Whose Fault Is It If I Order a Super-Sized Meal?

I cannot believe the obesity/fast-food lawsuits persist; they all rest on the Flip Wilson premise, "The devil made me do it," where in these cases the devil is some fast-food fanchisor with deep pockets. But one such case has recently been revived on a technicality.

Ted Frank at Overlawyered writes:

...the strategy is to keep filing frivolous lawsuits until random chance assigns a sympathetic judge who writes an opinion that creates a precedent that opens the doors for future lawsuits...

[the above links are courtesy of Dave Friedman]

As The Emirates Economist points out, with universal health care, people who overeat and underexercise impose the costs of their decisions on all taxpayers. And let me add that because we all bear these costs, the gubmnt then feels justified in controlling yet other aspects of our lives, in this case diet.