Seriously, sometimes the folks in the media really, really, really need a beer. These are two stories from our "unbiased" media on Sunday
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) – Costa Ricans voted on a free-trade deal with the United States on Sunday in a referendum that has split the Central American nation like no other issue in decades.
Opponents fear the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, will weaken the country’s prized welfare system, among the strongest in Latin America.
Supporters, led by Nobel peace laureate President Oscar Arias, say Costa Rica needs to open its economy more since it is a small country with few natural resources.
Only in Liberal World could a welfare system be consider not only a good thing, but "prized." Apparently, it is more important to them to act as Mommy and Daddy, doling out an allowance, then for people to pick themselves up and work. of course, generally, Mommy and Daddy usually expect something in return for said allowance, even if it is just cleaning ones room and using soap and hot water.
The AP took a slightly different track then exposing their pure socialistic leanings
Costa Ricans were sharply divided over Sunday’s referendum on a free trade pact with the United States a measure supporters say is key to national prosperity, but critics fear could hurt farmers and small businesses.
As if socialists actually care about the little people, except as ones to be held down as welfare recipients and voters.
Fortunately, a slight majority of Costa Ricans understood what was at stake (surprisingly, this was in the Washington Post)
IN A REGION where politics has too often been characterized by demagoguery, corruption and violence, Costa Rica has long stood out as a shining exception to the rule. Having abolished its army in 1948 (WT-something our Democrats would like to do), the Central American country is set to complete six decades of uninterrupted civilian democratic rule. The latest demonstration of the Costa Rican people’s common sense came on Sunday, when the electorate ratified the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), a tariff-slashing accord between the United States and six small countries to its south.
It was close: About 51.5 percent of the public voted yes, to make Costa Rica the last of the signatories to put the accord into practice. The victory probably would have been wider if not for the release, late in the campaign, of a regrettable internal memo showing that the yes campaign, led by President Oscar Arias, was thinking of trying to expand its margin by stoking voter fears of such free-trade opponents as Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. The fact remains, though, that the referendum was a defeat for Mr. Chavez and his populist "Bolivarian Alternative" to trade with the United States.
Good deal. Bad pun. A bare minimum of the population voted for Classical Liberal democracy, rather then Socialism, which is what it breaks down to. Trade and wealth versus the continued spread of the welfare state. The vote was really ticking American Democrats off, and showed them for who they are and what they want
It was also a defeat for certain members of Congress, mostly Democrats, who had publicly leaned against DR-CAFTA ratification — and now find themselves on the opposite side of the issue from a majority of Costa Ricans. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, and Rep. Michael H. Michaud (D-Maine) paid a supportive visit last month to opponents of DR-CAFTA in San Jose. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wrote Costa Rica’s ambassador in Washington to say that Costa Rica would not necessarily lose current U.S. trade benefits under the Caribbean Basin Initiative, which expires in September, if the pact were rejected. That prompted the White House to issue a reminder on Saturday that there would be no renegotiation of the deal if it were rejected; U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab added pointedly that there was also no guarantee that Caribbean Basin Initiative benefits would be extended.
What would prompt Democrats to pull this kind of stunt? Bush Derangement Syndrome, or something more nefarious, their abject hatred of capitalism and its effect on the welfare system? Mentioned in the op-ed is the fact that insurance premiums are expected to decrease with CAFTA and growth will increase, bringing perhaps half a million Costa Ricans out of poverty, meaning, less subjugation to the government welfare system. Democrats really hate that. The editorial mentions that they are shortsighted. Au Contraire! They know exactly what they are trying to spread.
A hand recount is under way, and will take no more then two weeks for the vote to be officially official.
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