{"id":4963,"date":"2018-01-25T15:35:40","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T21:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/?p=4963"},"modified":"2018-01-26T14:54:59","modified_gmt":"2018-01-26T20:54:59","slug":"california-considers-1000-fine-jail-waiters-hand-plastic-strawswww-goo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2018\/01\/california-considers-1000-fine-jail-waiters-hand-plastic-strawswww-goo\/","title":{"rendered":"California Considers $1,000 Fine and Jail for Waiters Who Hand Out Plastic Straws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Big_City_Diner_(3344390686)\"<\/p>\n

My\u00a0state has gone absolutely mad.<\/p>\n

When people go out to dinner, they expect certain things to happen within the first five minutes or so.\u00a0 The server greets them, tells them of any specials, then fills drink orders with a paper covered straw.\u00a0 (Kids are masters are making these straws into projectile missiles and other distractions.)\u00a0 However, the state of California is considering fining servers $1000 and\u00a0face up to 6 months in jail<\/em> <\/strong>if they offer a straw without being asked for one.<\/p>\n

Yes, really.<\/p>\n

Ian Calderon, the Democratic majority leader in California\u2019s lower house, is leading the charge against the evil of drinking straws.\u00a0 He has recently introduced a bill to stop sit-down restaurants from\u00a0giving customers straws with drinks unless they specifically\u00a0ask for one.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to create awareness around the issue of one-time use plastic straws and its detrimental effects on our landfills, waterways, and oceans,\u201d Calderon said in a statement.\u00a0Reason Magazine<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>says that this clown is not the only anti-straw advocate:<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t just Calderon\u2019s crusade. The California cities of San Luis Obispo and Davis both passed straws-on-request laws last year, and Manhattan Beach maintains a prohibition on all disposable plastics. And up in Seattle, food service businesses won\u2019t be allowed to offer plastic straws\u00a0or<\/em>\u00a0utensils\u00a0as of July<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/em>\u00a0has gotten behind the movement,\u00a0endorsing<\/a>\u00a0straws-on-request policies in an editorial that also warned that \u201crepetitive sucking may cause or exacerbate wrinkles on the lips or around the mouth.\u201d Celebrity astronomer Neil DeGrasse Tyson (always up for a little chiding) and\u00a0Entourage<\/em>\u00a0star Adrian Grenier have\u00a0appeared<\/a>\u00a0in videos where an octopus slaps them in the face for using a plastic straw.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think they might need to be slapped in the face, but not for their willy-nilly straw usage.<\/p>\n

Anyone who believes that threatening a low-paid worker with a $1000 fine and imprisonment is a good idea seriously needs to be mentally evaluated.\u00a0 This is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m, once again, embarrassed of my state.<\/p>\n

Image by kimubert (Big City Diner) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Hat Tip: Reason<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This California bill sucks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2673,"featured_media":4965,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia Considers $1,000 Fine and Jail for Waiters Who Hand Out Plastic Straws<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This California bill sucks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2018\/01\/california-considers-1000-fine-jail-waiters-hand-plastic-strawswww-goo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California 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