[extra] Blame the Clown!

First they wanted Ronald McDonald to retire, now they want Happy Meals without toys! What will be next: no minors?

Don't get me wrong, I don't like McDonald’s. This is a company that has done their part to proliferate a lazy culture of drive thru and numbered meals, not to mention their slave work conditions and the economic massacre to family owned joints whenever McDonald’s decides to arrive in your neighborhood. This is not my point.
What strikes me is this interference of public groups in a family matter. If you are an irresponsible parent that feeds your brood trans fat, corn syrup, and preservatives for dinner, who am I to tell you wrong? Taking away a clown and a toy won’t change your attitude. If you'd happen to see McDonald’s last TV campaign, with the overworked parents racing home to bring a happy meal to their neglected kids, maybe you would understand what I mean: McDonald’s is not the one to blame for child obesity, diabetes or malnutrition: YOU ARE!
YOU are making your 3 year old ingest 1000cal worth of nothing for dinner because YOU were lazy. YOU spent your money buying that Happy Meal, not Ronald. He didn't buy baby Sarah a Happy Meal with fries and soda. Nor baby Sarah drove her way to the closest golden arches to get a hand of those cute little baby Shrek toys, no, YOU DID. And as far as I am concerned you are not being sued for bad parenting, unless you had charges on child abuse, but I'm positive hamburger and fries are not part of it. Nor they asked you to retire from being a parent because you are not a really good role model, or mandated you to stop buying toys to your kids because they threw a tantrum at the grocery store.
So why do we need to impose rules on how McDonald's market their meals? Ohh, this is America, let’s blame someone else for our own mistakes:

Blame the Clown!!!