The NYTimes should have spoken with the bishops before publishing Maduro's Op Ed

(My new American Thinker post)

In 48 hours, we've seen two rather different assessments of the situation in Venezuela.

First, The NY Times opened its editorial page to President Maduro by publishing "A call for peace."  As I posted yesterday at Babalu, this op-ed is so embarrassing that everyone at The NY Times should be ashamed of themselves.

We like a debate of ideas but President Maduro did not tell the truth, especially about the daily attacks on demonstrators in Caracas and elsewhere or the way that legislator Maria Corina Machado has been treated:

"Last night, Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal said that, indeed, Maria Corina Machado’s expulsion from the National Assembly could stand.
On its own, this shouldn’t seem so shocking - chavismo has created a habit of kicking people out of Parliament, out of city hall, and out of politics altogether. "

Miss Machado's "crime against the state" was trying to speak before the OAS about Venezuela.  My question is this:  Where does it say in the Venezuelan constitution that a legislator can not go to the OAS and speak his or her mind?

Second, the bishops in Caracas are concerned about the totalitarian nature of Maduro's government, as reported in The Washington Post:

"Venezuela’s organization of Roman Catholic bishops is accusing the government of seeking totalitarian-style rule, comments that potentially could complicate the Vatican’s offer to facilitate talks between the socialist government and its opposition.   
The Conference of Venezuelan Bishops is calling on President Nicolas Maduro to halt his crackdown on critics who have been protesting in the streets for seven weeks. The conference president is Bishop Diego Padron. Speaking in Caracas on Wednesday, he accused Maduro of attempting to criminalize dissent.   
The statement comes a few days after the Vatican said it was willing to facilitate talks between the two sides. Maduro indicated he would accept such talks, but the position of the various groups that constitute the opposition remains unclear.  
The bishops association has periodically criticized the Venezuelan government."

God bless the Bishops for their warnings about repression in Venezuela. Shame on 

The NY Times for refusing "to edit" the words of a man responsible for the death of 39 Venezuelans, including a young pregnant woman.

Maybe everyone at The NY Times should take a night off and go to "confession"!

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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Dallas, storms and maybe a sign for the Cowboys?

We had our first big storm of the season last night.   It hit some areas of North Texas very hard, as you can read in The Dallas Morning News:

"Residents of several North Texas counties hunkered down Thursday as large hail and high winds swept the region.

Reports of tornadoes in Denton County had not been confirmed, but the National Weather Service said at least one had touched down in Collin County.

In Farmersville, about 35 miles northeast of Dallas, firefighters reported a tornado on the ground about 7:30 p.m. along State Highway 78. Another tornado was reported near Princeton. No heavy damage had been found late Thursday, though there were reports that power had been disrupted."

The good news is that we survived.  The bad news is that more will come!

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