Free Republic

You are idiots. There was an election, you lost. That Hillary got more popular vote is irrelevant: it is a federal country, a union of 50 countries and thus the will of a majority of former independent countries is a must, like it or not. This is the reason of the electoral college and trust me, in a presidential system like the US you need all what you can to make it harder the election of a president and control him/her/: Instead of rioting in the streets think about what else could you have done to get more votes for...

Sometimes, even the old media can see the obvious.  This picture is from a recent article in the Atlantic. From theatlantic.com: The headline and subtext from the article using the picture above is this: How Much Longer Can Venezuela Go on Like This? Large numbers of citizens want to oust President Nicolas Maduro. But he commands the loyalty of many men with guns. The fact the Venezuela has become another socialist distopian nightmare is obvious to any who care to look. Even a far-left writer from the Washington post can see it. It is hilarious how he admits that...

To paraphrase noted economic expert Obi-Wan Kenobi, many of the truths we cling to about currencies really do depend greatly on our own point-of-view. Take Venezuela. The good news is that, if you look at it over a long enough timeline, its currency hasn't changed much the past month. The bad news, though, is that's because it's gone from being almost worthless to almost entirely worthless. And the worse news is that it's actually lost over a third of its value during this stretch.

As Venezuelans struggle with widespread shortages in everything from basic food stuffs to toilet paper, the socialist nation’s defense minister announced on Wednesday that the military will take control of the distribution of "all medical and surgical supplies managed in all hospitals." Venezuelan Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino López said during an address broadcast on state-owned Venezolana de Televisión that the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela will take control of the medical supply sector "to guarantee that these medicines and supplies get to the patient efficiently and are neatly distributed and assigned."

Venezuela's opposition-led parliament has delayed the symbolic trial of President Nicolas Maduro, which was due to take place on Tuesday. The speaker of the National Assembly said the decision was aimed at easing the country's political crisis. An opposition march on the presidential palace planned for Thursday has also been postponed. President Maduro is accused of violating the constitution but claims MP's are attempting a "coup". The decision to delay the trial follows Vatican-sponsored talks between the two sides, and the release from prison of three anti-government activists......

Some Venezuelan city dwellers are trying to grow their own produce to offset the country’s severe shortages following socialist President Nicolás Maduro’s calls for “food sovereignty.” But in a country where families are going hungry as a result of government mismanagement and sky-high inflation, many view the “Great Agro-Venezuela Mission” with skepticism.

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I'm sure it wasn't the intention of the liberal Atlantic magazine but they published an article that provided an excellent reason for why the Second Amendment is so important. The article itself was about the turmoil in Venezuela. However, the story revealed the reason why the highly dissatisfied citizenry of that troubled nation are unable to remove their highly unpopular government: they lack ownership of guns and it is the government and their goons that have them. The article was authored by associate editor Siddhartha Mahanta and the subtitle reveals the bottom line of why the folks in Venezuela are...

Article starts about half way down the page: Speaking of poor policymaking, hyperinflation and violence—Venezuela is sliding closer and closer to the brink of collapse, with some sobering consequences. This was among the topics of conversation this week at the Mining & Investment Latin America Summit in Lima, Peru. While there, I had dinner with a couple of Canadian lawyers who represented a few Latin American oil producers, some of them based in Venezuela. Things have gone from bad to worse, they informed me. Since 2013, when Nicolás Maduro took power after the death of Hugo Chávez, the socialist country...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cks4OBHGG5U

Venezuela’s embattled socialist government is steadily moving the country toward the abyss, and the escalating crisis is taking on increasingly ominous tones. Venezuelans are caught in a fast-spinning economic spiral that has already devastated living standards and created a large-scale humanitarian crisis. But as Venezuelans take to the streets, so far the government has responded with measures that exacerbate tensions and make a peaceful political solution increasingly difficult. President Nicolas Maduro, the heir to the late President Hugo Chavez, was elected by popular vote in 2013. But the Venezuelan system of government can no longer be called a democracy. The...

Venezuela’s government, slammed by hyperinflation has finally thrown in the towel, and is planning to issue new bills in December with larger denominations—up to 200 times higher than the current biggest bill, according to people familiar with the plans. The move marks an implicit acknowledgment by the government that skyrocketing prices have slashed the value of the currency The new coins and notes will go up to 20,000 bolivars, according to people close to the central bank, the finance ministry, the country’s banks and bill suppliers. This would make the biggest note worth $15 on the black market. And since...

Following the government’s decision to dismiss a constitutional recall petition to remove Nicolás Maduro as president, Venezuela’s anti-socialist opposition staged massive nationwide protests on Wednesday. Maduro’s government, despite just having agreed to “talks,” responded with widespread violence against peaceful protesters. The “Venezuela Takeover” (“Toma de Venezuela”), as the opposition dubbed the protests, began Wednesday morning throughout the nation’s largest cities, from western San Cristóbal to the capital, Caracas. Police used tear gas, shot at crowds, and surveillance video revealed severe beatings of protesters caught away from the crowds.

Check this OUT.... WOMEN FIGHTING THE REGIME IN VENEZUELA. https://twitter.com/luzdarydepablos/status/791356302995910656

As President Nicolás Maduro flew to Rome for a hastily arranged meeting with Pope Francis, representatives of Venezuela’s government and a leader of the opposition agreed on Monday to allow the Vatican to mediate a dialogue intended to solve the country’s political crisis. The accord appeared to mark a pause in Venezuela’s escalating tension, which intensified last week when the country’s electoral council suspended the opposition’s drive for a referendum to recall Mr. Maduro. This is the first time that the Vatican has succeeded in bringing representatives of the two sides together since it began attempts to intercede in May.

Two world leaders who are among Washington’s most outspoken critics met in Tehran at the weekend and discussed whether the United States is unbeatable. Also on their minds — the two candidates running for the White House. “Some people think that America is invincible, while this notion is a big error,” Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “Frequent mistakes made by Americans during the past 15 years have caused them to seriously run aground in the region and be hopeless now,” he added. “Steadfastness and rational resistance combined with foresight in the face of pressures...

Venezuela’s Congress on Sunday declared that the government had staged a coup by blocking a drive to recall President Nicolas Maduro in a raucous legislative session that was interrupted when his supporters stormed the chamber. Opposition lawmakers vowed to put Maduro on trial after a court friendly to his socialist administration on Thursday suspended their campaign to collect signatures to hold a referendum on removing the deeply-unpopular president. Lawmaker Julio Borges said the opposition-led congress is now in open rebellion after a majority of its members voted that the decision constituted a coup with government participation. …

The Venezuelan opposition's campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro has been thrown into disarray with elections officials' decision to suspend a recall drive against the socialist leader a week before it was to start. In a related move, a court appeared to issue a ruling Friday blocking key opposition leaders from leaving the country. With the latest actions, the government has effectively halted the effort to stage a recall effort that polls suggest Maduro would have lost by a wide margin. The ruling is particularly dramatic because it comes just days before critics of the socialist administration were to start...

Juan Carlos Herrera is beyond devastated. He says his 25-year-old-son, jailed in 2015 for robbery, was beaten, dismembered and eaten by fellow inmates at the Táchira Detention Center. The shocking claim became public on Oct. 10, when Herrera told the local media he made the gruesome discovery during a regular prison visit. He explained the alleged atrocity occurred during a month-long mutiny that had ended three days earlier. “One of those who were with him when he was murdered saw everything that happened,” Herrera told reporters. “My son and two others were taken by 40 people, stabbed, hanged to bleed,...

Pardess Mitchell is watching her community crumble. She and her husband have lived in Lake County for 16 years. They pay more in property taxes than they do on their mortgage. The tax bill is $15,000 a year on a house they bought for $227,000 in 2013. “They’re taxing us out of the neighborhood. They’re pushing us out. They’re pushing us out of our homes and communities,” she said. “If it continues this way we’ll have to leave.” A Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll released Oct. 10 revealed nearly half of registered Illinois voters said they would leave the...