Useless Politicians

There are useless politicians. Then there is the New York City Council, the most worthless body of blowhards to ever come down the pike. These nattering nabobs do virtually nothing for a nice paycheck. When they are doing something, it's generally just to make noise and a nuisance of themselves. The New York Post today runs down a list of things they sought to ban this year. In this day and age of terror, you would think these pinheads had bigger things to worry about.

Banning things, or trying to, is what the council does best.

Here's the list from 2006.

* Trans-fats.

* Aluminum baseball bats.

* The purchase of tobacco by 18- to 20-year-olds.

* Foie gras.

* Pedicabs in parks.

* New fast-food restaurants (but only in poor neighborhoods).

* Lobbyists from the floor of council chambers.

* Lobbying city agencies after working at the same agency.

* Vehicles in Central and Prospect parks.

* Cell phones in upscale restaurants.

* The sale of pork products made in a processing plant in Tar Heel, N.C., because of a unionization dispute.

* Mail-order pharmaceutical plans.

* Candy-flavored cigarettes.

* Gas-station operators adjusting prices more than once daily.

* Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

* Wal-Mart.

Some of these are just silly. (Candy-flavored cigarettes?)

Others are egregious: Outlawing Wal-Mart is tantamount to picking the pockets of New Yorkers who really can't afford it.

All in all, though, what the council needs is a ban on bills banning things.

Unless it wants to ban . . . itself.