Too many of our less enlightened ones confuse socialism with communism and do a McCarthy-type knee-jerk when something—no matter how beneficial—strikes them as socialistic. Of course, sliding right by the fact that they undoubtedly got a free education in a public school supported by the taxpayers.

There is nothing incompatible about democracy and socialism. In fact, the two are highly compatible. Far more compatible than democracy and capitalism, wherein the major decisions are made by corporate heads, either directly, or by bribing Congress (it's called "lobbying," and for some peculiar reason, it's legal).

Don Firth