CARACAS – Venezuela moved to seize the Hilton resort on the Caribbean island of Margarita, a swanky beach-side hotel which recently housed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe.

President Hugo Chavez ordered the nationalization of the resort, which is owned by local firms facing troubles with the government’s financial oversight body. The resort, which is managed by Hilton Worldwide, has 280 rooms and 154 time-share suites, according to the presidential decree ordering the takeover.

Chavez recently held court at the hotel as he welcomed more than 30 leaders from South America and Africa for a summit. Among the visitors was Gadhafi, who set up his emblematic and heavily guarded tent at the hotel’s private beach. Mugabe walked through the hotel’s halls surrounded by a ring of bodyguards.

During the summit, Chavez joked that the government could nationalize the hotel. A few years ago, the government seized a Hilton in Caracas, which it rebranded Hotel Alba. Since then, the hotel has become a meeting point for Chavez sympathizers from around the globe.

Karla Visconti, a spokeswoman for Hilton Worldwide, said the company “is evaluating how the Venezuelan government’s action affects its interest in this hotel.” She noted that Hilton manages the hotel on Margarita, but doesn’t own it. The hotel, which includes a casino, a marina and five restaurants, will help in the development of tourism projects in “a socialist framework,” according to the decree signed by Chavez. The decree didn’t specify any compensation for the seizure or when the nationalization will be executed.

Chavez has set his eyes on the tourism industry for some time. A law was approved in 2008

The two Great Socalistic leaders of the Americas - Obama and Chavez

labeling the tourism industry as “public interest,” essentially allowing for the government to quickly nationalize any companies operating in the sector.

For the rest of the story:

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091013-714336.html

The banks that are lost should not be a surprise to anyone. We lost those in 1913 with the creation of the Federal Reserve. In our time we saw the coffin lid close on private ownership in the banking industry with the TARP funds and the forced bankruptcy of our large private banks.

We saw the once mighty automobile industry start to fail in the 70′s and again crumble as they were held hostage by Unions empowered with government back laws.  Again, in our time, we saw the lid close on private ownership in the automobile manufacturing by taking tax payers money (or money borrowed from Chinese) and giving it to unions.  Welcome to GM or government motors and President Goodwrench.

Health care is next.  Unless something dramatic happens you can be assured that we will have a government health care system.  They already have the votes.  The only thing I can assume is that they want to give the people a sense that they have had influence in the debate.  Don’t get me wrong, I am going to continue to stand up against our governments drive to socialism, not matter the discipline.  However, we are already starting to see the so called “conservative block” start to crumble.

Unless the current administration gets reined in, I see the following business disciplines in danger of being next in line: (in no particular order)

Energy (not just oil and gas but power to your home)

Airlines (if they can control crowd movement they can control the crowd)

Radio/Television (the attack on Talk radio and Fox news have already begun) 

Internet service Providers

There are others like mining, aircraft manufacturing, and K-12 education, they already have increasing influence in that will also fall.

Everyone reads articles and sees news bulletins about these Chavez socialistic takeovers and says it could never happen here.  Probably 2 years ago those same people would have said, “the government will never own a car company and dictate who gets to sell the cars”.   My, my, my how times have changed.

Democrats sense new momentum on healthcare reform that had eluded them all summer, with leaders in both chambers optimistic the year will end with landmark legislation on President Barack Obama’s desk.

Even with serious tension within the majority party, leaders in the House and Senate say they have never been closer to their goal of expanding health insurance coverage to millions of Americans. Both chambers are nearing completion of  committee work and ready to begin floor debates in the coming weeks.

“I’m encouraged that we’re as far along as we have come and I think we’re going to make it,” said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and sponsor of one of five bills moving through Congress.

Competing with the optimism is the widening divide between centrists and liberals that has slowed progress all along. The chief sticking point, whether to include a government-run health insurance option, remains unresolved.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and his centrist allies received a major boost Wednesday when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) delivered an analysis of his legislation, which does not include the public option.

“I feel very good about it,” said Baucus in regard to the CBO reporting that his bill would cost $829 billion, reduce the deficit by $81 billion over 10 years and expand coverage to 94 percent of Americans.

Senate liberals who support the public option acknowledge the wind is behind Baucus.

For the rest of the article please go here:

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/62367-were-going-to-make-it