Venezuelans took to the polls this weekend, voting on a proposal that would create a constitutional assembly likely to grant President Nicolas Maduro’s ruling socialist party virtually unlimited powers. The actual number of citizens who voted is in doubt. The outcome is not.
To the point where the U.S. is looking to impose additional sanctions on the South American country today. Like that’s going to stop anything. The sanctions will, in fact, amplify the atmosphere of crisis and chaos which feeds any authoritarian regime.
Anyway, the news reports detailing Venezuela’s descent into chaos and dictatorship singularly fail to mention the run-up to this political debacle. Specifically, the Venezuelan government’s civilian disarmament program, which denied its citizens the right to defend their liberty in extremis.
Correlation doesn’t equal causation. Disarmament doesn’t create murderous dictatorships. But it sure as hell enables it.
Venezuela is proving to be yet another historical example of why all free people must resist gun control in all its forms, lest they lose everything they hold dear, including their very lives. In case you didn’t know.
“But it could never happen here!”
Said millions down through history.
Said Obama voters and a (R) house and senate.
So you live in an Obama dictatorship now?
In your head, I guess.
Not for lack of trying on his part.
By your logic, since Hitler failed to take over Europe, he was never a very big deal.
History is replete with conspiracy theories and the cemetaries are full of people who did not believe in them.” – Cliff Heseltine
It’s also full of people who did of natural causes though.
“It can never happen here!” Liberals always say.
To which I must respond, “Open a damn history book. It already did.”
Executive Order 9066, signed in 1941 by FDR incarcerated Japanese Americans in concentration camps in blatant defiance of their 4th Amendment Constitutional rights.
Before that, and the only way they could get away with it, was to strip them of their SECOND Amendment rights.
Can’t happen here? HA! It already did.
Cuba is running Venezuela and has its eye on the oil. Havana is enabling Maduro and keeping the military in line.
At some point we’ll be involved whether we like it or not.
This is what happens when citizens choose socialism. The U.S. has been on this path since the 1930’s. We will get there unless the general government implodes first. All empires fall, the U.S.’s will too someday.
Wait, did anyone actually expect a different outcome with this weekend’s vote? There is no way the socialist government would have allowed a fair election where the population would have been able to cast enough votes to overrule the government ‘of the people’.
I wonder how many people protesting in the streets today, and suffering violent reprisals from the state militia, cheered when Hugo Chavez ordered all the guns turned in? How many of the dead protestors in the morgues of Caracas celebrated an ‘end to gun violences’ a decade ago?
I know, I’m being extra mean today but between sh!t like this and the Antifa everywhere ‘ruined my groove’ and ‘harshed my buzz’ today.
http://dailycaller.com/2017/07/31/armed-antifa-group-offers-training-manual-on-terrorism-and-guerrilla-warfare/
A large percentage of the “opposition ” supported Uncle Hugo. Poverty changes everything.
Bueno senor…it seems our Spanish neighbors don’t fight too hard when being oppressed. 500years of indoctrination is a be-otch. We couldn’t even overthrow Castro let alone Venezuela. I’ll keep my guns…
We don’t have to worry about nunclear strikes from the Soviet Union if we flatten large portions of Venezuela.
Sanctions did not workwell on Cuba and North Korea. We might have to help the Colombians fight Venezuela soon
Or Iran for that matter.
Sanctions don’t work on dictatorships (or most authoritarian governments) simply because those governments don’t care about the people they govern. They derive neither their power nor their livelihoods from them. By the time there’s nothing left to plunder, they will be dead, so they simply don’t care.
Because interfering in some other country politics has worked out so well for us? See Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, Libya, etc. I see no reason to rescue(?) any more countries from themselves.
Your comment seems directed to me.
I’m not sure why, because I didn’t suggest that we rescue anyone, I just pointed out that sanctions don’t work well on dictatorships,and why I thought so.
Wait a minute… you mean the libtards socialist utopia was anything but and now that it has completely degenerated into a dictatorship they’re surprised?
Well, who would’ve thunk it. And here I was wondering why libtards had stopped using Venezuela as a stick to hit people the past 8 months and gone vewy vewy quiet about ol’ uncle Maduro. Could it be because they finally realized shit-got-real in the land of Bolivar and libtards are, again, caught in their own web of bullshit and lies and don’t have their next excuse/lie ready? Huh… Curiouser and curiouser!
/sarc
I hear they are a model for national healthcare
“Venezuela Set to (Officially) Become a Dictatorship: This is What Happens” in a ‘socialist paradise’.
No, it isn’t likely. It is certain. The only people on the ballot were those hand-picked by Maduro and his party’s senior officials.
As ugly as things are in Venezuela right now, they’re going to get uglier before Maduro and his cabal hang from lamp posts.
When you see tyrants seizing private property i.e. Oil Company assets and the nationalization of industry (Sort of like what Congresswoman Maxine Waters has uttered she would like to do in congress to Exxon Mobil chief executives) the end is not too far away. Socialists are thugs who have no clue how to run a business much less a country. So after they tax you to excess and see that ITS NOT ENOUGH, they just violate your property rights and take what they want and KILL you if you stand in their way. Mao killed 75 million in China, Stalin killed over 20 million of which he killed over 2 million in the Ukraine by STARVING THEM TO DEATH – just to send a message. Hitler killed 12 million Jews, gypsies and Christians for not going along with his master plan. So anyone want to start a betting pool to predict how many this tool of Cuba will kill before its over? I am thinking 10-25% of the Venezuelan population will perish by violence at the hands of socialist leadership or by starvation before its over. And it didn’t have to be this way. If they ONLY had the 2nd amendment to their Constitution.
They got a new constitution when Chavez came to power. Maduro will likely get a new constitution as well. Likely to be full of “positive” rights with none of the “negative” rights like in the US, and just like the Obama fantasy of “positive” rights they will mean nothing because that is what government promises are generally worth. Do you think there would ever have been anything like a 2nd Amendment in either of them? At some point anyone looking to protect themselves should look to themselves instead of any sanction from their government.
Nationalization of private companies (like oil companies) has little to do with socialism.
Communist governments, OTOH, really like nationalization.
While to the man on the street, there’s little difference, it helps to understand what’s happening in, say, Venezuela. A communist dictatorship is in the offing there, though it started as a socialist exercise. The government will (or at least might) eventually realize that a government can’t live on itself; it needs a populace with at least some form of productivity to exist for very long. That’s why most communistic countries eventually allow limited capitalism. Without it, even the almighty government soon finds there’s no food to eat in the palace.
LOL.
People are either free because they want to be or they are slaves because they want to be. Having a piece of paper that says you can or can’t do something is worthless if either one of the parties is apt to violate it.
The problem is that most people want to be slaves, they don’t want to be free.
Our country is going down this road. And when the first confiscation orders come down the pipe don’t look for any armed resistance…just look for “law abiding citizens” to dutifully follow the letter of the “law” and hand ’em all in.
What’s truly fascinating is that Maduro, like so many other failing dictators, really & truly believes this is all going to ‘work out’ somehow. Somewhere, there is piano wire with his name on it, just waiting for his neck. He’s dead meat & everyone knows it. That sad part is that a lot more innocent people are going to die before he does.
The only thing I haven’t decided about Maduro is whether he actually believes the socialist bullshit or is just another Latin American dictator oppressing the common people for the benefit of himself, his family and his friends.
Does it matter? Either way, millions of people end up dead.
Coming soon to a California near you!
Hopefully someone throws Maduro out of a helicopter sooner rather than later.
Relax, dudes. It’s just the Latin world being Latin. You know, like Mexico or California.
Wait. That was repetitive.
In most of Latin America you have a choice of political parties between Ultra-Left and Extreme-Left. The idiot public thinks the problem is the particular person heading the party rather than the system.
Except for those brief periods when someone with sense comes to power and starts throwing commies out of helicopters or loading them up on cargo planes and dumping them over the ocean.
“atmosphere of crisis and chaos which feeds any authoritarian regime.”
You don’t say?
I lol’ed.
Oh please. Only in a liberal’s sick, borderline personality mind is Trump a dictator. To even begin to be a tyrant he would have to have both houses of congress on board (he doesn’t have either) and the press on his side (he most certainly does not). Even his own staff is working against him for Pete’s sake. If you really thought he was a Hitler in the making you should send donations to McConnell and Ryan LOL. Go be stupid somewhere else.
“Venezuela Set to (Officially) Become a Dictatorship: This is What Happens to a Disarmed Populace”
So it would seem that this implies if we, the US, were to drop a few million rifles and supporting ammo throughout the country, then the populace would be willing and able to resolve the situation. I’m game. Might be a good idea for NK as well. Add a simple note with each box of ammo: If you don’t take care of this, we will.
I am willing to bet that there are some young men manning a barricade down there right now that would welcome them.
It’s now legal. Just like in 1930’s Germany.
A purge of opposition members is underway from the top down, starting with Mr. Lopez and former Caracas mayor Ledezma. They have been ‘disappeared’ in front of their families.
http://www.theamericansurvivalguide.com/smforum/index.php?topic=10764.msg54924#msg54924
This is my shocked face. This is also the reason why I am a huge proponent for free helicopter rides for all socialists and communists.
“I wrote a song about chile, its called “they dissapeared for a reason”
“This is my shocked face.’
Heh. +1
Enjoyable to be sure, but the more humane way would be deporting them to Europe. Or China. That way they can ruin our competitors.
We already hit them with sanctions.. except we called it “fracking”. Funny how private-sector American ingenuity and deflationary tech ravaged our enemies (Russia, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, several African dictators) worse than any official sanction.
Venezuela used to have a vibrant sport shooting community, particularly shotgun sports and IPSC. They produced both male and female world champions from time to time, a remarkable record for such a small country, and done without government support.
Chavez killed sport shooting there with one of his first edicts.
Fighting in Venezuela could be interesting. Not a big fan of jungle but it’s a change of pace from Afghan mountains
“Dellow felegates, in response to this direct threat to the republic, meesa propose that the senate give immediately emergency powers to the supreme chancellor.”
I hate that I instantly got this reference.
Yousa thinkin’ yousa people gonna die?!?
Saying that civilian disarmament doesn’t lead to dictatorships is like saying that smoking doesn’t cause lung cancer.
The second you take the guns, the government becomes at best a benevolent dictatorship. They are NO LONGER obligated to respect the wishes of the people, and it is only a matter of time before absolute power corrupts them.
“To the point where the U.S. is looking to impose additional sanctions on the South American country today. Like that’s going to stop anything.”
That’s not really the point. The point is not aiding and abetting a criminal regime. Maybe we shouldn’t step in and stop Maduro, but at least we shouldn’t help him.
Becomes a dictatorship? What happened to the talking point that Venezuela has been a dictatorship for years under Chavez? You can’t become something you supposedly already are. And nobody here questions that this opposition could be US funded as has so often happened in the past with US policy in South America? Don’t assume the US has a problem human rights abuses and dictatorships. They supported Pinochet and the Saudis for years. It is more so a matter of whether or not said dictator is aligned with US policy aims through subjugation of their country for US benefit. I say this as someone who is further to the right than any mainstream “conservative”.
And yet you’re buying into leftist propaganda hook line and sinker. Pinochet did nothing wrong. He was just defending his nation against communist terrorists.
Pinochet didn’t do anything wrong!? I guess he wasn’t a dictator either eh? I guess political opponents didn’t really wind up dead and missing in the thousands? How about the support for leftist Manuel Noriega? He was supported until the US turned and replaced him (ala the US replacement of the South Vietnamese president during ‘nam”. How about Stroessner of Paraguay ? How about the military dictatorships in Honduras? And the Saudis?? How about Batista of Cuba? And of course the support of Saddam. The left can go fuck all for all I care. How dare me call out our neocon interventionist govt! Finally you missed the point. If Venezuela was a dictatorship as reported by the media all throught the Bush years, how can it just now become a dictatorship under Maduro? I don’t support the leftists, but I do support the rights of self determination by all peoples without foreign influence.
Perhaps you should adapt some critical thinking skills in regards to US foreign policy. We have a long and well documented history of meddling and sowing revolution in other nations.
I happen to be a fan of Roman Republic style dictatorship as a method to keep the worst excesses of mob rule in check. But then again, you seem to miss the point. When it comes to destroying communism, the end justifies any means imaginable.
Makhno did nothing wrong.
Yeah… tell that to the millions of starving people wanting to string him up with piano wire.
One of Obama’s heroes. Liberals love him almost as much as another one of Obama’s heroes Hugo Chavez. Socialism is the liberal way which is just one notch below fascism and communism. The Nazi salute says it all.
hey, so while you’re moderating my comments can you glance over at ones calling for murdering socialists?
I mean I’m an actual communist irl, so I understand you want me dead, but puny centrist socialists? helicopter rides? are you kidding me?
I’m assuming you’re all going to be opting out of medicare on principle, right? Gonna pay for those diapers, dentures and deathbeds with a crate of Mosins, gold bullion, and bitcoins. I salute your sacrifice for the greater good, ya’ll
Only if I can also opt out of paying the massive deduction to my paycheck that goes to pay for Medicare and social security. (I could use a few dozen grand extra at the end of every year.) So how about we deal? You get out of my pocket and return all the money you stole from me to pay for other people’s shit and I will sign away social security and Medicare? (The hilarious part is that it is mathematically impossible for me to get out of it what I will have paid into it.)
Oh, and you might want to not advertise the fact that you’re a communist. Doing so in front of the descendant of a holodomor survivor is not a recipie for a long and healthy life. It’s about as smart as showing up to a JDL rally in a totenkomf uniform and reading your favorite Mein Kamph quotes through a megaphone.
There’s a reason I don’t capitalize that c, homeboy. The real communists were stateless. And if you really care about your Ukranian heritage then you should be learning about the history of the free territory, instead of posting about some naked ass Japanese cartoons over on fanfiction.net.
BTW, would you recommend Ranma 1/2? I heard it’s about a trans gendered martial artist, I think that’s pretty cool, thoughts?
Yeah… you’re addorable. You support an ideology responsible for the deaths of a quarter billion people and expect people not to beat the shit out of you on sight. The hilarious part is that you think a “no true Scotsman” is a defense for supporting genocide.
Only thing you’re going to be beating is your meat to some Pikachus, player.
Where you stay at? Make one post without reciting a meme.
The guy in the picture is doing a nice hitler style salute complete with armband.
“Correlation doesn’t equal causation.”
I wish people would stop using this so much. Statistics, facts, common sense and truth may help change political policy but those aren’t the battles we POTG are loosing ground on. Most of the policy made in todays world revolves around the FEELZ of the triggered coupled with pandering for votes. I HATE HATE HATE to constantly see the POTG playing fair while the other side plays dirty at every turn. Public opinion is just as, if not MORE important today than empirical data or evidence when it comes to keeping or extending our freedoms.
The phrase “Correlation doesn’t equal causation.” instantly invalidates all else that follows to the dullards and Sheeple of the world. Stop making things easy and make them WORK to refute what is said.
Taking away a peoples right to defend themselves DOES increase crime, the evidence is overwhelming.
Taking away a peoples right to defend themselves DOES create an atmosphere where a dictatorship is possible/likely.
Strict gun control laws DO increase the death toll.
In the face of overwhelming evidence correlation itself SHOULD be enough to force lawmakers to side with the POTG.