Have a giant Coke and a smile

One soda lover (pictured) celebrated the judge's decision by ordering the biggest Coke he could find. (AJC FILE PHOTO)

Freedom and giant sodas are not free, but they sure do taste good.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had sought to limit the size of sugary soft drinks to a paltry 16 ounces, will appeal a judge’s decision that nixed the ban before it took effect today.

Let us hope the judge believes nothing says America like washing down a plate of BBQ with a bucket-sized sweet tea.

State Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling, whose last name is also the sensation you get from overdosing on Mountain Dew, said Bloomberg’s proposal is “arbitrary” because it applies to only some sugary beverages and some places that sell them.

“The loopholes in this rule effectively defeat the stated purpose of this rule,” Tingling wrote in a victory for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola and the makers of lesser beverages.

The judge also said the Bloomberg-appointed Board of Health went beyond its authority in approving the size limit and the matter should have been handled by elected city officials.

The ban had more loopholes than the corporate tax code.

According to an article by Bloomberg (the news service owned by the billionaire mayor), the ban did not prevent unlimited refills. And, despite being informally dubbed the “Big Gulp” ban, the proposal would not have affected convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, progenitor of the aforementioned Big Gulp, or grocery stores.

Bloomberg wants New Yorkers to be healthier for financial reasons. The state spends an estimated $12 billion a year treating the obese.

But it’s not just soft drinks that make people fat.

Why not ban sugar packets that people dump into coffee? Or ban cars so people walk more.

Why not ban cheeseburgers?

Doesn’t sound very American, does it?