More Gov't Over-reaching from the P.R.M.

The Daily Caller has canvassed ridiculous ordinances from towns in Massachusetts and has come up with some doozies.

Number one on the list: government-mandated teeth brushing. Note, however, that this ordinance applies only to children in daycare. Doesn't that create an equal protection problem for those non-daycare kids, the ones whose mothers gave up their careers to devote themselves to child-rearing? Plainly, Massachusetts should just seize those children, to save them from exposure to reactionary ideas and gingivitis.

Then there is the law against defacing a milk carton. Who thinks of this stuff? It's too bizarre even to make up.

My favorite, however, comes from Cambridge, home of Harvard and epicenter of the Nanny State. The Cambridge Climate Congress has proposed banning meat sales in Cambridge on Mondays. The ordinance did not pass, but that was before Harvard alum Al Gore found himself with no place to sleep and extra time on his hands to promote climate change. Note that the ordinance didn't set the meat-out for Fridays, like the old Catholic custom. Good to see that the old wall between church and state has not cracked in Cambridge.

Happy Valentine's Day from the Big Apple, or Why I Left New York

New York City is giving out free condoms today to help its citizens celebrate Valentine's Day. Last year, the city gave out 36 million of the condoms and hopes to beat that record. This year, the city is running an ad campaign on television and 1,000 subway cars to promote the free condoms.

The citizens of New York City, if they stop the think about it, should rise up en masse and demand a tax rebate. As Ronald Reagan used to point out, if you don't starve the government beast of tax revenue, there is no end to the extent that it will meddle in our personal lives.

The condoms include a new packaging design that features the 2008 slogan: "get some." Seriously.

Finding a constitutional right to have sex of any description is one thing. Subsidizing it with tax revenue is quite another.

As Fox, via Drudge, reported:

Street teams from the health department will meet commuters around the city Thursday to hand out the new NYC Condom for Valentine's Day, officials said.

Hand-out locations include Times Square, Wall Street and near City Hall.

Of course, a government program of such importance requires its own government agency, the "Department of Health and Mental Hygiene." (Can someone explain to me what on earth "mental hygiene" is? I'm familiar with mental health and personal hygiene, but only New York could combine the concepts.)

Any New York City establishment -- whether it's a health club, coffee house, bar, barbershop or clothing store -- can order NYC Condoms in bulk by calling 311 or visiting NYC.gov.

Presumably, that includes cat houses and frat houses.

The operators who answer the city hotline this evening will have some stories to tell tomorrow: "The Health Department will deliver free NYC Condoms as needed to meet demand" (emphasis added). Now that's service, by a government that really cares.

Smeller's the Feller

Drudge is reporting that a Camden, New Jersey middle school is imposing detention for intentional farting. Seriously.

What I want to know is, how do you prove intent? How do you even establish the identity of the perpetrator?

And how do they determine which teacher gets to supervise the detention? The teachers' unions need to investigate. And then the ACLU can bring suit for this egregious violation of the "right to privacy."

In the meantime, Congress needs to rename No Child Left Behind.

Hillary Bribes Iowa Voters with Free Babysitting

Hillary Clinton is offering free babysitters and daycare centers to get her supporters to the Iowa caucus, according to the New York Daily News as linked by Drudge. "The Clinton campaign is opening day care centers across the state, including three in Des Moines, and has enlisted a legion of teenage girls to render their tyke-watching services."

This takes Get Out the Vote drives to a a whole new level. And it's brought to us by the candidate (and party) who think that we should look to government -- or a campaign to run the government -- to perform even the most mundane chores of daily life.

We already knew that Hillary believes that "It Takes a Village" to raise a child. She literally wrote the book on the Nanny State. Hillary gave a speech to promote her book and her philosophy of collectivist child-rearing in 1997 that included this:

We all know that raising kids is a full-time job and since most parents work, they are, we are stretched thin. Just think about what many parents are responsible for on any given day. Packing lunches, dropping the kids off at school, going to work, checking to make sure that the kids get home from school safely, shopping for groceries, making dinner, doing the laundry, helping with homework, paying the bills, and I didn't even mention taking the dog to the vet.

That's why my husband wants to pass a flex-time law that will give parents the option - to take overtime pay either in extra income or in extra time off depending upon whichever is best for your family.

That's right, let's impose federal regulations on small business owners to enable parents to get the dog to the vet and pack the lunches. But by providing the actual babysitters and daycare centers, Hillary has taken her philosophy to its illogical extreme: she'll provide someone to pack the lunch and help with the homework.

It's no surprise that Hillary will do anything to win. This strategy, however, reflects a recklessness that one would not expect from a lawyer. The liability issues boggle the mind. Many schools and churches do not even let parents volunteer before undergoing a criminal background check first. Will Hillary fingerprint her volunteer sitters, or make sure they know CPR? Don't expect her to check whether they are registered sex offenders. After all, this is the party who wants to give voting rights to felons.

But if Bill has any say in selecting the sitters, they will at least be nubile. Who knows, maybe Bill will be one of the babysitters, just to keep campaign expenses low, of course.

Moreover, any parent who would accept Hillary's childcare is gambling their child's safety. There won't be any time to check the sitter's references. Why would anyone leave their child with a stranger -- just to go to a caucus?

I've always taken my children with me when I go to vote; the experience teaches civic responsibility and the mechanics of democracy. So I could not understand why any Iowan with small children would not simply bring them along to the caucus.

Then it hit me. The content matter at a Democratic caucus might not be appropriate for small children. They'd learn that one of their candidates used cocaine. They'd learn that another candidate might have an illegitimate child. And they'd hear plenty of discussion about the value of "choice" -- not school choice, but rather abortion. That would make for an interesting mother-child conversation on the ride home from the caucus.