Venezuela set to let Chavez rule by decree for 18 months
posted at 12:00 pm on January 19, 2007 by Allahpundit
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He’s got important stuff he needs to do, like confiscating people’s businesses and repealing the presidential term-limits law.
Longtime HA readers may remember this old post about left-wing fascist enablers taking vacations in the socialist paradise to show solidarity with Chavez. Well, they’re still at it. Tons of money quotes at the link, but this passage is my favorite:
“The UK media is very disappointing, always a negative slant,” said Rod Finlayson, 62, a British union official who was thrilled by the nationalisations and cultural events. “Bach in the slums. Stuff you could only dream about.”
Dreaming, say some critics, is the problem. Instead of investigating complexities, such as the corruption and mismanagement undermining some social programs, visitors sleepwalk through government spin and never hear allegations that Venezuela’s oil bonanza is being wasted or that democracy is being smothered.
Mr Finlayson said his delegation ignored such voices because the goal was to express solidarity, not investigate. But the group did encounter some Chavez critics: walking through a wealthy district of Caracas, it was pelted with eggs.
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My Grandaddy once told me – “Son -there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch – remember that.” I did.
iam7545 on January 19, 2007 at 12:04 PM
Pam on January 19, 2007 at 12:05 PM
No offense to Gpa, but that quote is from Milton Friedman.
I hope the press is really watching this time.
budorob on January 19, 2007 at 12:11 PM
Potemkin’s Village with the willfully blind
Catherine the Great and Stalin would be proud
Defector01 on January 19, 2007 at 12:21 PM
It is with great reluctance that I have agreed to this calling. I love democracy. I love the Republic. Once this crisis has abated, I will lay down the powers you have given me!
tomas on January 19, 2007 at 12:25 PM
Perhaps we could substitute “Hitler” for “Chavez” and see where the events in Venezuela are going. Chavez will be a serious threat to the territorial integrity of those nations in South America, and the security of the United States, in the coming years.
Whether his conquests will be by political manipulation, and later terrorist support and military action, Chavez will attempt to expand his influence in South America and later to the United States. We are looking at the player that will attempt to stimiulate strife in the United States by active support of the Reconquista and manipulation of election results.
Keeping a close eye on this sworn enemy and opposing his every move is important to limit his affect on the United States in the future.
Hot Air can be an invaluable service in this effort by continuing to post details of Chavez’s actions.
omegaram on January 19, 2007 at 12:27 PM
Good one tomas!
bbz123 on January 19, 2007 at 12:27 PM
Nice, following the Pelosi example. Will he be able to increase the mimimum wage to one chicken per week?
Dentro cientos horas?
fogw on January 19, 2007 at 12:28 PM
But..but…but…I thought only Republicans could morph into Hitlers…
Bryan on January 19, 2007 at 12:32 PM
Is it me, or are all Latin American countries always in a state of perpetual revolution?
By the way, every time you fill up at CITCO, you are funding Hugo’s social changes. Don’t forget to check the oil……
PinkyBigglesworth on January 19, 2007 at 12:32 PM
So, Chavez is well on his way to making himself king.
Are the Lefties really just neo-royalists – all want a monarch, and they will be his court? Of course, with guys like Chavez, one gets a despot. So much for “The End of History.” The truth is, human progress can be stopped, and lost. Going forward is not a given, ever. Sharing power, as in a democracy, with accountability to the people, is not the desire of the grasping egoists.
naliaka on January 19, 2007 at 12:39 PM
Rule by decree for Chavez – what a horribly, bad, bad, idea. They will come to regret this sincerely. I guess for all practical purposes now, they can call him “Caesar Chavez”.
CP on January 19, 2007 at 12:50 PM
Hopefully he and Stretch Pelosi can team up to end global warming during those 18 months.
You know, Pat Robertson did have a point.
JammieWearingFool on January 19, 2007 at 12:51 PM
Great. Just as we are almost rid of one Marxist/socialist lunatic to our south, another sprouts up to take his place. I predict we’ll have a Little Caracas section of Houston in a few years, similar to Miami’s Little Havana, once all the Venezuelans with the means to escape finally have their fill.
SailorDave on January 19, 2007 at 12:54 PM
Oh no, man-hands!!!!
honora on January 19, 2007 at 12:57 PM
OK, I’ll take Pelosi to represent my side, you get Robertson. Deal?
honora on January 19, 2007 at 12:59 PM
The National crisis in Venezuela mirrors that of Cuba. . . in 1959! What a shame. Just as Castro is on his death bed, this Commie strips power from a, once thriving, democracy.
MCPO Airdale on January 19, 2007 at 12:59 PM
I suppose Chavez forgot what happened to Maxmilian the Emperor. Ah, he got executed by the Mexican Firing Squad in 1867.
Sorry, I’m still boycotting France!
kiakjones on January 19, 2007 at 1:00 PM
Okay then, Stalin (the left’s equivalent of Hitler).
Rick on January 19, 2007 at 1:11 PM
And here I thought TANSTAAFL was mid-60’s Heinlein…
mojo on January 19, 2007 at 1:25 PM
Had to fix that.
KelliD on January 19, 2007 at 1:25 PM
So much for the Chargers. I’m with the Saints all the way.
BTW, you obviously didn’t get the memo: there are a significant number of people who frequent this blog who hold that fascism is the logical sequence as the following: Democrat/liberal/socialist/communist/fascism. Go figure. Kinda makes you uncomfortable re our public schools though.
Actually, I am pretty disinterested in football, getting jazzed for college hoops!!!
honora on January 19, 2007 at 1:28 PM
In case you haven’t noticed, The Tuna Queen does indeed represent your side. And it’s a side filled with the stench of ethical malfeasance and hypocrisy. You fit right in.
JammieWearingFool on January 19, 2007 at 1:32 PM
I wonder if Chavez also envisions gas at 35 cents a gallon for the masses.
ROTFLMAO.
Dusty on January 19, 2007 at 1:45 PM
I think if Venezuela could organize mass production Cuban Happy Sticks, they would get more tourism. Definitely.
WriterMom on January 19, 2007 at 1:45 PM
Robertson is in no positon of power. Pelosi is in a very omportant position of power.
We dont elect our problem children to office.
William Amos on January 19, 2007 at 1:54 PM
It seems to me that, by giving Chavez 18 months of power by decree, Venezeula’s MPs — primarily members of Chavez’ party as the opposition boycotted the elections — are just trying to cover their asses with plausible deniability for when the country crumbles.
Dusty on January 19, 2007 at 1:59 PM
Is that Cindy’s hand or is Hugo picking her nose?
TugboatPhil on January 19, 2007 at 2:01 PM
Oh you charmer you. It’s so rare I am accused of “stench”. LOL
honora on January 19, 2007 at 2:04 PM
Like I said, man-hands!!!!!
honora on January 19, 2007 at 2:05 PM
Thanks for the clarification. I’ll write this down.
honora on January 19, 2007 at 2:06 PM
Filled with nuggets indeed!!
Lucky for him he wasn’t pelted with little lead pellets instead….
Rick, Rick, Rick: Hitler was a leftist….
I wonder what would happen if a Republican took the exact wording for Chavez’ bid for rule by decree and introduced it in Congress and substituted Bush? Think there’d be orgasms by the Dems for it then?
ScottG on January 19, 2007 at 2:07 PM
Hitler wasnt a leftist he was a socialist though. He believed that government was the solution to all the states problems.
William Amos on January 19, 2007 at 2:13 PM
The liberals profess to fight single-branch power in the U.S. and nary an alarm or expression against the usurpation of such in Venezuella, or anywhere else, except a few flippant statements. I despise their form of liberalism and progressiveness for this more than anything else.
Last I checked, in the U.S. we still have:
- freedom of ownership and competition
- freedom of the press
- multiple branches of government
- freedom of speech
- freedom to form as many parties as we like
- freedom to be ignorant, stupid, educated, poor, rich or whatever, so long as we don’t interfere with others’ freedoms to be the same.
But, that’s only good for them here – never mind the loss of all these freedoms anywhere else. I despise your hypocrisy.
“When liberty is taken away by force it can be restored by force. When it is relinquished voluntarily by default it can never be recovered”, and
“It is not the fact of liberty but the way in which liberty is exercised that ultimately determines whether liberty itself survives” –Dorothy Thompson
“None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free”. –J.W.v Goethe
“No nation ancient or modern ever lost the liberty of freely speaking, writing, or publishing their sentiments, but forthwith lost their liberty in general and became slaves”. –John P. Zenger
“In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued – they may be essential to survival”.
–Noam Chomsky
“A right is not what someone gives you; it’s what no one can take from you”. — Ramsey Clark
“If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too”. –Somerset Maugham
“So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men”. –Voltaire
Entelechy on January 19, 2007 at 2:21 PM
Sorry. I always get nazis, socialists, communists, fascists, world citizens, and democrats confused. Someone please help.
Rick on January 19, 2007 at 2:28 PM
The Dems have. Can anyone say “Fairness Doctrine”?
Rick on January 19, 2007 at 2:30 PM
Me too. As for the bolts, I told you, the Pats are on a roll.
College hoops, not there yet. Who do you root for?
Do you watch the NBA at all?
Rick on January 19, 2007 at 2:37 PM
I remember when Comrade Sheehan defended Chavez saying he was not a dictator but rather a democratically elected leader… I wonder if she’s ready to revise her BS comment?
x95b10 on January 19, 2007 at 3:46 PM
Off topic, on thread..TANSTAAFL
iam7545, budorob, mojo,
as much as I would like to attribute this to Heinlein, it appears that it’s pre-Friedman, pre-Heinlein. Depending upon which source you cite, it’s been attributed to economist Leonard P. Ayres (circa.1946), and to the 1 June 1949 edition of the San Francisco News (with claims that it was a reprint of a 1938 editorial. Either way, it’s not Friedmans or Heinleins. Sorry *POP!* (bubble bursting)
Catseye on January 19, 2007 at 4:16 PM
Regarding ownership; no, see Kelo v. New London
Regarding competition; no, two words – government subsidies
Regarding free press; yes, unfortunately the MSM has declined to accept the associated responsibility.
Regarding multiple branches; yes, but note that each has been operating outside the context of the Constitution for the last century.
Regarding free speech; no, see McCain-Feingold
I would like to see more libertarians and constructionists come forward
Regarding ignorance & stupid; no, we have Helmet laws, seat belt laws, gun control laws, …
Regarding freedom to be poor; no, we have government welfare.
AZ_Redneck on January 19, 2007 at 9:14 PM
AZ_Redneck, I’m pretty Libertarian and also have my issues with our form of government, but I haven’t found a better one yet.
I’m almost certain that you didn’t intend to argue that it’s better now in Venezuela, and Nirvana is not here in the U.S. either. Maybe the dems will bring it to us.
Entelechy on January 19, 2007 at 11:35 PM
OK. I’ll clean that up. Those two are poster children for birth control. Sheehan looks mentally challenged with her thumb in the air.
R D on January 20, 2007 at 1:09 AM
k2comp on January 20, 2007 at 8:05 AM
Guess somebody is predicting Chavez’s overthrow in the near future, because that is the only way that it will only be an 18-month absolute dictatorship.
steveegg on January 20, 2007 at 6:14 PM
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