We recognise that the non-renewal of the broadcasting licence for RCTV is a legitimate and democratic decision of the Venezuelan government. The reason for this action is not that RCTV is against the government of Hugo Chavez, but rather that this TV channel participated directly in the organisation of the military coup against the democratically elected government. We welcome the decision to set up a new public access TV station “TVes”. The problem of the media in Venezuela is not that the government is curtailing freedom of expression but rather the need to democratise access to the media, which is dominated by a handful of monopoly groups that use their position to sabotage the expressed will of the majority of the Venezuelan people.

That’s a key point. Chavez has won several elections, and they were internationally monitored and declared fair. RCTV did participate directly in a coup attempt against the state, and when the time came to renew their license, the government said no. Any government on the planet would have done the same.

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The Dems pulled a sleazy parliamentary maneuver to pretend they opposed war funding then stepped aside so Repubs could pass it. Worse, the Dems then bragged to the press about how they fooled the American public. Drinking Liberally in New Milford has the full sordid tale and concludes with

This is what we’re dealing with folks. A party that runs to the press to brag about the brilliance of using their majority not to end the war, but to create a situation that makes it seem as if they oppose the war, while actually helping Republicans continue it.

The Twin Parties of Militarism and Imperialism lurch mindlessly on. With a few scattered exceptions, not one of them gives a damn about dead American soldiers (and certainly not about dead Iraqis) even as they will cry crocodile tears about it at today’s Memorial Day events.

Andrew Bacevich on his son’s death in Iraq

Money maintains the Republican/Democratic duopoly of trivialized politics. It confines the debate over U.S. policy to well-hewn channels. It preserves intact the cliches of 1933-45 about isolationism, appeasement and the nation’s call to “global leadership.” It inhibits any serious accounting of exactly how much our misadventure in Iraq is costing. It ignores completely the question of who actually pays. It negates democracy, rendering free speech little more than a means of recording dissent.This is not some great conspiracy. It’s the way our system works.

Then the answer must be: replace the current exploitative system with one that is humane and genuinely responsive to the people.

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