In New York there was a councilwoman who wanted to ban dangerously sized candy. In Chicago—and I believe in all of Illinois—they banned a certain kind of yo-yo because one child almost choked or hung himself, which doesn’t sound too funny; it was funnier when I wrote it, I guess. In Florida there are actually playgrounds that have “No Running” signs. These are things that just make you shake your head. In other places we have people who are advocating for regulations on food portions. So they count out the calories in a restaurant and tell you how much you could eat. And zero-tolerance laws where you can’t have a glass of wine and drive.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BillSteigerwald/2007/10/09/welcome_to_the_nanny_state—_an_interview