Comments on: Lovely

By: tgirsch

tgirsch — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:26:12 +0000

A mea culpa: It seems I was operating from a flawed definition of dictator. Given the general meaning of the term, I'd concede that Chavez qualifies. My initial rejection of the term comes from how charged it is: I think "dictator," and I think Idi Amin or Hitler or Mussolini. Chavez may well be on his way there, but he ain't there yet. I do, however, stand by my claim that it's a bit much to call this particular election "phony." tgirsch´s last blog post..Quote of the Day, 2009-02-23

By: Xrlq

Xrlq — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 05:44:11 +0000

It sounds like we’ve come full circle. If Obama convinces his overwhelmingly Democrat Congress to pass a law allowing him to rule by decree, and steals the 2012 election, and then gets term limits revoked so he can remain in power indefinitely, would anyone outside the U.S. seriously dispute that he had become a dictator? Inside the U.S., sure; calling your own dictator a dictator can have consequences.

If all that happens, I’ll need more than case of beer to drown my sorrows. Four is more like it. Not to worry, though, if memory serves you can easily score me four cases of beer in a commie country for about the cost of one case in a free one. The beer may or may not be as good. East German beer was a far cry from its western counterpart, but Pilsner Urquell and the real Budweiser (now marketed in the U.S. as Czechvar) were every bit as good as they are today. [And extremely cheap, too; my friend and I did the math and figured out that you could actually make money buying Pilsner Urquell in Czechoslovakia, drinking as much as you could stand and sharing the rest with 500 of your closest friends, and returning the bottles in West Germany.]

By: tgirsch

tgirsch — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:49:58 +0000

Tell you what, if Obama gets term limits revoked, I'll buy you a case of your favorite beer. Shit, Obama will be lucky to get a second term! tgirsch´s last blog post..A Simple Formula

By: Xrlq

Xrlq — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:39:53 +0000

That we may have just elected our own version of Hugo Chavez President of our country makes me feel a lot worse about us, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about Chavez. I don’t see Chavez leaving power by democratic means, ever. When he goes, it will be because he was forced out by public unrest, a coup, or dying of old age.

By: tgirsch

tgirsch — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:14:34 +0000

Either way, it's a lot closer to us (or, probably more accurately, we're closer to it) than to a bona fide dictatorship. tgirsch´s last blog post..More on CRA and the Subprime Meltdown

By: Xrlq

Xrlq — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:01:21 +0000

Nah, it’s more like siccing “truth” squads on TV and radio stations that run ads critical of your record.

By: tgirsch

tgirsch — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:53:13 +0000

He's certainly heading in the dictator direction, if he's not there already. But we're not talking about the Saddam Hussein sort of phony elections where the dictator gets high 90's support. And let's not forget, Chavez actually lost a similar referendum election less than a year ago, which would be hard to imagine in a true dictatorship. As for shutting down the opposition, is that anything at all like being able to detain people indefinitely without charge or legal rights on little more than your say-so? ;) tgirsch´s last blog post..More on CRA and the Subprime Meltdown

By: Xrlq

Xrlq — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:51:37 +0000

In fairness, this particular election may or may not have been phony, but the recall election he “won” almost certainly was. Between that, ruling by decree and shutting down opposition broadcasters, I’d say that if that doesn’t make Chavez a dictator, there is no such thing. Obtaining power democratically was Plan B, and I don’t see him leaving power that way, ever.

By: tgirsch

tgirsch — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:33:20 +0000

Chavez is a shithead, no doubt, but I’m not sure he rises to the level of “dictator.” If it’s a phony election when the opposition gets 46% of the vote, what does that say about elections where the loser gets 50.1%?