Bernie, he was back in the days when I was a practicing Democrat, and I adored him. Now he says things that shock me, central planning things. But

he didn't even win the Republican primary, since either he couldn't persuade the party, or else the rot in party leadership runs too deep to allow such ideas to win

I felt this way about my party when Sanders was so clearly the front runner but wasn't even allowed to run in the primary. It's been downhill for me party-wise ever since then. Now I see practicing fundamentalist Democrats as looney tooners. Practicing Trumpians too. Our practicing voters have been skillfully divided 50-50. Population control.

I especially appreciate your saying this:

The left demanded unquestioning obedience to the health bureaucracy

I know so many lefties who would do all of this again, and repeat calls for those of us who refused to obey to be sent to concentration camps, demonied, unemployed. That was the Biden admin. This admin is using Nazi tactics to invade public places, homes and businesses to forcibly remove a targeted demographic. The mechanisms to remove any demographic are being developed by this. That has to stop, I do not care what anyone thinks about immigration.