>Dr Z. You are incorrect. Communists believe in government ownership of the means of production, i.e. businesses. Socialists do not hold that view. There are numerous democratic socialist governments, principally in the EU that do not advocate government ownership of businesses. Do not confuse the two.

Bzzzzt! It's Beula the Buzzer. Socialism is the "government's ownership of the means of production and distribution. Look it up on wikipedia, the Encyclopedia Britannica, or in any Poly Sci textbook. Communism is socialism with no private property, meaning that in addition to no socialism, you would no longer own your house, your car, your boat, that vacation cabin, etc. Look it up too. That great Conservo-Cretin bugbear Nancy Pelosi said in her recent interview that socialism is a failed economic system (and that she didn't like it). I happen to agree with her 110%.

Read commenter's discussion because he points out what has happened: all the political brickbats flying around of late, not to mention the media's sloppy reporting, have fuzzed the definitions almost to the point of meaninglessness.

The US already has socialized medicine; it's called the "Veterans' Administration". The US has had a bit of socialism from the get-go: the USPS. It's not about to go away either because it's enshrined in the Constitution.