June 22, 2007  ''Chávez's communist plans for the future do not include independent media and freedom of the press,'' stated U.S. Congressman Connie Mack [see formal statement here.]

Clearly one of the hardest working and most effective voices for the supporters of democracy and liberty across the Americas, Mack has matured in to the "Go To" member of the U.S. Congress for his consistent and appropriate encouragement of democracy lovers. And his untiring work seems to be paying off. This latest round of support to expand free media gained immediate bi-partisan support and is sustained as a stand alone effort, an extraordinary legislative move by U.S. House of Representatives' standards. This simple and clear support for free voices readily passed through the U.S. House of Representatives. We are hard pressed to recall such a swift and sure effort which held no rancor and none of the ugly debates so often surrounding U.S. foreign operations issues.
 
We believe that this progress against the shuttering of free minds is invaluable. Mack spoke openly on the floor of the Congress: “We must recognize the War on Terrorism is in our backyard. The gang of countries lining up with Chavez is powerful: Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and others together with the likes of Iran. We must recognize the serious threat to our national security."
 
While it would have been advantageous to hear these true words emanating from the pro Chavez cheering section comprised of Congressional agents such as Chris Dodd, William Delahunt, Levin, Lee, and Meeks, among others, there was no dissent on the Mack support for free speech, which is of course the cherished duty of all elected U.S. officials to uphold by the very oath of their office. See the MIAMI HERALD piece here.
 
In fact, right before the U.S. House massively supported the Mack legislation, on June 19, 2007 the U.S. House Democrats hosted one of the most ridiculously vapid and utterly useless hearings on helping the "Western Hemisphere" in many years. Not one tangible suggestion was seriously offered as the wise men gathered to applaud the vacuous. As a special promotional for Michael Shifter, lately of the Inter American Dialogue and Georgetown University - among other backers- and his numerous agents of special funding, Shifter holds a unique position in U.S. politics, being both encouraged by the OAS, US AID and the pro Chavez elements wafting across the many Soros backed non governmental activists. To be sure, this should encourage Shifter's backers to disclose their funding stream but the main stream media seems obtusely enlightened by Shifter's application of their common enjoyment of such non sequesters as eschewed by Shifter to embrace their own anti Americanism, peculiar to many inside the U.S. government.
 
Shifter, under oath, informed us all that free trade support from the USA for Latin American nations is irrelevant, "too minor and peripheral" to alter the, as Shifter calls it, strained relationship with South American countries. We disagree. While we confess that trade alone is no panacea or curative for any problem zone, without open normative trade relations, employment sinks to pathos and vibrant economies of scale collapse against the onslaught of underpriced goods from China and India. Shifter further tells us that to begin to solve Latin America's hatred toward the USA that Bush must close Guantanamo Bay detention center for global terrorists unaligned with normal statehood. And without so much as a by your leave, Shifter informs that "South American governments should be viewed as partners." Here too it is easy upon hindsight to disagree with Shifter inasmuch as it is tragically easy to disagree from a distance which is unfair to Shifter. But it is quite fair to disagree on this point because nowhere- not once- has the government of the USA not ceased trying to embrace as full partners all Latin nations.

What Shifter, in his unending plethora of hate Bush rants fails to notice is that it is grossly objectionable to intermarry with some of the worst scum on earth currently populating many branches of Latin American landscapes. Random free love may serve some talking heads with an eye toward Bath House morals but there is no cause to embrace or "partner" randomly with disease spreading criminal elements who seek to abuse the structures of democracy.
 
Not one valid suggestion radiated from the Shifter showcase and promotional hearings of June 19, 2007 to address the honest underpinnings of the Mack statement, " We must recognize the War on Terrorism is in our backyard. The gang of countries lining up with Chavez is powerful: Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and others together with the likes of Iran. We must recognize the serious threat to our national security."
 
Freedom lovers are drawn like a moth to a flame toward those who are of like minds. Recently, the Inter American Dialogue has hosted Ecuador's Minister Espinosa and Mauricio Davallos who actively misled all in attendance even as the government of Ecuador, in lock step with their Hugo Chavez minders, shutters more and more freedoms. Freedom lovers from Latin America embrace freedom loving actors while mavens of propaganda embrace fellow travelers.
 
What Ministra Espinosa and the embraceable Hugo Chavez economics and propaganda team shamefully foisted upon the willingly complicit loons in Ecuador was a scheme to defraud U.S. companies, most notably Occidental- commencing over a year ago with the same harm causing actors at bay. The matter is before the World Bank arbitral courts under the CIADI system, enshrined under the BIT treaties. Rafael Correa has stubbornly repeated his public claim that he will never ever follow through on the preexisting right to arbitral claims and indeed, would not pay one penny if the court panel deemed remuneration of the around $5 billion in losses caused to the aggrieved U.S. oil company. Comes today Ministra Espinosa to inform Ecuador that indeed, Ecuador will honor its obligations to the World Bank CIADI system, thus preventing Ecuador from being black listed from every global institution, causing a sure and swift collapse of the entire national system because of the Correa-backed policies. See  EL UNIVERSO  here.  

Even Hugo Chavez deemed this a money loss he can ill afford and no doubt cannot ante up to fund the additional $10 billion or so needed each year to prop up the profoundly errant Correa regime. You see, with an annual budget of about $10 billion a year, with Ecuador's non performing oil sector bringing in less than half of the country's funding needs, Correa's cash assets are almost halved. With his decision to refuse to refund Occidental the almost five billion it owes them, Correa would cause Ecuador to loose one half of its national budget income which stems directly from free trade with the North American nations. Thus, five billion dollars a year for an eternity would be lost  from trade revenues to Ecuador under their foolish plan to continue their self professed love of burglary, theft and termination of due process. This is Correa's decision alone. We believe it is far better to reinstate the assets stolen from a U.S. company and retain the capacity for Ecuadoreans to work their jobs and help grow Ecuador. Basic math tells us that a one time payment in restitution of $5 billion or so is worth it. A loss of $5 billion in revenues in four years is $20 billion. You do the math.
 
Has Correa finally come to his senses? We can hope so. It is not a moment too soon. And if so, we will all celebrate and applaud. It did not ever need to come to this but incompetence and a daring do to elevate the absurd Chavez agenda has caused the ever complicit Ecuadoreans to face their own firing squad  of inanities and half truths based on half baked schemes, sometimes called "majestic behaviors" by the foolish Correa.  But by now, Correa and his many pro Chavez activists have so muddied the waters globally that they are well known as undependable liars who glowingly debase normal semblances of behaviors. We cannot know what the fruits of what is done here and now will become. What we do know is that an infestation of foolishness has been underway for far too long and this has cost an enormous loss to the people of Ecuador.
 
Adding to the dubiousness of the self professed Correa embrace of the global norms for arbitral settlements, comes Ministra Espinosa to also inform of her "new" plans for Ecuador's productive exporters, also called just about the only jobs worth having in Ecuador outside the extremely lucrative and utterly useless government backed unionists. Espinosa remarkably tells us that Ecuador can now sell its roses and shrimp and tourist gee gaws to... Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. We remind that Iran's mullahs are not known for buying roses for their beloveds on Saint Valentine's Day, the operative word being "Saint" and of course the always appropriate free market system applied by any saint.
 

In the meantime, LA HORA runs this too true cartoon of regular citizens fleeing Correa's goon squads, who seize with impunity and absolutely no due process any who wave or guffaw at Correa's self proclaimed "majesty." We pray to all the saints, we remind that this act itself is forbidden under Ahmadinejad who is Correa's new partner, that Correa does not imprison LA HORA too.