Chicago

Even in the middle of this extreme heat, I must comment on the doings in the People's Republic of Chicago. The City Council in this Illinois community has decided it has the authority to interfere in everyone's life. It all started when the Smoke Nazis convinced them to stomp all over smokers' rights. Then they attacked cell phones by prohibiting their use by drivers, and they have outlawed the sale of goose liver (foie gras) at the urging of animal "rights" activists. Now they have proposed restricting fast-food chains from cooking with trans fat oils.

(AP)" . . . Critics, including the mayor, wonder if the City Council has suddenly deemed itself the behavior police.

"'We have children getting killed by gang leaders and dope dealers,' an angry Mayor Richard M. Daley said earlier this year. 'We have real issues here in this city. And we're dealing with foie gras? Let's get some priorities.'"

Notwithstanding the alleged merits of these actions, the question is: Do we elect people to tell us what to think, what to eat, and how to treat our own bodies?