Overlawyered » nanny state

Jim Vance on overprotected childhood

Walter Olson — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:42:38 +0000

When it comes to the dangers of the demand for a zero-risk childhood, veteran Washington, D.C. broadcast personality Jim Vance seems to be on much the same page (auto-plays video) as Lenore Skenazy of Free-Range Kids.

Tags: nanny state, recreation, Washington D.C.

Jim Vance on overprotected childhood is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Your right to food choice

Walter Olson — Fri, 04 May 2012 04:35:02 +0000

The Washington City Paper profiles Baylen Linnekin of Keep Food Legal and mentions his blogging for this site, which can be read here.

Tags: eat drink and be merry, nanny state

Your right to food choice is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Judge tosses Happy Meal lawsuit

Walter Olson — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:01:46 +0000

In San Francisco, Judge Richard Kramer has dismissed the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s lawsuit on behalf of parent Monet Parham seeking to declare unlawful McDonald’s practice of including a toy in its Happy Meal. I wrote about the case last year. [SF Weekly, earlier here, here]

Tags: McDonald's, nanny state, obesity

Judge tosses Happy Meal lawsuit is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“It’s just bad public policy to allow unfettered access to all kinds of food.”

Walter Olson — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:42:17 +0000

Meet the meddlers: officials from California to Gotham to London who believe that so long as we remain free to smoke, drink and consume potato chips in the privacy of our home, “government isn’t doing its job.” [Gene Healy, Examiner]

P.S. As readers rightly point out, the post should have noted that the speaker quoted in the headline was referring to the subsidized food stamp program, not the same thing as restricting consumer access to foods generally (though some “food policy” buffs certainly do favor the latter.)

Tags: eat drink and be merry, nanny state, public health

“It’s just bad public policy to allow unfettered access to all kinds of food.” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Sugar: the moral equivalent of war

Walter Olson — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:32:07 +0000

At the New York Times, Mark Bittman has proved a durable source of entertainment twice over, first as a purveyor of recipes with a high hit rate of being worth trying, and more recently with a laughably paternalistic opinion column. [David Boaz/Cato, Damon Root/Reason, earlier]

Tags: eat drink and be merry, nanny state, New York Times, obesity

Sugar: the moral equivalent of war is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

C.S. Lewis and the food police

Walter Olson — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:30:38 +0000

“It may be better to live under robber barons,” wrote the British author, “than under omnipotent moral busybodies.” [Barton Hinkle, Richmond Times-Dispatch] The federal government is preparing new rules restricting snack foods available through local schools, “which could include banning the candy sold for school fund-raisers,” notwithstanding a recent study finding no link between vending machine availability and child obesity [New York Times] And a blog supporter of bans on birthday cupcakes and soda machines in schools responds to her critics [Bettina Elias Siegel, "The Lunch Tray" and more]

P.S. And thanks to Pete Warden in comments for the relevant George Orwell quote.

Tags: nanny state, obesity, schools

C.S. Lewis and the food police is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Sugar “like alcohol and tobacco…toxic, addictive”

Walter Olson — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:45:46 +0000

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.

Tags: nanny state, obesity

Sugar “like alcohol and tobacco…toxic, addictive” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Hitchens on nannyism and NYC

Walter Olson — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:46:36 +0000

David Boaz recalls the great essayist’s remarks at a Cato Institute event. Other tributes: David Frum, D.G. Myers, Chris Buckley.

Tags: nanny state, NYC, smoking bans

Hitchens on nannyism and NYC is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Will the FDA get into the salt-reduction business?

Walter Olson — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:58:38 +0000

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.

Tags: FDA, nanny state, salt

Will the FDA get into the salt-reduction business? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

October 28 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 05:32:57 +0000

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]

Tags: expert witnesses, Florida, medical malpractice, nanny state, religious discrimination, Wal-Mart

October 28 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system