Creeping Health Tyranny

The Detroit Free Press prints the AP story: an eighth-grader in Connecticut has been thrown off the student council, banned from an honors dinner, and suspended from school for a day. Must've cheated on a test or plagiarized a paper, right? Worse: He encouraged poor eating habits.

This kid bought a bag of Skittles from a candy pusher in the hallways of his own school. (Parents: this is the danger your kids face every day.)

Now, I realize that nobody died here and it's not an incredibly serious issue (although when it comes time to apply to colleges, a suspension never looks good). Even so, I ask you to witness the danger that comes with assigning responsibility for physical health to government entities. The school's policy was an infringement of the students' freedom for the sake of their health. Go on and keep thinking that universal health care will be different.