The Mad Prune Farmer of Modesto strikes again

Yes, I am talking about Victor Davis Hanson, the mad prune farmer of Modesto. In his latest editorial, he says we should stop supporting evil dictators by buying their oil. He then names three of these "evil dictators": Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez.

Uhm, one of these three is not like the others. Which one is it? I'll give you a hint. He runs the only country that we actually do buy oil from, of the three countries listed above. Still unsure? Okay, another hint. Unlike the other two, who are either outright dictators or were "elected" in elections that were clearly fraudulent, this guy was elected by an overwhelming majority of his people in elections that third party observers say were free and democratic. Even today, in various ballot referendums and such, it is clear that the majority of the people of his nation support him and want him to remain President. Still having problems figuring out the name of this guy who's not like the others? Well, he's the only one of the three above that the United States has sponsored a coup attempt against, the typical U.S. response to democratically elected leaders who irritate the U.S. by not kow-towing to U.S. demands. The two dictators? Well, the U.S. hasn't sponsored any coup attempts against them.

You should have figured it out by now, but in case you're as stupid as Victor Davis Hanson, here's a hint: Venezuela's Hugo Chavez was elected by his people in a free and democratic election, and his people support him and his agenda. "Dictator"? Puh-LEEZE. Chavez isn't a nice guy, but it takes more than being a nasty character to be a dictator. Heck, George W. Bush was a piece of work too, but he was just as much a dictator as Hugo Chavez -- i.e., not at all.

I find it amusing that right-wingers like Victor Davis Hanson hate democracy so much that they call democratically-elected leaders implementing the agenda they were elected to implement "dictators". It is like calling war, peace. Or hate, love. It is Orwellian in its sinister implications, Newspeak for the Republican set, and makes clear just how ideologically bankrupt, vile, and just plain evil the current Republican leadership and punditry are...

-- Badtux the Newspeak-scryin' Penguin