Plawolf,

No doubt you are a smart man, however when you say the “only reason people leave communist states, is to gain more material posessions” than I question your reasoning, but if its true you are from China, it is the result of brainwashing,over the years. Bottom line is this
I want freedom!
Give me freedom to dare greatly, even if I fail I will have tried!, I don’t want somebody else responsible for my life! I am not content to do as well as my neighbor, I want to strive to do better to reach the heights of my capabilities, not what level the government says I should aspire to! I am not content to work at a job the government says I should do, Maybe I would be a great Lawyer, but I want to fly Jets!! so I did, nobody told me I couldn’t! I will take care of my retirement, I will buy what I want where I want, I will travel anywhere I want to go, ask any question!!!!! Are you getting this yet??? any man who gives up his freedom, in return for a lifetime job, and a pension plan is a man who has not lived a worthy life!!! God Bless freedom! I don’t expect you to understand, hopefully someday all your fellow citizens and you will!

Sauron,

Thank You, I deal frequently with many Cubans, In fact my brother-in-law is Cuban. They strike me as very hard working and industrious, and they prosper here. I believe that when Castro is gone, Cuba will become a tourist mecca, and a very prosperous nation.
Wachenroder, I completely understand that “theoretical Communism” as espoused by Marx and engels is not what we have in countries like Cuba, North Korea, etc, the problem is ,its such a “utopian concept” that it is impossible to impliment in the real world, trouble is, it sounds very attractive to the vast majority of peoples in the world who have been living in poverty and injustice. I would like to know why this particular brand of governance seems to lead to tyrants, dictatorships and brutality? Like Abraham Lincoln said concerning Democracy,
“while far from perfect, it is the last best hope for man”
And when you look at the performance of democracies versus other forms of government, in the areas of economic power, the Arts, innovation, technology, literature, and standard of living it isn’t even close!!! Thats why I find it amazing that people to this day embrace these failed ideaologies.

Crobato,

Plawolf said in an earlier post that if it weren’t for the Communist party, or the government in place now, China would become a divided nation, much like what happened to the old USSR when all the different “states” sought independence, You on the other hand say the Chinese are very nationalisticSo which one of you are right??? Read one of Plawolf’s earlier posts on the subject.

Crobato,

I will sling the racsist badge again, You easily make the conclusion that If Cuba weren’t a communist nation it would just become a drug-infested third world banana republic. So You must feel that Cubans are incapable of running a government thats not corrupt or a failure, hence Cubans aren’t as smart as you! When people on the left make such comments about minorities in the States I confront them with this argument and they usually stand there with no answer.

Plawolf,

Communism wasn’t really so bad??? Is that why all my Cuban friends who swam through shark-infested waters to flee Cuba left?, or why the East Germans built a WALL to keep their population from fleeing, or why North Korea is a backward, nation , left to try and blackmail the US to get money to feed their starving people, and I could list many many more, You are brainwashed to a degree that is hard to believe, though weren’t you the guy who said in another post that China wasn’t responsible for the deaths of millions under the purges, it was Mao’s fault???????????????? just look at the world around you the thruth is staring you in the face.

Hand 87-5

I hear this sentiment alot especially from Europeans, that Americans don’t pay alot of attention to European news, or that Americans only speak one language, and were not “worldly” Heres the reason why; We live in a large nation that for the most part generates our own news, good or bad every day, we share a border with just 2 nations, Canada and Mexico, so were not exposed to alot of different languages , and events that occur in Europe have little effect on the average American. Europeans are surrounded literally by many nations and different cultures and languages so you may be more “worldly”

Arthur,

One more point, Reagan is considered one of the greatest Presidents, but not because spending increased under his term, because he stood up to the Soviets, He realized that they couldn’t compete equally on a “spending “basis with the US and this eventually helped the USSR to collapse. If budgets under Reagan increased it was the military side, He cut social programs initially, and cut taxes alot! this fueled alot of the growth we experienced in the 1990’s as well as the “peace dividend” which allowed us to cut our military after the Soviets were no longer a threat. Keep on reading your books, your a smart guy, but you tend to find one small point that supports your argument, and you extrapolate large conclusions from them, irregardless of the facts.
Good Day
TTP
By the way, in the US a budget is deemed to be cut if the amount of a planned increase is lessened, So if Congress plans on increasing a program by 7% it is considered a cut if it only is increased by 3%, doesn’t make sence but thats government for you!

Arthur,

You tend to twist what people say to make points unrelated to the conversation, but in any event, of course there are homeless in America and bums sleeping on the street, remember I lived in New York, I never said that the US has reached the perfect state of equality, people do fall through the cracks, However Most Americans acknowledge that there should be protections for them, but the government should not be soley responsible for their welfare. As for thre military being some welfare program for the poor, you have a valid point in that the whole military-industial complex does distibute wealth in the forms of jobs, but usually its high paying technical jobs as well as “normal” type occupations. Your totally wrong about one thing, the US military is a volunter force with pretty high standards for addmittance, just this morning I spoke to a security guard at work who wanted to join the Army, but was considered over-weight, also its fairly competitive to get a job in the military because alot of people want to serve. So the Military is not some clearing house for the un-educated drop-outs or “slackers”. Your opinions of the US are formed by what you read in your College books and what you see on your TV, try coming here and see for yourself. Millions of people from around the world fight to become US citizens every year, My father was one, If it is such a bad place why do they come, and more importantly why do they STAY……Better yet , why aren’t they trying to enter your great nation! (Whatever that is, don’t know where your from) Waiting for an answer.