Month: September 2012

Nanny Statists Censor The Night Before Christmas Poem

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Nanny Statists Censor The Night Before Christmas Poem




Lenore Skenazy alerts us to the latest madness from the nanny state industry: you will run and hide any copies you might have of “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” a poem that has apparently been corrupting young minds — and lungs — sinc3 1822.  You’ll recall that in the poem, St. Nick is not without his vices:  ”The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, and the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath.”  That’s right — Santa’s a smoker. Thank goodness a new version is coming out this year…




Should Bars Be Forced To Close At 1pm?

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Should Bars Be Forced To Close At 1pm?




A guest post from Siobhan Harris: Melbourne Mayoral candidate John Elliot is calling for nightclubs to close at 1am. He argues that this controversial move will put an end to street violence and keep Melbourne CBD residents safe. This ill-conceived promise will make street violence worse and ensure that residents feel less safe. Nightclubs in Melbourne typically open around 9pm or 10pm, so if this measure were to come to effect, nightclubbers would only have 3 or 4 hours to enjoy themselves. But of course, nobody goes to a nightclub…




Swiss voters overwhelmingly reject smoking ban

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Swiss voters overwhelmingly reject smoking ban




The BBC reports that Swiss voters have overwhelmingly endorsed private property rights and rejected the nanny state by voting against an absolute smoking ban: In some cantons, more than 70% of voters rejected the ban, according to Geneva newspaper La Tribune de Geneve. Geneva itself bucked the trend by supporting the ban by 52% to 48%.,, The result was welcomed by the Swiss Business Federation which called it “heartening”. “The initiative would have imposed more costs on restaurateurs who have already made considerable investments to protect non-smokers,” it said in…




Youths, Alcohol & Moral Panic

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Youths, Alcohol & Moral Panic




A guest post from Siobhan Harris: Yesterday the National Summit on Alcohol Marketing to Young People was held in Parliament House in Canberra. The event was in association with the National Alliance for Action on Alcohol (NAAF).  In attendance were public health experts, non-government organizations, law enforcement bodies, youth associations and ‘experts in alcohol’. Together they reached a ‘broad consensus’, that youths were being exposed to alcohol advertising and marketing. They also list the ways in which youths were being exposed such as social media platforms like Facebook. They patted…




Coming Soon: Plain Packaging For Fast Food & “Regulated Portion Sizes”.

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Coming Soon: Plain Packaging For Fast Food & “Regulated Portion Sizes”.




Well, that was fast! Straight from their imposition of plain-packaging for tobacco products, our taxpayer-funded anti-freedom paternalistic nanny state advocates have abandoned any pretense that it was ever about tobacco, and have begun to call for plain packaging for fast food. In today’s taxpayer-funded The Conversation appeared this article: “Plain packaging for junk food? Health experts call for govt intervention”. According to Bebe Loff, the taxpayer-funded director of the Michael Kirby Centre for Public Health and Human Rights at Monash University, the problem is that it “took 60 years, and a decision by…




School Bans Ball-Playing Banned Before & After School

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School Bans Ball-Playing Banned Before & After School




Lenore Skenazy writing at Free Range Kids: A school in Australia is banning balls for the 15 minutes before and after school because, according to The Age newspaper, a toddler was hit by a ball. Of course I feel bad for the toddler. But I feel far worse for the 600 kids at this school, Black Rock Primary, in Melbourne. It might seem like, “Well, we’re only talking about controlling the chaos during the busiest time, when all the kids are gathered and it’s so crowded.” But that is the CRUCIAL time for playing….




ID scanners the latest privacy infringement for Kings Cross patrons

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ID scanners the latest privacy infringement for Kings Cross patrons




Via the IPA’s FreedomWatch: Premier O’Farrell’s latest idea involves compulsory linked ID scanners in every Kings Cross venue. So, you go into a bar, you have your ID scanned, and if you’re later thrown out of that bar it will register when you try to enter the bar next door, and you’ll be denied entry. … The proposed ID scanners also raise a few privacy issues. NSW police will also be able to access the scanners to ‘help them identify offenders or victims when a crime has occurred.’ The O’Farrell government claims…




Anthony Bourdain: Food Fascist

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Anthony Bourdain: Food Fascist




Prick With A Fork comments: So last night the latest edition of Wine Selector magazine hit the doorstep of Stately Prick Manor. On the cover: Anthony Bourdain, the self-styled hard-living, heavy-drinking, smokes-like-a-chimney bad boy of food. Like any good cook Bourdain loves his food and hates the big fast food chains. Fair enough. He’s also, over the past decade, made a small fortune by casting himself as the Christopher Hitchens of the kitchen, enjoying life to the full and skewering those who would stand in the way with an elegant flick of the…