Overlawyered » nanny state http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:11:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Sugar “like alcohol and tobacco…toxic, addictive” http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/sugar-like-alcohol-and-tobacco-toxic-addictive/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/sugar-like-alcohol-and-tobacco-toxic-addictive/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:45:46 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27294 Some scientists at the University of California, San Francisco want the government to get much more deeply involved in deciding what you eat and drink, and the magazine Nature is providing a platform for their views. [San Francisco Chronicle] More: American Council on Science and Health, Andrew Stuttaford/NRO.

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/sugar-like-alcohol-and-tobacco-toxic-addictive/feed/ 6 Hitchens on nannyism and NYC http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/hitchens-on-nannyism-and-nyc/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/hitchens-on-nannyism-and-nyc/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:46:36 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26282 David Boaz recalls the great essayist’s remarks at a Cato Institute event. Other tributes: David Frum, D.G. Myers, Chris Buckley.

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/hitchens-on-nannyism-and-nyc/feed/ 0 Will the FDA get into the salt-reduction business? http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/will-the-fda-get-into-the-salt-reduction-business/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/will-the-fda-get-into-the-salt-reduction-business/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:58:38 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25859 If the Food and Drug Administration continues down its current path, it could begin ordering mandatory salt reductions in processed and restaurant foods ranging from pretzels to cold cuts to take-out chicken nuggets. As I explain at Cato at Liberty, time is running out for public comment on the FDA’s plans to enter the field. Earlier here, etc.

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/will-the-fda-get-into-the-salt-reduction-business/feed/ 3 October 28 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/october-28-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/october-28-roundup-2/#comments Fri, 28 Oct 2011 05:32:57 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24992
  • Self-parody watch: Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Ct.) wants federal program to dispense free diapers [Fox News]
  • Trial-lawyer-friendly Florida Supreme Court could strike down state’s 2003 malpractice limits [Orlando Business Journal]
  • Don’t forget to thank Wal-Mart lobbyists for that debit fee charge [Mark Perry]
  • “Should insurers [be compelled by law to] pay for eating disorders?” [NYT "Room for Debate"]
  • Texas man drops suit against former fiancee [Above the Law]
  • “$75,000 Settlement for Muslim Teacher Denied 19 Days’ Unpaid Leave for Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca)” [Volokh]
  • Epidemiology for hire: “The Texas Sharpshooter Goes Free Range” [David Oliver]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/october-28-roundup-2/feed/ 3     EU directive on kids, balloons and other toys http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/children-to-be-banned-from-blowing-up-balloons-under-eu-safety-rules/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/children-to-be-banned-from-blowing-up-balloons-under-eu-safety-rules/#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:37:54 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25102 “Whistle blowers, that scroll out into a long coloured paper tongue when sounded – a party favourite at family Christmas meals – are now classed as unsafe for all children under 14. … the EU legislation will impose restrictions on how noisy toys, including rattles or musical instruments, are allowed to be.” Unsupervised children under 8 should not be allowed to blow up balloons, according to the European Union directive, which has just taken effect. [Telegraph; headline changed after objection that the Telegraph's headline was misleading]

    In related news, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, addressing a United Nations conference on “the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases,” has said that “mak[ing] healthy solutions the default social option” on matters such as diet is “ultimately government’s highest duty.” [Sullum]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/children-to-be-banned-from-blowing-up-balloons-under-eu-safety-rules/feed/ 8     Food trucks near school grounds http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/food-trucks-near-school-grounds/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/food-trucks-near-school-grounds/#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 05:31:21 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24780 The food-truck revival has stirred much enthusiasm, but now paternalists have begun to demand that goodie-laden vehicles — like drug dealers — be made to stay at a considerable distance from schools. [Bay Citizen]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/food-trucks-near-school-grounds/feed/ 5     Lawyers can’t safety-proof national parks http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/lawyers-cant-safety-proof-national-parks/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/lawyers-cant-safety-proof-national-parks/#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:04:32 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24695 Timothy Egan, New York Times, on lawsuits over rogue mountain goats and other hazards of wild places:

    My experience, purely anecdotal, is that the more rangers try to bring the nanny state to public lands, the more careless, and dependent, people become. There will always be steep cliffs, deep water, and ornery and unpredictable animals in that messy part of the national habitat not crossed by climate-controlled malls and processed-food emporiums. If people expect a grizzly bear to be benign, or think a glacier is just another variant of a theme park slide, it’s not the fault of the government when something goes fatally wrong.

    More: Steve Chapman (most dangerous animal in the parks is the one “wearing your pants”); David Boaz.

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/lawyers-cant-safety-proof-national-parks/feed/ 1     Food law roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/food-law-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/food-law-roundup-2/#comments Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:56:43 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24546
  • Feds fund Boston campaign bashing sweetened drinks [Globe; see also on NYC] More on ObamaCare “Public Health Fund” subsidies to local paternalist initiatives on diet [WLF]
  • Thanks to federal funding priorities, New York education department had 40 experts on school lunches, only one on science education [Frederick Hess via Stoll]
  • Grocers hope to escape federal menu labeling mandate [FDA Law Blog] How regulations exasperate midsize restaurant operators [Philip Klein, Wash. Examiner]
  • “The Eight Dumbest Restaurant Laws” [Zagat]
  • Proposed federal standards on kid food ads extreme enough that many USDA “healthy” recipes would flunk [Diane Katz, Heritage] Do FTC’s guidelines violate the First Amendment? [WSJ]
  • Compared with what? “Egg farm regulations still skimpy” [Stoll] Deer blamed for E. coli in pick-your-own strawberries [USA Today]
  • U.K.: Your kids are too fat so we’re taking them away [Daily Mail; earlier here, here, etc.]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/food-law-roundup-2/feed/ 1     Rewarding officiousness http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/rewarding-officiousness/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/rewarding-officiousness/#comments Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:07:56 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24508 A federal grant to the New Orleans Police Department “pays for overtime for officers who enforce seat-belt laws.” [NOLA.com via Balko]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/rewarding-officiousness/feed/ 10     “Not every human problem deserves a law” http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/not-every-human-problem-deserves-a-law/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/not-every-human-problem-deserves-a-law/#comments Thu, 08 Sep 2011 05:36:40 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24467 A veto message from Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, after the California legislature passed a bill imposing a fine on children or their parents or guardians for skiing or snowboarding without a helmet: “While I appreciate the value of wearing a ski helmet,” wrote the governor, “I am concerned about the continuing and seemingly inexorable transfer of authority from parents to the state.” [John Myers, KQED; text of veto message]

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