Stories like this tend to annoy me, because they make me feel like there’s hope for America. And that feeling can never last.
But today we gloat! WSJ:
Mayor Michael Bloomberg was dealt a stinging blow on Monday when a state Supreme Court Judge quashed his plan to ban the sale of large sugary drinks in the city’s restaurants and other venues…
New York state Supreme Court Judge Milton Tingling declared invalid Mr. Bloomberg’s plan to prohibit restaurants, mobile food carts, delis and concessions at movie theaters, stadiums or arenas from selling sugary drinks in cups or containers larger than 16 ounces. The ban was set to begin Tuesday.
Judge Tingling determined that Mr. Bloomberg exceeded his authority by sidestepping the City Council and placing the issue before the city’s Board of Health, a panel whose members were each appointed by the mayor…
The judge ruled the regulations are “fraught with arbitrary and capricious consequences,” noting how there would be uneven enforcement within a single city block.
This is is a dangerous precedent for nanny-staters everywhere. Arbitrariness and caprice are kinda the point. Otherwise people will actually want to obey the law, and where’s the fun in that? It’s no use being a meddling autocrat if you can’t make people miserable. (“For their own good,” of course.)
And why is this happening? Well:
I’d like to think that the judge who spoiled @mikebloomberg‘s fun did so on principle. But more likely, he was acting out of Sprite.
— Jim Treacher (@jtLOL) March 12, 2013
Point and laugh at the tiny dictator as he seethes at his defeat:
Then go out and buy yourself a soda. Make it as large as you want. Raise a toast to Emperor Bloomberg’s humiliation.