@Quasigizmodo: I do in fact think that there will be fewer visits if the toys and the meal are de-linked. Kids want the toy, and ask their parents if they can go to McDonald's. The toy they want comes in a Happy Meal. So if the toy and the meal are separated, fewer Happy Meals will be bought and eaten.

@Quasigizmodo: I'll admit I can't find studies to cite. I remember some studies having to do with leptin and ghrelin and high fat/salt diets not resulting in the same levels of satiety. They probably do have some holes in them, as most studies do. I've studied neurology for the better part of my life and have had an…

@Tk42OnE: You say that the point of the law is to say parents are too stupid, so the government is stepping in. Where are they stepping in? Are they taking away a choice? The law has no force in what you can or can't buy.

@Quasigizmodo: That's kind of a hyper-literal read of what I wrote. I hope you don't think I'm predicting some stampede of parents descending on McD's just to buy rinky-dink toys. But, a lot of kids want the toy as much or more than the meal itself. There will be fewer overall trips to McDonald's for the food if the…

@jepzilla: I don't understand how this fits into the argument. I certainly do not want other people's kids to be my concern. I'll try my best to feed mine as best I can, and you can do what you want with yours.

@jepzilla: I fundamentally agree with what you said above. When the government actually forces me to act a certain way, it should only be if I'm physically hurting someone or infringing on their rights. However, this law doesn't tell you what you can do, it doesn't tell you what you should do, and it doesn't limit…

@MikeD1Be: Well, with this law you would have the choice of getting them the toy without the meal, should you want to do that. Or you can buy them a happy meal without the toy. You actually have more choices. Repeat: The law gives you more choices.

@jepzilla: I don't have a problem with what you're saying, from an individual standpoint. Individual freedoms should not be conditional. However, business freedoms and individual freedoms are not the same thing. Providing unconditional freedom to businesses hurts the freedoms of individuals. You can't have both.

@chefgon: I'd say that then you can get the toy by itself if you wanted, and the toy is often what the kids are trying to collect. Then the parent could go home and feed the kid a healthy meal, if they choose, which would potentially be one less kid addicted to grease bombs. That might put McDonald's out a certain…

@Quasigizmodo: With that second paragraph, I can't tell if your whole comment is meant to be sarcastic. So I'll preface with that.

@casperiv: Do you think McDonald's offering junk food (the type of food that has been found in various scientific studies to be physically addictive, by the way), isn't similar to "another entity" "choosing" for you? This is a serious question, as I can see how you might look at it different ways.

@Arken: Oh I fully agree that they are often treated equally from a legal standpoint. That's easy to see. The Citizens United ruling, for example.

@Arken: Yes, and I understand that not all of them are billionaire CEOs, but rather, a lot are small business owners who aren't that rich.

Honestly, I don't understand how everyone is pissed about this law being anti-freedom somehow. It's like, "Yay, now we can let parents decide what their kids can eat again!" Where the hell does this law regulate anything about what you can feed your kid? It says something about what BUSINESSES can SELL to your kid,…

@jskinner82: Correct, the board has enough votes to override the veto, and so the law will still go through.

@me_eit001: I wasn't saying anything about anybody's patriotism. I saw that topsully had a Marine insignia as an avatar, and I was acknowledging that. You infer too much.

@Snow leopard: Yeah, I agree it was pretty preachy. But I don't totally fault Pixar for making a movie with a message. More nuance next time? Yeah, probably. On the other hand, the art direction was at the highest level, and the degree of character development that they got out of robots with no spoken lines was…

@topsully: Given the statistics on obesity in different countries, that would be a fair supposition. Of course, any individual could stray from the group average.

I wonder: How many pounds overweight is the average American cruise ship patron?

Also, that tube receiver is made out of a soup can and some empty spice jars.