Cincinnati Republican Bill Seitz, fresh from chaperoning his "Defense of Marriage" law through the Ohio General Assembly, has cooked up a Defense of Fast Food bill. It's designed to protect food sellers from lawsuits like the one a New Yorker filed last year blaming McDonald's for making him fat. That suit was tossed in the trash bin by the judge.

The Ohio bill was unanimously approved by the House Civil and Commercial law Committee, which Seitz chairs. "We're trying to reinstate the notion of personal responsibility," he said. "If you eat too many Big Macs, you're going to get fat. Don't sue McDonald's because you ate too much."

It can cost companies fat dollars defending against frivolous lawsuits, but where do we go to diet from frivolous bills? Some are like a third order of fries, tempting, but do we really need it?

Optional science

A few more missing links have been found in Georgia's proposed high school science curriculum. Last month it was revealed the word "evolution" had been removed in what outraged educators and scientists claimed was a move to appease biblical creationists. Now it has been learned the big bang theory on the origin of the universe and lessons on plate tectonics also are missing or scaled back in the plan.

Some of the material has been restored because of the complaints, and the state Superintendent of School's office said most of the concepts - dominant scientific theories all - will be included in a yet-to-be-developed science course. Taking the course will be optional.