Patricio Guzmán's

When I saw this bit I was reminded of a great documentary film series, Patricio Guzmán’s The Battle of Chile, which chronicles both the inspirational rise (people power) and devastating fall (CIA) of Chile’s Socialist revolution.  I can’t recommend these films enough.

Obama Requests Funding for Venezuelan Opposition in 2012 Budget

This week, US President Barack Obama presented Congress with a $3.7 trillion dollar budget for 2012, the most expensive budget in United States history. Within his massive request, which proposes cuts in important social programs and federal jobs throughout the country, is a partition for special funding for anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela.

For the first time in recent history, the Foreign Operations Budget (State Department) openly details direct funding of at least $5 million to anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela.

The funds requested in the State Department’s budget for 2012 most likely will be directed towards political campaigns, since Venezuela has both key presidential and regional elections that year.

The State Department budget also requests $20 million in funding for anti-Castro groups in Miami and elsewhere to continue efforts to undermine the Cuban Revolution.

Do US taxpayers know their hard-earned dollars are going to fund political activities in other nations instead of being invested in jobs, healthcare and social programs in their own country?  - more -

Now, while we’ve got Citizen’s United enabled “free” $peech,  here’s how scary bad guy Venezuela addressed the issue of foreign cash trying to influence their elections:

The State Department’s public disclosure of 2012 funding for the Venezuelan opposition comes just after the Venezuelan National Assembly passed a law prohibiting foreign funding for political activities in late December 2010. The Law in Defense of Political Sovereignty and National Self-Determination clearly renders all foreign funding for political campaigns, parties and organizations, including NGOs, that engage in political activities, illegal.