The left thinks it has come up with a new and powerful weapon to use against those who oppose their plans; especially their plans for nationalized health care. The first salvo came from the Aging Hollow-eyed Hippie from Haight-Ashbury, none other than Princess Nancy. A few more Democrats fell in line immediately. Then came someone not really know beyond the radio realm, talk radio consultant Holland Cooke writing for the leftist Daily Kos website. Now we have a member of America's Royal Family, Congressman Patrick Kennedy from Rhode Island.

Kennedy now joins Pelosi, Cooke, assorted Democrats and others in delivering the dire warning that opposition to ObamaCare is going to lead to violence. Oh ... and of course he singles our "right wing talk shows."

"I will note that there were a number of prominent security people in this country who spoke very openly this past week that ... that there are consequences in terms of trying to protect public officials. There are consequences to violent rhetoric. Some people can see through TV ratings and right-wing talk show hosts that just try to create some theater, but unfortunately, there are some that can't see through it. And that's the danger in it. There is definitely freedom of speech, but freedom of speech does not allow yelling 'fire' in the middle of a crowded movie theater."

Well, just leave it to this logically-challenged Kennedy lightweight to use that "fire in a crowded theatre" stuff. So voicing opposition to nationalized health care is "shouting fire in a crowded theatre?" Drawing on 40 years of politically-oriented discussions here; I can tell you that when you hear that phrase you know you are dealing with an intellectual lightweight.

Every time the left starts wringing its hands over the potential for violence due to the opposition to their big-government plans they mention talk radio. This, of course, stems from their visceral hatred of talk radio. They have pretty effective control over the mainstream media and thought this would be enough. They see, however, that day-by-day more people are abandoning their precious New York Times and Washington Post and turning to Internet sources and (gasp!) talk radio. They trace much of the opposition, and perhaps the ultimate failure of their cap-and-tax plan and nationalized health care to evil talk show hosts. They've tried talk radio themselves, but continue to be miserable failures. Somehow talk radio must be brought under control .. and they have a plan.

Here's the game. This is a giant and seemingly well-coordinated set up. Kennedy, Pelosi et al, are waiting for some act of violence. It might be a shove or someone throwing a shoe at a press conference or town hall meeting. Someone with an anti-ObamaCare sign might take a swing at some purple-shirted SEIU goon giving them a hard time at a demonstration. It could be something worse. But if and when it happens the Democrats and their media supporters will come out of the gates with a vengeance blaming talk radio. In the days that follow the left will demand action ... something will just have to be done to reign in these dangerous talk radio hosts before the violence spreads.

Watch it play out, folks. Then tune in for my "I told you so."

Yup .. might happen today in the Senate Finance Committee. Uber-liberals like Senator Jay Rockefeller are pushing for this one.

Now once again, this is not the "public option." The public is us. THEY are the government. This "option" is all about them, and very little about us. It is the government competing in our sector ... and competing in a way that is guaranteed to eventually destroy all competitors. These politicians completely understand; and the media that fawns over them understands as well, that this government option - a government-run health services payment program - is their key to single payer. And single-payer is the path to nationalized health care, because that single payer is government.

Pick up the current issue of Newsweek. There's a column there by Robert Samuelson. Samuelson acknowledges that that there is no clamor among the public for any type of universal health insurance. Why, then, are the Democrats so hell-bent on getting this done? Samuelson calls it "The underlying driver is politicians' psychological quest for glory."

Well ... there you have it. And the politicians' ... or, more particularly, the Democrats psychological quest for glory will be driving this vote on the government option today. It's not about us, my friends. It's not about our health. It's not about our pocketbooks. It's all about the political class and their ginormous egos.

There have been all sorts of protests in New York over a state regulation that would require healthcare workers to be vaccinated against the swine flu. The regulation, which was apparently approved in August, basically says that all healthcare workers should get vaccinated or be fired. Now nurses and other healthcare providers are saying that this regulation is a violation of their personal freedom.

OK .. I can argue this one either way. I could say that if you don't want the vaccination, then change jobs. I could also suggest that this is part of an orchestrated campaign to put a scare into the public over the swine flu. Why a scare? Well, the more worked-up you get the public about health issues, the easier they are led down the road to socialized medicine.

Me? No flu shot. And that's the way it is.

First it was healthcare, now it is climate change. When the Democrats started their quest to take over 18% of our economy in the name of healthcare, they claimed it was a battle of exactly that ... healthcare. Then one day, Barack Obama gets up and makes a speech which changed the debate entirely. It was no longer about healthcare; the issue was suddenly insurance and the evil health insurance companies. Is any of this ringing a bell??

Well it seems as though the Democrats are going to try and do a similar maneuver with cap-and-trade legislation. John Kerry is the Democrat who has decided that cap-and-trade isn't really something that voters can identify with. In fact, John Kerry "doesn't even know what cap-and-trade means"! No lie. He really said that. His point was that if HE didn't know what the phrase cap-and-trade meant, then the average American (who clings to their guns and religion) DEFINITELY doesn't know what it means.

So he is simply going to change the term. So here it is, ladies and gentlemen. We no longer have a cap-and-trade proposal; we now have a "pollution reduction" bill. Doesn't that sound a lot nicer? A pollution reduction bill.

It's all about buzzwords to these people; buzzwords and focus groups. The right buzzwords will ensure that you maintain power over the people. These politicians aren't stupid. I'm guessing there was a focus group somewhere. I'm also guessing that the focus group facilitators asked the people what they thought of the phrases "cap and trade" and "pollution reduction." We all know which would be the winner there. I'm sure there are a lot of government-educated folks out there who will fall in line, believing this line about "pollution reduction" when the truth of the matter is that this has absolutely nothing to do with pollution. In fact cap-and-trade legislation won't do anything to actually curb global warming. But cap-and-trade legislation will do a few other things ... need I remind you?

• A family of four can expect its per-year energy costs to rise by $1,241;
• Including taxes, a family of four will pay an additional $4,609 per year;
• Aggregate GDP losses will be $9.4 trillion;
• Aggregate cap-and-trade energy taxes will be $5.7 trillion; and
• Job losses will be nearly 2.5 million

How about more of this hopey-changey focus group thing?

The Democrats just can't figure out what they want out of a healthcare bill. This is pretty easy to understand, considering that this debate has nothing to do with healthcare and everything to do with power and egos. But that's another issue. But Barack Obama and the Democrats have been promising that their healthcare plans would exclude illegal immigrants.

Well some Democrats in the House are having doubts about this. They argue that any healthcare bill that passes should be extended to allow illegal immigrants some access. They say it is unfair to bar illegal immigrants from "paying their own way in a government-sponsored exchange." So if they can pay their own way, then they we should allow illegal immigrants into the government healthcare system.

Lesson? Don't believe anything these Democrats tell you about their healthcare plans. Every utterance is subject to change once they get their legislation passed. It's about control. Whatever they have to do to solidify that control is fair game.

The Tax Foundation has done a study on which states are best suited for businesses ... and those that are set on punishing the achievers. The study ranked the "business-friendliness" of the states' tax systems based on five different aspects: corporate, individual income, sales, unemployment insurance and property taxes. The states with the best tax systems were "business-neutral, broad based, and transparent, and that states whose systems most reflected this ideal were the most competitive."

Want to know the states that met this criteria? In descending order ...

-- South Dakota
-- Wyoming
-- Alaska
-- Nevada
-- Florida
-- Montana
-- New Hampshire
-- Delaware
-- Washington
-- Utah

My home state of Georgia (for now) is bordered by Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Caroline and ... Florida. The Georgia Public Policy Foundation reports that Georgia's business tax climate has become worse .. moving from 27th to 29th in the nation. That's a dangerous trend when Florida, with it's 5th most business-friendly tax climate is just down I-75. The only neighboring state that ranks worse than Georgia would be North Carolina. In the meantime property owners in Atlanta were just hit with a 45% property tax increase.

At least Georgia isn't at the bottom of the list. The states that ranked absolute worst for businesses were New Jersey, New York and California. Hmmmm ... could that be why we so many people from New York and Jersey in Florida?

Now ... speaking of California, perhaps they see the problem and are getting ready to take some action. A commission studying California's tax structure has come up with some ideas:

• Repeal all sales and corporate taxes
• Flatten the income tax rate
• Reduce the tax burden on the high-achievers a/k/a the "wealthy."
• Levy a new tax on business net receipts.

Democrats are already attacking the recommendations. What's not to like? Well .. right there at the front of the list would be, as the critics present it, letting the "super-wealthy .. off the hook from paying their fair share." Oh how the left likes that "fair share" line. In the meantime the producers and high-achievers continue to move out of Taxifornia. The left will never learn.

You still don't believe that Obama would send you to jail if you don't go along with his plans? Well ... maybe this will convince you. Don't you just love what our government has become? Now you can go to jail for not paying something that Obama swears isn't a tax.

A woman in Indiana may be in violation of drug laws because she purchased too much cold medicine. Our government and its war on drugs is a complete waste of taxpayer money.

Phillip Howard wrote a wonderful book several years ago: "The Death of Common Sense." Now he explains why medical malpractice reform just isn't on the table. It's the trial lawyers, stupid!

And one more nanny state story to get things started ... a woman is charged with operating an illegal daycare after agreeing to watch a friend's child.

The House is likely to push forward with its own healthcare bill that will include a government option, even though the Senate doesn't have the votes to pass it.

The full employment rate in the United States could be as high as 7%, up from 5% where it was before the recent financial collapse.

Barack Obama was recently reminded about the definition of a "tax" and claimed that his healthcare plans were not considered taxes. The Republicans aren't going to let him get away with that.

The New York City terrorist plot continues to grow.

The upcoming census is going to be distributed in two languages. See if you can guess the second language. Yeah, this one's a real toughie.

You are going to love this one ... why wealthy people should pay for poorer people to have healthcare. And how the government will force them.

Here's a great article from National Review fact-checking Barack Obama and many of his false claims about health insurance reform.

Bush officials may be held personally liable for alleged violations of individuals' rights for actions following 9/11.

Barack Obama has shelved the current request for more troops in Afghanistan. Then we learn that the commander in Afghanistan has only spoken to the president once since taking over.

Wall Street has spent millions of dollars buttering up members of Congress. Any guesses as to who is receiving the most money from the financial services industry?

Why is Hillary Clinton giving millions to Libya's Muammar Gaddafi?

Speaking of Gaddafi, looks like him and his buddy Hugo Chavez want to "challenge the 'imperialism' of wealthy nations."

The US ambassador to the OAS accused Honduran President Zelaya of "acting as though he were starring in an old movie," by trying to return to his country.

So you know how the government set up a website where you can supposedly track how stimulus money is being spent? Yeah, that's not working out too well. If you're surprised you just haven't been paying attention.

When the government coffers start to run low, taxing alcohol seems to be a popular way of taking taxpayer money.

Government workers in the UK are going through people's trash to see what they are throwing away ... as you can imagine, some people have a problem with this.

Yet another collection of bad tattoos.