It never ceases to amaze me how the Liberals always want to have it both ways. If they're not whining about that, they're whining about this:
Posted on 04/25/2005 7:28:02 PM PDT by Nascardude
The US House of Representatives has voted 276-139 for a bill that would prevent lawsuits against the food industry for making people fat. The so-called Cheeseburger Bill bans frivolous lawsuits against producers and sellers of food and non-alcoholic drinks arising from obesity claims.
The bill supporters say consumers have to realise they cannot blame others for the consequences of their actions.
Critics say the food industry now does not have to worry about public health.
The vote came a day after a new study said obesity was likely to become the nation's biggest preventable killer, overtaking smoking.
These insane and crazy lawsuits are absolutely not the way
Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney The study found that poor diet and lack of exercise caused 400,000 deaths in the US in the year 2000 - a 33% jump since 1990.
Two thirds of US adults and nine million children are either overweight or obese, the study said.
'Insane lawsuits'
On Wednesday House Majority leader Tom DeLay praised the passage of the bill, which is formally called the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act.
Americans offer suggestions on how as a country they can slim down.
After the vote he said "Ronald McDonald made me do it" should never be considered the basis for a lawsuit.
The bill's sponsor, Florida Republican Representative Ric Keller, said the legislation was all about "common sense and personal responsibility".
The first US fast food lawsuit was filed in 2002 by a New Yorker who blamed his frequent visits to McDonald's for his obesity and diabetes.
Since then, there have been a number of similar cases across the country.
The new bill has also the backing of the White House and much of the food industry.
"This issue isn't about any restaurant or any particular food, it's all about personal responsibility and individual decisions," McDonald's spokesperson Lisa Howard said in a prepared statement.
But mostly Democratic critics - who have the support of a number of consumer groups - argued that the courts, not Congress, should determine when "obesity" lawsuits were frivolous.
Several overweight teens recently tried to sue the McDonald's fast food chain They pointed out that all the lawsuits had been eventually dismissed.
Opponents also said the bill a clear signal to the food industry that it did not have to worry about the public health.
"That's the wrong message," said Democrat Representative James McGovern.
The bill still has to be approved by the Senate. In the past senators have blocked measures to protect certain industries from lawsuits.
Oops. I didn't see the date on it. This article is over a year old. Oh well. Shows you how much I know.
How about a lawsuit against Big Media for making people stupid?
I don't know what is worse: The fact that as a country we have reached this point where we have to tell adults that they're responsible for their own actions, or that 139 elected officals thought that it was a bad idea.
You've never lived until you have had an In-N-Out Burger in California or a Frishes "Big Boy in Indiana or a Slaw BBQ in North Carolina...anybody got any more?
It's disturbing that we need such a law, but nice that it passed.
Die Essenpolizei can go get real jobs.
Tommy's, anyone?
When will we wake up to this clear & present danger?
Now for tobacco, guns, etc.
It never ceases to amaze me how the Liberals always want to have it both ways. If they're not whining about that, they're whining about this:
I am perfectly trim - always have been. I eat absolutely ANYTHING in ANY AMOUNT that I feel like, in fact I have stuffed myself so much I got sent for medical tests for what turned out to be mere acid reflux (I need to eat slower).
I can't imagine if my body chemistry were any different... if I were someone who is naturally heavy and couldn't lose weight, I'd be 50-times as screwed as I am now as someone who can't gain anything.
(I also get little-to-no excercise in recent years... though I used to lift and run a little, but that's it.)
Wow! Give us another 225 years and I'll bet we can move this nation right out of the crawling stage. ;^/
I thought this was old news. We elected the bastard twice.
If it passed over a year ago, then there's yet another gun grabber lie exposed, namely, that gun industry immunity would be an "unprecedented" step in escaping liability. Why, looky here! Looks like the cheeseburger industry already has substantially the same immunity that the gun industry might get - in which case it isn't unprecedented.
Just kidding.
Rim shot!
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