He would be caught dead there

Another anti-free market Republican rears his regulation-happy little head :

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A Wisconsin lawmaker thinks strip malls are no place for the dearly departed -- he wants to ban funeral parlors from setting up shop there.

''To put it in a strip mall next to a Hooters or an auto parts store doesn't serve the industry or consumers well,'' said Rep. Phil Montgomery, a Republican. ''Consumers have a certain expectation for a funeral home. Most people would be taken aback.''

He said his measure is aimed at protecting people from funeral parlors that could come and go quickly from the malls.

I think a funeral parlor next to a Hooters would be a great modern memento mori.

Montgomery's Republican colleagues ought to reject out of hand this small addition to Wisconsin's anti-business climate. And ask him to join the Democrat Party.