I have long said that the lone thread connecting the democrat party coalition of liberal special interest groups is the desire to control some aspect of other people's lives. That's the magic of "climate change." By making carbon dioxide a pollutant, the left has created the unifying issue by which they can control every aspect of human existence. And if you don't believe the Democrats are control freaks, look at how they are running their upcoming convention:

15,000 fanny packs must be made from organic cotton by union labor. Never mind that such a thing doesn't exist.

Baseball caps: same problem as the fanny packs.

Allegedly biodegradable balloons have been buried in compost. I suppose they don't trust the manufacturer.

900 volunteers will be charged with directing trash to the correct container.

More volunteers will search the trash for inappropriately placed refuse. I suppose they don't trust the 900 volunteers.

No fried food is permitted.

Each meal shall include three of the following five colors: red, green, yellow, blue, and white.

Garnishes may not be used to satisfy to above color mandate.

70% of ingredients must be organic and/or locally produced.

In an ironic twist, Coors brewing company will be donating biofuel made from beer waste. And that pisses off some Democrats, because Coors isn't a sufficiently left-wing company. Never let a good deed come between a liberal and good dose of hate:

No matter, grumbles Anna Flynn, a longtime union member from Denver who objected to the donation. "Any way you put it, it's still Coors," she says.

Now there's a well-considered, thoughtful argument.

Now, the Democrat Convention is a private organization's event, and they have every right to operate it in any way they see fit. The problem is, the purpose of the Democrat Party is to accumulate enough power to compel us all into such lunacy.

Update: Here's evidence of the use of climate change as an excuse to mandate human activity:

First it was a proposed ban on plastic bags.

Now, a member of the influential Madison Plan Commission wants to ban the restaurant drive-through -- or at least restrict the ubiquitous symbol of America's auto-centric lifestyle.

"Given the concern about all the carbon going into the atmosphere, I'm not sure we should be building more places for people to sit idling in their cars," says Eric Sundquist, who was appointed to the citizen panel by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz this spring.

A former newspaper reporter in Atlanta now working as a researcher at the UW-Madison's Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Sundquist notes that several cities in Canada have recently moved to ban the drive-through coffee shop or stand-alone fast food restaurant (www.ecospace.cc/culture/drive-thru-ban.htm).

That's right, we have a former newspaper reporter that wants to tell restaurants how to operate their businesses and diners how to obtain their food. A commenter notes that there is a lot more idling going on at stop lights, but no politician seems interested in eliminating them. Good point!