Justin (who used to blog here but who for reasons I can't fathom stopped) has often been a helpful source of post ideas, for he knows how to find things which are certain to fiendishly irritate me. For example, yesterday he told me about San Francisco's plan to ban the sale of pets in pet stores. This morning, he had more. The people who want to take away our pet animals, also want to take away our pet foods and drinks.

[Banned beverages include] non-diet sodas, sports drinks and artificially sweetened water. Juice must be 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice with no added sweeteners. Diet sodas can be no more than 25 percent of the items offered, the directive says.

There should be "ample choices" of water, "soy milk, rice milk and other similar dairy or non dairy milk," says the directive, which also covers fat and sugar content in vending machine snacks.

All city departments have six months to conduct an audit of unused land--including empty lots, rooftops, windowsills and median strips--that could be turned into community gardens or farms that could benefit residents, either by working at them or purchasing the fresh produce. Food vendors that contract with the city must offer healthy and sustainable food. All vending machines on city property must also offer healthy options, and farmers' markets must begin accepting food stamps, although some already do....

And effective immediately, no more runs to the doughnut shop before meetings and conferences held by city workers. Instead, city employees must use guidelines created by the Health Department when ordering food for meetings.

Examples include cutting bagels into halves or quarters so people can take smaller portions and serving vegetables instead of potato chips....

Many of the details have yet to be worked out, including how much it will cost.

This sort of absolute and utter foolishness is being played out in every hamlet, village, town, and city in the United States and such incredible and indefensible spending decisions are exactly the reason why local governments (not to mention state and federal units) are flat-busted. As noted in passing yesterday (and virtually everyday here at Hit & Run), when it comes to government (and, to be fair, many relatives of mine), spending decisions are virtually completely divorced from any vague concept of reality or revenue. They spend when times are good and when times are bad; they do not plan for the future or learn from the past.

"[Larry] Wilks and three other unidentified subjects began to verbally attack the 45-year-old bus driver," said police spokesman Howard Payne. "He said 'You can't tell me what to do, and you better drive this bus.'"...

Wilks told police that he "didn't have to do anything" and allegedly got into a fight with the officer before being put into handcuffs, under arrest.

Others at the scene, apparently angered over the arrest, encircled the officer and Wilks, prompting the officer to call for backup.

"After the scene was calmed, Wilks stated he was not afraid to go to jail, and that proved to be directly in line with the officer's decision," Payne said.

See, this is why I drive a car.

What galls me the most about the people want to tell you what to do and how to run your life is that they also want you to pay them to tell you what to do and how to run your life! It adds insult to injury.

A bit like being charged for the executioner's bullet.

MORE: Speaking of pubic public transportation, here's something else to worry about that rhymes with nice:

If you take public transportation or are around children often, you may want to check to make sure you do not see any lice or eggs.

MORE: NO TOYS!

The list just goes on and on. Via Glenn Reynolds, I see that the food Nazis are trying to ban free toys with Happy Meals:

The Center for Science in the Public Interest last month threatened a lawsuit against the fast-food giant to get it to dump the toys that accompany Happy Meals.

Forget it, McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner said, defending Happy Meals in the written response sent to the Washington, D.C.-based group.

"Internet sites, blogs and network surveys suggest that public opinion is running overwhelmingly against your premise," Skinner wrote. "Our customer websites and phone lines at McDonald's are also busy, with more than nine out of 10 customers disagreeing with your agenda."

The strong public response is uncommon for the company, whose dominance in the fast-food industry makes its a target of a range of activist groups.

An actual legal ban on the toys was passed by the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors -- despite the fact that 80% of the voters there do not consider the issue important.

Santa Clara County's board of supervisors despondently voted 3-2 yesterday to ban toys in Californian restaurant meals marketed to kids that exceed a certain amount of calories. The purpose, said the measure's sponsor, is to fight obesity. Get it? They're banning toys for kids...for the children. Given the twisted logic of obesity crusaders, perhaps it was only a matter of time.

Of course, it's hard to see how this directly fights obesity. As our senior research analyst points out on Fox Philadelphia last night, it's not as if your 6-year-old drives to a fast-food joint to buy a kids' meal.

This video has been pulled due to terms of use violation.

Those food Nazis must be powerful!

I'm with Glenn's "Molon labe, baby!"

They can have the Happy Meal Toys when they.... etc.

Um, they do know that the people they're screwing around with still have the right to vote, don't they?