Archive for Venezuela

The Irrationality of Moderation

Posted by: Jason | July 26th, 2008 · 4:19 AM

If politics is indeed the art of compromise, than we wouldn’t admire names such as Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Reagan. Comparing the latter two of these American presidents, whose names will forever dominate our historical view of twentieth century politics, we would certainly find discrepancies in philosophy, leadership style, and in the challenges they each faced during their presidencies.

But of course, we would also find many commonalities between these men. As much as Roosevelt’s New Deal was considered radical, as was Reagan’s insistence on boldly calling the Soviet Union an evil empire, or the suspension of habeas corpus under the Lincoln administration controversial, these men shared in their ability to refuse compromise of their core principals.

As children, we’re taught to excel in all areas of life, whether it be sports or academics. At the workplace, we value the well being of our associates, but know that our own accomplishments are paramount to the survival of our families. In our own personal lives, to compromise in our faithfulness to our wives or time spent with our children is shunned upon.

Concerning the smaller things in life, like deciding which restaurant to eat at or which movie to see, compromise is certainly appropriate. But who would argue the virtue in tolerating things like one of our children failing in school, a verbally abusive manager at work, or relating to politics, a law that we consider devoid of justice or morality.

Political moderation is arguably the most harmful of these examples, because as politics defines the government that controls us, the lives of entire nations are affected. In recent American politics, there is no greater example of this than in our current government. And if there is one lesson to be learned from the Bush Administration, it is that moderation produces failure.

More >>>

Add us: Digg | Del.icio.us | Technorati

Caustic Commentary on Chavez

Posted by: Ion | September 22nd, 2007 · 9:59 PM

Ms. Feather’s has an awfully acute insight into sympathy for Hugo Chavez in Europe & America:

And [Chavez] has the people over the first world, the international useful idiots who cheer his jokes like they just discovered a new favorite monkey in the 3rd world zoo.
(CitizenFeathers)

Socialist Venezuela as pet. It’s an apt metaphor, for the zoogoer gets to leave at dusk, while the poor zookeepers who live and work there will be left to clean up the excrement of the primate exhibition.

That’s the punishing reality of Chavez. When he is gone and Venezuela is left with a crippled economy, a collapsed constitutional order and a raped legal system, the charmed Left will instantly lose all interest. You can forget about those undergrad Birkenstock junkets to clean up the slums of Caracas for free then. The Americans who were against Chavez will be no help either. They’ll smile smugly and say “told ya so.” The Venezuelans will be left with their shell of a country to fend for themselves.

Some of us need to resolve to not let that happen. It should not be forgotten that Venezuela was long a loyal ally of this country, before the age of Chavez.

Add us: Digg | Del.icio.us | Technorati

The Last Supper of the Liberation Theologist

Posted by: Ion | September 16th, 2007 · 3:18 AM

If you thought the Da Vinci Code was grotesque for its blasphemy, get a load of the image above. This is a mural our friend Ms. Feathers found in a socialist neighborhood in Caracas. In it a “liberation theology” devotee of a particularly deranged sort has recreated Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. But in an act of truly extraordinary blasphemy, the artist has replaced Christ’s disciples with some of the greatest mass murderers in history. Among them are Mao Tse Tung (in place of Saint Peter), Fidel Castro (in place of James, son of Alphaeus), and Manuel Marulanda (in place of Bartholomew).

Given that most of the men pictured were rather outspoken and extravagant atheists (some even had the notable tendency of specifically killing those who preached the Gospel), the level of cynicism present here is so high it’s hard to really even criticize it. It manages to be its own insult as both inept art and illiterate propaganda.

One might note for instance that Karl Marx –who is sitting in place of John the Apostle of all people– looks rather happy for a man who once wrote that “the first requisite for the happiness of the people is the abolition of religion.” Of course by the time you realize that Hugo Chavez takes the place of Matthew the Evangelist, you’re probably laughing, despite the savage sacrilege of it all.

For me, this painting can only demonstrate how dreadful the state of education must be in Venezuela under Chavez. One would have to be subsisting on a astonishing level of ignorance to think these symbolic substitutions make any sense, in light of the writings and views of both the Apostles and the Marxists.

Add us: Digg | Del.icio.us | Technorati

Osama 2.0

Posted by: Ion | September 8th, 2007 · 6:45 AM

Sporting his new Just For Men Haircolor look, Osama bin Laden is back in black…and now rhetorically indistinguishable from your average DailyKos post.

In his recent videotape, not only has Osama added global warming to his seemingly endless checklist of complaints against the West, he’s evidently become an assiduous reader of leftwing theorist Noam Chomsky:

“This war was entirely unnecessary, as testified to by your own reports. And among the most capable of those from your own side who speak to you on this topic and on the manufacturing of public opinion is Noam Chomsky, who spoke sober words of advice prior to the war, but the leader of Texas doesn’t like those who give advice.
(ABC)

Jeez. As if it weren’t sinister enough when Chomsky’s political philosophy attracted the praise of the despotic Hugo Chavez at the United Nations.

Anyone who has ever read or heard Chomsky’s ferociously antagonistic views on almost every aspect of American history and culture, or is remotely familiar with his long history of apologetics for murderously barbaric regimes (so long as they have ‘’anti-imperialist'’ propaganda, a blind eye can be found at MIT), could hardly be surprised by Osama finding consonance with his own violently anti-American ideology.

Among the unshocked is the Progressive Democrats of America who were in fact moved by the news and regretted that the Bush administration had not the foresight to heed the call of Osama for Chomsky:

…Osama has been reading Noam Chomsky. Wouldn’t we be in better shape if John Ashcroft, Karl Rove, and Dick Cheney had read Chomsky first!
(PDA)

Here’s a tip for a more rational politics PDA: When you read that Osama bin Laden is in agreement with a certain author’s political arguments which you endorse, you should not regret Osama’s wisdom, but instead seriously question your own. It’s a fair bet that nothing I’ve written could possibly find much consent from Osama (”manufactured” or otherwise). One would hope that the Left will some day recognize how serious a problem it is, that so many of them cannot honestly say the same. An admiration for Noam Chomsky is the least of it too.

Add us: Digg | Del.icio.us | Technorati

Chavez’s 5000 Dragunovs

Posted by: Ion | August 27th, 2007 · 4:17 AM

(image: AtlanticFirearms)

We’re now safe to invade Venezuela if we ever want to. Chavez has announced his intention to equip his snipers with the notoriously inaccurate (but mean looking!) semi-automatic SVD Dragunov sniper rifle from Russia:

“I’m going to buy 5,000 Dragunov rifles from Russia … with telescopic sight, the best in the world, with infrared night-view,” Chavez said during his weekly Sunday broadcast held on a beach along Venezuela’s eastern coast.”We will knock out any imperialist that approaches.”
(Reuters via JustBarkingMad)

What’s that line Miss Feathers often says? “No one is afraid of Chavez’s little toy army” or something like that. With these equipment downgrades to Russian junk following the US arms embargo, he’s on the path to rivaling the modernity and firepower of the fearsome Tajik army.

The Evgeniy Dragunov design (as appearances should reveal), is essentially a lengthened AK47 chambered for the 7.62 x 54R rimmed cartridge. I gave one a go at a range one day, shooting targets at a little over 200 yards (very close for a rifle). My hits were wide and wild, whereas I was having a good day with my Winchester Model 70 at the same distance (best gun ever made, if you believe Field & Stream).

For Americans, you can order the Dragunov pictured above (built on a Romanian receiver) for $799 here. If you want to hit something however, may I recommend the Remington 700, which is the civilian model of our lethally accurate M24 Sniper Weapon System.

Add us: Digg | Del.icio.us | Technorati

The Eternal Ruler Revealed?

Posted by: Ion | August 26th, 2007 · 8:56 PM

(Feathers)

And you thought I was joking when I suggested the corpse of Castro would rule forever. Behold:

“Those who want him to die will be frustrated, because Fidel Castro will never die,” said [Hugo] Chavez, one of the few who visited the revolutionary leader at his sickbed.
(OpenMarket)

As OpenMarket suggests, “Chavez may have realized just then how insane this sounded, since he then qualified [it]” by characterizing his claim for Fidel’s immortality as representing a symbolic eternal life. Babalu thinks that qualification in particular was a tacit concession from the Caracas Creep that Fidel is in fact already expired.

Perhaps. But come to think of it, Hugo –being the unpredictable rambling megalomaniac that is he is– does present a bit of a problem for Raul’s regency to the corpse. He’s difficult to shut-up and has a tendency to inadvertently blab an extraordinary amount of secret diplomatic information, on that inordinately stupid daytime talk show he hosts (Aló Presidente). If I’d pick anyone to publicly reveal the necro-regency to the press, it would be him.

Add us: Digg | Del.icio.us | Technorati

Defending NeoLiberalism in Latin America

Posted by: Ion | · 6:20 PM

A paragraph of import. Cam Vidler at The Natural Society:

In contrast to the progress against poverty made by neo-liberal policies in countries like Brazil and Chile, inequality seems to persist in Venezuela. In fact, a recent study by the country’s own central bank found that the Gini co-efficient (one of the best measures for inequality in a society) actually has risen from 2000-2005, likely due to an emerging “boli-garchy“ of government employees and cronies sucking at the teat of the ever-inflating state. The string of nationalizations in both Venezuela and Bolivia has scared foreign investors away from their oil industries, causing production to collapse. But royalties remain high enough to shower money on the people just enough to mask the collapse of the private-sector. It’s no surprise that Venezuela ranks 124th of 127 countries when it comes to economic freedom. Great tragedy awaits if oil prices drop.
(The Natural Society)

Add us: Digg |