Give Us This Day Our Daily Nanny State Asshat

Today's featured Nanny State Asshat is Dover, Massachusetts Police Chief Joseph G. Griffin, author of this craptastic idea.

Boston Globe: Dover to pull plug on drinking ban idea

On the agenda today at Dover's town meeting is a proposal to ban drinking on private property that is in view of a school, playground, or park. Under the measure, Dover Police could confiscate alcohol, issue a $200 fine, and arrest drinkers who defy the law.

After opposition from residents worried that Big Brother was stomping into their yards, town selectmen now plan to withdraw the proposal, rather than have it debated at the meeting.

"The way it was worded may have given some people the idea we would have been going out riding around, saying, 'Hey! There's a guy with a beer in his pocket! Tackle him!' " said Dover Police Chief Joseph G. Griffin.

Yeah, it's not like the chief was suggesting these individuals be violently assaulted. He merely wanted to seize their property without due process, fine them a couple hundred bucks and give them permanent criminal records for having engaged in lawful behavior on their own property.

What's not to love?