News: Yeah, this usually happens

Another reminder of the kinds of freedoms that American soldiers, past and present, died to protect:

"Venezuela's most-watched television station -- and outlet for the political opposition -- went off the air after the government refused to renew its broadcast license.

Radio Caracas Television (RCTV), which has been broadcasting for 53 years, was replaced by a state-run station -- TVes -- on Monday. The new station's logo began running immediately after RCTV went off the air.

Leading up to the deadline, police on Sunday used water cannons and what appeared to be tear gas to break up thousands of demonstrators protesting the government's decision to close the country's most-watched television station."

It's definitely a pattern. Left or right-leaning radical takes control of the government, promising reform. People are burned by said "reforms," and those who speak up are jailed or silenced. The free exchange of information is critical to keeping a republic out of the hands of political opportunists (a redundancy), and state-run newspapers and TV stations aren't exactly the best place to look for independent voices.

The new television station replacing RCTV is public and not private, and immediately began hawking its new children's program, aimed at teaching socialist values to kids. I find this pretty common, too (like a Palestinian Mickey Mouse teaching kids to hate Israel). Contrast this with American children's television shows, which almost never even mention politics. It seems when your values aren't strong enough to withstand criticism, you resort to indoctrination.