And so Hugo Chavez has left for what I’m sure he hopes is that great Socialist paradise in the sky. He was wildly popular among Venezuela’s poor, spending one-third of the country’s oil wealth on social programs. Through CITGO and with the help of Robert Kennedy, he provided home heating assistance to the poor in the U.S.. Unfortunately, he gave a lot more of his country’s wealth to crones and leftists revolutionaries elsewhere. According to an op-ed piece in Wednesday’s NY Post, Venezuela is the most violent country in South America, murders occurring at a ridiculous rate. A think tank ranks it last in economic freedom. Its inflation rate is among the highest in the world. It suffers from electricity shortages and deteriorating infrastructure. It imports 70% of its food. Now the world will wait and see if the country descends into complete chaos without his leadership. He was only 59. How ironic that someone who provided universal health care to the masses could not be saved even by the vaunted Marxists doctors of Cuba, whose health system is always ballyhooed by liberal apologists, as if it makes up for the almost complete lack of freedom. Was he poisoned by the West? It’s not out of the realm of possibility, although I doubt it. It would have had to occur during the Bush administration. It’s hard to imagine Obama giving the order to kill someone whose ideals he seems to share, even though Chavez once called him a phony.
I don’t pay much attention to hockey until the Stanley Cup Finals, but there is something happening in the NHL that is quite astonishing. The Chicago Blackhawks have played 24 games and have yet to lose, 21-0-3. Of course, this does not guarantee post-season success. Hockey’s regular season is the least meaningful of the four major sports, although this year’s strike-abbreviated schedule lends it a much greater urgency than usual. Third and fourth seeds have won the Cup. Still, this is an amazing run, especially given that there are fewer off-nights to rest and heal. After they won the Cup two years ago, the franchise was forced by economic reasons to dump many high-priced players. Management has done an incredible rebuilding job. The Hawks have answered the bell every night. That’s not easy physically or psychologically. Kudos.
It looks like one more day on the shelf for the floating book shop, although I hope the forecast is again wrong in terms of snow accumulation for tomorrow. The advisory is in effect until noon. If the weather shows signs of breaking by then, and the wind isn't too ridiculous, I may be out there. I'm feeling like a bum right now. Fortunately, I've been proofing my near 200,000 word rock n roll epic, so the past few days haven't been a total loss.
Visit Vic's sites:
Vic's Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
No comments:
Post a Comment