So there is a fuss in this administration over the FOX news station? Too bad. For now, it comes down to this... Even if FOX views a story differently than another network they have every right under that Constitution to report the news the way they see it.
I find the entire attack on the news organization to be nothing short of disturbing. As I have stated clearly in the past, Hugo Chavez was once only (one) part of a three party national system. In blatant disregard for the nation's Constitution, he tore apart Venezuelan legislature and there was no longer a majority representation of the people – the legislature was a representation of him.
Chavez went directly after the poor by rolling out social welfare programs designed to uplift and gratify the population of Venezuela poor without regard for the cost of the programs. The people quickly became reliant on the social welfare programs to survive thus casting more people into economic turmoil and eventually ushering an increasing crime rate along with a growing population that fell from middle class to poverty level. Today, Venezuela has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world and the capital city of Caracas was cited as having the highest per capita homicide rate in the world by the US Dept of State in July, 2009.
I do not want my Country to follow the path of Hugo Chavez's Venezuela but I believe the President of the United States of America does, and I think he has surrounded himself with others that want this too. The difference between Obama and Chavez is minimal. As the popularity of social welfare programs allowed Chavez to achieve the monumental task of changing a Democratic society to a Dictatorship, there is a similar push by the Obama administration to do the same.
There comes a point in a Democracy when it will begin to break apart. That happens the day a large part of the people begin to not only believe they are owed something by the government – rather than that the government exists as a representation of them, but also when they begin to rely on the government to live, breathe, eat, and become. They become a society that needs the government in order to simply - be.
All that they do, all that they are – becomes the government – OWNED by the Government.
When Chavez took office in 1998 he pledged to eliminate corruption and clean-up politics through CONSTITUTIONAL reform. He did this over the decade by slowly taking control of the judicial and central electoral council. By undermining the job security with political pressure, on the electoral council side (Congress) Chavez took over appointments and appointed people to posts. By 2001, government nominees outnumbered the opposition by 4 to 1 and the government then began the process of reversing Chavez’s pledged original “reforms” and shifting focus to the removal of the independence of the judiciary branch. Chavez appointed 12 new judges increasing the branch from 20 to 32 which left all appointees subject to political influence and interference.
Chavez was able to succeed based on the fear of economic collapse and instead brought on both an economic collapse and a collapse of Democracy. Chavez had taken over the other two branches of the government, dominated the private sector and gained popularity through the promotion of government sponsored “welfare” programs and expansion of government power which could not be sustained.
Barack Obama is following the exact same path as Hugo Chavez.. Obama has appointed numerous Czars that have questionable backgrounds that emulate a desire for some sort of socialist nation.
Then there is Mark Lloyd, Obama's FCC diversity Czar, who may just top the list of questionable people surrounding this President. Lloyd is another supporter of Chavez going as far as to say Chavez managed to pull off an “incredible revolution, a Democratic revolution...” Lloyd actually states he admires Chavez.
Lloyd admires Chavez. That is one scary thought when referring to anyone in charge of the FCC. This summer, Chavez underwent a massive campaign to stifle the press that raised any voice of opposition to his administration's socialist view. For our Nation's FCC “whatever” to find this man one to admire is appalling. Critics claim that many of the shut down stations are available on cable – but to a population where 40% of the populous now lives below the national poverty line, cable is not widely available.
Then there is always our grand old Hollywood liberals who come along and glorify Chavez. These people are so far out of touch with the average American and they use their status as conduits of the liberal ideology. Oliver Stone's “South of the Border” movie does nothing short of glorify Chavez and his abuse of power. The fabulously wealthy American filmmaker Oliver Stone provides a shining light to the actions of this evil and horrible man that decided it was OK to just re-write his nation's Constitution. Not one tough question is asked of Chavez in Stone's film. Nothing about the shut down of numerous opposition radio and TV stations; nothing with respect to Amnesty Internationals 2009 report on the human rights in Venezuela where they stated: "Attacks on journalists were widespread. Human-rights defenders continued to suffer harassment. Prison conditions provoked hunger strikes in facilities across the country." Not one tough question...just complete adoration of the Dictator with Susan Saradon, Sean Penn, Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover among others - right there to cheer away the liberties of the Venezuelan people
I think there is cause for concern in Obama's outright war with the freedom of the press and freedom of speech.. He's got the same M.O. that Chavez had: Truth does not matter, and neither does the Constitution.
The liberal wing of the United States needs to do some research on the truth behind the rise of Hugo Chavez and stop blasting the conservatives of the country claiming they are simply out to get this President. I am not "out to get" this President, but I am truly concerned about his motives, his associations and his new attempt to stifle the media.
This is not transparency, but it is certainly a change we are seeing with President Barack Obama.
One decade is all it took to change Venezuela. In one decade my oldest child will be 18 and most likely face a debt beyond comprehension to us now.
The best I can hope for at this point is that our children will still have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as the backbone of this nation and that we've reversed some of these turns toward all encompassing government authority.
Debt they will shoulder, lack of freedom they cannot.
COMMENTARY and HISTORICAL RELEVANCE
Maryann