A news report advises that federal agents are beginning to swoop down on neighborhood yard sales, allegedly for the purpose of discovering whether federally-banned products are being resold by unsuspecting homeowners. This comes in the wake of local governments arresting and fining children who operate unlicensed lemonade stands. What next? Will federal SWAT teams descend on children’s birthday parties to inspect gifts to see if any violate product safety standards for toys? “And as long as we’re there, bring along some government nurses to vaccinate the little brats.”

The Best of Butler Shaffer