From: dreitman@oregon.uoregon.edu (Daniel R. Reitman, Attorney to Be)
Newsgroups: misc.legal,talk.politics.misc,alt.president.clinton
Subject: Re: Weinberger's Pardon
Date: 10 Jan 93 22:32:00 GMT
Article-I.D.: oregon.10JAN199314321870
Distribution: world
Organization: University of Oregon
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In article <1993Jan10.060854.20847@mtu.edu>,
 pecampbe@mtu.edu (Paul Campbell) writes...
>No. It's not. Although the name has changed (they call themselves
>liberals in this country), communism by any other name (socialism,
>American Liberalism, or Marxism) is the same thing.

Dear Mr. Campbell:  I believe you have fallen into Richard Armour's definitio
of "communist".  "Americanism . . . anyone who disagrees with you."  Armour, It
All Started with Columbus (19__), at ___.

> 
>Time for a little text book review on how to be a good communist. First,
>I highly suggest that you get yourself a copy of _The Law_ by one
>Frederic Bastiat. If you want the quick, postable version, Karl Marx
>wrote the 10 planks of the Communist Manifesto in 1848, which he
>essentially copied from an article by Adam Weishaupt in 1797
>(entitled "How to change a Republic into a Democracy"). Now, we haven't
>quite made the conversion as well as some of the European countries like
>Sweden or France, but we're getting there. George Bush's "New World
>Order" is a push in the right direction (assuming you're a practicing
>communist).
> 
>          The 1st Plank:  THE ABOLITION OF PROPERTY IN LAND AND
>APPLICATION OF ALL RENTS IN LAND TO PUBLIC PURPOSES.
>[we have so called 'property taxes' or the '99 year lease']

Ahem!  Property taxes do not abolish rights to land ownership.  They recognize
the right and use it to finance government.  As for long-term leases, in some
circumstances (such as land/housing trusts), they are useful means for
assisting persons who otherwise would be unable to obtain property to do so.  

>          The 2nd Plank:  A HEAVY PROGRESSIVE OR GRADUATED INCOME
>TAX.
>[translation: IRS]

May serve other purposes as well.  A fair tax burden in government financing,
thereby preventing pre-French Revolution conditions, for example.

>          The 3rd Plank:  THE ABOLITION OF ALL RIGHT OF INHERITANCE.
>[translation: probate]

Wrong again!  Probate is a system for implementing rights of inheritance and
the rights of creditors against the estate, and for dealing with intestate
cases.

>          The 4th Plank:  THE CONFISCATION OF THE PROPERTY OF ALL
>EMIGRANTS AND REBELS.
>[translation: the new property confiscation for drugs laws]

A completely different purpose.  I do, however, have civil liberties complaints
about civil forfeiture.

>          The 5th Plank:  CENTRALIZATION OF CREDIT IN THE HANDS OF
>THE STATE, BY MEANS OF A NATIONAL BANK WITH STATE CAPITAL AND AN
>EXCLUSIVE MONOPOLY.
>[translation: The Federal Reserve]

Sure, sure.  Monetarism as a theory of policy was favored by, among others,
Margaret Thatcher.

>          The 6th Plank:  THE CENTRALIZATION OF THE MEANS OF
>COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPORTATION IN THE HANDS OF THE STATE.
>[translation: FCC & DOT and state DMV's]

That's regulation, not centralization.  Bundespost (monopoly on all German
communications) is centralization.

>          The 7th Plank:  THE EXTENSION OF FACTORIES AND THE
>INSTRUMENTS OF PRODUCTION OWNED BY THE STATE AND THE BRINGING INTO
>CULTIVATION OF LAND AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE SOIL GENERALLY IN
>ACCORDANCE WITH A COMMON PLAN.
>[translation: too many licensing agencies to even think about]

American regulation has no central theory.  And if there's any planning in the
American economy, it's done by the corporate sector.


>          The 8th Plank:  EQUAL LIABILITY FOR ALL TO LABOR AND THE
>ESTABLISHMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ARMIES, ESPECIALLY FOR AGRICULTURE.
>[translation: Social Security Agency]

CCC and WPA would be a closer analogy.  Social security was Bismarck's
invention.  Not exactly a left-wing ideologue, in my opinion.

>          The 9th Plank:  THE COMBINATION OF AGRICULTURE WITH
>MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES AND THE GRADUAL ABOLITION OF THE
>DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE TOWN AND COUNTRY BY THE MORE EQUITABLE
>DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION OVER THE COUNTRY.
>[translation: the difference between a FEDERATION and a REPUBLIC]

Sounds more like a gradual deurbanizing or the cities and deruralizing of the
countryside, to spread out population and develop local industry.  You've
proposed a non sequitur.

>          The 10th Plank:  FREE EDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN IN PUBLIC
>SCHOOLS.
>[even 'private' schools must follow government regulations]

And what's wrong with a guaranteed education for all?  The primary purpose of
regulation of private schools is to insure minimum standards.

FLAME ON!                           
My translation of Mr. Campbell's note:  You've been on the Upper Peninsula so
long it's freezing your brain.  
FLAME OFF!

							Daniel Reitman
Newsgroups: misc.legal,alt.censorship,alt.society.civil-liberty,alt.politics.usa.constitution