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<div class="articleTitle">Barack Obama: As Bad as Bush</div>
by Mike Whitney
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<p align="justify">His enemies call him a tyrant and a dictator,
but he is neither. Hugo Chavez is a tireless champion of the
poor and a committed Christian socialist. The only difference
between Chavez's type of Christianity and Barack Obama's, is
that Chavez walks the walk. </p>
<p align="justify">For example, on Tuesday, Chavez used his powers
under the new "enabling laws" to enact the "Law for Dignified
Refuge" a presidential decree that mandates "dignified and
humane" housing for all Venezuelans. The Venezuelan parliament
approved the controversial (and temporary) enabling laws because
the country faced an unprecedented housing crisis due to the
massive floods in December. </p>
<p align="justify">More than 125,000 people lost their homes in
the disaster requiring a speedy response from the government.
Chavez swung into action immediately turning the presidential
palace into a homeless shelter and initiating a campaign to
construct permanent housing for the victims. Now he has pushed
through landmark legislation that will legally require the
government to help the homeless. </p>
<p align="justify">Contrast Chavez's response to Obama's during
the BP oil spill, where BP was allowed to wreak havoc on the
environment and destroy people's livelihood without any
consequences. In fact, Obama even provided cover for the oil
giant by appearing in public relations "I feel your pain"
photo-ops on a beach in Louisiana that were intended to divert
public rage away from BP. So, now the fishing and shrimping
industries are devastated, sensitive estuaries and ecosystems
have been destroyed, the level of toxins in the bloodstreams of
people living in the region have skyrocketed and--worst of
all--BP has gotten off Scot-free. Thanks, Barack. </p>
<p align="justify">Now imagine what would have happened if Chavez
had been in charge. BP's stateside operations would have been
shut down, their assets would have been seized, and Tony Hayward
and his buddies would have been thrown in the hoosegow. Got a
problem with that? </p>
<p align="justify">Last week, while Obama was singing the praises
of "deregulation" on the editorial pages of the Wall Street
Journal (".. the rules have gotten out of balance, placing
unreasonable burdens on business—burdens that have stifled
innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs.")
and first lady, Michelle Obama was hawking "healthy foods" for
food behemoth Walmart in the national media, Chavez was busy
transforming shelters into “institutions of the state” to make
sure that people had a place to stay while they get back on
their feet again. </p>
<p align="justify">The new law stipulates that these people be
provided with food and medical assistance (Venezuela has
universal health care) as well as "scholarships, pensions and
special allotments of resources" depending on their needs. </p>
<p align="justify">The new state facilities that are being set up
by Chavez will focus primarily on "the most vulnerable
population; the children, adolescents, seniors, people with
disabilities, and pregnant women.” </p>
<p align="justify">“It’s not a question of the government wanting
to do this or not,” said Chavez. “It is now a legal obligation.”
(venezuelanalysis.com) </p>
<p align="justify">Right on. And how has Washington reacted to
Chavez's emergency programs and new laws? Here's an excerpt from
a recent article by ex-pat Eva Golinger that sums it up pretty
well: </p>
<p align="justify">"This week, (Venezuelan) opposition leaders
will meet with their counterparts in Washington. They have
already said their mission is to seek more aid to help remove
President Chavez from power. Unfortunately, their undemocratic
actions have already been welcomed in the US Capitol.
Representative Connie Mack (R-FL), now head of the House
Sub-Committte on Foreign Relations for the Western Hemisphere,
announced on the first day of Congress that his one goal this
year is to place Venezuela on the list of "state sponsors of
terrorism". And Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), now
head of the House Foreign Relations Committee, has backed that
objective, even going as far as to publicly state she would
welcome the "assassination of Fidel Castro or any other
repressive leader" such as Hugo Chavez." ("Setting the Record
Straight on Venezuela and Hugo Chavez", Eva Golinger, Global
Research) </p>
<p align="justify">Surprised? Don't be. Any foreign leader who
attempts to control his country's resources, improve human
rights, or distribute the nation's wealth more equally among its
people, is the de facto enemy of the United States. People
thought that things might change under Obama, but they were
wrong. He's as bad as Bush.<br>
</p>
<p align="justify"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=22917">http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=22917</a><br>
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