Reason.tv’s Nanny of the Month for Jan. 2010 (Are you outraged Snoop Dogg?)

Past Reason.tv Nannies of The Month have included New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (anti-salt, smoking, trans fat, you name it), a New York state senator who wanted to ban fish pedicures, and a Phoenix pol who banned churches from feeding the hungry on their own property.

So who is the first Nanny of The Month of this brand-new, sparking decade? Well, it’s NOT Brownsville, Texas, for banning plastic shopping bags. And it’s NOT Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) for terminating trans fat in the Golden State.

But it IS a town council somewhere in California that banned something natural and pure. And it does involved the great rapper Snoop Dogg (though not in the way you might think).

Click through to find out. Approximately one minute.

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Tags: government intrusion, nanny state, plastic shopping bags, snoop dogg, trans fats
Posted Feb 1st 2010 at 9:36 am in Culture, Political Humor | 6799031 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/ngillespie/2010/02/01/reason-tvs-nanny-of-the-month-for-jan-2010-are-you-outraged-snoop-dogg/Reason.tv%27s+Nanny+of+the+Month+for+Jan.+2010+%28Are+you+outraged+Snoop+Dogg%3F%292010-02-01+17%3A36%3A04Nick+Gillespie

Rise of the Nanny State: Is There a Political Answer to Every Problem?

Is there a political answer to every problem? Most of my colleagues feel this is the case. I disagree.

In the past day, there was a spate of news articles about California’s trans-fat ban due to go into effect on New Year’s Day. I voted against this new law.

California has the 4th-highest unemployment rate, a $21 billion budget deficit, and a severe water shortage, so, what do lawmakers do?  Pass a law that will fine restaurants $1,000 for using margarine in their foods.

One of the articles said:

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, criticized the new law as an example of nanny government with little beneficial impact.
“Not every human problem deserves a political solution,” he said. “That’s the fallacy my colleagues engage in.”

I’ve been criticized for voting against all sorts of nanny state bills that expand the police power of government in the name of making us safe from ourselves. I’ve often argued that we might as well pass a blanket bill outlawing stupidity and rudeness in California.

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Tags: Barbara Boxer, Big Government, california government, Forbes, Forbes Magazine
Posted Dec 31st 2009 at 10:31 am in Culture, Politics, State Politics | 53834109 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/cdevore/2009/12/31/rise-of-the-nanny-state-is-there-a-political-answer-to-every-problem/Rise+of+the+Nanny+State%3A+Is+There+a+Political+Answer+to+Every+Problem%3F2009-12-31+18%3A31%3A29Chuck+DeVore

Announcing Reason.tv’s Nanny of the Year 2009!

In 2009, America’s meddlers worked overtime minding other people’s business.

Nanny of the Month winners have targeted everything from fish pedicures to feeding the homeless.  But there can be only one Nanny of the Year.

Who took home top honors as the year’s biggest buttinsky? Click the video to find out.

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Tags: Alex Manning, nanny government, nanny state, Reason TV, Ted Balaker
Posted Dec 28th 2009 at 10:21 am in Culture, Healthcare, Political Humor | 5284249 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/ngillespie/2009/12/28/announcing-reason-tvs-nanny-of-the-year-2009/Announcing+Reason.tv%27s+Nanny+of+the+Year+2009%212009-12-28+18%3A21%3A50Nick+Gillespie

Code TEA: Tea Parties, Go Home! All Politics Is Local

TEA Parties nation-wide have found that calling, writing, and showing up in person in D.C. has the same impact as a hiccup in a hurricane. After turning out thousands of citizens at rallies, overwhelming the Senate phone lines and crashing Congress’ e-mail system, our elected representatives are poised to enact the greatest expansion of government in history. The TEA Parties followed the direction of national organizations and associations. They answered the call, but were sent over the trench-line without an actual plan or support. (See, for example, Somme, Battle of) It is time for the TEA Party movement to turn inward. In the words of the age-old adage, “ All politics is local “.

Stories like the ACORN tapes have massive national legs, yet they do not destroy the local farm team of tax-and-spend big government.  Fighting for Liberty and the ability to live the American dream requires getting your hands dirty far closer to home.

For the TEA party and 9-12 groups to become effective, they must evolve again, and this time the Gadsden Flag will be a marker laid down to far more personal targets. People find the mundane of daily life and local news forgettable, yet this is how the TEA party can enact meaningful change.

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Tags: government encroachment, machine politics, nanny state, personal liberties, political class
Posted Dec 21st 2009 at 5:41 am in Culture, Featured Story, Politics, Tea Party | 49970215 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/capitolconfidential/2009/12/21/code-tea-tea-parties-go-home-all-politics-is-local/Code+TEA%3A+Tea+Parties%2C+Go+Home%21+All+Politics+Is+Local2009-12-21+13%3A41%3A26Capitol++Confidential

Reason TV’s Nanny of the Month: November 2009

Smoking, fast food, giant inflatable blue gorillas-no matter what it is, chances are some nanny wants to ban it. And this past month was no exception.

Reason.tv’s October 2009 Nanny of The Month Award went to New York State Sen. Jeff Klein for his efforts to rid the Empire State of fish pedicures.

Who is the Nanny of the Month for November 2009?

The runners up include the California Energy Commission for banning big-screen TVs unless they conform to stringent new energy standards and the Food and Drug Administration, which is waging war against caffeinated booze drinks.

But only one can be Nanny of the Month, and this time it’s …

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Tags: caffeinated alcohol drinks, California Energy Commission, fish pedicures, Food and Drug Administration, government busybody
Posted Nov 30th 2009 at 9:41 am in Culture, Politics, State Politics | 3852267 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/ngillespie/2009/11/30/reason-tvs-nanny-of-the-month-november-2009/Reason+TV%27s+Nanny+of+the+Month%3A+November+20092009-11-30+16%3A41%3A17Nick+Gillespie

ReasonTV: Light Bulbs v. The Nanny State

In September, the European Union banned the sale of 100-watt incandescent light bulbs, with lawbreakers facing up to $70,000 in fines. Over the next few years, bans on lower-wattage bulbs kick in. In the United States, similar legislation comes into play in 2012. The idea is to kickstart the market for compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), which use less energy than conventional incandescents. Although CFLs present any number of problems (even beyond a much higher initial cost), governments all over the globe are determined to make them the new standard.

Invented in its modern form by Thomas Edison in 1879, the light bulb became synonymous with a brilliant idea. Now, it seems, it’s just one more symbol of a nanny state that increasingly dictates more choices in our public and private lives.

“Light bulbs vs. The Nanny State” is produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie. Approximately two minutes.

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Tags: compact fluorescent lights, environmental regulation, European Union, incandescent light bulb, Meredith Bragg
Posted Oct 6th 2009 at 7:07 am in Culture, Environment | 1329065 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/ngillespie/2009/10/06/reasontv-light-bulbs-v-the-nanny-state/ReasonTV%3A+Light+Bulbs+v.+The+Nanny+State2009-10-06+14%3A07%3A07Nick+Gillespie

NYC Government Crack Down on Bake Sales

Unfortunately, items like this don’t really surprise us anymore:

There shall be no cupcakes. No chocolate cake and no carrot cake. According to New York City’s latest regulations, not even zucchini bread makes the cut.

In an effort to limit how much sugar and fat students put in their bellies at school, the Education Department has effectively banned most bake sales, the lucrative if not quite healthy fund-raising tool for generations of teams and clubs.

The change is part of a new wellness policy that also limits what can be sold in vending machines and student-run stores, which use profits to help finance activities like pep rallies and proms. The elaborate rules were outlined in a three-page memo issued at the end of June, but in the new school year, principals and parents are just beginning to, well, digest them.

Read the whole dreadful thing here. Special pull quote:

“Schools are supposed to be a place where we establish a model environment, and the last thing kids need is an extra source of pointless calories.”

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Tags: food police, nanny state, New York City, New York City Education Department
Posted Oct 5th 2009 at 7:41 am in Culture, News | 1255860 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2009/10/05/nyc-government-crack-down-on-bake-sales/NYC+Government+Crack+Down+on+Bake+Sales2009-10-05+14%3A41%3A49Publius