The Washington Post Loves Socialism

"Gladys Melani was nearly blind from cataracts. Juana Mamani was illiterate. Sharon Mayra didn't officially exist. What these three Bolivians had in common was poverty, and help from Cuba and Venezuela in solving their problems."

That's how the Washington Post kicks off their gushing article about the wonders of socialism.

Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez run such warm and fuzzy countries, don't they?

The article describes how the socialist governments of Cuba and Venezuela do so much humanitarian good, unlike the evil capitalist countries of the West.

(To be fair, the article does reluctantly admit that "The United States remains Bolivia's single biggest foreign donor, contributing a bit less than half of the $360 million annually...(that)...pay(s) 60 percent of the Bolivian government's bills.")

The article then describes how "Melani's cataracts were removed for free by one of some 700 Cuban doctors who have fanned out to the farthest corners of Bolivia."

I hope Hillary Clinton doesn't read this article - she'll change her socialized health care plan to include roaming bands of Cuban doctors.

I'm happy for the people who have benefitted from this calculated largesse. Really, I am.

But what about the other side of the Bolivia story?

The Post briefly mentions Morales' recent "nationalization of Bolivia's natural gas".

That sure is a nice way of describing the Bolivian army's recent seizure of foreign-owned gas production facilities.

This is how all socialist movements begin - the leaders promise their people egalitarian access to the country's wealth and all kinds of free benefits.

But we know how these stories end. We have seen it played out again and again, always to the same tragic, totalitarian end.