In the last few days, we have seen a number of “celebrities” become engaged in international affairs actions and commentaries, an embarrassment to themselves and America.
These include:
National Basketball Hall of Fame player Dennis Rodman
Actor Sean Penn
Director Oliver Stone
New York Congressman Jose Serrano
It is inadvisable for public celebrities in sports and the entertainment industry to speak up in support of anti American foreign dictators, as the first three have done, with Rodman trying to play the role of a “diplomat” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, a man who has been developing nuclear weapons and threatening his neighbors; and Sean Penn and Oliver Stone publicly mourning the death of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, a person they call a “good friend”, despite his collaboration with Moammar Gaddafi, Fidel Castro, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other enemies of the United States.
It is also reckless and loony that Congressman Jose Serrano should act as if Chavez was good for his people, and to ignore Chavez’ s rants and raves against both George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Of course, nothing can or should be done about these utterances and statements, as we all have freedom of speech, but any decent American should repudiate these people and their irresponsible and toxic behavior!
You forgot to mention President Jimmy Carter (“President Chávez will be remembered for his bold assertion of autonomy and independence…We hope that as Venezuelans mourn the passing of President Chávez and recall his positive legacies — especially the gains made for the poor and vulnerable — the political leaders will move the country forward…â€), Barbara Walters, “”He could be very warm. He was very vulnerable, complained that he’d been married twice, Piers, but had no time for relationship because he was married to his country.” Poor Chavez!! Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post called Chavez, “quick,†“popular,†and funny. Larry King, formerly of CNN, called in to say that Chavez was “effusive,†“huggable,†and “larger than life.â€. Bloomberg TV’s obituary sounded like it was written by Chavez’s press agent: “He rode a wave of revolution into power, and over 14 years would transform his country’s place on the world stage …. It was oil revenues that allowed Chavez to pour money into food and education programs in Venezuela.†The Atlantic wrote, presumably while weeping openly, “Passionate and charismatic, Chávez slipped comfortably into the role of romantic Latin American revolutionary, championing the poor against an unfeeling local oligarchy and its imperial paymasters….Today millions of Venezuelans will weep tears of genuine anguish at his passing.†Foreign Policy magazine ran an op-ed calling Chavez “another heroic martyr in the vein of Guevara or Chile’s Salvador Allende,†stating that Chavez might even reach “Bolivarian proportions.†And of course we must also pay no attention to PROGRESSIVE RADIO and Stephen Lendman – Venezuelans mourn. Chavismo lives! Bolivarianism is institutionalized.!!! See- http://prn.fm/2013/03/06/stephen-lendman-chavismo-lives/#axzz2MmruMciY . Or how about The Progressive :Chavez Renewed Latin America and Revived Socialism – http://progressive.org/chavez-renewed-latin-america . Then we have the New Yorker, not a single mention of his seizure of the press and TV channels or of his personal fortune of over $2 billion dollars! See- http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/03/postscript-hugo-chavez-1954-2013.html. And I could go on and on of American progressives/liberals praising Chavez. So should we also ignore them? Just asking…
I reject most of these people and media celebrating Chavez. Jimmy Carter is Jimmy Carter, and he has his moments of making one think he should avoid commenting, but you cannot stop an 88 year old man if he wishes to state his views. Barbara Walters, Larry King, Bloomberg TV, The Atlantic, the New Yorker, the Progressive do not help the progressive cause that I believe in by promoting a man who was a dictator, even if the masses were somewhat better off than before. Eugene Robinson truly surprised me.
All I can say is that this should prove to you, Juan, that I am NOT as far left as you think I am. I never endorse authoritarian or dictatorial regimes or leaders, whether of the left or the right!
Oh Ron, you misunderstood me, I don’t believe that you support Chavez or that you are that far left. You are not the problem, the problem are these folks that reach millions of people and somehow influence public opinion and debate. Also the problem is part of the media that portrays itself to be objective but calls right wing statist dictators like Pinochet a dictator, which he is, but never call left wing statist like Castro o Chavez a dictator! I mean the New Yorker, Mother Jones and Progressive Radio and any other left wing outlet would not surprise me if the praise Chavez. But the New York Times, as well as other media outlets, like AP, CNN, ABC, CBS , which millions of people have no idea they are to left in varying degrees,is a problem in my opinion. The New York Times headline called the leftist despot a populist: “Chavez Dies At 58 With Venezuela In Deep Turmoil – Debilitated By Cancer – Crowds Mass in Capital Mourning Populist Who Defied U.S.” Thus the paper maintains its double standard on labeling dead dictators, with the paper rarely using the term “dictator” to refer to communists, only fascists. “Mr. Chávez, 58, changed Venezuela in fundamental ways, empowering and energizing millions of poor people who had felt marginalized and excluded”. Also The paper’s most left-wing movie critic Stephen Holden previously showed his admiration for Chavez in his review of fellow fawner Oliver Stone’s 2010 documentary of Chavez, “South of the Border,” “Mr. Chávez comes across as a rough-hewn but good-hearted man of the people whose bullheaded determination is softened by a sense of humor.” The you have Good Morning America this morning greeting the death of Hugo Chavez by avoiding the word “socialist.†Instead, GMA’s Brandi Hitt touted the repressive leader as someone who “appeared to never back down from a challenge.†The reporter never mentioned Chavez’s crackdown on free speech or dissent. Instead, she featured a woman in the streets of Venezuela gushing, “He’s a man that cared about us…He did not give anything to me, but he gave it to my people.†And over on Today, NBC’s Mark Potter offered this friendly description of the individual who made friends with Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: “Many here were still surprised when he died, in part because of his larger-than-life personality.†Potter announced that crowds in Caracas were chanting “Chavez lives†and “the struggle continues.†Both Today and Good Morning America made sure to play footage of Chavez’s 2006 appearance at the United Nations. There, the authoritarian leaded mocked George W. Bush as “the devil.â€
The truth is Chavez’s government is a perfect example of classic Democracy that our Founding Fathers dreaded, the absolute rule of the majority without limits whatsoever and no respect for the right of the circumstantial political minority opposition! Chavez was elected, by the people in a pure democracy but not in a Republic, not in a government of laws. And what happened? Venezuela got poorer, poverty rose 30% and now the inflationary tax is hitting everyone and of course the poor the hardest. Like always. In the meantime, Chavez amassed an over $2 billion dollar personal fortune! In the meantime, the country that is an energy reserve, has power outages, food and medicine shortages and criminal violence that quadrupled from the year before Chavez took office back in 1998. And all of course is blamed on the “empire”, capitalism, neoliberalism (that conservatism in the US) and the oligarchs who conspire against the people, while Chavez was doing everything possible to defeat those obscure forces! Yet what does the media in the US repeat? That Chavez helped the poor and that the poor are better off, and some actually believe it! Meanwhile, this is a little of what the Human Rights Watch has to say about Venezuela:
“Without judicial checks on its actions, the government has systematically undermined free expression, workers’ freedom of association, and the ability of human rights groups to function. Violent crime is rampant in Venezuela, yet few people are prosecuted or convicted, as law enforcement is seemingly unable or unwilling to effectively tackle it.”
“Extrajudicial killings by security agents continue, and impunity for such human rights crimes remains the norm. Prison conditions are deplorable, and prison fatality rates are high due to inmate violence.”
“While many Venezuelans continue to criticize the government, the prospect of facing reprisals – in the form of arbitrary or abusive state action – has undercut the ability of judges to adjudicate politically sensitive cases, and forced journalists and rights defenders to weigh the consequences of disseminating information and opinions critical of the government.”
So to conclude, if the only ones praising Chavez were celebrities, well their celebrities, like Dennis Rodman and anyone taken them seriously is a lost cause to start with. The problem are the George Stephanopoulos type who actually interview the guy!!??? Good grief!
Sorry but I just have to mention Professor Charles Ogletree from Harvard, mentor of both President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, and his words about Chavez. ” I think it’s worth noting yesterday we lost the President and the leader of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez and I know there’s been some conversation about that and what people may not know is that as much as people see his sort of anti-American point of view, one of our former members of Congress has had a good relationship with him and I think that makes a big difference. When you think about Venezuela as the fourth largest donor of provider of oil and other assets to the United States I think it’s worth noting that in fact one of his great friends and great supporters here in the United States whose been talking about him for a long time because of giving fuel to freezing families during the winter is the son of one our great Congressman Joe Kennedy and I think that makes an enormous amount of difference in terms of thinking what he means and what he meant to that country. So, as much as there’s going to be a lot said about Chavez going forward I think it worth noting that even though he had a lot of American enemies including the government, the reality is that a lot of people saw his generosity in helping people who are suffering from not having warmth in the winter is something very important. So I wanted at least mention that he’s passed away yesterday due to cancer 58 years old young man that’s been suffering from cancer and trying to get it treated in Cuba and other places the last several months and passed away.” – See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dLfH0d5B9g
Yes, I am aware of what former Congressman Joe Kennedy, son of RFK said, and he is right that Chavez DID do a lot for poor in Massachusetts, but that DOES NOT excuse all the evil he did, and even though I am not a G W Bush fan, I was incensed at the speech of Chavez in the United Nations in 2006. The man was a bully, a human rights violator, and I part company with all of these groups and individuals who tried to make Chavez look good! He was a tyrant pure and simple, as much as Peron, Castro, Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, and Kim Jong Il!