In New York City, a judge has blocked an effort by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to ban the sale of more than 16-ounce soft drinks in food service establishments. The judge ruled that the ban was “arbitrary and capricious.” Mayor Bloomberg vowed to appeal the court ruling. This, in a nutshell, is how America works — or, more appropriately, doesn’t work — these days.
It goes like this: The government imposes a silly, overly intrusive edict and claims it needs to do so to “promote health and safety” or hold down government spending. The stated purpose of the New York City Big Gulp ban was to prevent obesity, a condition that affects many Gothamites, and thus reduce city health costs. Never mind that obese people become obese for many reasons; Mayor Bloomberg decided to target big soda drinks. Then an industry group challenges the regulation in court, taxpayer-funded government lawyers and the industry-funded lawyers fight about the issue, and eventually a judge makes a ruling. Restraining orders get issued and appealed and the wheels of government grind to a halt while sideshow lawsuits addressing overreaching regulations command the public eye.
Does anyone think the framers of the Constitution would recognize our current government? Who among them would believe that government would some day outlaw certain foods on the ground that citizens can’t be trusted to consume them in moderation? Who among them would believe that one day judges would scrutinize and pass judgment on seemingly every government action?
We’ve strayed far from the initial concept of our Republic, where Americans were willing to fight and die for individual liberty and the right to representative government. We’re not heading in the right direction.
One of the 
Sandy is still far to the south, but speculation about the disasters it might inflict makes for juicy headlines. It 
Of course, calling it an “apartment” is kind of silly. It’s the penthouse of an apartment building that occupies an entire block. The apartment encompasses 6,784 square feet — which is significantly larger than our home — and includes a library, four bedrooms, a den, a gallery, and three large terraces overlooking Central Park and the surrounding neighborhood. You’d have to sell a lot of fertilizer to afford such luxury.
You never see Vogue models with gum in their mouths. There’s a reason for that — the vigorous jaw workout that goes with gum chewing is neither attractive nor classy. You can put together the most attractive high-fashion clothing ensemble imaginable, one that would fit comfortably on the streets of Paris, and if you’re grinding away on a lump of gum you may as well be wearing ratty, ill-fitting sweats and walk outside with a bad case of “bed head.” It is simply impossible to look cool and fashionable when you’re chewing gum.
