Chicagoschool principal outlaws brown bag lunches.

And it continues......
Welcome to living in a police state.

State Inspectors Searching Children’s Lunch Boxes: “This Isn’t China, Is It?” - Civitas Institute (http://www.nccivitas.org/2012/state-inspectors-searching-childrens-lunch-boxes-this-isnt-china-is-it/)

Link not working for me. With that said ...

Police State: (n) country repressively controlled by its government: a country in which the government uses police, especially secret police, to exercise strict or repressive control over the population
define police state - Bing DICTIONARY (http://www.bing.com/Dictionary/search?q=define+police+state&qpvt=definition+of+police+state&FORM=DTPDIA)

While the erosion of personal freedoms is a concern and, certainly, individual liberties have been sacrificed for the "general welfare". We are far from a police state. We may eventually become one, but the mere fact that the "State" exercises police powers does not make us a "Police State". You want a police state? Try Nazi Germany. Try Iran - both under the Shah and the current theocracy.

Hyperbole like this only polarizes the argument. We are flawed and we will continue to be so. There are other countries that are more "free" than us but none with as large and disparate a population as ours.

Sorry, it just irks me when either the left or the right start comparing our country to "police states" or equates it with the Nazis. Just a peeve. I'll stop my rant now.

Link not working for me. With that said ...

Police State: (n) country repressively controlled by its government: a country in which the government uses police, especially secret police, to exercise strict or repressive control over the population
define police state - Bing DICTIONARY (http://www.bing.com/Dictionary/search?q=define+police+state&qpvt=definition+of+police+state&FORM=DTPDIA)

While the erosion of personal freedoms is a concern and, certainly, individual liberties have been sacrificed for the "general welfare". We are far from a police state. We may eventually become one, but the mere fact that the "State" exercises police powers does not make us a "Police State". You want a police state? Try Nazi Germany. Try Iran - both under the Shah and the current theocracy.

Hyperbole like this only polarizes the argument. We are flawed and we will continue to be so. There are other countries that are more "free" than us but none with as large and disparate a population as ours.

Sorry, it just irks me when either the left or the right start comparing our country to "police states" or equates it with the Nazis. Just a peeve. I'll stop my rant now.

You are correct. While there are aspects of life in the USA which I find to be problematic in terms of government control, we are no where near a "police state" and it is unfair to say that we are.

I dont think its hyperbole. Its a very fitting term AFAIC.
Our childrens lunches are being policed.
A government official is telling us what we may or may not feed our children.
Thats overblown govt and its big govt and its utter bullshit.
We do not need a govt appointed meal nanny.

I think they should just take fat kids away from their parents until they lose the weight.

I dont think its hyperbole. Its a very fitting term AFAIC.
Our childrens lunches are being policed.
A government official is telling us what we may or may not feed our children.
Thats overblown govt and its big govt and its utter bullshit.
We do not need a govt appointed meal nanny.

C'mon. We're talking about control of school lunches in limited places.

This is nowhere near the same as complete government control of the media, the internet, publishing houses, the judiciary, and entire school curricula, with secret police embedded to tattle-tale on their neighbors.

First, I agree that this an overly intruisive govt. action. At the same time, it does not transform either the US, the state of North Carolina or even the Hoke County school board into a "police state". If it did, the mother would currently be in jail for voicing an opinion contrary to the school board's position and the local papers shut down.

Call it what it is so that it can be properly dealt with: An overly intruisive govt. action caused by legitimate civic concern about the national youth obesity epidemic. THEN, we can rationally see if there are ways to address the underlying group concern in a way that maximizes individual liberty.

I recognize that doesn't have the sexiness of comparing an over zealous school board to nazis, but it just might lead to a rational and intelligent resolution of the issue. Silly me to hope for such a result.

C'mon. We're talking about control of school lunches in limited places.

This is nowhere near the same as complete government control of the media, the internet, publishing houses, the judiciary, and entire school curricula, with secret police embedded to tattle-tale on their neighbors.


I agree.
However baby steps turn into giant steps.
If I wanted some govt twit to check my childs lunch I would of asked.
Until I do they need to back off and do something a lot more constructive with my tax money.

Call it what you want but it seems like the police and the govt get more power every year.
Next thing you know you cant throw a frisbee on a beach....oh wait....

I agree.
However baby steps turn into giant steps.
If I wanted some govt twit to check my childs lunch I would of asked.
Until I do they need to back off and do something a lot more constructive with my tax money.

Call it what you want but it seems like the police and the govt get more power every year.
Next thing you know you cant throw a frisbee on a beach....oh wait....

LOL

I agree with the fact that we are ceding more individual liberties to the government. BUT, in saying that, let's characterize "the Government" correctly. More and more, group rights are trumping individual liberties. Part of that is natural and necessary for a society of 300,000,000 to live and work together. Some of it is through laziness, some of it is b/c people on both sides rely on hyperbole, demagougery and emotional rhetoric that doesn't properly frame the question.

You want to protect individual liberty? Then frame the question properly - where do the rights of the group stop ('cause they/we have them) and the rights of the individual begin. Calling people nazis and part of police state plays into the hands of the "group rights" crowd because, underlying these intrusions is almost always a legitimate societal concern:

"Were not evil nazis, that's just a bunch of right wing scare tactics. We are just trying to make sure all of our kids are eating healthy lunches to combat the epidemic of youth obesity - which, by the way, these right wingers fail to mention is harming our children and costing us billions in health care dollars."

I don't care for scare tactics either and the police statement I made was just sarcasm.

In this case the govt is supplementing or changing parental control with their own version of it.
I wouldnt have a problem with govt diet eggheads trying to educate more parents regarding child obesity.
But in this case they are literally taking potato chips out of kids hands and forcing carrot sticks into them.
efff that!

_________________________

Here's another article on the same subject.
The school had the nerve to charge the parent for the forced lunch.
Maybe instead of schools they should be called govt re-education facilities.

Preschooler's home-made lunch replaced with 'nuggets' : News : NorthwestOhio.com (http://www.northwestohio.com/news/story.aspx?id=719549#.TzvWPoEneaf)