"Should the government pay you to lose weight?"

than the EPA coming to take your beer fridge. (I have some friends who are fairly heavy drinkers and smokers. They are also liberals. We've discussed "single payer" health insurance. They don't seem to grasped that their lifestyles would be greatly effected under gov't healthcare.)

One of my best friends is a smoker and outspoken socialist who wants this country to be like Norway. I'll try bringing up that point with him.

Do that. What I've also found is that while they rail against intrusive, "all powerful" insurance companies, they are blinded as to how gov't is worse by several orders of magnitude. PJ O'Rourke wrote some great stuff on this back during HillaryCare. Two main take away points:

1) "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free."

2) Do you really want your healthcare providers being akin to those staffing the post office or DMV? (paraphrased)

And let's just throw this one in for good measure:

"You can't get good chinese takeout in China and cuban cigars are rationed in Cuba. That's all you need to know about communism."

Okay...One more then I'll stop:

"The free market is ugly and stupid, like going to the mall; the unfree market is just as ugly and just as stupid, except there is nothing in the mall and if you don't go there they shoot you."

P.J. O'Rourke. I kind of miss him. Did he fall off the earth, only to pop up every other year on Bill Maher's show?

I never really thought of the post office, I thought more of a welfare office (or similiar institution where money is being recieved from the government) as what government hospitals would look and feel like. Sounds pretty much like hell, doesn't it?

I think he just kinda faded away. To my mind, his writing became stale and more of a schtick than a style.

Yep...I think you're right about the welfare office thing. Better analogy.

It kind of seems like Mark Steyn is filling the role of conservative court jester, too. I think Steyn may have staying power that PJ didn't have, though, since he's also a very literary guy with many different dimensions of talent.