The above is very interesting though a bit doctrinaire in declaring the one true socialism. I like the coop type of enterprises you mention above. You should also include Mondragon in Spain as an example more applicable to advanced industrial society which still needs to exist in the real world. Just like you admit that the Marxist-Leninist state owned (controlled by unelected Party members is a form of "socialism" you should admit that social democracy/democratic socialism is a type of "socialism" also imho. Michael Harrington the founder of the Democratic Socialists of America http://www.dsausa.org/always said that the reason why the American elite tried so hard to smash the American Left which almost universally supported one version of socialism or another was that it was a way to suppress the much greater portion of the population that were liberals.
Oh, yeah, I wasn't trying to declare a one true socialism -- sorry for that misunderstanding. I was just pointing out that nationalization and central planning (which is typically and perhaps by necessity accompanied with authoritarian dictatorships) was not the only type of socialism, and that there are very viable, effective and liberty loving versions of socialism occurring right now in the world.
Raising the minimum wage is mainstream. Free tuition for college/university is mainstream. Raising taxes on the 1% is mainstream. Getting big money out of politics is mainstream. All of these issues, and more, if polled in straightforward language have majority support (often far better than mere 51% majority) nationwide. If you poll it with conservative branding ("hurting job creators", "death panels") then they don't poll as well. But the ideas and policies themselves have mainstream support. I'm not saying Bernie will succeed in getting that message across to the independents outside the liberal base. But the policies he espouses are common sense middle-of-the-road stuff that have been effective in dozens of free democracies worldwide for generations now. There's absolutely nothing radical about his platform except how radical it appears to the American right, who have lurched so far right in the last 20 years, their own ideas from the 90s are "socialist."
And to me, that's what's so important about Bernie's candidacy. It's a direct antidote to the Rove/Norquist/FAUX propaganda that these issues of social justice and shared burdens are somehow 'un-American' when they are in fact quintessentially American. He just need George Clooney or somebody to be his VP choice so we can get some celebrity buzz. That's all the The People really listen to.
Figuring a way to get US companies to hire US workers instead of shipping those job oversea while being profitable is mainstream. Every candidates pay lip services to it, but none have done anything remotely for it. Bernie is probably the only credible candidate that will do something about it.
Bernie surges to big leads in New Hampshire and Iowa. Up 10% in Iowa and over 20% in New Hampshire. The center corporatist position is not holding and Americans are very very sick of trickle down. ********** http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...10-point-iowa-lead/ar-AAeeVzW?ocid=spartandhp Poll: Sanders up by 10 points in Iowa© Provided by The Hill Poll: Sanders up by 10 points in Iowa Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is up by double-digits on former secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire, according to a poll released by CBS News on Sunday. The senator is drawing 43 percent support in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus, besting Clinton by 10 points. Sanders is also drawing 52 percent support in New Hampshire, almost doubling Clinton, who sits at 30 percent support in the Granite State.
A crowd of 9000 in Greenboro North Caroling for Bernie!! ********** http://myfox8.com/2015/09/13/thousands-attend-rally-for-bernie-sanders-in-greensboro/ GREENSBORO, N.C. – "We love Bernie," cheered a crowd of about 9,000 supporters as the Greensboro Coliseum hosted the Democratic presidential candidate on Sunday night. Sanders discussed his political platform: tackling income and wealth inequality, promoting Medicare for all and a single-payer program, allowing 12 weeks paid medical leave for new mothers and taking away excessive policing equipment from local departments. He also addressed the federal minimum wage. "Wages in America are just too damn low," Sanders said in reference to $7.25 an hour. He supports raising it to $15. He also acknowledged race relations in America. Sanders said while there has been progress over the years, he encourages Americans to end forms of institutional racism and for people to get on-board with a comprehensive immigration reform plan.
i would (and will) vote for sanders. but $15 an hour is pushing it unless it is gradual. some of his positions if done all at the same time... i dunno what would happen. if you say you are trying to bring jobs back to the U.S. and not china/india/etc but at the same time give mothers 3 months off, raise the minimum wage, increase taxes on the highest income bracket, cut tax loop holes. wow... like i said i dunno.
Live Stream of Sanders speaking at Liberty University It is just getting started. They were supposed to start at 10:30, but they are of course still doing the long winded invocation prayer thing. Should be interesting considering who Sanders is and who the audience is. I am glad I am living at a time when the fact that Sanders is Jewish is a non issue to most people. I am very critical of this nation at times, but we have indeed come a long way on a lot of fronts. EDIT: oh, sorry -- I got the time zone wrong. That was the closing prayer -- the thing is over. Here is a recording though: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_fOPBIc56gU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I'm still stunned Jeremy Corbyn is leader of the labor party. I read the odds were 200 to 1 just a few months ago. He destroyed the other candidates. Cameron called him a national security risk lol. You guys don't have a Corbyn in the race - Bernie is relatively timid on foreign policy - but it would be truly wonderful if we see a day when Corbyn is leading the UK and Bernie the US. Bring some justice back to the American people. Washington, 2003: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yI-jso9kFbU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
If Ted Cruz or Trump were to speak at Berkeley there would be protest, sit ins, and people rushing the stage. Notice none of that will occur tonight.
You wish. Thatcher and Reagan have run their course, but the elite will keep plugging to come up with similar frauds to keep redistributing the wealth upward. Hey, still believing that you will be trickled down upon if we keep giving enough tax breaks to the folks many levels above you? Who you going to believe a couple hundred years of actual historical evidence of what happens to the 99% in advanced capitalist societies if you don't tax and control the one percent enough-- or their theories you fell for?
You also claimed to be a black woman. You also claimed to be a black woman. Fact: You also claimed to be a large.... black.... woman.... (To prop up your crazy ideology)
