Viva Chavez...

Another reason to buy your gas—if you have to buy gas—from Venezuelan-owned Citgo: seems Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (popularity rating: 77%) is trying to win the hearts and minds of Americans by actually helping some of them survive the high cost of heating this winter. And we're not talking about those who've chosen to live in high-ceiling McMansions.

This offering from the populist Latin American leader comes at a time when our own mercenary oil companies are trying to justify the unprecedented profits they've raked in this year with incessant verbal misdirection and shameless exaltations of the Disneyesque powers of the "free" market to transform the world for the better. Good thing that coup to oust Chavez in 2002, the one tacitly condoned by our government, failed miserably—the result of the will of the Venezuelan people to rise up against the predatory interests of big business, both foreign and domestic.

Publicity stunt? Perhaps, but people in the northeastern U.S. will benefit all the same. And given the crap going on nowadays in the world of foreign relations, a gesture like this one is a much-needed breath of fresh air. Peace through charitable diplomacy—what a concept!

And to think that perennial cretin and self-appointed bastion of morality Pat Robertson wanted to assassinate Chavez, whom the doddering old goat, in an almost unprecedented example of self-stultification, recently compared to Hitler and Saddam Hussein. (Those interested in learning more about Chavez would do well to check out Richard Gott's Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution for a primer. Gott does a nice job of providing a concise and well balanced profile of the popular mestizo leader, including unbiased examination of the pros and cons of his political and social policies. In the meantime, there's this.)

Back to trying to shake this cold I seemed to have picked up at Douthat...after much rumination, I'm starting to think that my faith in Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale as an adaptogenic tonic is sadly misplaced, but damn does it taste good!
I should be on my way up to PA for Dirt Rag's 16th Annual Punk Bike Enduro, scheduled for tomorrow, but I don't think I'll be making it this year. Start point and time: Dorseyville Fire Hall @ 11:00 ayem. A fun event, if you can make it (tip for those first-timers who attend: stay close to the DR van and make sure you have onhand an empty water bottle).