a penis and a potato? A dick-tater!
Here’s a stunner: After labeling opponents traitors last weekend, Communist goon Hugo Chavez is threatening opponents of his scheme to make himself President Dictator for life.
The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, today threatened to strip the country’s industrialists of their assets if they continued to oppose his indefinite presidency.
Chávez faces a vote at the weekend on his proposals to change 69 articles of the constitution, including scrapping the limit on the number of terms a president can serve.
And all this, despite the predictions of the reality based:
Results 1 – 20 of about 662 for chavez “shredding the constitution”. (0.16 seconds)
Results 1 – 20 of about 22,200 for bush “shredding the constitution”. (0.30 seconds)
So, is Chavez a dictator? Bush, Fox, and the Venezuelan oligarchy will tell you that he is. But they live in a looking-glass world where conquest is called liberation, aggression is called defense, and economic domination is called free trade. A world where real democracy is called dictatorship.
Venezuela’s media, owned largely by the country’s wealthy elites, is arguably the most rabidly anti-government media in the world. In the past, opposition figures have appeared on television openly calling for a coup against Chavez, who says he is leading a revolution on behalf of Venezuela’s majority poor. Chavez’s decision not to renew RCTV’s license is not exactly akin to George W. Bush shutting down CBS or NBC because they ran a few stories critical of him. If RCTV were operating in the United States, it’s doubtful that its actions would last more than a few minutes with the FCC.
Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez “does like this country†and is “passionate,†“dignified,†“intelligent†and loves coffee.
That’s the conclusion of an ABC exclusive interview with a man who has threatened to shut off oil to the United States and who even human rights groups criticize for his abuse of power.
The interview, previewed on the March 16 “Good Morning America,†was billed as one that “pulled no punches†by anchor Robin Roberts. Instead, it showed reporter Barbara Walters downplaying Chavez’s actions against the United States and depicting his overtly hostile comments as more of a “dislike for George Bush.â€Â
“As I talk to you, you are a very dignified man,†Walters commented, “but we have heard you call the president of the United States a devil, a donkey, a drunk, a liar, a coward, a murderer.â€Â
While Walters asked Chavez about his criticism of Bush, she downplayed his criticism and threats to America, which even Chavez was more honest about. “It is the government and the elite of the U.S. which is overwhelming all the countries in the world,†he said, notably not just blaming Bush as Walters had claimed.
To add insult to injury, the editorial says that the people of Venezuela were “hoodwinked†by being given “social justice for the poor.â€Â
In my interfaith study tour to Venezuela in April 2006, we saw the fruits of Chavez’s programs of social justice, which were not “smoke and mirrors†but real benefits for the disenfranchised: vastly improved health care in medical centers around the countryside, college-education opportunities opened up for poor youth that were previously only available to the elite, neighborhood groups that are given resources and voice to improve their surroundings.
Oh, anything to call Chavez “a dictator”–even the fact that the people of Venezuela voted overwhelmingly not only for Chavez for president (and have done so several times, the last with 63% of the vote, in highly transparent elections), but have also voted overwhelmingly for representatives to the National Assembly who support Chavez programs. That REALLY makes Chavez a “dictator”–that the people like him, trust him and approve of his programs so much that they VOTED FOR a supportive legislature.
Gee, the teeming masses must really be sheep in Venezuela, that they would VOTE FOR Chavez-approving legislators. They must really want to head down the path of Bush- and Musharaff-style dictatorship, and the path of the Venezuelan rightwing, which SHRED or SUSPEND constitutions, overrule or SUSPEND national legislatures, and undermine, violate or SUSPEND civil rights, which torture prisoners and arrest, imprison and kill people who get in their way, and arrest, imprison and kill people who even look at them crosswise.
I work with a guy from Venezuela and he said that most people are not voting for Chavez, but somehow he keeps getting elected. He has extended family (100+) throughout the country and none of his friends or family voted for him or even knows anyone who voted for him.
He also said that a Venezuelan with a roll of galvanized wire can fix anything…so he has that going for him.
Why is it that the Left always finds themselves apologizing for, if not outright cheering for, actual tyrannical dictators? Mao. Check. Lenin. Check. Stalin. Check. Che. Check. Fidel. Check. Chavez. Check. “Freedom fighters”. Check.
You know you can’t spell Hugo without a hug.
Sure you can, al. Dic-tator.
2-shay.
I think denying Hugo’s authoritarian aspects is like denying there is a good economy when there is a Republican President….It’s just good politics for Democrats and is an example of the mental derangement anyone on the far end of the either political spectrum suffers from.
Of course Hugo’s a violent communist satrap. Would Commondreams and Babs Walters be leaping to his defense if he wasn’t (remember Babs at Lenny Bernstein’s Panther shindig?)
Hugo’s just lobbying for the changes he want to make, the old fashioned way. Vote my way or you’ll be sorry.
He’s such a nice guy the Columbians were even using him to mediate their dispute with F.A.R.C., until they figured out he was actively working with F.A.R.C. to overthrow the government and they called of the mediation. Hugo didn’t appreciate that. He’s so nice he even threw a few mercy fucks Cindy Sheehan’s way. Maybe crazy is a better word after thinking about that one.
Oddly enough, you also can’t spell “thug” without “hug.”
But the literacy rate in Cuba and Venezuala is through the roof!
At least, that’s what the Ministry of Propaganda and Lying to Journalists told me.
Edit to add: “through the roof!,” which roof they would have, if not for the Imperialist oppressors!
Salma Hayek and Iowahawk strive to overcome Hamas
That, my friends, is the writing style I would give portions of someone else’s anatomy to emulate. Ummm, where’s Dan Collins?
As much chance of that as I would have finding some of this undercover…Salma Hayek….
Ever heard of a Potemkin village?
I think Johnny Rotten said it best: “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?”
Fucking coward. If he wants to resurrect the Stalinist/Maoist idiocy, he’d better move quick, or perhaps Uncle Sam will come marching on Caracas.
It’s good to know Alec Baldwin’s got yet another paradise to move to in the event a Republican wins the presidency.
Just because Chavez is a dickhead – and virtually everything that people have written about him in the above is true – doesn’t mean that the Venezuelans, especially the elites, didn’t set this up by being traditional south-of-the-border knuckleheads. They have allowed/supported one corrupt regime after another.
The po’ folks in the shanty-towns around Caracas have provided lots of muscle for Chavez’ slow-motion takeover because all the other parties ignored them. And while they might not be the brightest bulbs in the drawer, they do (claim to) see their lives improving even if long term the country will suffer.
This is because while Chavez creates his Hispanic version of a dictatorship of the proletariat, there are fewer who are maintaining the oil production facilities. Eventually, the party will be over.
Down there, Right-wing corruption and neglect yields Left-wing hysteria and incompetence yields Right-wing corruption…
Latin America: The same movie since 1817.
Disappointed a few people
when friendship reared its ugly head
Disappointed a few people
Well, isn’t that
what friends are for?
If you substitute fellow-travellers for friends, it breaks up the rhythm.
Keyser? Keyser Soze?
#18 Andrew
Down there, Right-wing corruption and neglect yields Left-wing hysteria and incompetence yields Right-wing corruption…
Latin America: The same movie since 1817.
Yes, it is.
Lydon’s got lyrics for every lefty occasion. As a left-hating leftist, he understands how their heads work, and he satirizes them in ways they don’t get. Some Chavista-fitting bits:
And those not behind you
Should go live elsewhere
Spies everywhere
[…]
I won’t answer the call
I don’t like khaki
I won’t wear your uniform
The third-worldists he’s mocking can pretend he’s singing about the BNP or something, while he smirks and takes their money.
Hero.
Hey, look on the bright side: When their economy collapses (and it will), we have the opportunity to form “Greater Panama” and steal their oil.
So, y’know, glass half…
[…] Meanwhile. Posted by Dan Collins @ 8:54 pm | Trackback Share This […]
Useful reminder that most people are incompetent most of the time.
Which is why 99% of people throughout history have been serfs, at best.
There are too many “natural” human reactions that work against competence or rational decision-making.
So farmers who don’t know anything about economics but what they see on the cantina’s TV soaps just know which thugs have brought them loot from thuggery, so they “join the gang” and pillage or vote the way that seems to help them. So a thug gets voted into power, and he makes sure only a few people get brutalized in the first few years (and it’s easy to please the poor with handouts, ’cause they don’t expect much).
So this drags on for a few years, with the unexpected help of moronic foreign intellectuals and celebrities and the expected favor of other thugs. For a while, you can “tax the rich (producers) and give to the poor,” especially if you can have your thugs shut down or beat up enough journalists, and the rest can be bribed to support you.
After a little while, since producers have no incentive to produce, you run out of goodies to loot. People accustomed to looted gooedies get pissy, and another thug starts stealing from your stockpiles, so they support the new thug.
And so on.
So I’ll take no joy when they collapse, ’cause they’re unlikely to wake to a better day afterward.
Sweep the leg?
I live in Mass. Nobody in my extended family(100 if you count the dead since the 60’s) has EVER voted for Kennedy.
How the bloody HELL do these “assholes for life” keep getting in?
I love people who spend their times to give information to other people. You don’t have to write this article. But you did. thanks myfriend.