Communism's Threat

[Alcon]

Vote, discuss, digest, enjoy.

[Nation]

Option 4 Option 4 Option 4

[The Duke]

The United States is in no immediate danger to become Communist, but Communist nations like North Korea pose a real and specific strategic threat to the lives of Americans, to allied nations, and to our vital interests.

[Alcon]

The United States is in no immediate danger to become Communist, but Communist nations like North Korea pose a real and specific strategic threat to the lives of Americans, to allied nations, and to our vital interests.

Sorry for not being clear:  I meant the threat of in-house Communism to the American political establishment.

[The Duke]

The United States is in no immediate danger to become Communist, but Communist nations like North Korea pose a real and specific strategic threat to the lives of Americans, to allied nations, and to our vital interests.

Sorry for not being clear:  I meant the threat of in-house Communism to the American political establishment.

Nonexistent

[David S]

The United States is in no immediate danger to become Communist, but Communist nations like North Korea pose a real and specific strategic threat to the lives of Americans, to allied nations, and to our vital interests.

Sorry for not being clear:  I meant the threat of in-house Communism to the American political establishment.

Well there are several people in this forum who openly admit to being communist and who adhere to communist ideals. So there are definitely Americans who would like that idea. In my opinion the US would not move directly from its current semi-capitalist situation to communism. It has to pass through socialism first. The $64,000 dollar question to me is whether a nation can exist as a socialist or semi-socialist state indefinitely or will it  inevitably end up communist.

My definition of communism is an extreme form of socialism in which the government controls the economy and human rights are largely suppressed.

[John Dibble]

Not within my lifetime, I don't think - there are enough people to point out communism's record to keep it at bay.

[MODU]

While I voted "not really," the US did quite well when there were communist supporters in elected offices.  They were popular, and ofted had decent approval ratings.  However, they were also kept in check by the competition of other candidates, both outside and inside their party.  So the threat of a communist takeover from the inside was very slim to none.  It just wouldn't exist in our political environment.

[opebo]

No.  Obviously the US is in the grip of the opposite ideological extreme.  Capital can relax.

[??????????]

Option 2.

[TheWildCard]

Nah there is nothing to worry about. We've seen the worst which is one absolutly horrid Supreme Court ruling on property rights but thats the worst of it.

[??????????]

Nah there is nothing to worry about. We've seen the worst which is one absolutly horrid Supreme Court ruling on property rights but thats the worst of it.

For now.

[David S]

Nah there is nothing to worry about. We've seen the worst which is one absolutly horrid Supreme Court ruling on property rights but thats the worst of it.

Who said so? What makes you think there will not be more decisions and more legislation that will erode our rights until we have none?

Lets look at some recent ones.

The Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform act takes a bite out of the 1st amendments protection of free speech by prohibiting unions and corporations from mentioning a candidate by name within 60 days of an election or 30 days of a primary. You could argue that unions and corporations are not people and have no rights, but I'm a person and I'd like to hear what they have to tell me.

The Assault Weapon Ban infringed on the 2nd amendment, although happily that ban was not renewed. Other anti-gun laws still exist; i.e. handguns cannot be owned in Washington DC.

The Patriot Act reduces the standard for getting search warrants below the "probable cause" requirements of the fourth amendment. Patriot 2 is purported to allow the FBI to conduct searches without warrants.

Rico Acts allow confiscation of private property without a trial, a violation of the 5th amendment. The supreme court's recent decision on property rights further erodes that right.

Jose Padilla has been held as an enemy combatant for 3 years without a trial and without even being charged with a crime, a violation of the 6th amendment right to a speedy trial.

The federal government routinely does things which exceed its constitutional powers, a violation of the 10th amendment. The court's recent decision on medical marijuana upheld that violation.

So we see violations of six of the ten amendments in the bill of rights. How many rights do you have to lose before you become concerned?

[DanielX]

Option 2. Genuine Communists are no longer a threat, but the former pinkos (now moonbats) are still a considerable portion of the left (and are actually growing - albeit by a small amount).

[MODU]

The Assault Weapon Ban infringed on the 2nd amendment, although happily that ban was not renewed. Other anti-gun laws still exist; i.e. handguns cannot be owned in Washington DC.

Not at all.  The right to bear arms is still protected.  The Constitution says nothing, nor implies anywhere, about limiting the types of weapons a citizen can own.  A common misconception.

[PBrunsel]

We must stay vigilent so as we will never come to a point where we may become a Communism.

[David S]

The Assault Weapon Ban infringed on the 2nd amendment, although happily that ban was not renewed. Other anti-gun laws still exist; i.e. handguns cannot be owned in Washington DC.

Not at all.  The right to bear arms is still protected.  The Constitution says nothing, nor implies anywhere, about limiting the types of weapons a citizen can own.  A common misconception.

It says the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The Assault weapon ban is an infringement. BTW for the sake of brevity I only mentioned those two. The second amendment is constantly under attack.

Many cities have filed suits against gun manufacturers saying that they are responsible for criminal acts committed with guns even though the manufacturers sold the guns in strict compliance with the law. The real intent of these suits is to bankrupt the gunmakers with legal fees.

California is in the process of banning .50 caliber rifles, even though you would be hard pressed to find any crimes committed with them.

Gun laws have been proposed and or passed which ban guns for being too small- saturdaynight specials, too big - .50 cal,  too light -plastic guns such as the Glock because it might evade airport screening even though it can be clearly seen in airport screening machines, and various types of ammunition for various reasons. Every time you turn around there is a new anti-gun proposal.

[2952-0-0]

Uh, there is a threat of communism? The ruling isn't communist at all; it's corporatist. Communism would be like allowing the government to seize your land for government use. And where's the "no, alien invasions are more of a threat" option?

[TheWildCard]

Uh, there is a threat of communism? The ruling isn't communist at all; it's corporatist. Communism would be like allowing the government to seize your land for government use. And where's the "no, alien invasions are more of a threat" option?

It makes it so that a local government can completely control the housing market if they so wish. And, a controled government sounds communist to me.

[dazzleman]

There's no danger of outright communist takeover of the US internally.

A greater danger is the loss of faith in American values that the left is promoting.  The constant emphasis on past ethnicity over shared ideals is a good example.  So is the constant harping on past historical missteps, and the attempted delegitimization of symbols of American unity.

This, coupled with an increasing share of the economy controlled by the government, poses the danger of an erosion and eventual collapse of not only our form of government, but also of everything America stands for.

I don't think that political freedoms can be maintained in the long run when the government has too much control over the economy.  We have seen this from the opposite direction -- governments losing political control when they allow too much economic freedom -- but we are approaching from the other direction.  We're not close yet, but government is growing way too fast for comfort under a Republican administration and Congress.

Many leftists think that it would be a good thing for the US in its present form would collapse.  I do not.  The left has always been highly myopic and what it has to offer has always been worse than the imperfect institutions that it has replaced.  The left is good only at destroying, not at anything constructive.  This has been true the world over, and the leftists in the US are no exception.

[dazzleman]

There's no danger of outright communist takeover of the US internally.

A greater danger is the loss of faith in American values that the left is promoting. The constant emphasis on past ethnicity over shared ideals is a good example. So is the constant harping on past historical missteps, and the attempted delegitimization of symbols of American unity.

This, coupled with an increasing share of the economy controlled by the government, poses the danger of an erosion and eventual collapse of not only our form of government, but also of everything America stands for.

I don't think that political freedoms can be maintained in the long run when the government has too much control over the economy. We have seen this from the opposite direction -- governments losing political control when they allow too much economic freedom -- but we are approaching from the other direction. We're not close yet, but government is growing way too fast for comfort under a Republican administration and Congress.

Many leftists think that it would be a good thing for the US in its present form would collapse. I do not. The left has always been highly myopic and what it has to offer has always been worse than the imperfect institutions that it has replaced. The left is good only at destroying, not at anything constructive. This has been true the world over, and the leftists in the US are no exception.

Very well put.  I wholeheartedly agree.

thanks man