On May 27, 2007 Hugo Chavez the emerging communist dictator of Venezuela put another nail in the coffin of individual liberty by closing down Radio Caracas Television (RCTV); the most popular TV station in Venezuela and also the most vocal critic of Chavez.

There are a couple of lessons that we can learn in this tragic move to eliminat free speech. First and foremost is the fact that socialist do not like free speech. To a socialist, free speech is a tool for them to gain power. But once that power has been achieved, then they move to stifle any opposition to their programs. Instead, they fill the papers, radios, and televisions with images of happy peasants working for the greater good. This was true in the Soviet Union, and Cambodia. It is true today in Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, and China. Every where communisim has it's iron grip, the poplulation is treated to a deluge of propoganda telling them how happy they are and how wonderful their life is under the boot of their communist masters. It should also be remembered that under communism, it is not allowed to critisize the ruling elite. So if socialism a.k.a communisim is such a wonderful way of life, why do the communist governments feel like they have to prevent anyone from voicing dissatisfaction with their conditions? You would think that the wonderful communist society would produce so many happy contented people, that there were be very little to complain about. Why then have so many people been murdered by communist governments trying to silence their voices? Why did so many people die, while being hunted down by solders when they tried to escape the workers paradise of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe? The programming that Chavez setup to replace RCTV is exactly the same as the programming that the Soviets subjected their people to.

The second lesson is the language that was used to justify denying his people the freedom to express themselves. Chavez claimed that Venezuela needed more diversity in their television programming. Ironic, when you consider that the socialist idea of diversity is listening to their point of view and denying the views of everyone else. When you hear a socialist use words such as fairness and diversity, what they really mean is, “I will decide what you get, what you hear, and how you should think. Socialism is an oligarchic system.

The third lesson is how Chavez shut down the station. He did not storm the station like he did when taking over the facilities of the Orinico Oil Fields. This time he did it by denying to renew the stations broadcast license. When Chavez's government tried to justify their decision they used statements like

Venezuela's Information Minister Willian Lara when he said, “The broadcast spectrum is limited and therefore government-regulated.” and, “the fate of RCTV would be decided by popular survey “ How interesting that a popular survey would suggest that the most popular TV station should be shut down. One should never take a socialists statements as fact. They are too good at lying and manipulating popular opinion. Later when Chavez tried to justify his move he made statements such as, “The license applies only to over-the-air broadcasting. RCTV would not be prevented from sending its signal over cable or satellite, although its president has rejected that option.” How nice of Chavez to deny RCTV access to the majority of the Venezuelan populous but allow them to continue in a market that is extremely small and of little influence in Venezuela's politics. Chavez also defended his actions by saying that it was a legal move to democratize the airways. So to a socialists, democratizing the airways means to eliminate the oppositions voice. We should pay close attention to these words as the Democratic led Congress attempts to resurect the Fairness Doctrine to regulate bradcast media, and put them under more scrutiny by the FCC. A scrutiny that can lead a radio station to lose their licens unless they adhere to the Democrats so called Fairness Doctrine.

The fourth lesson that you need to know is that the Democratic party in America is the socialists party of America. The goals of the Democrats are the same as Hugo Chavez and the other oligarchs in the world wide socialist movement. The socialist voice in America is very strong, the self proclaimmed elite all support this view of suppressing any opposition to their agenda. A telling quote comes from Victor Navasky, a member of the Committee to Protect Journalists board and former editor of The Nation magazine. Mr. Navasky said, “"It is not censorship not to renew a channel's concession."

- Thomas Paine 2

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