Posted by Jonathan Adler:
Hands Off My Fresca:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_09_20-2009_09_26.shtml#1253710179
[1]William Saletan on the new paternalism:
Weisberg put his finger on the [2]underlying trend: "Because
Democrats hold power at the moment, they face the greater peril of
paternalistic overreaching." Today's morality cops are less
interested in your bedroom than your refrigerator. They're more
likely to berate you for outdoor smoking than for outdoor necking.
It isn't God who [3]hates fags. It's [4]Michael Bloomberg.
In [Daniel] Engber's case [see [5]here], the provocation is
scientific. To justify taxes on unhealthy food, the lifestyle
regulators are stretching the evidence about obesity and addiction,
two subjects on which Engber is [6]burdened with contrary
[7]knowledge. Liberals like to talk about a Republican war on
science, but it turns out that they're just as willing to bend
facts. In wars of piety, science has no friends.
This sort of paternalism actually isn't so new, but it's a good thing
folks like Saletan are beginning to take notice.
References
1. http://www.slate.com/id/2229194/pagenum/all/#p2
2. http://www.slate.com/id/2228722/
3. http://www.godhatesfags.com/
4. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fag
5. http://www.slate.com/id/2228713/
6. http://www.slate.com/id/2184475/
7. http://www.slate.com/id/2177885/
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