I know, it's 'The Flame Board', but what the heck:

[That heresy is what the right calls "Socialism", and the first thing I'd want to do is get clear on what we really mean by a "close examination/debate of Socialism". Is it really Socialism, or did you fall into the rhetorical trap set by the Right's customary Chicken Little exaggeration?]

Not at all in the sense that even Republicans fall into that. "Gasp", you say, but yes, they do or did for the most part of the eighties when Reagan was Pres. Capitalism went on the up then when American companies and entrepeneurs started their own companies. Unfortunately in the late nineties things changed in that they expanded to countries like China and India. That's another story all on it's own, but may be the turning point as to the mess we are in now.

[I lost the link that somebody posted to one of those Conservative blogs, which had a charming line bemoaning the way that America had been in a "headlong rush to Socialism for eighty years!" and I thought to my self, gee, are we there yet? Eighty years is a long time to wait for the Right to deliver on its promise of Socialism. Maybe it's time to take matters into our own hands?]

Think about that one though. They did, DID take things onto their own hands in the eighties, what went wrong? Are you talking about America specifically now? Can you/we keep American jobs in America? CAN WE KEEP AMERICAN JOBS IN AMERICA?

That's the bottom line. I'm all for restoring our civil infrastructures, schools, etc., but, about socialism... ... ... I'm sorry, I have no answer to that one in that it will stifle America as I see it. No one will be able to get out of any mess that they are in, let alone come up with new innovations when the populace has nothing extra to stand on... in America, never mind about fixing everyone else's problems around the world because once the people become so dependent on their government, they will continue to do so because it will be law and will continue to suckle on which is reminiscent to a (gasp) communist country.

As I've said (and so many others in so many ways): You'll never know what you've got 'till it's gone. I'm not talking about a parking lot either.