October 8, 2012
Hugo wins again
Hugo Chavez wins another six-year term. This one was boring compared to the last one where the CIA worked overtime to oust this "dangerous man."
Just think. The president of the country with the greatest oil resereves is a socialist. He is, indeed, a "socialist," Priscella. OK, it was a democratic election, but protecting capitalism is more important than protecting democracy. Don't believe me? Spend a couple hours watching Michael Moore's brilliant Capitalism: A Love Story. If we must choose, the choice is clear: capitalism! Remember that exit polls, conducted by American pollsters Schoen & Penn six years ago, proudly announced that Chavez had lost. As Governor Perry might say, "oops."
You can bet ($10,000?) that the Romney folks will add Venezuela to the list of countries deserving a bomb or two should Mitt be elected!
This was good old fashioned democracy in action. Voters had a real choice. Chavez, the hero of the poor, his opponent, the hero of the oil companies.
Exciting stuff.
Wisconsin GOP is on the ropes. Wisconsin has become the center of right-wing blather. Scott Walker leads the way toward a union-free state; Reince Prebus is elected to head the GOP National Committee; the Koch brothers are everywhere. Paul Ryan...well you get the drift, but November could end the heady atmosphere. Obama carries the state; Ryan loses two seats; Prebus sent to an ice flow...I can hardly wait.
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Thanks (for nothing) for reinforceing the image that Madison liberals are brain dead. Hugo Chavez controls the media and the oil money and favors that go with it. It would be amazing if he had NOT won election. He is a petty tyrant who's country is still mired in a two class system and who has not used the nations oil revenue to truly alleviate massive poverty. He has had nearly 15 years to do it. But, like the Soviets of old, the people have to keep hoping for a more perfect socialism because they aren't quite there yet. The old system in Venezuela was rotten but don't go all goo-goo eyed over this little fraud. You just look stupid and embarrass the rest of us. Every time your letter writer SW seems to run out of ammunition you just write him another crate full. Print this if you dare.
-Griebnotz Doerkpfester | (Glad) I Escaped, WI. | October 8, 2012
Hey GD, which one were you in Grumpy Old Men, Walter Matthau's or Jack Lemmon's character? ;)
As far as Venezuela, gas is 18 cents per gallon, so yeah, I'm sure that's a complete oversight on your part in comparison to almost $4 gallon gas in the US: instead of profits going to Koch Brothers-like dipsticks it goes into things like healthcare, education, and the social safety net. Oh, and they get their doctors from Cuba too. Oooooh. Scary Socialists! Boo!
And oh yeah, I'm sure Jimmy Carter was completely off base when he said the election process in Venezuela is the Best in the World. Having over 84% turnout is kind of amazing, y'know, for a democracy and all. Not like here in the US where Republicans view voting as a privilege.
Oh btw, if Gov Scott Walker (SW) wants to vent here while he's looking for an attorney so he doesn't get fitted for pinstripes so he go to jail while all his underlings' cases are working their way through the court system, so be it. It also means we can pile on him too.
-Mad Hemingway | Heart of Badger country | October 8, 2012
Mad Hemingway. Criticism of one does not imply support of another.
-Griebnotz Doerkpfester | (Glad) I Escaped, WI. | October 9, 2012
Yes MH being a dictator does have its perks. Environmentalists and the EPA are no obstacles to you. Drill where you want when you want. No endless lawsuits or government hoops to jump through. Build as many refineries as you like with no hassels. No California only gas blend that only one refinery makes so a break down or fire doesn't cause prices to sky rocket. Wouldn't it just be utopia if we were a socialist dictatorship MH? We could have $.18 per gallon gas too.
-SW | Waukesha WI | October 9, 2012
SW, So that's why the Republican party wants to hog-tie the EPA, declare environmental activists as terrorists, open all lands to oil development and build pipelines crisscrossing the country to feed refineries, they want a dictatorship. How much energy security are we really willing to have, the Dept. of Energy just gave permmision to a Quatari Corporation to export American LNG. It's all about the profit, not security.
-Dole O'Mite | Waukesha County | October 9, 2012
SW: When Republicans and cons finally have it their way and drill, baby, drill, you can bet the oil found and gas refined will cost us dearly. Dictatorship or not, they will see to it that every bit of profit is extracted from us as they can.
The game isn't about oil or the environment. It's about profits.
-Pietr Haikuu | Hurley, Wis | October 10, 2012
GD, you are correct. I'm sorry I was right on Chavez though. ;)
The World Bank keeps stats on poverty by country. In all cases, from 2003 on, Venezuela has shown dramatic drops on poverty:
Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line (% of population):
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.NAHC/countries/VE-BR?display=graph
Poverty headcount ratio at $2 a day (PPP) (% of population):
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.2DAY/countries/VE-BR?display=graph
Poverty headcount ratio at $1.25 a day (PPP) (% of population):
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY/countries/VE-BR?display=graph
SW, tell me, in your world, does the Earth revolve around the Sun, or does the Sun revolve around the Earth?
Seems I remember Joe McCarthy (R-WI) loved calling people Communists because they had a different political philosophy. He died alone, an ignominious alcoholic after one of the most famous slap downs of the 1950s. If you're a religious nutter, then call the Muslims terrorists because Bush Jr and Dick said so. If Big Business hates someone because they got kicked out of a country for bad behavior, let's call him a dictator and a terrorist. I guess it's always easier to label things, but it's lazy and shows a lack of critical thinking.
I'm sorry to hear you think clean air and water are a waste of time. As you may be aware (or not), the EPA was proposed by President Richard Nixon (R-CA) and began operation on Dec 2, 1970. As you might remember, he was a Republican, of Watergate infamy.
Here's the thing you can take to the bank: Chavez won with a majority of the vote, whether Fox News-spoon-fed, "tell me what to think" US "conservatives" like it or not.
Last thing. You know why the CIA was never able to get rid of Castro? Because, despite all the CIA-propaganda and rhetoric about how evil he was, the people supported him. So much for the US-only embargo.
-Mad Hemingway | Heart of Badger country | October 11, 2012
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