Activist Cindy Sheehan Arrested at Capitol

[DRoseDARs]

Cindy Sheehan, who was the guest of a Congressman, wore a simple t-shirt showing the current number (at the time it was printed) of dead US soldiers in Iraq. While inside the Capital, she offered no resistance, she never yelled or chanted anything. Her conduct was appropriate. Her removal was outrageous, not the t-shirt, which is a perfect example of her First Amendment right and its trampling.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Odin

Jimmy Carter said the election were free an fair, are you calling him a liar? The only people in Venezuela whining about Chavez are the rich people. The corporate media is demonizing him because he isn't being a good little b*tch for American businesses.

Your reading comprehension seems to fail you in political threads. I said his armed thugs are a threat to free and fair elections (and for that matter to free speech). As I was not a witness to the most recent elections in Venezuela, and as perceptions of what exactly constitutes a free and fair election vary widely from person to person I have no grounds to call Jimmy Carter a liar, nor any wish to do so.

As for who is and isn't "whining" about Chavez your supposition that it's only the "rich" is laughable. Just what percentage of a given population can actually be rich in comparison to the rest? Given that Venezuela has historically had a wide divide between the rich and the poor your claim that only the "rich" oppose Chavez (can we really define your term whine in a way that we'll agree on, I doubt it) is even more ridiculous. Those who oppose Chavez are largely the upper and middle classes, you know those who add value to the economy and are educated.

Chavez's support comes from the lower classes, the dependent and ignorant. While that must warm your commie heart, it doesn't speak particularly well for Chavez's program. He's a populist who is lucky enough to be sitting on a temporary gold mine. I suspect that:

1) He'll hang on to power for as long as he can, which could be a very long time.

2) He'll bring the wealthy down a lot more than he'll bring the poor up.

3) His adventures around the region will have little long term effect other than to waste Venezuela's wealth.

4) He will let oil wealth be a substitute for a strong diversified economy, which will do far more long term damage to Venezuela than anything he imagines the U.S. could do to his country.

But if you love him so much, why don't you enlist in one of his dignity battalions and show us all what a cool badass you are. Or do you think Max Cleland is a ***** too?

[DaShi]

How can you judge a man based only on what you think he will do?

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Odin


Hey, I'm trying to troll SLD, don't ruin it.

Oh sorry, I do give professional courtesy to trolls when I'm perceptive enough to notice it, which was not this time I'm afraid.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by DaShi
How can you judge a man based only on what you think he will do?

Eh? Predictions are not judgement.

[DaShi]

I never said they were. But they are used to describe the reasons for your opinion of him, are they not?

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Ramo

A dictatorship isn't the same thing as a problematic democratic process. And while Chavez is free to pretty much free to implement his (generally ****ty) policies, that's the result of what have been generally recognized as free elections. Not unlike Dear Leader's ability to implement his own idiotic agenda immediately after 9/11. A dictator is more than just some leader that you don't like.

Agreed. In Chavez's case there are a number of indicators that point to trouble in the future for Venezuela though. His (so far pretty successful) attempts to create a cult of personality are worrying, as are his attempts to blow on the embers of the cold war in order to shore up domestic and now regional support. Certainly the U.S. had no desire to get into a tiff with Venezuela, particularly so long after the cold war. I still think that we'd rather let nature take its course in regards to Chavez, but we may be forced to counter his attempts to paint us as the source of all that is wrong in Latin America while he attempts to undermine our interests and allies in the region, not to mention the effects that his policies (particularly if exported) would have on the regional economy and political culture.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by DaShi
I never said they were. But they are used to describe the reasons for your opinion of him, are they not?

I base my predictions on his actions thus far. He certainly has no strong belief in democracy considering the fact that he staged an unsuccessful military coup a decade ago. In order to shore up his domestic support he's purposefully courted a conflict with the most powerful state on the planet. That says to me that his need for power seems to be at odds with needs of his people for peace. His willingness to spend Venezuela's treasure on his foreign policy adventures again seems to indicate that he cares less about his own people than he does about his own power. The creation of a cult of personality is always troubling in a chief executive, particularly in a state with weak counterbalancing institutions.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by DRoseDARs
Cindy Sheehan, who was the guest of a Congressman, wore a simple t-shirt showing the current number (at the time it was printed) of dead US soldiers in Iraq. While inside the Capital, she offered no resistance, she never yelled or chanted anything. Her conduct was appropriate. Her removal was outrageous, not the t-shirt, which is a perfect example of her First Amendment right and its trampling.

According to what I've read she was informed that she wouldn't be allowed to wear the t-shirt in the capitol, and rather than abide by the dress-code she decided she'd rather be arrested. That may or may not be true, I'd like to see tape of the incident in order to get a clearer picture.

[PLATO]

I think Cindy Sheehan missed the boat. The House rules are very clear on any form of demonstration in the gallery. She would have gotten more mileage out of the 10 second shot of her while Bush was talking about Iraq.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by PLATO
I think Cindy Sheehan missed the boat. The House rules are very clear on any form of demonstration in the gallery. She would have gotten more mileage out of the 10 second shot of her while Bush was talking about Iraq.

That was the consensus here in lefty-land (Boulder, Colorado) as well.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Sikander


I base my predictions on his actions thus far. He certainly has no strong belief in democracy considering the fact that he staged an unsuccessful military coup a decade ago. In order to shore up his domestic support he's purposefully courted a conflict with the most powerful state on the planet. That says to me that his need for power seems to be at odds with needs of his people for peace. His willingness to spend Venezuela's treasure on his foreign policy adventures again seems to indicate that he cares less about his own people than he does about his own power. The creation of a cult of personality is always troubling in a chief executive, particularly in a state with weak counterbalancing institutions.

I'm surprised they let you out often enough to read the news.

[Gibsie]

Why do I get the impression that Sikander has only bothered looking into reasons to back up his dislike of Chavez after already arriving at the conclusion that he is a bad man based on what he's said about the US?

[Richelieu]

Originally posted by PLATO
I think Cindy Sheehan missed the boat.

I think Cindy Sheehan is the talk of the town. She got exactly what she wanted.

[Ming]

Originally posted by Richelieu
I think Cindy Sheehan is the talk of the town. She got exactly what she wanted.

Yep... the repugs played right into her hands.

They should have just ignored her, and this would have been a non story. Instead... morons.