It's official. Hugo Chavez is now a dictator.

Well, I haven't posted in awhile, but this has jolted me back into bloggerdom.

BBC, The Times

Venezuela's governmental assembly has granted President Hugo Chavez the power to rule by decree for the next eighteen months. What this means, in rough terms, is that for the next year and a half, the gigantic socialist weasel gets to do pretty much whatever he wants.

What he wants is to nationalize (read: steal the resources of) the oil and gas industries, rob those who have earned affluence in order to give it to those who have not, and remove term limits on the Presidency so that he can effectively remain in power indefinitely. Given that he was just handed nearly absolute power, I would not be surprised in the least if he decreed himself more time to rule by decree at the end of the 18 months.

To quote Revenge of the Sith: "So this is how democracy dies. To thunderous applause." Though it would be entirely accurate to say that, ironically enough, this is an example of democracy (as opposed to republicanism as in the government system, not the party) in action.