
America is said to be a "free" country. But what if you want to have a drink? A cigarette? Make a bet? Often government wants to stop you, to protect you from yourself.
DRINKING AND DRIVING: That's different, because drunk drivers kill others. But now the feds, having already lowered the legal blood alcohol level from 1.0 to .08, want to drop the rate further to .05. What's the right level? Special Correspondent Kennedy drove drunk to test the test.
Some libertarians argue that there should be no drunk driving law. The test should be "reckless driving" because sleeplessness, kids in the back seat, eating, using the radio, GPS, talking on a hands-free device, etc. are just as dangerous, and different drivers react differently to alcohol.
GAMBLING: Stossel loves to gamble but government bans much of it. Internet poker briefly thrived in America, but then government shut down the big gambling sites. Isn't the Department of Homeland Security supposed to protect us from terrorists... not losing at poker?
VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES: Kids love violent video games. Whenever there is a mass shooting in America people demand restrictions on violent video games. Stossel pushes back.
SEX: Prostitution is legal in parts of Nevada; prostitutes there say it's safer that way.
To protect actors from STDs, Los Angeles passed a law requiring all porn stars to wear condoms. That didn't solve the problem... it's just caused business to move to neighboring counties.
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