LOL.  Over the top reaction coming from you is priceless

Based on multiple off-line conversations, I know how many of us feel about Scott Richards, but for any of you who felt he add anything signifigant to add to the conversation, may I present the above, and note that it is his reaction to being informed that he made a mistake at basic reading comprehension.

Ladies and gentleman, what more needs to be said?

Geoff, when I was a kid, my mom went to CCSF for free - by the time I started in 1991, (while still in high school) it was $3 a unit, and by the time I left to transfer to SFSU, it was $30 a unit. 

Okay, see here's the distinction.  That is a state (or city) school.  In that regard its not significantly different from local public school districts.  Your state (or City) choose to offer that service, likely with some Federal Assistance, but not in the form of total federal subsidization.  That is a big difference from what Scott suggested (albeit inaccurately) which is nationalized free higher education.  The idea that college was "always free" is, I think, therefore disingenuous.  It may have always been free in certain cities or states for citizens (e.g. taxpayers) of those cities or states but there was no national free higher education (beyond scholarships, or grants or the like) or guarantee of free education in other states, cities, towns, etc.  

Dig, Geoff.  I had honestly failed to grasp the distinction you were drawing.

More than likely, my failing, rather than yours!

Oh, oh, Geoff, we're getting off track on this (due to following flawed information up front) - what I'm talking about, and what Obama's talking about, and what you're talking about is the Community College system.

Universities will still be free to charge whatever, though under Obama's plan, there will be a bolstering of financial aid to lower-income students.

See, there's subtleties to this that's lost on some knee-jerk reactions.  Obama is not promising to send homeless people to harvard - he's setting right what's been set wrong - institutions that have been made avaliable to the public for free will once again be made free.  And there will be reasonable financial access to other organizations.

And somehow that's marxist socialism.  I mean, if you're going to call it that, if you're going to apply words to things even if the definitions or meanings of said words do not apply, you may as well call his plan Penutbutterfish and bananashelf.  It's as much that as it is Marxism.