Reductio Creep Lives

Julian Sanchez | May 5, 2006

Radley Balko finds a case of life-imitates-Onion: In 1998, as the Master Settlement Agreement between the states and tobacco companies was being hammered out, The Onion ran a satirical piece announcing that Hostess was in legal peril for marketing Twinkies, "a dangerous snack cake linked to obesity and hyperactivity," to minors. Earlier this week, the FTC issued a series of "self-regulatory" (for now) recommendations that would constrain the marketing of junk food to minors.