By the Power of Caracas, I Have the Power!

Were you worried that Hugo Chavez's power wasn't increasing daily? Hey, relax!

The National Assembly has given initial approval to a measure that would let President Hugo Chavez enact laws by decree for 1 1/2 years, a key step in what the leftist leader calls an accelerating march toward socialism.
…
"This process is unstoppable," lawmaker Juan Montenegro Nunez told the National Assembly. "This process is a historic necessity."

I nominate "This process is unstoppable" for the title of track 3 on the next Chemical Brothers album. But seriously, Venezuela has one of the stupidest oppositions on the planet (they boycotted the last legislative elections to make a point about how Chavez didn't respect democracy), and this was predictable months ago. The upsides: 1) He still shouldn't cause any Americans to worry outside of the Fox News production booth. 2) With the price of oil falling, this reads like desperation. Chavez was at his most popular when oil was trading at $80.

More on Chavez here.