(Fat) Congress at Work - Meals Paid for by Lobbyists

From CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would block lawsuits by people who blame fast-food chains for their obesity.
The "cheeseburger bill," as it has been dubbed in Congress, stems from class-action litigation that accused McDonald's of causing obesity in children.

The legislation's backers say matters of personal responsibility don't belong in the courts.
"As one judge put it, if a person knows or should know that eating copious orders of super-sized McDonald's products is unhealthy and could result in weight gain, it is not the place of the law to protect them from their own excesses," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

The bill seeks to thwart class-action obesity lawsuits against food manufacturers and restaurants.

Gee, Mr. Senselessbrenner, you control marijuana and a number of very useful pharmaceuticals EXPRESSLY with the argument being in part that it IS the place of the law to protect people from their own excesses. Ditto the new bankruptcy bill.

Hey, no argument here that people who get fat eating probably have better things to do than go to court.

But this is a self-correcting problem. You wouldn't ever see two juries award for the plaintiff on this and most of them would never be accepted by the courts to start.

So the bill is to protect Pepsico (who does Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and lots of bad snacks), Mickey D's, Burger King, and Wendy's, among others.