Rich Hailey

And the score is now Bloomberg 0 Freedom 1 as a judge struck down Nanny Bloomberg’s soda ban.

Yes friends and neighbors, New Yorkers are once again free to decide what, and how much, they can drink without an overweening micromanaging government playing mommy and overseeing their choices.

Sure, this seems like a small thing, and it is, but the principle at stake isn’t small at all. After all, what we eat and drink is one of the most personal choices we make each day. A while back, I wrote a column on Babble talking about the mayor’s proposed ban.

This isn’t about whether or not the rule will succeed at reducing obesity in NYC. Instead, it’s about whether government, at the local, state, or federal level has the authority to pass legislation to protect us from ourselves. It’s about whether we are servants of the state, or its masters. It’s about being citizens or subjects.

For now at least, although Bloomberg has vowed to appeal the ruling, the people of New York City are still citizens.

Unless we’re talking about self defense. That’s a whole different story.