Democratic Socialists Openly Calling For Communism

Jamesiv1 said:
I suggest she won because she's attractive, well-spoken, earnest and shook hands with everyone in her district.

It's got nothing to do with her "Democratic Socialism".

Crowley hasn't lived in his district for 20 years.

I know nothing about her republican opponent (George Pappas) but I predict she will suffer a rousing defeat if he is a Trump supporter.
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Sarah Palin on steroids?
 
CaptUSA said:
So, I often hear these idiots talk about the Nordic model when they envision "democratic socialism". What they don't get is that the only way countries like Denmark can have their brand of "socialism" is because of their adherence to the free market in other sectors.

They have incredibly favorable free trade policies and very little protectionism. They have very few government regulations on business and a competitively low corporate tax rate. Their minimum wage is zero. They have a large union presence, but it is entirely voluntary. In other words, they allow the free market to generate their wealth and then use it to fund their socialist sectors in education and health care.

Oh, and their defense and medical innovation is subsidized by other countries.

I wonder if there's an opportunity in there to educate those Bernie followers. They claim the Nordic model, but they don't really advocate for it. They say, "democratic socialism" because it sounds better, but they really mean "socialism that seems to work".
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I'm not sure there is a proper ideology term from what people the Left such as Bernie are seeking. He probably used Democratic Socialism as the closest thing to what he thinks can work, but possibly is the lite version as his campaign didn't really describe Nationalizing all private production into the government. I think even some Nordic countries where perplexed and indignant over people like Sanders.

I don't think even Bernie wants to actually nationalize health care providers either, but provide a central Single Payer to fund it and give every citizen Health cards for care which I think the Nordic model does include.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_socialism

Democratic socialism is a political philosophy that advocates political democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production[1] with an emphasis on self-management and/or democratic management of economic institutions within a market socialist, participatory or decentralized planned economy.[2] Democratic socialists hold that capitalism is inherently incompatible with what they hold to be the democratic values of liberty, equality and solidarity; and that these ideals can only be achieved through the realization of a socialist society. Democratic socialism can be supportive of either revolutionary or reformist politics as a means to establish socialism.[3]

The term "democratic socialism" is sometimes used synonymously with "socialism", but the adjective "democratic" is sometimes used to distinguish democratic socialists from Marxist–Leninist-inspired socialism which is viewed as being non-democratic in practice.[4][5] Democratic socialists oppose the Stalinist political system and Soviet economic model, rejecting the authoritarian form of governance and highly centralized command economy that took form in the Soviet Union in the early 20th century.[6]

http://time.com/4121126/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialism/


“When I use the world socialist–and I know some people aren’t comfortable about it—I’m saying that it is imperative,” Sanders said, that we “create a government that works for all and not just the few.”

Democratic socialism, Sanders said, is not tied to any Marxist belief or the abolition of capitalism. “I don’t believe government should own the means of production, but I do believe that the middle class and the working families who produce the wealth of America deserve a fair deal,” he said.

Sanders use of the term “democratic socialist” has been both a weakness and a strength. He refused in the first Democratic debate in Las Vegas to call himself a capitalist, calling it a “casino” system, but has insisted he would not overturn the free market.

“By the way, almost everything (Roosevelt) proposed was called ‘socialist,'” Sanders said, listing Social Security, the minimum wage, unemployment insurance, job programs, collective bargaining and the 40-hour work week as examples of accomplishments that “economic royalists” called “socialistic.”
 
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Socialist Ocasio-Cortez Had Very Different Views When She Ran A Business

https://www.dailywire.com/news/32696/socialist-ocasio-cortez-had-very-different-views-ryan-saavedra

July 6, 2018

alexandria_ocasio-cortez_0.jpg



Newly unearthed reports from socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's past show that the progressive political candidate had very different views on taxes when she used to run a business.

Ocasio-Cortez, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has campaigned on expanding big government welfare programs through raising taxes on businesses and wealthy Americans.

Now that she is in the political spotlight, many of Ocasio-Cortez's previous views are coming to light, particularly those surrounding raising taxes, since much of her platform revolves around taking more of people's hard-earned money and giving it to those who did not earn it. The Daily Caller News Foundation reports:

But Ocasio-Cortez appeared to have a different outlook on capitalism and taxes in 2012 when she was running a business of her own, Brook Avenue Press, an incorporated publishing firm for children’s books set in the Bronx. As a business owner, she came out in support of a bill that would provide tax deductions for business start-up costs, arguing that taxes directly impacted her business profits.​

Ocasio-Cortez complained about the burden that taxes put on her business in a 2012 news article, saying, "You don’t really make a profit in your first year," later adding that getting taxed was "a real whammy."

Ocasio-Cortez also used to tweet out articles and quotes from entrepreneur and venture capitalist Paul Graham:





The DCNF also notes that Ocasio-Cortez was a member of a business organization that attracted numerous entrepreneurs and gave talks on entrepreneurship at Boston University where she praised free market enterprise.

Now, with a $174,000 salary in her sights, Ocasio-Cortez is championing views that conflict with that entrepreneurial spirit she formerly promoted mainly centered around the government providing for its citizens.

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timosman said:
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BG forgot to work one of her stances into this cartoon:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the insurgent firebrand who Tuesday toppled the No. 4 Democrat in the House of Representatives, is a strong critic of Israel who denounced the killings of Palestinian protesters as a “massacre.”
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BTW, were both Cortez and Trump hoping to see incumbent Dem Crowley lose?


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Rising star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explains how US ‘could advance 10 years’ by backing progressives in midterm elections

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...w-york-joe-crowley-reform-party-a8441361.html

From long shot hopeful to rising political star, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has had quite a few weeks. But she has her eyes fixed on the future – believing that American politics is poised to “advance 10 years” in the crucial November midterm elections because of the progressive wave she helped usher in.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez beat the Democrat veteran Joe Crowley on 26 June in a stunning primary election victory. And while even she was surprised at the result, she is not shocked it started a “national conversation” about the direction of both the Democrats and Republicans, she told The Independent.

There’s a spark in Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s eyes when says her main goal now is to ensure that her victory and the “whirlwind” of attention “isn’t just a flash in the pan moment”. She believes that President Donald Trump may not make it to 2020 and the next presidential election given the number of issues he faces, including the investigation into Russian election meddling and any possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russia.

“We’ll see if he survives to 2020 politically ... There’s a lot in the air right now,” she said. But the bigger issue is her own party.

She argued the new Democratic party, even 10 years from now, cannot define itself as simply being against Republicans. She said she wants it “to really inspire” people – beginning with November.

“I think right now in 2018 ... We’re in a very special political moment where we can advance 10 years in our politics in this year’s midterms elections,” she said.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez said the country is “a lot closer to that change than we think we want but it’s all about whether we’re going to mobilise” voters in 2018. “[Her primary victory] is still fresh, we just won ... But now we’re starting to refocus on getting back to work and organising in our community,” she said.

The 28-year-old Democratic Socialist remains committed to abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, and backs universal healthcare and free higher education for all.

But, her focus is not only on her race in New York. She is thinking nationwide, a rarity in House politicians which is likely to have boosted her popularity. She said she is just a “toehold” for a progressive wave within the Democratic party, a wave she hopes will make it “more connected to their communities than it has ever been before”.

Her campaign and platform – focusing on taking corporate influence out of politics, student loan forgiveness and climate change action through an economic plan – has helped to blunt some of negative connotation surrounding the term “socialist” in the US.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez said she hopes the new wave of progressives will make the party a “really strong counter” to the Trump administration but not just in adversarial terms. She pointed to her own district, representing the largely minority, immigrant, and working-class boroughs of the Bronx and Queens in New York City, which has been scared by Mr Trump’s hardline policies. Beyond political in-fighting in Washington, communities like Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s need to be protected.

As for her primary win, Ms Ocasio-Cortez explained how her team “expanded the electorate 68 per cent over the last off-year”. That meant they “mobilised people who had never voted before or don’t usually vote in an election like this – and that takes a lot of shoe leather and a lot of on-the-ground physical presence”.

Her newfound fame does not appear to have gone to her head. She is well aware of what it means for her and others running for public office and seemed to have the same passion, if not more, than when The Independent spoke with her before the primary.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez promotes so many other progressive Democratic candidates – like Michigan candidate for governor Abdul El-Sayed, who could become the first Muslim-American to lead a state, Ayanna Pressley running for Congress in Massachusetts in John F Kennedy’s former seat, former nurse Cori Bush vying to unseat Republican incumbent Roy Blunt to represent Missouri, and several others. The aim is not just to build up a caucus of like-minded advocates but to also make sure they get attention.

“People told me I would have to run three times [in primaries] before I would win,” she said, an attitude she previously called “Trumpist defeatism” as part of a troubling trend in politics. She wants to rid people of that notion and encourage socialists like herself to change the government from within.

What has helped that perceived optimism, in part, was her campaign team and volunteers, many of whom are first-generation Americans and first-time voters. “The advantage of running a campaign like that is that all the commonly held wisdom is kind of up for questioning,” she said.

She admitted “some of it is out of naivety” but much of it, she said what her campaign did – like eschewing all television adverts – “was out of an intentional desire for innovation”.

“Both are actually good things. People say ‘well why don’t we try XYZ?,’” she said, adding it allowed them to “question assumptions”. And, that seems to be a theme throughout progressives’ campaigns across the country – challenging what establishment Democrats say can and cannot be done in Washington.

But, Ms Ocasio-Cortez said she is well aware the Democratic party has a lot of work to do. Although she is reluctant to “measure it in years” because “because change happens so quickly” sometimes, her campaign is evidence of that.

There have been questions about whether the establishment wing of the Democrat party will truly come together with the more socialist, progressive wing, but Ms Ocasio-Cortez believes the voters are the most important thing.

“It’s not about what the establishment is going to accept or not accept it’s about [how] voters are going to make happen,” she said.

When asked about possible challengers within her party to Mr Trump’s 2020 presidential run, she simply said: “I’m like everyone else. I’m sitting here, I’m looking at what’s going on.”

She and others are “looking for someone ... To consistently lead on the issues instead of it being this kind of horse race,” she added.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez said it is “exciting” to support all these progressive candidates and “whether people say it’s a movement or ... A fluke, it doesn’t matter, what matters is the work we’re going to do”.
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https://www.independent.com/news/2018/jul/10/anthony-bourdain-and-perils-fundraising/

Anthony Bourdain and the Perils of Fundraising

The Sordid Outcomes of a Quality of Education Based on Property Values


With the death of Anthony Bourdain last month, the world lost a modern troubadour of the human experience  —  a punk-rock Woody Guthrie, documenting the joyous, tragic, and heartbreakingly truthful. Bourdain did what every writing teacher across America begs of their students: show, don’t tell. His work was a treasure trove of first-hand gonzo journalism that defied conventional ideologies and revealed the human stories behind every dish. Most of all, he insisted we taste it, or else what was the point?


In May, Bourdain was the special guest at the UCSB Arts & Lectures fundraiser held at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum where I happened into a seat. It was a lavish affair —  free cocktails, auction cards, and at the center of each table a giant woven basket overflowing with fresh produce and baguettes, which no one touched but me, earning elbows from my wife about how centerpieces aren’t for eating.


After schmoozing hour, where I got to gawk briefly at Christopher Lloyd and remind my wife we have to watch the Back to the Future trilogy (she’s never seen it —  honestly, I don’t know how I left that out of my screening process), we were shown to the dining area. I felt a bit out of place even before learning tables started at $10,000, but I was four bourbons in by then (did I mentioned how free the cocktails were?), which served to anesthetize the simmering Marxian tirade bubbling beneath the surface. Sitting next to me was a representative from a major beverage company that has for a few years now been making its way into Myanmar, unencumbered by the violence. He said it was a growing market and invited me to visit.


The main purpose of the evening was to raise money for the Arts & Lectures program, a beloved institution and cornerstone of Santa Barbara’s cultural scene. Several private dinners crafted by chefs of high-end, local restaurants were auctioned off in a lively series of escalating bids, earning between $12,000 and $24,000 each. The event proved quite successful.


Then came the depressing part: The organizers played a video. Set to some Sarah McLachlan-esque music, the somber faces of school-aged children, mostly of color, panned across the screen while a narrator explained that as K-12 funding continues to suffer, the performing arts have been disappearing from public schools (not something these parents have to worry about). It went on to say how important the arts are to childhood development and future success and would they please be willing to fund Arts & Lectures’ outreach program, which provides access to underrepresented students in an effort to offset local inequities. Infinitely more valuable than a dinner, this time the prize would be the knowledge of providing young learners critical access to a good education. Inexplicably, no bidding war ensued. With some effort, the host cajoled several $1,000 and $500 donations.


This happened. It was cruel and generous at the same time. If the alternative was to give no money toward public education, this was undoubtedly preferable, but a collection of pyrrhic victories is no triumph. The collective voices of those present to hobnob with Bourdain could ensure Santa Barbara schools have the best public education of anywhere in the nation, but it won’t happen with a trickle of donations  —  it happens through policy. Though who could have predicted the sordid outcomes of a system that bases the quality of a child’s education on the market value of their parents’ home?


Just then my copy of Das Capital was surely vibrating on the shelf illuminated by a mysterious light from above, beckoning me to jump on a table, grab all the rolls, and scream, “Bread for the masses! Workers of the world unite!”


Then Bourdain was introduced.


He spoke for what seems now an indistinguishable amount of time about food and travel, of course, but what I remember most was how excited he was about an upcoming episode of Parts Unknown set in Honk Kong, where he’d be working with one of his heroes —  cinematographer Christopher Doyle. It turned out to be one of the last episodes he would complete. At the end of the event, I went over and said hello. It was late and he looked exhausted. He signed my book to Hobo Drifter, as I requested. I asked if he would go back to Iran again now that Trump had pulled out of the nuclear deal  —  he perked up and said he definitely would. We took a picture; I thanked him and left. That was May 9. He died less than a month later.


I can’t shake the feeling that there was something utterly disturbing about that night. Having Bourdain at that event felt oddly out of place, like Joe Strummer singing at Buckingham Palace or Che Guevara shaking hands at Davos  —  a sort of time paradox. Given Doc Brown’s presence, one can’t rule out a shoddy flux capacitor.


In my Media & Politics class at SBCC, the goal is for students to think critically, to seek out good journalism and scrutinize it for insight into the world. On the last day of class I told my students about the fundraiser and asked them how they would choose to organize a society  — whether it makes sense to design a system where the education of underprivileged kids depends on the spontaneous gifts of privileged adults at dinner parties with celebrity guests. Despite my theatrics, the students in the room were not the obstacles to an equitable education but more likely its victims.


What I’ll miss most about Bourdain are sensibilities only the best journalists possess  —  an unyielding willingness to be outraged at injustice and an ability to observe everywhere the tidal regularity of human life. Tom Waits once described Bob Dylan’s writing, calling each song a universe with its own orbit, with peaks and valleys that would take a lifetime to explore. That, I believe, is the best way to describe Bourdain’s own prolific legacy. He composed, in each of his works, a world to be explored, one that will be mined for gems and rubies, precious and rare glimpses of light, to be unearthed by the handful in cities around the world.


There are gems to be unearthed in our own city. Genuinely equitable education is a great place to start.
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AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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