[BassHole]

and hands it to your neighbor so he can go to an NHS hospital.

Funnily enough, you can go to an NHS hospital too, not just "your neighbour". According to your absurd logic, no-one benefits from this - everyone's "neighbour" does though. Can you really, honestly, not accept that the NHS is far, far superior to the American health system?

Then your "left & right" is meaningless since there is no opposites in your political spectrum of opposites.

OK, have it your way. Where was Augusto Pinochet in your "Universal" left/right spectrum? He introduced Chicago-school economic "freedom", rabidly opposed communism, and cited Friedman as a major influence...

...however, he also murdered his political opponents, and set up a totalitarian dictatorship. The idea that Pinochet can be placed next to Stalin is not only ludicrous, it is childish.

Left and right are not universal terms, and you can't redefine them however you please, and parade your brilliance as arrogantly as you do. Anyway, if your "spectrum" is totally free of dogma, why do totalitarians have to be on the LEFT? Why not a North/South line, completely devoid of political buzzwords?

[DanDaMan]

OK, have it your way. Where was Augusto Pinochet in your "Universal" left/right spectrum? He introduced Chicago-school economic "freedom", rabidly opposed communism, and cited Friedman as a major influence...

...however, he also murdered his political opponents, and set up a totalitarian dictatorship.

Easy, your last two words meant he had the last word on "economics" and any transaction.
So he was another totalitarian side by side with the rest.

[BassHole]

Easy, your last two words meant he had the last word on "economics" and any transaction.

Ne he didn't. Pinochet's Chile was a Market Fundamentalist one. He stayed out of the economy, but made life hell for citizens in plenty of other ways. Can you not see that?

Actually, don't answer. I know you can't. To you, tax is all that matters, apparently. I could put black people into gas chambers, but as long as they only had a 5% flat income tax rate, that wouldn't matter...

[DanDaMan]

Quote:
Easy, your last two words meant he had the last word on "economics" and any transaction.

Ne he didn't. Pinochet's Chile was a Market Fundamentalist one. He stayed out of the economy, but made life hell for citizens in plenty of other ways. Can you not see that?

Well then, his "hell" made him a leftist because he was a tyrant.

[Fasces]

Talk about circular reasoning.

Leftism is bad because by definition leftism is bad.

[DanDaMan]

Talk about circular reasoning.

Leftism is bad because by definition leftism is bad.

Not definition...implementation. Academic definitions of Leftist ideologies are just that, academic.
Actual implementation defines the Left for the real world.

[Rei Murasame]

Welcome to epistemic closure. A lot of people have been throwing that term around in the media recently, but it has been demonstrated quite clearly around here over the past few weeks as we have seen the centre-Right marching further into a corner filled with pretzels.

Well then, his "hell" made him a leftist because he was a tyrant.

What the hell. That is a pretzel there!

[Repeat to Fade]

I'm not here to denigrate the intellectual integrity of those that post here with farcical superstition, when it comes to this subject.

Oh it's not superstition, it's fairly well accepted, it is you who is swimming against the tide.

Well then, his "hell" made him a leftist because he was a tyrant.

It is a rather deluded point of view, all tyrants are on the opposite side. It's rather pathetic that you could come up with such a crappy idea especially if you were to read even the most basic definitions of the terms.

Leftism is bad because by definition leftism is bad.

No you have it backwards, DDM thinks all things that are bad are on the left because he doesn't like the left and it's hard for him to understand that something close to his political ideology could be bad. It is rather childish.

Academic definitions of Leftist ideologies are just that, academic.

And your retarded made up unaccepted definitions are just that.

[Zerogouki]

I agree with universal health care, taxing the rich at a greater percentage than the poor, free education, okay with mass immigration and I'm very supportive of green policies. I even disagreed with the Iraq war when it started

This I think puts me on the left, but then again I know support the war and would actually want to see an escalation not an exit strategy, I support Israel and while I'm not for monopolies I have nothing against globalisation itself.

So where exactly would that place me and more to the point what are the dividing features in modern politics?

Socialized medicine, progressive income taxes, public education, unrestricted immigration, getting suckered in by anything pretending to be pro-environment, flip-flopping on Iraq, being a Zionist puppet, and being okay with globalization... and you STILL don't know where you fall on the spectrum? Are you fucking kidding me? You're as left-wing as it gets.

Just like totalitarians, the X-rays and gamma rays kill.

DDM Made a joke.

Yeah, but the really impressive part is that he posted something that is scientifically accurate.

Can you really, honestly, not accept that the NHS is far, far superior to the American health system?

To be honest, they both suck huge hairy donkey balls. A truly free-market solution (which the USA does NOT have) would be far, far superior to both.

[BassHole]

To be honest, they both suck huge hairy donkey balls.

Yeah, free healthcare is a real pain in the backside, isn't it.

[Zerogouki]

On the contrary, free health-care would be awesome, just like time-travel, Santa, and perpetual motion machines. Unfortunately, none of these exist in reality. The NHS is an entirely different beast: taxpayer-funded health-care.

[BassHole]

The NHS is an entirely different beast: taxpayer-funded health-care.

I am perfectly aware of that. It is, however, unlike US health care, free at the point of care, which is important. So you can get an operation without having to sell your house first. On top of that, there is no extra charge for pre-existing/chronic conditions. But hey, if freedom means having to sell your house for an operation or drugs, then so be it. I guess I must just hate freedom.

[PBVBROOK]

If the US could have a health care system that was as efficient as the NHS, it would be an instant 1 trillion dollar shot in the arm. So to speak.

Not to mention the lives that would be saved by it. If we had a system as efficient as the UK system we could cut medicare taxes and still have better care than we have now.

[legalboxerbriefs]

If the US could have a health care system that was as efficient as the NHS, it would be an instant 1 trillion dollar shot in the arm. So to speak.

Not to mention the lives that would be saved by it. If we had a system as efficient as the UK system we could cut medicare taxes and still have better care than we have now.

But that's SOCIALISM!!1ein!!one!!eleventy

[BassHole]

But that's SOCIALISM!!

No, it's Progressive Liberal Leftist Crony-Capitalist Leftist Socialist Marxist Nazi Death-Campist Totalitarian Socialist Leftist Leftist Socialist Tyrannical Ungodly Collectivist Authoritarian Fascist Atheist Communist Tyranny, or something like that...

The sad thing is, that in America, if Obama actually cut taxes, they'd somehow find a way to brand it Socialism.

[PBVBROOK]

^^

So true.

I am sick of people calling me a leftist. I just don't understand where they get that idea?

I am just a typical American with typical American tastes.

[Rei Murasame]

The sad thing is, that in America, if Obama actually cut taxes, they'd somehow find a way to brand it Socialism.

That actually happened, and the crazies did indeed call it 'socialism' when it happened. In the Stimulus Bill there was apparently a USD$288billion tax cut for 95% of the population that went into basically immediate effect and was the single largest item in the Bill.

The middle class Republicans were too busy screaming "socialism" at it to even notice the extra $100 or so that was appearing in their pay-cheques.