Socialism

This word comes up alot today, so let me give you the definition: Socialism- economic theory that supports government ownersip of the production and distribution of goods and services. Social Security and Medicaid are not socialism, they are entitlement programs; government REGULATION of business is not socialist, it's smart because business owners will never do the right thing unless there are consequences for being corrupt, greedy sons of bitches. When conservatives think business practices will be regulated they scream, "SOCIALISM, THAT'S SOCIALISM!" because of the stigma connected with the word. You want to know a horrible socialist program that someone, somewhere in this great nation is using every day that it's open? The United States Postal Service...that's right the Postal Service is a socialist program (Amtrak is too). No one bitches and moans about the Postal Service being socialist, but it is; the United States Postal Service is government ownership of the distibution of the mail. FedEx and companies like it exist, but unless you specifically take your mail to FedEx (or a company like it) to have it shipped, your mail is picked up and dropped off by the United States Postal Service.
Now I'm not saying this is a bad thing, I'm just making a point: people try to label things socialist that aren't while everyone takes advantage of things that are truly socialist without batting an eyelash. Just remember: before putting a label on something, make sure you're actually using the label correctly and question labels when you think someone might not be accurate in what they're saying.