bulls, and chomping on trans fats, a naughty little substance that makes food taste better.

Of course, smoking's been banned in all sorts of places—indoors, outdoors, near doors, beaches, casinos, even private homes. America's smoking ban craze began in California. So many bans start there.

"But is New York City the new California?" asks Carey? Smoking, trans fat, aluminum baseball bats, straddling a bike, wearing in-line skates or drinking coffee on a subway—the Big Apple bans them all.

I could do without the saggy pants in public, but to ban them seems a waste of taxpayer money. I don't like smoking and I think regulations on smoking in public facilities is an encroachment on individual rights, but there are other individual rights also at dispute and a government has to balance those. But to ban smoking in private residences is just going to far.

Drew Carey, at his funniest and most englightening best.

Now, if Drew Carey could get his brand of common sense to be applied by Major League Soccer (he is an owner of the Seattle Sounders FC club), all would be good.