A NORTH AMERICAN UNION

I am sure everyone knows about the hypothetical union between the US, Mexico, and Canada. The union would be something similar to the EU and would yield a universal currency known as the Amero. This is something of a hot button issue that has had conspiracy theorists and anti- Bush individuals alike up in arms for a long time. Since the North American Union is hypothetical let's for a second look at what could be.

 The currency union happens and suddenly the peso is no longer worthless. The currency union happens and suddenly the US dollar is no more. I also imagine the implications of citizenship for Canadians and Mexicans alike. Mexicans would no longer face immigration issues because making a move would no longer be a life or death issue.  Those are all the pros, but what about the cons?

The cons are that I think given tensions over immigration and the enormous amount of ignorance in some portions of the US, it would create a major amount of discomfort. I think the reason why a North American Union would not work as effectively is simply because Mexico, the US, and Canada are three enormous countries with highly differing views on multiple issues. Ultimately the fact that so many people view power as something of a mysterious issue that is only understood by those that wield it, it would mean great civil unrest among three major nations.

I doubt that the North American Union will ever exist because honestly the geographical way of thinking is entirely too different in this part of the world. Still it's interesting to dig deeper into the concept and look at legitimately possible scenarios.

HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELA'S CHAVO

At the risk of pissing off a lot of Hugo Chavez fans given his death I will take this opportunity to pay my respects to a person I did not care for ever at any point. Hugo Chavez is dead, may he rest in some sort of peace and may he abstain from pissing off the celestials like he did everyone else. Out of all Venezuelan Presidents it seems like Chavez was both the most confrontational, and the kindest in a backward ass way. I mean to say kind in the sense that he obviously wanted the poor majority in Venezuela to think that he was a soft teddy bear.

I did not really read up on Chavez or his policies too often but the fact of the matter is that Chavez was a politician just like anyone else in a position of power. Chavez knew that he needed to cater to an oppressed and impoverished majority that was being somewhat held down by an outdated classes system, an oligarchy. In appearance Chavez was the guy that was willing to take on people like Bush, and Mexican President Vicente Fox.

I will never forget Chavez declaring George W. Bush a crazy drug addict in a UN speech and threatening to take a chunk from Vicente Fox in a televised address. The bottom line is that Chavez was another power hungry individual that had to die in order to give up his power. In a way Chavez went the same way he came, with a massive impact. Through his Presidency Chavez implemented constitutional reform and his ideas were influenced by an anti imperialist agenda, a participatory democracy, self sufficiency, and zero corruption. What influenced Chavez was Bolivarianism.

The idea of no corruption and taking socialism an bring it forward is great. The only problem with trying to implement socialism in its true form is that socialism is an almost perfect mixture of government control and democracy that is not designed to withstand corruption, in fact it invites it. One thing that always impressed me about the Chavez was the fact that he caught the imagination of the "revolutionary" majority.

I saw a massive influx of Venezuelans with means leave their country in scorn. On the flip side of the equation I saw a huge number of impoverished Venezuelans really take to Chavez. In some ways Chavez was a new and improved version of Fidel Castro in that he maintained some progress while putting boots to asses. Now that Chavez is dead there will be no more threats of cage fighting, and ass kicking anywhere, at least for now.

El Chavez has left the building so let's all continue to live life as if the last 14 years had never taken place.