The New Government

So a few weeks ago a friend of mine said that Obama wasn't a socialist. This wasn't the first time I have heard this. I seem to have come up against a wall arguing with this sort of thing because usually the conversation degenerates into what you think the definition of socialist is. So I figured I had better go to the source. The communist party in America! Just before the election they came out with a handout that tells us what they want the government to do. So I figure that a nice non-biased way to tell how far away anyone is away from the Commies is to go point by point. To see how this new government stacks up will have to be a long term project but I think it will be informative. Now even a broken clock is right twice a day so I have indicated (with a *) where I believe they have hit on something right. This will give us a linear curve fit for calibration:
5 out of 40 line items = Libertarian Expansionist (or whatever the heck I am)
40 out of 40 = Communist
So here is the list (I edited it for line items but left most of the rambling in):

1. "Immediate Relief"
a- A moratorium on foreclosures and evictions.
b- Reset mortgages so payments are affordable.
c- No bail outs for banks. (*)
d- Extend unemployment compensation, increase payments and eligibility.
e- Increase food stamps, WIC, children's health insurance, and low income energy assistance.
f- Assist deficit-ridden state and local governments so they can preserve services and jobs.
g- Fund "ready-to-go” infrastructure projects.
2. "A Peacetime, Green Jobs Economy for All"
a- Enact massive public works job creation to make existing buildings energy efficient, construct new schools, hospitals, affordable housing, mass transit and bridges. Priority to areas hurt by loss of manufacturing, loss of family farms and highest unemployment areas including the Katrina-devastated Gulf Coast.
b- Major clean, affordable energy development project for solar, wind and biomass electricity generation.
c- Immediate program to cut greenhouse gas emissions and for environmental cleanup.
d- Restore Federal energy regulation.
e- Encourage public ownership of utilities. (*)
f- Enact the Employee Free Choice Act to enable workers to form unions.
g- Enact HR 676 the US National Health Insurance Act to provide universal health insurance with single-payer financing.
h- Fully fund public education from pre-school through higher education and technical training.
i- No privatization of Social Security or Medicare.
j- Expand and improve Social Security benefits.
3. "Restore Civil Rights, the Bill of Rights and Separation of Powers"
a- Restore Civil Rights Act enforcement, affirmative action in employment, education, and housing.
b- End the "school to prison" pipeline.
c- Outlaw hate crimes.
d- Preserve Roe v. Wade.
e- Pass immigration reform with legalization, a path to citizenship, due process, no militarization of the borders, and no exploitative guest worker programs. No human being is illegal. (*)
f- Repeal Patriot Act. (*)
g- Restore Habeas Corpus rights.
h- No more torture.
i- Investigate and prosecute Bush administration violations of the Constitution.
j- Expand voting rights. same day registration, voting rights for ex-felons, verifiable voting equipment, and instant runoff voting.
k- Enact publicly financed elections,
l- Restore Fairness Doctrine in media.
4. "Strength through Peace"
a- Withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq with no bases or U.S. corporations left behind.
b- Full care for returning veterans.
c- No war on Iran or expansion of troops in Afghanistan.
d- Assistance to Iraqi people to rebuild their country. (*)
e- Adopt a new foreign policy of diplomacy and respect for all nations, instead of preemptive war for corporate interests.
f- Renew commitment to UN peace role.
g- End trade policies that enrich corporations while destroying jobs.
h- Ratify Kyoto Treaty and other climate change agreements.
i- Enforce nuclear non-proliferation, and work to abolish nuclear weapons.
j- Cut Pentagon spending in half.
k- Close down US bases around the world.

How did you do? More importantly I will be watching the new government to see how they do. Hmm maybe I could go through this and have fun making fun of it line by line. Later when I have time...Ha

Change that has been tried before

I don't think Obama is going to be any worse then say Carter.

I am more worried about what congress will do.

They are the ones with most of the power now. Obama will do whatever they say and they have the check book. Two years ago everyone was saying that having a divided government was the only way to straighten things out... now in two years they are the most corrupt congress ever and will continue to be so without that pesky idiot in the White House slowing them down. Now they have bought the White House and will do with it as they please. They brought the banking and housing markets to their knees and are in the process of nationalizing them. Next will be the automobile manufacturing, Oil/Energy and then health care industry. Free enterprise built this country and sustained it for the last 230 years and may be in short supply in another 4.
Mean while we vote for more bread and circuses.

A deglobalization of trade (due to anti-NAFTA unions) coupled with inflation (due to inflating Minimum Wage and hyper low interest rates) added to extensive social obligations, price controls, unequal taxation and nationalization of businesses, all starts to sound a lot like the economic conditions that killed off the Roman Empire.

You would think people who study history would at least try to learn from it.
"Gee they tried this solution before and it didn't work in 300AD why do we think it will work today?"

Homer's Vote

Last nights Halloween Simpson's was very good, however I had one problem.
Homer: "Ooooo.. one of those electric voting dealies... Hehehe (presses button for Obama)
Voting Machine: "One vote, for McCain. Thank you."
Homer: "Nooo, I want to vote for Obama (presses Obama's name again)."
Voting Machine: "Two votes, for McCain."
Homer: "Huh?! Come on, it's time for a change! (presses Obama's name again)"
Voting Machine: "Three votes, for McCain."
Homer: "No! No! No! (presses button 3 more times)
Voting Machine: "Six votes, for President McCain."
Homer: "Heyyy.. I only meant one of those votes for McCain! (gasps) Hey, this machine is rigged!"
(machine doors open, tries to suck Homer inside)
Homer: "Must.... tell... President....... McCain.................AHhhhh! This doesn't happen in America! Maybe Ohio, but not America!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

It's true but in sadly in revise. Obama is quite literally buying an election with illegal money from who knows were. All the while the press and big government politicians are cheering him on.
It is amazing how much money you can get from the internet if you disable all the security safeguards and don't check who is actually give you that money. Who cares about pesky campaign finance laws.
The whole Diebolt Electronic Voting thing is bad, and should not be brushed aside as some "Republican" or right wing thing. It is a power thing. It moves us one more step away from "Citizen Control of the Government" and towards "Those in power choose how We the People can do things"
Sadly democracy is dieing because of it.
I don't want to live in a country that pits class against class. Poor vs Rich or Washington Power vs Individual Right. We are Americans Damn it. We have no class.