WELL AT LEAST HE WARNED US - AT 8:45 P.M. ET:  No one in Washington can say now that "I didn't know."  One of Hugo Chavez's biggest shots has revealed to the world exactly what the Chavez regime is really about:

Trade Minister Eduardo Samán unveiled at a business forum President Hugo Chavez's Economic and Social Development Plan, which will change the guidelines related to domestic and foreign trade...

...The chavista government will only approve foreign investment which ensures the transfer of technology to industry. "Not all are beneficial and bring progress to society's well being," Samán said, who added: "Don't be afraid when I speak of Marxism. It is the only system which does not exclude."

COMMENT:  Said and done.  But wait.  You can be sure that the next observer who accuses the Chavez regime of being pro-Communist will be called a "McCarthyite."  That's the way the game is played.

July 11, 2009