By CHRIS WHITE, Energy Reporter
Rep. Devin Nunes of California appeared to associate his state’s ban on plastic straws with socialism in a tweet Saturday after visiting a nearby restaurant.
“At restaurant tonight waitress asks if we want straws,” the Republican told his Twitter followers. “Says she has to ask now in fear of ‘THE STRAW POLICE.’ Welcome to Socialism in California!”
At restaurant tonight waitress asks if we want straws. Says she has to ask now in fear of “THE STRAW POLICE”. Welcome to Socialism in California!
— Devin Nunes (@DevinNunes) March 10, 2019
California passed a law in 2018 making the state the country’s first to ban full-service restaurants from handing out plastic straws unless a customer asks for one.
Restaurants that don’t comply can be fined up to $300 per year. Fast food establishments are exempt from the mandate. Conservatives argue such laws reek of government overreach, while Democrats consider plastic straw bans a move in the right direction. (RELATED: ‘Choking Our Planet’: California Bans Restaurants From Automatically Handing Out Plastic Straws)
Several cities have already banned the products. San Francisco, for instance, voted unanimously in July 2018 to nix all plastic straws. The city ordinance includes fines for violators ranging from $100 to $500. San Francisco follows Seattle in becoming the latest major U.S. city to ban plastic straws and utensils.
Major U.S. companies also joined the movement to stop handing out straws. Starbucks announced in 2018 that it is phasing out plastic straws from its coffee chains within the next two years. The Walt Disney Company has also revealed plans to eradicate straws from its property by mid-2019.
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As usual, the Democrats have come out with a law that really doesn’t do a darn thing. They ‘ban’ plastic straws.
Oh, but wait, they aren’t REALLY banned, it’s just restaurants are banned from handing them out without you asking for them. Much like they used to do with glasses of water.
Oh, and fast food places like MickeyD’s, Wendy’s, and the like are NOT subject to this ‘ban’. They can hand them out as usual even though it’s THEIR customers that are likely to toss them on the ground, in the sand, etc. Do they think customers of restaurants like Denny’s are going to take those straws outside the restaurants and toss them on the ground?
No, this is just another stupid law that will hardly impact the environment in any way.
I also find it funny that STARBUCKS is going hog wild for this (for the free publicity no doubt), saying they are going to eliminate straws completely in a few years. So, how are we going to suck up those blended coffee’s? Just suck on holes in the lids? OH, and btw, they are NOT (currently) planning on getting rid of those little green sticks that most have no clue about.
Those little plastic sticks go by many names – CBP – Coffee Portal Blocker, Cup Harpoons, Spill Sticks, and more. The REAL name for them (according to SB) is “Splash Sticks” and they are used to plug up your “sip holes”.
So, even though they too are made of plastic, there are no plans to get rid of them. This is something unique to SB as most places use a lid that can ‘close’ the sip hole instead of having it open all the time. why? because Splash Sticks are ADVERTISEMENTS.