Oh please

He's doing it again. Andrew Sullivan, the moralizing expat who will give Bush the benefit of the doubt on virtually everything ("he's a closet tolerant! really! Even though he's called for a federal marriage amendment countless times, he really genuinely likes gay people!"), but never gives the left or any other country the same treatment - now he has another reason to hate the UK. Oh yes.

So he's mad that they might try to regulate how fast food is sold. That, to me, does not a nanny state make. And, more importantly, let's remember that this alleged nanny state happens to be a democracy. The people choose to have broader social protection. I once had an argument with some Republican nutjob who said that the US was the most free place in the world. I asked about, say, Canada, or Netherlands, or you know, all those countries in Western Europe. He said we were more free in the US because we had lower taxes. Um. Those countries elect their governments (and they even do so legitimately, pace Katherine Harris) and they choose to exercise their freedom that way.

So Sullivan thinks it's apostacy to have a "nanny state" and have the government regulate the selling of fast food, but never seems to wax apoplectic about the transgressions of Republicans in the same way.

And really, these alleged nanny states do things like regulate health, and education. They don't try to force prayer in schools, say, or fight over text books, or try to ban the teaching of certain branches of science. You want to talk about overregulated, Andrew? Look no further than the US, whever every nutcase right wing legislator has some pet project to improve morality that he wants to ram down other peoples' throats.