Off to check on the nascent populist/socialist movement

Well, my next entry wil be coming live from South America. I will not only be sight seeing, but also checking the pulse of the new left leanings of a couple of governments. While Venezuela's Chavez has lots of oil money to back him up, the governments of Bolivia and Argentina have no such revenue source. Evo Morales will have to find some revenue sources besides coca prodcution to be able to be as succesful as Chavez. In Argentina, Nestor Kirschner has just paid off the IMF, but at what cost?

Perhaps a more friendly attitude from their Big Brother to the North will help economic development in Latin America. Instead of spending billions on eradicating drug trafficking, economic aid that will directly affect the peasant class that farms the coca leaves, would be better money spent. A little less military aid, and a lot more aid directly aimed at helping, as opposed to exploiting the people would be money better spent. The animosity felt towards th US in South America runs a close second to those feelings in the Muslim world. It is time for the US to brandish the carrot now as opposed to the stick. What happened to our image around the world? The Bushies have repeatedly alienated countries and peoples who would be valuable allies if we weren't such arrogant bullies.
Got to go - see you in Buenos Aires.

PS - Where is righty? Just one brief I told you so this week - as LT once said to Ken O'Brien after a vicious sack - " Son, you're gonna have to do better than that!"