One factor is that most of the right-wing oppression is taking place in the fears and imaginations of the left.

You might note that abortion is not, in fact, illegal. That gay marriage is now taking place all over the nation. If Prop 8 passes out here, a court will simply obliterate it. Again.

We do not have prayer in schools or a theocracy.

But the effects on my life from the liberal end are real, and I live under them now. Particularly in California. Each one individually seems tolerable enough, but it adds up. Low flush toilets. Smoking restrictions. Fireplace laws. Transfats in restaurants. Cell phone bans. Seat belt and helmet laws. Headlight rules. Calorie posters at fast food restaurants. Soft drink taxes.

We'll leave off the illegal light bulbs for now, since that actually hasn't happened yet. In fact, I'll leave off a long list of nanny-state lunacies that, so far, haven't made it out of Sacramento or other state legislatures.

And, of course, I pay some of the highest state taxes in the nation for every damn liberal wet dream California Democrats can come up with as we go broke. High speed train to L.A., anyone?

As for China? Yeah, sure. China is all about free-market capitalism. What you see is what you get when the government has total control. Corruption and mutual back-scratching all up and down the line.