Congress is trying to outlaw obesity law suits. I hate to see the right to sue be restricted, but I can't help but support this effort. I heard McDonald's was thinking of adding fruit to their happy meal in response to the threat of such suits. Ridiculous.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030718/ap_on_go_co/fast_food_lawsuits_3

I agree with you on this one Leper. No one is making people eat this sh*t. I think all of these lawsuits by people who are willingly putting stuff in their bodies are crap. And yes, i mean the tobacco lawsuits as well. No one forces these idiots to put the sh*t in their bodies so why should they be able to sue the maker of the product? It even comes with a warning label telling you that the product WILL cause cancer. Next thing you know they will make the fast food industry put disclaimer's on the side of every bag of food. WARNING: Excessive eating of fast food will make you fat. I mean, its like half our country are bumbling idiots.

Congress is bowing to the incredible monies of the fast food industry and only trying to get ahead of the inevitible lawsuits. Congress could not get in front of the tobacco lawsuits to prevent them, besides, it would have cost votes. Fat folks have always gotten a rotten deal from society, why not here as well? Nobody shoved tobacco down the throats of folks, just as nobody is forcing anyone to eat at burger queen, dairy queer or anywhere else.

And when the Democrats resist they'll be bowing to the incredible monies of the trial lawyers. It's a wonderful way to run a government.

I'd like to see us go to a loser pays legal system - that would stop lawsuits like this pretty quickly. But again, the trial lawyers won't go for that.

Originally posted by LionelHutz


I'd like to see us go to a loser pays legal system - that would stop lawsuits like this pretty quickly. But again, the trial lawyers won't go for that. That is a good idea. I have often wondered why no one ever tries to get legislation to pass on this issue. It surely would stop most of these frivolous lawsuits that people seem to come up with every day. But then again,if we do that then only the rich and very poor could afford to go to court. So there are 2 sides to this.

Lawyers are nothing but unscrupulous bottom feeders, prostitutes by another name. Lawyers will only agree to something that makes more money for them. Plain and simple.

Have I mentioned that I'm a lawyer? :) But I hate most lawyers too. :cool:

My condolences. I'm now a piano player in a whorehouse.

I have to disagree with you guys when it comes to tobacco companies. When you sell a product you know is addictive and is a carcinigen, and then keep that information secret, I think you should pay a price. If you bother investigating the facts of tobacco lawsuits, you'll find tobacco companies have practiced some very dirty business in the past....

As for food, there's no secrets there...people have know eating too much will make you fat long before McDonald's or Oreos got their starts. Plus food is not physically addictive.

Oh yeah, I'm a law student:) Some lawyers suck, some are the greatest people you'll ever know. Unfortunately, only the former make headlines. I find most people who say they hate lawyers don't know any very well.

I've known plenty of lawyers over the years. Some were flat out ambulance chasers, others had their tickets punched with the correct code to argue in front of the Supremes. There's even a federal jurist in the family, & we socialize regularly. Doesn't much change my opinion, but what do I know? I'm always hanging out with the psychologists & psychiatrists.

Originally posted by Leper
Oh yeah, I'm a law student:) Some lawyers suck, some are the greatest people you'll ever know. Unfortunately, only the former make headlines. I find most people who say they hate lawyers don't know any very well.

Run now! There's still time! :D

A while back there was a lady that sued the tobacco company's because she had cancer. She won the case, they were doing an interview with her and quess what, she lit up. They asked how could she smoke, her reply was I'm going to die anyway. These lawsuits are assinine, most people know that if you jump in front of a speeding train your going to die. My point is your body tells you that smoke is not needed so if you smoke fine, but don't b***h when your coughing up a lung.

Originally posted by mad dog
A while back there was a lady that sued the tobacco company's because she had cancer. She won the case, they were doing an interview with her and quess what, she lit up. They asked how could she smoke, her reply was I'm going to die anyway. These lawsuits are assinine, most people know that if you jump in front of a speeding train your going to die. My point is your body tells you that smoke is not needed so if you smoke fine, but don't b***h when your coughing up a lung.

From what I've seen, these suits date way back to when people didn't know smoking could be equated to jumping in front of a speeding train. I don't doubt you have found one individual who deserves her fate, but don't you think the population as a whole should have some recourse if a manufacturer sells a product they know to be deadly to consumers?

Edit in response to Lionelhutz below:

What I mean when I say "these suits date way back to when people didn't know smoking could be equated to jumping in front of a speeding train" is that the plaintiffs in the recent suits began smoking before the public knew smoking to be harmful. Sorry, that wasn't clear.

Virtually every consumer product is deadly at some usage level. One has to assume some personal responsibility when using them.
The AMA started preaching against tobacco usage around 1956, (+/-), when they really began to get their facts in order. That's certainly long enough ago for those concerned about health issues to have stopped using before the first lawsuit ever occured.
The tobacco manufaturers have been easy targets. Why haven't these same legal eagles gone after Seagram's, Miller, or Gallo with similar lawsuits? There's centuries of documentation regarding the myraid of health issues of alcohol addicition.

Originally posted by Leper
From what I've seen, these suits date way back to when people didn't know smoking could be equated to jumping in front of a speeding train. I don't doubt you have found one individual who deserves her fate, but don't you think the population as a whole should have some recourse if a manufacturer sells a product they know to be deadly to consumers?

People have been suing the tobacco companies for years. It's only just recently that they've been winning.

The problem here is, whether or not these people win their lawsuite, the fast food companie(s) will pay a large price. Trials, especially regarding large cooporations, cost a great deal of money, and in all likelyhood there is a possibility the fast food industry will even settle to avoid a costly trial, and that would open up a gateway of lawsuites, just as with the tobacco lawsuites. We need to make people take responsibility for their actions. It is common knowledge that fast food is unhealthy. It is common knowledge (these days) that tobacco products are unhealthy and addictive. No one makes you buy that pack of cigs or that value meal. Should alcohol companies be sued because someone drives drunk? Should car companies be sued because someone was driving 70 mph in a school zone and crashed into the back of the bus? Of course not. Every one of these products is completely harmless until they are misused. A car cannot drive itself, a cig cannot smoke itself, and a freaking Bic Mac cannot eat itself. We are a free-willed, somewhat intelligent species and we are completely capable of making our own decisions. We need to learn to take responsibility for these decisions. At this rate, no one will be safe from these outrageous lawsuites. This is a gross misuse of our justice system, and I for one feel action needs to be taken, and this new law restricting obesity lawsuites should, in my opinion, be supported. Alright sorry about that, I just had to vent a bit. -John

Originally posted by Jonathan
The problem here is, whether or not these people win their lawsuite, the fast food companie(s) will pay a large price. Trials, especially regarding large cooporations, cost a great deal of money, and in all likelyhood there is a possibility the fast food industry will even settle to avoid a costly trial, and that would open up a gateway of lawsuites, just as with the tobacco lawsuites. We need to make people take responsibility for their actions. It is common knowledge that fast food is unhealthy. It is common knowledge (these days) that tobacco products are unhealthy and addictive. No one makes you buy that pack of cigs or that value meal. Should alcohol companies be sued because someone drives drunk? Should car companies be sued because someone was driving 70 mph in a school zone and crashed into the back of the bus? Of course not. Every one of these products is completely harmless until they are misused. A car cannot drive itself, a cig cannot smoke itself, and a freaking Bic Mac cannot eat itself. We are a free-willed, somewhat intelligent species and we are completely capable of making our own decisions. We need to learn to take responsibility for these decisions. At this rate, no one will be safe from these outrageous lawsuites. This is a gross misuse of our justice system, and I for one feel action needs to be taken, and this new law restricting obesity lawsuites should, in my opinion, be supported. Alright sorry about that, I just had to vent a bit. -John Dont apologize for a great post. I agree with everything you said. As im sure most rational people do.

Jonathan good post and in one word you sumed it up "responsibility". We all use gas for our cars maybe we should start sueing exon for harmfull vapors in the air. The next time I open a beer I'm going to sue because that one beer damaged some brain cells and part of my liver. It is a choice to smoke always has been, your body does not need smoke to survive. If someone says I didn't know smoking was bad then I ask " the first time you took a drag what did it feel like?" The human body can tell you that something is not good, give me a break these bone heads smoke, cough then turn around and say "I didn't know it was bad for me" bullsh**. These type of lawsuits are just a big waste of money and waste of time.

You guys should think about voting Libertarian....They are all about government that encourages personal responsibility. (However, they also support a non-interventionalist military policy....they believe countries should be responsible for themselves too I suppose)

Libertarian? Hmmm. I remember a time when 'we' considered ourselves to be liberals merely because we smoked merrywanna, then discovered 'we' were actually just closet conservatives. Of course, this was a very long time ago. Political choices mostly come down to who pisses me off the least when it comes time to vote. Mostly that's been the Republican party, yet, while they are (ahem) "lilly white", are not without major faults. The idea of pure partisanship infuriates me. Just because some Dem comes up with a great idea does not mean that the Reps are supposed to shoot it down for that reason alone. Entirely to much of that happens in virtually every level of government.

Yes! My feelings exactly! That's why I couldn't join a political party - the concept of disliking a good idea merely because of its source runs contrary to everything I believe in.