JOLLY DAYS

How Do They Find One Another?

Hugo Chavez, self-parody of a South American dictator, urged Americans to read Noam Chomsky. Chavez The Demagogue has accomplished what Karl Rove couldn't: Chavez has managed to rally the political elite in the United States, even the president's critics, around Bush. Nancy Pelosi showed character, as described @ wikipedia:

In response [to Chavez calling Bush the Devil], House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, an ardent critic of President Bush, called Chavez an “everyday thug” and not the “modern day Simon Bolivar” that he “fancies himself to be”. “Hugo Chavez abused the privilege that he had, speaking at the United Nations,” said Pelosi, a frequent Bush critic. “He demeaned himself and he demeaned Venezuela.”

Meanwhile, Chavez may be more interested in deflecting from a looming national strike in his narcissistically run dictatorship than in Bush. After riding into office in what is alleged to be electoral fraud, Chavez needs to have lots of deflections at hand. Chavez did manage to increase the sales of Chomsky's books — Chomsky's deeply repressed inner capitalist is no doubt purring with delight.

Again, wikipedia:

Human Rights Watch expressed concern in a personal letter to Chávez over the safety of human rights defenders in Venezuela. Human rights organization Amnesty International has catalogued a number of human rights violations under Chávez's administration. As of December 2004, Amnesty International had documented at least 14 deaths and at least 200 wounded during confrontations between anti-Chávez demonstrators and National Guard, police, and other security personnel in February and March 2004, and continuing reports of unlawful killings by the police.