McDonald's is not out to kill you

On Slate.com, the same guy who inadvertently implied that European Caucasians were more intelligent than folks of African descent comes up with an entry titled Selling death through fast-food kiosks. Slate has articles telling you which steaks taste the best, which Oriental dumplings you should buy, and article after article about which booze is better -- but McDonald's is always associated with death. If you haven't looked at the article yet, the main point seems to be, by using the new and convenient self serve ordering kiosks will encourage you to supersize your death food without feeling bad. Those of us who actually eat at McDonald's know the real reason for these kiosks -- instead of having to pay 8 minimum wage teens to take your order and get your food, they can get by with 4. They won't need breaks, they won't insult customers, and once the customer learns where his particular favorites are on the system -- they'll get the orders in faster. They're not trying to con you into buying more death food, they're trying to get rid of a few more employees.

It's up to you to decide what's worse.