In the latest episode of “Banished!” by the People’s Republic of California, Governor Jerry Brown is likely to sign a bill that prohibits restaurants from offering anything other than milk or water with their kids’ meals, under the pretense of preventing obesity.

Effectively they’re telling parents they’re not capable of being trusted with their children’s health. It’s Big Brother Knows Best vs. mom and dad.

They want to control what little Johnny and Susie drink with their kids’ meal. If restaurants don’t play along they could be fined up to $500. So now California isn’t just the nanny state, it’s also the bully state.

Parents are apparently still permitted to order a separate drink but the restaurant can’t market the drink on the kids’ meal.

Having water with that burger and fries isn’t going to solve our health problems. Although, they might as well ban juice given there are virtually no straws left for the little ones to drink out of their juice boxes with; since most major cities in the state have banned plastic straws.

These are not well meaning initiatives meant to protect. They are calculated attempts to control.

Stephanie Winn from the American Cancer Society, which advocated for the bill said, "Some of these kids are drinking up to three sodas a day. This is setting them up for tremendous cancer risks down the road. Because now we know that 20 percent of all cancers are tied to being overweight.” And government intervention will save us all.

Too bad it’s not as simple as that. They’re drinking the sugar free California Kool Aid if they think that banning kids from drinking soda or juice with their burger and fries will stop obesity and kill cancer.

The answer to everything liberals don’t like is to ban it, under the guise of doing something noble. In this case it’s your little ones’ health that’s on the line. Apparently you, mom and dad, are unfit to make healthy decisions for your kids. You need the nanny state.

Some parents who oppose the bill disagree, thank you very much.

“I think the government shouldn't determine what's available when I, as a mother, know what's best for my child,” said Inez Deocio.

“As a parent, you should be able to decide for yourself whether your kid's going to have milk or water or soda. The state shouldn't be telling you that,” said Scott Gregory.

Yes, you can decide what is best for your child and no, the state should not be deciding that. California should have bigger fish to fry than worrying about what your child drinks for lunch — like the state’s economy and securing our borders.

While it may sound well intentioned and innocent enough on the surface to limit drink options for the sake of children’s health, every time you limit the rights of parents you expand the rights the government. This is the problem with the trending socialism that’s gaining popularity with liberals.

Big Government can’t even run the DMV effectively and we’re supposed to willingly allow them to make decisions in the best interest of our kids?

If we can’t be trusted to be our kids’ parents, then what’s our purpose? Banning straws, dictating the content of your kids’ meals; sensing a pattern? These precedents are intentional.

They are not well meaning initiatives meant to protect. They are calculated attempts to control.

Inch by inch, with every “well intentioned” liberal bill, California is moving closer to Orwell’s Big Brother and the precedent is set for government to rule your life. We could simply yield to what is marketed to us as what’s best for us, although the good people of Venezuela would beg to differ, and have a legitimate warning for us.

It just so happens the not only can the socialist paradise of Venezuela no longer dictate what children can have with their Happy Meals, the government may soon be unable to provide basic clean drinking water for its people. How’s that for utopia?

Big Brother is watching. He knows what your kids are drinking. What next?