A Grain of Salt

Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela and CEO of Citgo Petroleum Company, "talked big talk" at the UN, condemning the US style of democracy and calling the President of the United States "The Devil." He spoke eloquently of the "new awakening" of Marxism world wide, and condemned capitalism as causing poverty.
It is important to keep in mind while listening to the words of Chavez, that, as the leader of the Venezuelan government, he personally earns two billion dollars a year from sales of Citgo Oil products in the United States alone. As a member of OPEC, Chavez is partially responsible for the price of oil. So, it all comes down to the fact that Hugo Chavez, for all his talk, is very wealthy because of capitalism.
What does Chavez do with all this money? He certainly doesn't give it to the people who elected him. The economy of Venezuela has pretty much tanked under Chavez' presidency, and while once robust, that economy now has a seventeen percent unemployment rate, and thirty-three percent of the population lives below the poverty level. While Chavez uses his 2 billion dollar annual income to buy political influence in other countries, to fund rebellion in Guatemala and Columbia, and to travel the world to force himself into the role as leader of the third world, people in Venezuela are waiting in long lines for food staples and housing. When all is said and done, Chavez is nothing more than an oil rich billionaire, proclaiming to the world, "I am Somebody!"
It is important to note--and as an American I am proud of this show of unity--that Representative Charlie Rangel, whose district includes Harlem, has stated publicly that "even though we in America have problems with our President, you, (Hugo Chavez) are not entitled to come into my country, to come into my district and issue a personal attack on our Chief of State. An insult to our President is an insult to all Americans."
Rangel, it should be noted, has been one of the strongest critics of President Bush and his policies. Representative Nancy Paloski, another tough critic of the President, said of Chavez, "He wants to paint himself as a modern day Simon Bolivar, but he is nothing more than a common thug."

We should remember that anyone who would go to Venezuela and criticize the President of that country the way he criticized the President of our country would be censored at least. No one in Valenzuela would hear it. That person would most likely be arrested and imprisoned.

When we hear someone like Hugo Chavez say the kind of things he said, we are right to forget politics for the moment and stand together as Americans.