We all know about the national health crisis caused by consuming too many calories and exercising too little. But some of the solutions local government is proposing to the dilemma are comical.

New York City has a new policy that bans bake sales at schools. Their strategy is to block sports teams, charities and civic groups from raising money on school grounds in an effort to thin out the student body. It's just plain silly, in Clark's estimation.

Meanwhile, as previously reported, Los Angeles banned fast-food restaurants in a large part of the city. Now The Los Angeles Times reports there are new proposed rules that would ban convenience stores in areas of the city that cover 500,000 residents!

Yet a Rand Corporation study has found that it wasn't the fast food that caused obesity among L.A. residents. So in the continuing search for a culprit, convenience stores have become the new pariah.

L.A. is apparently being swayed by information in the November edition of Pediatrics. The magazine cites a Philadelphia study that shows more than half of all school-age kids shop at a convenience store a minimum of once a day. A third of kids shop twice a day. And the average purchase of $1 gets you 365 empty calories.

However, nothing is being said in this whole discussion about the responsibility of parents. It's the family's job to teach a child about good nutrition. We just blame the store, the bake sale, the fast food and on and on. Where does it all end? The responsibility, ultimately, goes back to the parents.