to prove how awful the Commies were. However, those of us who were already familiar with Vonnegut's writings from his science fiction already knew he was a lefty, and like other socialists conservatives love to love(like George Orwell), was gleefully embraced by the Right because they could cherry-pick among their writings and select only those passages and works which could be construed to support their program.

It's pretty obvious Techie has never read "Player Piano", one of the earliest and most scathing (as well as eerily prophetic!) indictments of American corporate capitalism ever written, put down on paper before it was fashionable, in fact, while it was even dangerous to do so--the McCarthy era.* Written, of course, by Kurt Vonnegut. Well perhaps he has read it, but I doubt he will ever quote any of it here.

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It might be worthwhile to look over the following:

"The politics of Kurt Vonnegut's 'Harrison Bergeron' - Critical Essay
Studies in Short Fiction, Fall, 1998 by Darryl Hattenhauer Mr Hattenhauser goes on to say:

"...this text satirizes America's Cold War misunderstanding of not just communism but also socialism."

"If "Harrison Bergeron" is a satire against the Left, then it is inconsistent with the rest of Vonnegut's fiction. For a view of his fiction's politics in general, one need only recall Jailbird's satire on conservatism and its sympathy with striking laborers, or the endorsement of income redistribution in God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. A specific illustration of his politics occurs in the dedication of Hocus Pocus to socialist Eugene Debs, which quotes him: "While there is a lower class I am in it"

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2455/is_4_35/ai_91040892

*From the Wikipedia article on "Player Piano"

"Player Piano, author Kurt Vonnegut's first novel, was published in 1952. The dystopian[1] story takes place in a near-future society that is almost totally mechanized, eliminating the need for human laborers. This widespread mechanization creates conflict between the wealthy upper class—the engineers and managers who keep society running—and the lower class, whose skills and purpose in society have been replaced by machines."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_Piano

"This widespread mechanization creates conflict between the wealthy upper class—the engineers and managers who keep society running—and the lower class, whose skills and purpose in society have been replaced by machines." Does that sound familiar?