Nanny State: City official calls police on children selling cupcakes without a license

Good grief. You want to know what totalitarianism looks like? It looks like this:

When Andrew DeMarchis and Kevin Graff, two 13-year-olds from Chappaqua's Seven Bridges Middle School, set up shop at Gedney Park on a fall weekend last month, they were expecting a tidy profit.

The face of statism

Instead, the two wannabe entrepreneurs selling cupcakes, cookies, brownies and Rice Krispie treats baked by them for $1 apiece got a taste of cold, hard bureaucracy.

New Castle Councilman Michael Wolfensohn came upon the sale and called the cops on the kids for operating without a license.

The boys' parents are incensed and can't believe a Town Board member would handle the situation that way.

The kids were under the mistaken impression that taking initiative and working for money is allowed in the US. That's only allowed if you fork up a bunch of money up-front to get a thumbs up from a bureaucrat that will spend his or her time looking over your shoulder the rest of your useful life. One of the children cried all the way home after confronted by the police thinking he will be arrested. He wasn't. But I'm sure idiot moonbat rulers like Michael Wolfensohnwill change that soon enough. This quote comes to mind when I read stories like the above:

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. -C.S. Lewis

If you think this is something new, think again. A similar situation cropped up in the People's Republic of California last year: Video: Police shut down 7 year old girl's lemonade stand! Hey kid - you got a permit?

Speaking of permit derangement syndrome, last year I wrote a post regarding California officials trying to shut down prayer meetings at a pastor's home because he didn't have the proper permit! I kid you not! Get more detail on that story here: California Pastor Threatened With Fines For Holding Bible Study In Own Home! And speaking of cupcakes, here's a recent story much closer to home: Local MI elementary school launches War On Cupcakes, bans classroom tradition of bringing in cupcakes to celebrate a child's birthday. Here's the video report that accompanied the article:

More on that from The Detroit News today: Some Michigan schools even ban cupcakes to fight obesity.

Ryan Thompson celebrated his seventh birthday last year with homemade cupcakes that he handed out to his classmates in Alma.

But when he turns 8 on Nov. 25, he won't be able to pass out the sweet treats since food is no longer allowed to be part of school celebrations.

Ryan's principal realizes the ban sounds harsh, but it's part of a broader Michigan project to combat childhood obesity, which has tripled nationally since 1980.

How about leave our freaking kids alone!

UPDATE: More from memeorandum, including commentary from Gateway Pundit, Right Wing News, JammieWearingFool and Hit & Run