Sewers of Babel : braineel

Previously I commented on CNN's coverage of Chavez's speech. I was further saddened by Lou Dobbs' adding himself to the dissmissive diatribe against the statements of Chavez concerning imperialism and devil-like qualities of the W. Here is Chavez:

I'm quoting [George W. Bush], "Anywhere you look, you hear extremists telling you can escape from poverty and recover your dignity through violence, terror and martyrdom." Wherever he looks, he sees extremists. And you, my brother—he looks at your color, and he says, oh, there's an extremist. Evo Morales, the worthy president of Bolivia, looks like an extremist to him. The imperialists see extremists everywhere. It's not that we are extremists. It's that the world is waking up. It's waking up all over. And people are standing up.

What Chaves said in relation to Bush at the U.N. General Assembly strikes me as a moment of audacity that should be investigated and not dismissed out of hand. It is not as if Hugo Chavez does not have the power and capacity to effect the lives of the average U.S. citezen. A renegade president who dismisses the U.N. and undermines it at every turn would do well to hear the laughter on the floor, every person in the west should be aware that only an oblique reference to the devil elicited thoughts of George W. Bush. Our future ought be determined by dialogue, summarily dismissing an influential leader of a growing block of countries seems irresponsible to me. Bring everyone back to the table, discuss. Make deals, make peace. The same types of compromises that make the U.S. Constitution a viable excercise, need be thought of at this moment in history. Dialogue must be broadened across the spectrum, polemic is no longer acceptable. Perhaps I expect too much of Chavez and the rest of humanity, but I think I could work it out with a good talk. Chavez too is guilty of being incindiary and abrassive, alas. CNN Inform us why these people make these statements, tell us who laughed, and ask them why they did, report that.