Softening my opinion on the left side

[Audacious]

Considering that people are not perfect, and therefore,
governments will always be corrupt to some degree,
name a better system than the one in America: All of
America, not just a few states or the large cities.

Finland. Denmark. Norway. Sweden. All better in practically every measurable way.

Bernie Sanders is an outright Communist.

He's a democratic socialist, which is basically Socialism Lite. Why do you talk about economics when you don't even know what the different kinds are?

 

[pat34lee]

How are they "liberal progressive socialists"??? I'm sure you have nothing to back that up.

Again, an empty accusation with nothing whatsoever to back it up.

What accusation? Those were simple facts.
http://nypost.com/2016/01/16/dont-be-fooled-by-bernie-sanders-hes-a-diehard-communist/
Did Bernie Sanders turn Hillary Clinton into a Progressive, Socialist Centrist?

 

[pat34lee]

Finland. Denmark. Norway. Sweden. All better in practically every measurable way.
He's a democratic socialist, which is basically Socialism Lite. Why do you talk about economics when you don't even know what the different kinds are?

Politics is much more than just the economic system.

 

[pat34lee]

Finland. Denmark. Norway. Sweden. All better in practically every measurable way.

If that were true at all, then they would be the ones facing an
overload of would-be immigrants instead of the USA. It ain't
happening though.

 

[Sketcher]

I think I'm becoming a Democrat. I found things more peaceful under Obama than under Bush or Trump. My eyes have been opened.

Like the ISIS offensive? Or Russia bullying the Ukraine (again)? Or the rise of Boko Haram?

One of my complaints is with Capitalism. In a perfect world, Capitalism would work really, really well. But these businesses have become corrupt and sometimes need a strong rebuke.

It does work really, really well. Problem is, when the government picks winners and losers, you get crony capitalism, and Democrats benefit from that just as much as Republicans. Possibly more so.

I just see things as getting really bad lately, here in the US. Even if I myself am getting better in my own personal walk.

The day that Trump won the primary, which meant it was going to be Trump, Clinton, or Sanders that would be President, is the day when we were guaranteed to be uncomfortably screwed as a nation.

 

[mark kennedy]

I think I'm becoming a Democrat. I found things more peaceful under Obama than under Bush or Trump. My eyes have been opened.

One of my complaints is with Capitalism. In a perfect world, Capitalism would work really, really well. But these businesses have become corrupt and sometimes need a strong rebuke.

I just see things as getting really bad lately, here in the US. Even if I myself am getting better in my own personal walk.

The ideology of the GOP is good but they don't like to walk the walk. The way they do things is gut social spending, cut taxes for the rich and deregulate commerce until the economy is in the drink. Democrats have baggage to, they get all their candidates from committee. The first time they tried this the got McGovern who lost to Nixon, winning only 19 electoral college votes. Trump was really the only one who was going to do something about illegal immigration, Clinton was going to have open boarders with no restrictions against just walking across.

Capitalism is the idea of mutual work between the butcher, the baker and the blacksmith working in their own mutual interest. There is a problem though, suppose we both make widgets and there is this great widget making machine. I save and scrape and come up with the money to get this machine, you decide to go to the bank and with the same money you put 10% down on ten machines. Well you will produce me right out of the market and you have a debt to service. It's the catalyst for the systematic greed in our system.

When Wall Street crashed it was because they were gambling everything on stocks and other securities. That's not just brokers, banks and insurance companies are into this. A bank can double it's money on a thirty year mortgage or it can double it on Wall Street in a year. When the markets dipped then everything went into a tailspin, the banks had no capitol, the world spins out of control.

I don't think your becoming Democrat, I think your a moderate, welcome to the most powerful group of voters in this country. They are the elusive swing vote and have no real loyalty to either party. Our numbers are growing and the liberal democrats and their conservative GOP counterparts are few, we are many.

Grace and peace,
Mark

 

[pat34lee]

I don't think your becoming Democrat, I think your a moderate, welcome to the most powerful group of voters in this country. They are the elusive swing vote and have no real loyalty to either party. Our numbers are growing and the liberal democrats and their conservative GOP counterparts are few, we are many.

Grace and peace,
Mark

There is nothing particularly virtuous about not holding to one
set of values or another. It's usually been called being afraid to
show one's colors. That, or holding out to see who offers the most
incentives ($$$).

 

[mark kennedy]

There is nothing particularly virtuous about not holding to one
set of values or another. It's usually been called being afraid to
show one's colors. That, or holding out to see who offers the most
incentives ($$$).

Holding to one's values is the very definition of virtue and holding out to see how much money you can get is the problem with Washington, the very definition of corruption.

 

[pat34lee]

Holding to one's values is the very definition of virtue and holding out to see how much money you can get is the problem with Washington, the very definition of corruption.

Thank you for agreeing.

 

[mark kennedy]

Thank you for agreeing.

I'm continually amazed that I agree in principle with both sides of the isle and am inevitably disturbed by how they react to lobbyists once elected.

 

[pat34lee]

I'm continually amazed that I agree in principle with both sides of the isle and am inevitably disturbed by how they react to lobbyists once elected.

The problem isn't the differences between the parties.
It's the things that make politicians the same. Money,
lack of ethics, desire for power and to be re-elected.

I agree with some of what the Democrats want; just
not how they work. Too many of them would scrap the
Constitution for a moment's gain, not seeing it would
destroy us as a nation.

 

[mark kennedy]

The problem isn't the differences between the parties.
It's the things that make politicians the same. Money,
lack of ethics, desire for power and to be re-elected.

I agree with some of what the Democrats want; just
not how they work. Too many of them would scrap the
Constitution for a moment's gain, not seeing it would
destroy us as a nation.

By and large I think we elect honorable people, but the lobbyists and power brokers know how to make their influence known. Your elected representatives probably went into the office today, got a few things done, then went down the block to the party building. They they probably were on the phone for hours, they are turning into telemarketers. Obama and Sanders both had a website that raised money through online donates, usually averaging 20 dollars, the big money is coming from elsewhere though.

Both parties have baggage Trump is trying to do something about Iran and North Korea, something long over due, I just hope he doesn't start WWIII. Meanwhile the GOP agenda is very close to what we had with Regan and George W. Bush, who got theirs through. The result was two devastating recessions and a much wider gap between the rich and working class Americans. Meanwhile the Democrats advocate open boarders and loose immigration policy in a play for a bigger voting base and cheap labor.

On balance the Democrats are better for the economy while the GOP is a little better on national security. Unfortunately the military industrial complex is ridiculously expensive...I could go on and on.

The Democrats have a chance to regain a lot of lost ground if they will stop playing party power politics, playing just to their base and respond to a consensus rather then trying to manipulate it. Time will tell but watch between now and the end of the year, it will come down to tax reform, I'm pretty sure.

 

[Ringo84]

Capitalism has become too much of a civil religion in this country. There are a lot of good things about it, but left without a fetter that restrains greed and exploitation, capitalism becomes an unequitable system. I feel like history is repeating itself: we're entering (or have entered) a period like the late 19th century Gilded Age. We need to have another Progressive Era where we have more (good) regulation and trust-busting. I'm not sure that the system we have of "more money for us, and forget you" is sustainable in the long run.
Ringo

 

[TheNorwegian]

If that were true at all, then they would be the ones facing an overload of would-be immigrants instead of the USA. It ain't
happening though.

What makes you think the Nordic countries are not attractive to would-be immigrants? Norway has a higher percentage of its population born outside the country than what the US has

 

[Calminian]

I think I'm becoming a Democrat. I found things more peaceful under Obama than under Bush or Trump. My eyes have been opened.

One of my complaints is with Capitalism. In a perfect world, Capitalism would work really, really well. But these businesses have become corrupt and sometimes need a strong rebuke.

I just see things as getting really bad lately, here in the US. Even if I myself am getting better in my own personal walk.

If you believe in the democrat agenda, I can see why you have no peace. Trump is killing terrorists, helping to stack the courts with pro-life judges, and helping the economy grow. He's cutting down on illegal border crossings, hindering drugs from entering the country.

If you hate those things, you won't have peace. As for me, I've never felt so much peace.

 

[mark kennedy]

Finland. Denmark. Norway. Sweden. All better in practically every measurable way.

Absolutely, you could just about throw in Greenland and Canada. As a matter of fact what they call capitalism came to Greenland and devastated the financial markets there.

He's a democratic socialist, which is basically Socialism Lite. Why do you talk about economics when you don't even know what the different kinds are?

That's very true, Sanders and his Progressive agenda believes in the old ideals of a socialistic society. I don't think branding him a Communist is politically helpful because as socialism goes he's pretty moderate at least in his policy issues.

 

[Calminian]

Absolutely, you could just about throw in Greenland and Canada. As a matter of fact what they call capitalism came to Greenland and devastated the financial markets there.


That's very true, Sanders and his Progressive agenda believes in the old ideals of a socialistic society. I don't think branding him a Communist is politically helpful because as socialism goes he's pretty moderate at least in his policy issues.

Jesus was a capitalist. So were the early apostles. So was Israel. Nuff said.

 

[mark kennedy]

Jesus was a capitalist. So were the early apostles. So was Israel. Nuff said.

You cannot serve God and money:

But if your vision is poor, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? (Matt. 6:23-25)
​

Nuff said.

 

[Calminian]

You cannot serve God and money...

I agree. Capitalism is the simplest form of monetary policy. Communism/socialism, in essence, is money worship. It's the idea that money is God, and everyone has a right to it regardless of what they do. But Scripture says, don't work don't eat.

 

[ArmenianJohn]

I agree. Capitalism is the simplest form of monetary policy. Communism/socialism, in essence, is money worship. It's the idea that money is God, and everyone has a right to it regardless of what they do. But Scripture says, don't work don't eat.

Capitalism is based on money. "Capital" = money. Capitalism is Moneyism. You don't need money to eat. You cannot eat money.

As for the Apostles, if you think they were Capitalist, well I don't know what you think "capitalist" means. They certainly believed in the redistribution of wealth from those who had it to those who needed it.

Acts 4
34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

How about that, the Apostles were socialists!