Santa Barbara's city government recently criminalized the use of plastic straws.  This is a minor annoyance, something we're all used to from nanny-state politicians. But one city councilman, Jesse Dominguez, had a totally honest explanation for why the council thought it necessary to micro-manage our lives: "Unfortunately, common sense is just not common. We have to regulate every aspect of people's lives." As Steven Hawyward points out at Powerline, the statement "expresses the core impulse of liberalism today." Dominguez, perhaps realizing he had said too much, tried to walk back the statement: The comment sparked an immediate backlash from people who read the quote in Noozhawk and other local media, wondering "did he really say that?"  Yes, he did, and on Tuesday, Dominguez apologized for the comment. "I just wanted to apologize," Dominguez said at the beginning of the...(Read Full Post)