A good rule of thumb for writers: avoid using the word "ironic" because it's too easy to label something as ironic that is not actually ironic. The same rule should also be applied, now, to political activists using the word "socialism."---

The threat of socialism has become a rallying cry among the Tea Party crowd, and it's mostly accurate when they're mad about the health care reform (because he is trying to fix the broken, private health care system.) The problem is that they are throwing the word out about many other programs, and increasingly, preaching alternatives that are basically socialist.

Case in point: Alpine School District officials drew the ire of dozens of parents, many of which are convinced the schools are pushing a socialist agenda. Read the whole Daily Herald article -- it's worth it for the entertainment value. I especially like the guy who basically lumps the school district into the same crowded boat as Obama, gay activists and the United Nations.

Among the angry parents, the sentiment -- as expressed by one speaker -- was that the school district has failed them, so they are fleeing to charter schools. You know, those publicly-funded institutions that were started by liberals (socialists!) as labs to improve public schools (read this lengthy article in the International Socialist Review for a history of charter schools).

And, good god, even Barack Obama likes them.

Enough preaching from me, however. I may actually throw out a word like "enculturating" (even if it's not technically a word, it's the word used in the mission statement) and confuse everyone. Instead, let Alanis Morrissette demonstrate the dangers of using the word ironic.