You're confusing Socialism with Communism. And not even theoretical Communism, but the totalitarian governments that claimed to be Communist or Socialist yet put power and control into the hands of a very small group of people, the complete opposite of the original form of Communism. (For example, under true Communism, there is no government. Everything is decided through direct democracies and town meetings, and equivalents. Sure, it's a pipe dream, but it's a far cry from the so-called Communist governments, past and present.) Secondly, many European nations have a mixture of Socialism and Capitalism, more so than the US. And, the Europeans are doing something better than us. Life Expectancy:
Switzerland = 82.1
Iceland = 81.8
Sweden = 80.9
Spain = 80.9
France = 80.7
Italy = 80.5
Norway = 80.2
Netherlands = 79.8
Austria = 79.8
Greece = 79.5
Belgium = 79.4
Germany = 79.4
United Kingdom = 79.4
Finland = 79.3
Ireland = 78.9
Luxembourg = 78.7
Denmark = 78.3
United States = 78.2 Infant Mortality Rate rankings:
Iceland = #2 lowest amount of deaths per 1000 births
Sweden = #4
Finland = #5
Norway = #6
Luxembourg = #7
Czech Republic = #8
France = #9
Slovenia = #10
Switzerland = #11
Germany = #12
United States = #34 By employment rate, we're #16, behind Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, etc. By the Human Poverty Index, we're also #16, behind Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, etc. As for GDP per capita, the US is behind Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Austria, etc. However, the US is ahead in disposable income, ahead of Switzerland by an average of $5,000, and the UK by an average of $8,000. Despite that, however, healthcare and higher education is free or partially paid for in many European nations, along with other things. For example, let's take maternity leave. In the US, you're guaranteed 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, and up to 6 weeks of paid maternity leave in several states. In Sweden, you can get 16 months of paid maternity leave. In the United Kingdom, 39 weeks of paid maternity leave. Netherlands, Austria, and France, 16 weeks. Ireland, 6 months. Germany, 14 weeks.  And considering the higher life expectancy, lower infant mortality rate, and higher ranking on education indexes and test scoring, even if the health and educational services in Europe are of lesser quality because they're Socialist in nature, they're still doing a better job than we are, and a larger percentage of people have access to them.

I'm going to go ahead with what DaveInOrlando said: “So, a state senate candidate took part in a panel discussion about “Employment and Survival in Urban America” sponsored by a Socialist group… I'm failing to see the controversy here. My professional expertise often gets me invited to speak in front of all kinds of different groups, but if I give a presentation to a roomful of engineering students, that doesn't mean I'm an engineer. When Mitt Romney - a Mormon - spoke at Liberty University earlier this month, did that make him an evangelical fundamentalist?”

First off, hold him responsible for what, exactly? Giving a speech at an event hosted by Socialists back in 1996? Oh mah god! How awful! They probably all talked about how they hate the US and freedom and apple pie! Secondly, if you seriously consider the bloody presidency to be a “reign”, then you are a conspiracy nut, or are very fond of hyperbole.

I'm disappointed in you. You should've gone all out and said “Grape Kool-Aid”.

He's not saying that sexism is fine, he's saying that one sort of sexism gets a lot more attention than another kind.  At no point in his post did he ever say anything like “sexism is fine”.

A better way to sum it up in less than 10 words is:
“Hitler was evil, but surrounded by geniuses.”

While a lot of jobs were created through the military and military-related jobs, they still brought down unemployment. Hell, WW2 brought the US out of the Depression in the same manner. In addition, Nazi Germany also focused on infrastructure, such as the Autobahn. And speaking of which: “…after seeing the autobahns of modern Germany and knowing the asset those highways were to the Germans, I decided, as President, to put an emphasis on this kind of road building. … The old [1919] convoy had started me thinking about good, two-lane highways, but Germany had made me see the wisdom of broader ribbons across the land.” -President Eisenhower The Autobahn did start somewhat during the Weimer Republic, but not much progress was made and it was not a priority for the government. It wasn't until Hitler's regime that construction and progress on it really took off. Hell, he started on it days after coming to office, and the improved infrastructure did help Germany recover, both from having better lines of commerce, and from employing thousands of people. Hell, the Autobahn wasn't even much of a military asset for Germany. The vast majority of troops and military supplies traveled via rail, due to gasoline and trucks being needed at the front.  Though, I do agree with you in that liquifying coal isn't a good energy plan. My original comment was more in response to those getting more worked up over the connection to Hitler, unable and unwilling to understand that there were a few things that Nazi Germany got right.

Actually, it's more accurate to say that Hitler was surrounded by geniuses. He himself was intelligent when it came to some policies and social manipulation, but he was not a scientist and absolutely horrid when it came to military strategy. (As a few examples, he tried to stop the production of the world's first assault rifle because he thought it looked ugly, he tried to turn the first jet fighter into a dive-bomber, meaning it would lose its speed advantage, he refused to give winter equipment to troops in Russia because he thought shipping out winter coats would hurt morale in Germany, and wasted a lot of resources and money on Wonder Weapons. While they were technologically advanced, such as the first modern cruise missile and the first ballistic missile, they were not a good use of Germany's limited resources.) So, in other words, Germany did have some scientific breakthroughs and got some things right, that doesn't mean that Hitler himself was a genius.

Since we realized that he was a horrible person raised in an anti-Jewish and anti-Communist period, and not just a bogeyman or a monster. The same could be said of the other side. Should we not be fair about Gandhi, about Mother Teresa, about Reagan and FDR, and talk about the things they did wrong? They were all human, and we should be learning about both the good and bad things they've done, even when one far outnumbers the other. We shouldn't leave them generalized, have Hitler be a horrible monster who was never right, and Gandhi be a peaceful and good soul who never did bad in his life.

And you're missing my point. Yes, Hitler's atrocities FAR outweigh his positive accomplishments. But, that does NOT mean that he had no positive accomplishments at all.