Alaska village to Chavez-- ''no thanks"

God Bless them. At least one hearty village in rural Alaska has told Hugo Chavez to stick his free heating oil where the sun don't shine (ironically soon to describe their home turf):

"As a citizen of this country, you can have your own opinion of our president and our country. But I don't want a foreigner coming in here and bashing us," said Justine Gunderson, administrator for the tribal council in the Aleut village of Nelson Lagoon. "Even though we're in economically dire straits, it was the right choice to make."

About 150 other villages have accepted the oil freebie amidst rising prices, apparently due to the costs of transporting heating oil to the remote areas. There is certainly a sense of irony that a state known for oil can't get a distribution system in place to keep costs down, or perhaps subsidize the delivery in some way.

While you can't necessarily blame some residents for taking free oil, I really admire the stand taken by those in Nelson Lagoon. Their spirit, which shows a hearty sense of self-determination and the ability to rise above petty partisanship, is the true spirit of America.


PS-- for perspective try image-Googling the words "Citgo" and "Halliburton" and compare the results. Lot's of Cheney, not much Chavez.