Group To Out Signers Of Anti-Gay Oregon Petition “People who sign petitions seeking to put measures repealing two LGBT civil rights laws on next November’s ballot are about to be outed.” This is similar to intimidation tactics used in Massachusett…

Interesting: Unfortunately, many of us on the left have been silent on this issue for far too long. While we have been quick to criticize our own administration and other foreign governments (think Vladimir Putin) for undemocratic policies, there has…..

That about covers it. Chavez has never made any real effort to conceal his intentions of leading a new pan-American Marxist revolution across the entire region. 1992, led coup attempt. Elected in 1998, expanded presidential powers immediately, began implementing state control of labor unions, seizing land for “redistribution,” “nationalizing” industry and oil production, decreeing price controls, building up the military, controlling the media, etc.

Fidelito.

Dictator compared to who? Pinochet? D’Aubiusson? Somaza? How many others the that the US, supported or outright installed went FAR beyond anything Chevez has done or at this point even appears to *want* to do?

Chevez got to where he by legal means. This is the third time he’s been granted this power after giving it back as agreed twice. Maybe he provides cover for a legislature that can’t take the heat of hard decisions like making American oil companies pay what they agreed to pay.

The middle class is disappearing in the US too. I wonder if the poor of Venzuela will be worse off or better than us in a few years.

I’m watching too, but I’m not seeing the “great Satan” – I’m seeing a guy who is doing what it takes to stand up to the massive itimidation of the USA and try to do something right for his own country.

He’s been given 18 months, let’s watch him and see what he does, but measure him by the same yardstick we’d measure anyone else – not by the yardstick of the Project for a New American Century.

Well, Jeb, welcome. Better late than never I suppose. Meanwhile for me/us in Venezuela I think it might be too late now.

Fausta applauds Jeb Koogler for “publicly posting that he was wrong in his assessment of Chavez’s true nature.”……

It happened in Russian on a massive scale almost 100 years ago, and now it’s happening to the place the US sucks money out of, all our ‘colony except in name’. It happened in Iran, if we’re not careful it will happen Saudi Arabia. (And, boy, will we be fucked then!) It happened in Cuba.

If it hadn’t been for Bush, it’s possible we ourselves would have continued on the same path and in thirty years would have had a violent revolution ourself. If the Democrats aren’t any better it could still happen.

It did happen in the US, in fact, about 230 years ago. And France, a few decades later. It happened in Germany about 70 years ago.

When the powerful continues to control the government and bleed everyone dry, there’s only so long the power structure will stand. At some point the people will rise up in revolution. And that time is rip for a demagogue to leap into power and seize control.

Blame the demagogue for seizing power, but don’t pretend that the demagogue is the cause of the revolution. The cause of the problems in Venezuela is quite apparently to anyone who’s even vaguely looked at the history of the place.

Jeb Koogler of The Moderate Voice has a fascinating post up today on Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. Once a Chavez apologist, the repentant progressive now believes it’s time to reconsider El Presidente: Unfortunately, many of us on the left have……

The question remains, however, what can the US really do? Our meddling in Latin America so far has been either ineffective or has produced contrary results, Castro is still in power and still thumbing his nose at us, for example.

So, what is the right thing to do?
As far as I can see, doing nothing for now, while we wait for further develpments, is as good an answer as any.

Jeb Koogler, a staunch liberal at The Moderate Voice, has defended Hugo Chavez for a long time. He thought that Chavez intended to help the poor and downtrodden and made excuses for his tough tactics as a necessary interlude towards……

I’ve never thought much of the guy. Just another in a long line in banana republic dictators. Sadly for Venezuela their oil will allow this guy to stay in power for quite a while.

Too many people seem to think that because someone loosely falls on one side of the ditch that means they should either defend or attack the guy. Lefties should realize this guy is just another petty populist dictator. Righties should realize that this guy is a heck of a lot better than oft-defended by the right Pinochet.

This guy will get a bunch of power and then sooner or later do something stupid or suffer the consequence of being a populist dictator.

Maybe the Michigan nuclear fusers can fix our problems and we can tell Hugo to fugo. One is a hero, the other is roughed up by the FBI. Good thing Little Debbie didn’t here about the Thorium perpetual energy machine.
Bad Eagle Scout
Good Scout

So I would expect you to live like a good, practicing Socialist Radical, and reject material goods created on the backs of the downtrodden.

Bet you don’t, though!

SA has certainly had dictators of all stripes. I was commenting in Chavez, though, and how he has accomplished it.

You can talk about the right-wing ones when that is the current topic.

But I thought from past posts that you in particular like to attack the ‘but others did it’ defense; yet here you trot it out.

You are living a frugal lifestyle, donating all of your money and possessions beyond the very minimal necessities to charity, providing shelter for ‘undocumented aliens’ in your home, going downtown to help unionize the masses, etc.

I’m not sure how that’s the opposite of corruption.