By Debbie Schlussel

I’m not from the big drinkers (I barely drink alcohol ever and haven’t had a beer in years–the extent of my drinking is at Jewish religious observances and an occasional glass of wine while relaxing). But even I know how ridiculous the Obama Administration’s latest attempt to re-institute the Prohibition is. Obama’s hand-picked transportation safety officials are seeking to set a national blood alcohol level limit of .05. I never drink when I know I’ll be driving, but since I’m petite, that would mean I could not drink even a single beer before driving. And for most average-sized men, it could mean 1-2 beers. It’s an incredibly low blood-alcohol limit, and will put bars and restaurants out of business. Frankly, I think they should have kept the previous .10 limit and not lowered it to .08.

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board defended the agency’s proposal to lower the legal limit for drunken driving from .08 percent blood-alcohol content to .05 or lower. The NTSB voted 5-0 in May to recommend dropping the legal blood-alcohol limits, but it has garnered little support. No state has yet moved to take the action. NTSB chair Debbie Hersman said in a speech Monday at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore that she was confident the proposal would ultimately be adopted, despite what seems like insurmountable opposition.









“That recommendation — like a fire-breathing dragon — unleashed a firestorm of criticism,” Hersman said, recounting the backlash from critics, editorial writers and others. . . . Groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have declined to endorse the lower limits. Hersman didn’t back down. “You know what, they said the same thing about moving from .10 to .08,” she said. Hersman said she is “confident” the U.S. will eventually adopt the tougher limits. She said big business would fight against the proposal. “Slaying the alcohol-impaired dragon won’t be easy. Just like with smoking, there’s big business and industry that wants to keep the status quo,” Hersman said. NHTSA has said it doesn’t have the data to support NTSB’s proposal. The Governors Highway Safety Association and MADD both declined to endorse the proposal. It took two decades starting in 1984 for the states to drop impaired driving limits from .10 to .08.

Make no mistake, Hersman’s proposal is Obama’s proposal. She does his bidding. And she wouldn’t be doing this if the Obamas didn’t want their noses in your liquor cabinet. This is more of Obama big government in your diet . . . again. The Obamas, of course, are chauffeured everywhere, so they need not worry about this like the average guy (or chick). And–wait a sec–isn’t it Muslims who want to take your alcohol away? Hmmm . . . Obama’ actions mimic Islamic theocratic statism more and more.

I doubt a .05 national blood alcohol limit will happen. I don’t think bars and restaurants will stand for such a ridiculous proposal. But, then, stranger things have happened. We are in the early stages of ObamaCare, and no one believed that would happen either.

Uncle Sam, er . . . Uncle Barry, stay out of my wine glass.