Socialism Is Not Communism

Socialism is not communism (the far-right's boogeyman). It is not a dictatorship like the USSR, where everything is state-owned.

Democratic Socialism is capitalism with social programs where needed, such as Social Security, Universal Healthcare, public utilities, police, fire, highways, roads, the EPA, OSHA, the FAA, the SEC, and public education.

Today's Republicans want a profit-driven, unregulated, unfair, unjust, monopolistic, theocratic, oppressive, fascist corporatocracy where corporations and the wealthy gouge consumers and create an ever-widening income disparity.

Democratic Socialism is not Socialism. It's Capitalism with economic Socialism only where it makes sense. It's not nationalizing anything. Take health care as an example. No hospitals, clinics, medical device manufacturing, etc. are seized. If ownership changes, it's by purchase. Only the financing changes. Single-payer. Taxpayer-funded to spread costs. The US is the only Western industrialized nation without universal health care. Here, millions of people lack health insurance coverage. Health insurance is expensive and has deductibles, co-pays, coverage gaps, yearly or lifetime limits, and capricious coverage denials that call treatments experimental or unneeded, or cite missing preauthorization or undisclosed conditions such as teenage acne.

The SAVE Act currently being debated disenfranchises any woman whose name currently does not match their current name. Any changes, such as those related to marriage, must be documented at the voter's expense. Passports can only be used as proof of eligibility in five northern states. Instances of non-citizen voting are almost nonexistent. Want to cast a provisional vote (convicted felons can legally vote in some states, which can create uncertainty at the polls)? Be prepared to be convicted of voter fraud for casting a provisional vote.

Democratic Progressives are concerned with workers' rights, consumer protections, environmental safeguards, financial protections, an end to predatory loans, a stop to monopolies that eliminate competition, a fair (instead of an unregulated "free" cheaters-always-prosper) market, non-profit justice, and a halt to the gutting of public education.

LGBTQIA? There are many genetic exceptions to simplistic binary XX/XY. An XY individual can develop as female without ever being aware of their condition. There are females who grow a penis at age 12. There are people with both male and female genitalia, and people who have no attraction to either sex. It's a spectrum, not a dichotomy.

Gender-affirming medical surgeries on children are not performed without a critical underlying necessity, and usually involve correcting defects, not sex changes. Transsexuals undergo hormone treatments to make their bodies align more with their innate sense of gender.

Republicans are so concerned about freedom, yet they want to regulate bedroom privacy. 

Roe v. Wade was based on the Right to Privacy. The Ninth Amendment said that rights are not limited to those enumerated in the Constitution, and the 1965 case (Griswold v. Connecticut) specifically referred to the Right to Privacy. However, the Roe v. Wade decision based their ruling on the 14th Amendment. They ruled that abortions are restricted on the basis of which trimester fetal development occurred. Republicans claim that Democrats want unlimited abortions, an absurd belief, rather than a return to Roe v. Wade. Trump's nominees to SCOTUS claimed that Roe v. Wade was settled law, then ruled against it, with Clarence Thomas citing that the Right to Privacy was not a Constitutional right. Many other SCOTUS rulings are based on that Right to Privacy, including interracial marriages (sorry, Clarence).

Your comment says that Democrats:

 *Value all illegals over U.S. citizens.
 *Diversity over merit. 
 *Defend our far-left extreme partisan press.
 *Support putting W.O.K.E. values into the military.
 *Abuse anyone who believes differently.
 *Spend trillions on inefficient green energy science.
 *Apply overbearing regulations and flawed climate change.

I don't know where you get these delusions. Look at the Constitution. Due Process is not limited to citizens. Diversity does not supersede merit. Extreme partisan press? Like Fox News? Ever heard of the First Amendment?

Wokeness:

• Read books and don't burn them
• Embrace science
• Willing to change your mind when new information becomes available
• Understand that most issues are not black and white
• Believe in true equality for all people
• Have empathy
• Embrace cooperation
• Respect others' rights
• Believe culture and the arts have value
• Care for the planet

Equality is not about dumbing down or rewarding everyone. Equality is about fairness (recognizing hard work and not placing obstacles in people's paths), being non-racist, non-discriminatory, non-misogynistic, and non-greedy (workers should share in productivity gains and be paid living wages so they can actually afford consumer spending).

Being patriotic is about deeds, not empty words, slogans, or waving guns. It's about caring for our country and improving it. 

Abuse people whose beliefs differ? Don't like free speech? Have you actually listened to Trump?

Inefficient Green Science? Gee, sorry for wanting clean air, clean water, clean soil, and caring for our planet (there is no Planet B).

Overbearing regulation? As opposed to complete deregulation? Wanting a fair playing field instead of a free playing field?

Flawed climate change? I guess not wanting a massive increase in destructive storms, sea level rise, and mass extinctions is woke?

Remember CRT? Critical Race Theory? It's a law school subject, not a primary or college subject. It's critical in the sense of examination of important points or applications, not criticism. Trying to imply indoctrination of K-12 students is a complete fabrication. It's an attempt to redefine CRT as something evil.

The Democratic coalition is ascendant no more

Replying to the following comment:

username Voter ID

Key values of the Demo-Social-Commie Party:   *Yield to DSA, Socialism, and Communism *Raise taxes while providing less to taxpayers  *Support Gender-affirming care incl/surgery for children.  *Abortions from conception to infinity.  *Exclude equal rights in women's sports.  *Oppose voter ID to protect Demo-Social-Commie votes.  *Penalize 88% of U.S. citizenry w/Universal health care for all.  *Resume having no oversight to subsidized housing.  *Believe: We are a nation of immigrants not “citizens.” *Value all illegals over U.S. citizens.  *Diversity over merit.  *Defend our far-left extreme partisan press. *Support putting W.O.K.E. values into the military. *Abuse any who believe different. *Spend billions on inefficient green energy science. *Apply overbearing regulations and flawed climate change. *Be a hypocrite.

SCOTUS Impeachments and The Right To Privacy

To remove federal judges, including Supreme Court Justices, requires impeachment by the House followed by a Senate trial, with a removal from office requiring a 2/3s vote.

We've seen how Republicans view impeachments, so this doesn't look like it will happen.

US Constitution, Article III, Section 1:

"The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour,…

It's not just the ethical violations and lies in their confirmation hearings of some of the Justices. It's also the dismantling of established laws.

The 9th Amendment ensures that there are more rights than those in the Bill of Rights. The 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Amendments all concerned the right to privacy from the government. All of those Amendments were also made applicable to States through the 14th Amendment.

"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

The 9th Amendment:

  Stops assumptions: Prevents the government from claiming that unlisted rights do not exist just because they are not on paper.

  Protects hidden rights: Safeguards fundamental human rights like privacy, travel, or personal choices that are not directly written down.

  Limits power: Keeps the federal government from assuming it has total power over areas not mentioned in the first eight amendments.

Roe v Wade was based on a right to privacy from the government. In his concurring ruling overturning Roe v Wade, Justice Thomas said what the majority ruling danced around, that the Justices were overturning the guarantee of the Right to Privacy.

There are a handful of other laws which are based on the right to privacy which are now in danger.

The right to privacy is at the heart of

 1. The right to marry whomever you choose, be it interracial or same-sex.

 2. (1963) Married couples had a right to privacy when attempting to obtain birth control (a later ruling extended that right to individuals).

 3. Allowing you to homeschool your children or send them to a private or religious school.

 4. HIPPA laws regarding your medical records.

The fix for the Supreme Court may come down to expanding the number of Justices via a Democrat majority in Congress.

Social Security is Self-Funded

Social Security is supposed to be separate by law. Social Security isn't the government's biggest expense. It's not an expense in the federal budget (do people who say it is ever point out Social Security's revenues?). Social Security is self-funded.

Social Security is financed through taxes on workers and interest on the Treasury Bonds held in the Trust Fund.

For employees, half of their taxes are paid through the employer. Those taxes are based on gross income. Paying half via employers makes that part tax-exempt for employees. If companies did not handle half of the contributions, workers would have to pay the full 12.4% in the same way that self-employed people do.

The "employer" contribution is not a company's money; it's a cost of employing someone. If the business doesn't pay, that money rightfully belongs to employees so they can pay Social Security taxes.

The Treasury Bonds in the Trust Fund are not instruments of theft. The Trust Fund was built up to handle fewer workers contributing less during the Baby Boomer retirements.

If Social Security redeems a Bond, the Treasury simply sells a Bond to someone else. The National Debt is financed through the sale of Bonds. Who buys them does not matter.

Social Security was supposed to be kept 100% funded for 75 years. Today, it's only fully funded for 6 years. Blame Congress for failing to adjust tax rates and salary caps to keep it funded. Congress has been fully aware of this situation for decades.

The GOP is ideologically opposed to government programs that are non-profit. Wall Street wants a cut, so a "crisis" was manufactured to force privatization.

Stop treating Social Security as a budget expense, and stop trying to say Congress already stole the Trust Fund.

The wealthy pay a minuscule amount to Social Security because of Salary Caps on income subject to those taxes. Raise the caps high enough to address the crisis. Congress created the problem by failing to adjust caps as needed. Make the rich pay their fair share, and blame Congress, not Social Security.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8sn292b/