Posted on 03/12/2010 5:58:15 AM PST by shortstop
As power curdles into arrogance, the assumption of superiority becomes so intoxicating that the tyrant has no clue of how foolish or evil his conduct becomes.
Like the thing with the salt.
In New York, a state legislator has introduced legislation that would forbid restaurants to use salt.
Each violation of the law would result in a $1,000 fine.
Here’s how the legislation reads: “No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food for consumption by customers of such restaurant, including food prepared to be consumed on the premises of such restaurant or off of such premises.”
It is a proposal that, at first, is laughable, another example of moronic governance. But, with thought, it is infuriating.
First, the moronic.
Does this mean no more margaritas or soy sauce? Are KFCs and Chinese buffets to be put out of business? Will dill pickles be outlawed, along with potato chips and pretzels?
And what of signature New York foods? Kippers, those little salted herrings, they’ll have to go. And the salt potatoes sold at festivals and firemen’s carnivals across the state. And the kimmelweck roll, topped with rock salt and carroway, and the salt bagel. Oktoberfest and hotdog carts won’t be the same without sauerkraut.
Salt is part of almost every recipe. From gravy to mashed potatoes, soups to stews, it is a foundation of how we eat.
And idiot legislators want to make it go away. Instead of leaving the cooking to the cooks, instead of trusting chefs and customers to sort out what’s for dinner, the leeching tyrants in Albany want to set the rules.
They, of course, claim to be doing it for the good of the people. They point to hypertension rates, and the fact that overmuch sodium is bad for some people, and they swoop in to save the world.But the government can’t protect you without enslaving you. It can’t protect you from the consequences of your choices unless it takes away your freedom to choose.
And that’s what this is truly about.
It is about government taking away your freedom.
That’s the infuriating part.
In America, where we sing about being the land of the free, we are anything but.
In this scenario, the freedom of various people is trampled. The freedom of the cook to cook, to practice his profession as he sees fit, is impinged. His every recipe must pass government muster. The freedom of the restaurant owner is hobbled. He is not free to sell what he wants, he is not free to sell what his customer wants. He must make his menu comply with government dictate.
And he must face the real prospect of losing business and going out of business. The fact the government mandates unpalatable food does not mean that people will eat it.
And the diner, the customer who walks through the door or pulls up to the drive-thru, is perhaps the most oppressed. He is denied the right to decide for himself what he will eat. He is not allowed to formulate his own diet. He is not trusted to watch over his own health.
Even if he is young, lean and not genetically predisposed to be bothered by salt, he still won’t be served ketchup – whose third ingredient, after all, is salt.
In something as intimate and personal as what tastes good, the government will dictate and the individual will comply.
That is not freedom.
That is tyranny.
But you say, this is all a joke, a foolish piece of legislation that will go nowhere.
Don’t be so sure.
They’ve already banned transfats.
And the main sponsor of this particular piece of idiocy has a track record that is, unfortunately for the cause of freedom, fairly successful.
Assemblyman Felix Ortiz of New York City is behind the salt ban.
He was also the person behind the idea of outlawing talking on cell phones in cars. When he proposed that 10 years ago, people thought that was a joke, too. Now it’s the law in most of the country.
He was also the person behind the idea of requiring all restaurant menus – including drive-thru and fast-food overhead menus – to include complete dietary information for all products and all sizes. That impossibility is included in the Obamacare legislation now before Congress and may soon become federal law.
His idea is stupid.
But his other stupid ideas have stuck.
And this ban on salt in the name of protecting our health is just one more step in the liberal effort to control, tax and limit our food supply. They want soda-pop and pizza taxes – 16 percent was proposed earlier this week – as part of an effort to thin us down by taxing us more. We are fat, which means we eat too much, so they argue if they tax food more they will make us eat it less and we will get thing, and their Marxist dream will come true.
They declare some foods – like beef and dairy – as contributing to global warming. Soon they will take down high-fructose corn syrup and hyrdolized soy protein and children’s cereal.
It is all part of the ensnaring net of taxes and regulations that define the liberal agenda.
And they’re starting to come after our food.
Starting with the salt shaker.
I’m no expert but I do believe we must have some salt or sodium content, I agree its overdone a lot, I buy many canned soups that I can hardly eat because of too much salt, I also have high blood pressure which is attributed from too much sodium intake.
But salt should not be completely removed, all it will do is to encourage people to bring their own.
| "If I owned a New York restaurant, I'd refuse to serve any politician that walked in the door: 'You're trying to put me out of business, go starve, go down to the bodega and pick up something on the street side and eat that.'" |  |
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"I simply turn on the Golden EIB Microphone and share my honest passions and beliefs with people. And they're free to go elsewhere. They're free to ignore; they're free to believe; they're free to be entertained, I don't care. They're free to do whatever they want. But a lot of people aren't free to smoke cigarettes where they want; they're not free to drink where they want; they're not free to eat the kind of food they want to eat; they're not free to eat trans fats; they're not free to drive certain places. Pretty soon we're going to be told what kind of cars we have to drive. I can't cause that. I can't restrict anybody's freedom. We've elected a guy who can, does, and wants to, all under the guise of saving us. So I appreciate the effort, and I appreciate somewhat losing my temper here. But don't compare me ever to an authoritarian who thinks so little of people that without him they can barely breathe on their own. Don't ever do that." LEARN IT, LOVE IT, LIVE IT! If one cannot understand Rush's words above, then one does not truly understand FREEDOM! |
How many times do I have to say this?
These are the types of politician we have to worry about, not about the one in the video above.
Jeez, I already know more than I ever wanted to know. When does it stop? Rhetorical question, I think.
You may not be an expert, but you are correct. Pre-historic villages were often located near a source of salt. First, take away the salt from the general public, and then give it only to those that support your power and ideology.
This fellow needs more vetting for the rest of his looney views.
Why just restaurants? Why not food processors and grocery stores? Couldn’t a restaurant get around this regulation by using ingredients that already have salt in them?
This is why so many of us have wanted NYC to separate from the rest of the state. Let them join up with Jersey or become independent. Then the freak politicians downstate can live in their own circus.
Felix Ortiz should be condemned to a completely salt-free diet. Bread. Have you ever had bread without salt?
Everything they do is WRONG. We would die without any salt and the fat they used to replace trans fats (interesterified oil) is even worse for your body than the bad trans fats.
There used to be cigarette receptacles in many places, now they are gone.
Here's a scenario: Say there was a law that people could not eat inside fast food restaurants and needed to take their food 15 feet away from the building to consume it - the trash barrels were removed because they are an eyesore and encourage fast food eating....what do you think people would do with their wrappers.
BTW - I field-strip my cigarettes - Always.
Sodium is necessary for human life. I guess these idiots know that. Sure, too much is detrimental, but laws prohibiting its use in restaurants are pretty loony.
For those who do, this same politician proposes a $1,000 fine.
FMCDH
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