Gone sailing

Gone sailing. Don't know if I'll be able to post for awhile but I'll try.
May not be any pics or pithy political pronouncements...traveling down
Island.
See ya when I get back!

Hugo Chavez died

i was reading a critique on Think Progress this morning about Hugo Chavez and his legacy. It was a plea to temper any kind of praise for him now that he has passed. This was posted on a liberal site and although his critics have admitted that he did try to help the poor, his abuses in other areas made it pale in comparison the piece claimed.

i was thinking while reading it that the same could be said of the US. In Venezuela the state run media hounded the Jewish population in the same way our private media egged on by politicians in the Bush administration hounded Muslims making both groups targets of abuse and hatred in those respective countries.

Prices went up and jobs were lost and gained while one country(Venezuela) was trying to combat inequality and the other (USA)was making it worse. Power in both countries was a problem. Chavez chipped away at political freedoms, while our Congress with support by the President and Judiciary (Citizens United)(Patriot Act)did the same.

Human Rights Watch said the Chávez government intimidated, censored, and prosecuted critics and perceived opponents in a wide range of cases involving the judiciary, the media, and civil society.

Here Occupy Wall Street was dismantled by authority, detentions without charge at Guantanamo are a continuing blot, rendition, whistle blower's who are now in jail for pointing out our wrongdoing, drones deciding who lives and dies, the Patriot Act and surveillance of our internet, cell phones and persons, disproportionately long prison sentences, and mandatory sentencing with no parole.

Was the Chavez election rigged and is there corruption? Well we do know our legislators are Bribed by Lobbyists and this past election had all sorts of voter roadblocks.

Who is giving trillions to the banks and taking trillions from the people?

We need a mirror to look at ourselves and think twice before we lecture others about their bad behavior.

We keep saying our poor aren't that poor...but how many homeless people died this year from exposure? A couple of million kids are homeless in America...living on the streets and looking forward to that one good meal at school. We need to stop being hypocrites when comparing our nation to others.

There is good in both countries...we should try and look for some of that before we take the high road.

See Ya Next Week