Old Big Brother,
Meet New Big Brother
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.
From what I've read, not everyone's blood pressure is salt-sensitive. And I've seen articles estimating the percentage of salt-sensitive individuals at anywhere from 8% to 80% of the population. Which leads me to think maybe they don't know entirely what they're talking about . . .
Old Big Brother,
Meet New Big Brother
They can have my salt shaker when they pry it from my cold dead (but salty) fingers.
Is it just me or has the average IQ level of most politicians really dropped into single digits?
It's not so much the low IQ of these morons like Ortiz, it's the stupidity of the voters with their hands out who keep re-electing them that's the problem.
Recipe for Matzah. Ingredients: 4 cups plain flour 1 level teaspoon salt 3/4 cup sunflower oil 3/4 cup of water and add more as needed - BANNED!
Instructions for margaritas: place salt in a shallow dish. Moisten the rim of a rocks glass with a dampened paper towel, then dip in salt - BANNED!
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Ingredients
½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (120 g) sugar
1 large egg
1+¾ cups (220 g) flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1+¼ sticks (140 g) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 oz (170 g)semisweet chocolate chips
Sea salt - BANNED!
Oscar Meyer hot dogs: Ingredients: MECHANICALLY SEPARATED TURKEY, PORK, MECHANICALLY SEPARATED CHICKEN, WATER, SALT, FLAVOR, SODIUM LACTATE, CORN SYRUP, DEXTROSE, SODIUM PHOSPHATES, SODIUM DIACETATE, SODIUM ASCORBATE, SODIUM NITRITE. BANNED!
Mu Shu Pork: # 1/2 pound pork tenderloin
# Marinade:
# 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce - BANNED!
# 2 teaspoons Shao-Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
# 1 teaspoon sugar
# 2 teaspoons cornstarch
# Sauce:
# 3 tablespoons water
# 3 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
I could go on, but the point is clear. There aren’t a lot of foods that can be served legally. Why does this remind me of a central theme from Atlas Shrugged?
Actually, not talking on cell phones while driving is a very good idea.
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