Another Communist state is dying before our very eyes...

Another Communist state is dying before our very eyes...  I'm speaking of Venezuela, of course.  Progressives – the heretofore loud promoters of Hugo's variety of Communism, rebranded as “socialism” to make to more palatable to Americans – are studiously ignoring the ugly collapse.  People suffering?  Move along now, nothing to see here.

I used to buy slide rules (which, as my long-time readers know, I collect) from a fellow in Caracas.  We had a few email conversations about the politics after Hugo took power.  Then one day he stopped responding to my emails.  A little later, I got a reply saying that his email address had been deleted.  I sent snail mail; it was returned.  His ads are no longer on eBay.  I fear the worst for him, and I am afraid that his political openness on email may have contributed to his undoing...