Something to chew on

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the premier congressional busybody, was at it again Wednesday.

Rep. Waxman, a career politician who has been in Washington for almost 40 years, has decided to go after chewing tobacco use in Major League Baseball.

"We don't let baseball players go stand out there in the field and drink beer," said Rep. Waxman at a congressional hearing. "So why should they be out there on the field -- in sight of their fans on television and at the ballpark -- using smokeless tobacco?"

Notice the use of the term "we don't let." In Rep. Waxman's dystopia -- a totalitarian Nanny State -- all behavior must be declared illegal unless otherwise specifically approved by him and his ilk.

The level of idiocy at the hearing was immense -- even by congressional standards. Rep. Anna Eshoo, another California Democrat (surprise!) actually said aloud, "Why don't they just chew gum if they feel the need to chew something?"

Rep. Waxman and his supporters argue that allowing grown adult Major League Baseball players to chew tobacco during games sets a bad example for children. Fine. Let's also criminalize crotch scratching at the plate, bad language and spitting in dugouts and philandering during road trips.

In fact, to the horror of many anti-tobacco zealots such as Rep. Waxman, a study published last year in Science Daily suggested that smokeless tobacco is a relatively safe way to use tobacco and does not "appear to increase cancer risk." Other studies have found that chewing tobacco is up to 98 percent safer than smoking.

Perhaps Rep. Waxman should be encouraging youngsters prone to tobacco use to take after their major-league role models and learn how to dip as an alternative to lighting up.

At any rate, Rep. Waxman should move on to more important matters. If Major League Baseball officials believe it's important to snuff out the habit -- a part of the game for more than a century -- let them get the players to agree through collective bargaining.

Good luck with that.