See the full cartoon at the American Spectator.
Dr. Walter Williams: Tobacco Tyrants Turn Their Attention To Salt
What the anti-tobacco zealots established is that government had the right to forcibly control our lives if it was done in the name of protecting our health…
America’s tyrants have now turned their attention to salt, as reported in the Washington Post’s article “FDA plans to limit amount of salt allowed in processed foods for health reasons” (April 19, 2010).
Why do food processors put a certain quantity of salt in their products? The answer is the people who buy their product like it, and they earn profits by pleasing customers. The FDA has taken the position that what the American buying public wants is irrelevant. They know what’s best and if you disagree, they will fine, jail or put you out of business.
Tyranny knows no bounds. Let’s say that the FDA orders Stouffer’s to no longer put 970 mg of sodium in their roasted turkey dinner; they mandate a maximum of 400 mg. Suppose Stouffer’s customers, assuming they continue buying the product, add more salt — what will the FDA do?
The answer is easy. They will copy the successful anti-tobacco zealot template. They might start out with warning labels on salt. Congress will levy confiscatory taxes on salt. Maybe lawsuits will be brought against salt companies.
State and local agencies might deny child adoption rights to couples found using too much salt. Before a couple can adopt a baby, they would have to take a blood test to determine their dietary habits. Teachers might ask schoolchildren to report their parents for adding salt to their meals.
Done It Before
You might say, “Williams, they’d never go that far in the name of health.” In 1960, you might have said the same thing about tobacco zealots, but they’ve done the same and more.
Daniel Oliver: Freedom Worth Its Salt
The Weekly Standard: FDA Plans to Force a National Salt Cutback
Las Vegas Review-Journal: The Soda Pop Tax
Sarah Palin:
Asked this week about his faltering efforts to advance the Middle East peace process, President Obama did something remarkable. In front of some 47 foreign leaders and hundreds of reporters from all over the world, President Obama said that “whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower.”
Whether we like it or not? Most Americans do like it. America’s military may be one of the greatest forces for good the world has ever seen, liberating countless millions from tyranny, slavery, and oppression over the last 234 years. As a dominant superpower, the United States has won wars hot and cold; our military has advanced the cause of freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan and kept authoritarian powers like Russia and China in check…
The truth is this: by his actions we see a president who seems to be much more comfortable with an American military that isn’t quite so dominant and who feels the need to apologize for America when he travels overseas. Could it be a lack of faith in American exceptionalism? The fact is that America and our allies are safer when we are a dominant military superpower – whether President Obama likes it or not.
The hook guy again. See the rest of this cartoon at the Spectator.
The Washington Times: Obama’s Jihad on “Jihad”
President Obama’s latest strategic innovation in the war on terrorism is to ignore jihad and maybe it will go away.
The Obama administration is removing terms such as “jihad” and “Islamic extremism” from the U.S. National Security Strategy in an attempt to convince Muslim countries that America doesn’t view them solely through the lens of counterterrorism…
The new development is a disturbing example of Mr. Obama’s seeming obsession with all things Muslim. It’s reminiscent of the Department of Homeland Security’s 2009 draft glossary of domestic extremist groups that listed Christian and Jewish organizations as threats but didn’t include any Muslim groups. Or the administration’s obstinate unwillingness to describe the Fort Hood massacre as an example of Islamist terrorism, even though the shooter - Nidal Malik Hasan - clearly was wrapped up in that ideology and shouted the traditional jihadist war cry “Allahu Akbar!” before opening fire.
Mr. Obama’s Muslim mania increasingly pervades government and has yet to be adequately explained or even addressed. It places America in growing peril.
FoxNews: Obama Bans “Islam”, “Jihad” From National Security Strategy Document
