Welcome to Socialism, thanks for your freedom

Reading through my paper today, I came across two different articles with a common theme. First, on the front page of the Washington Times Metro section was an article that began thus:

[Maryland] Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. wants to increase Maryland's sales tax on gasoline by 12 cents a gallon, part of a revenue plan that also includes bringing 15,500 slot machines to the state and cutting government positions. "There's going to be cuts, there's going to be slots, there's going to be tax increases," Mr. Miller said yesterday. "And it's going to be tough for some people, but they're going to have to suck it up and move forward for the good of the state."

Is anyone else worried about that last statement? "The good of the state?" Sounds like something else in recent memory. (Hint: it was officially declared dead in 1991.)

Then, moving deeper into Metro, there was an interesting article about subtitles in Switzerland and how you can see almost any movie in up to six different languages in a single theater. But stuck in the middle of the article was this little detour:

A fondness for subtitles is not the only difference between Swiss and American movie theaters; consider the Swiss movie ratings, which are both more varied and more rigid than their U.S. counterparts. A movie can be rated K/6, K/8, K/10, J/12 or J/14, which means a child or teen has to be that age to view it. Babies and toddlers are banned unless a special family matinee is advertised. Parental discretion is not allowed. "No babies, no young children. We have a different approach to movies than the United States," says Charlottte Waltert, an employee at Zurich's Arthouse Alba theater.

That means you must be at least 8 to see "Happy Feet" and "Flushed Away," while "Night at the Museum" and "An Inconvenient Truth" are reserved for those 10 and older. "The Holiday" and "Eragon" can be seen by those 12 and older, but you must be at least 14 to view "Casino Royale" or "Deja Vu."

Whatever happened to parental discretion? No, it's the government's job to decide what your children can and can't watch. Parents can just take a backseat and let the government take over education, the workplace, and now it appears the movie theater.

Is anyone else worried about how much these version of socialism sounds like communism?