Hah! My house is old enough to have REAL 3.5 gpf toilets, not those sissy flush-it-ten-times-to-get-it-down 1.6 gallon crap thimbles that have been mandated by our government as part of its obvious Constitutional role.

That's right up there with the airbags, the non-smoking bars, and the other nanny-state shit that usually started in California and infested the rest of the nation.

Right now, coming down the pike in California: taxes on soda pop to keep pop machines out of schools. Penalties on fattening foods. There is no aspect of my existence that the social engineers feel is beyond their direct control.

I can remember an era in this country when a government man coming to town and telling everyone how big their toilet could be would have been beaten into insensibility, and introduced to the closest commode to receive the "Swirly of the Gods."

The fact that regulations like this are generally accepted with sheeplike passivity by most people frightens me more than just about anything else. On the other hand, there is a thriving black market in big toilets, which I guess shows that not everyone is a sheep.