Anti-Chavista/Putinstitutionalized Democracy

MERIT AWARD: Venezuelan students, cognizant of the implications of President Hugo Chavez’s undemocratic constitutional amendments, took to the streets of their nation’s capital in protest. The Caracas police, and pro-Chavez elements (Chavistas), clashed with thousands of students who attended the march. Through the choking teargas smog, the relentless students hurled rocks and beer bottles as they marched towards the parliament chanting “Reform, no – democracy, yes”. One can only hope that the initiative and resolve shown by Venezuela’s youth would galvanize the rest of the masses. It is in Venezuela’s best interest that its people rise against Chavez’s tyrannical plan to erect a pseudo-democratic state—by concentrating power in the executive branch, abolishing presidential term limits, and muzzling the press. History is littered with stories about the downfall of demagogic leaders who seduced their way into the office of “President for Life”--Chavez's story will be no different. Venezuelan youth, Wired Scout awards you the Proactive Activist Merit Badge.

DEMERIT AWARD: Russian President, Vladimir Putin, indicated his desire to remain in office past his constitutional two-term limit. In an address delivered to the pro-Kremlin parliament (Duma), Putin revealed his plans to seek the Russian Premiership (presumably with the bulk of state power transferred from the presidency to the Prime Minister’s office), provided the Russian people vote his party into office at the polls next year. If the last Duma and Presidential elections are anything to go by, Putin’s self-succession plan is already a done deal. Though he won goodwill for navigating his country out of the post-Soviet chasms of destitution on a tide of oil, tinkering with constitutional loopholes to remain in power would lead to political instability in his country. His desire to follow the path of former Russian and Soviet Union leaders—none of whom relinquished power except in death or in shame—serves only to weaken the nascent democratic institutions of his country. President Vladimir Putin, Wired Scout awards you the Undemocratic Idol Demerit Badge.

Wannabe: First Lady/President for Life

MERIT AWARD: Elizabeth Edwards, wife of United States presidential hopeful, John Edwards, became, as some put it, “Attacker-in-Chief” of the Edwards for President campaign. Mrs. Edwards came out with all guns blazing as she launched aggressive attacks of straight venom at her husband’s opponents. She took on the sensitive subject of affirmative action, citing it as the sole reason for her husband trailing after Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the democratic national polls and also in funding: “We can't make John black; we can't make him a woman. Those things get you a lot of press, worth a certain amount of fundraising dollars”. She went further to question Senator Clinton’s feminist and healthcare credentials, and Senator Obama’s “holier-than-thou” attitude on the Iraq war. This weekend we drink to Elizabeth Edwards and her untamed frankness for making some dull news cycles watchable. Mrs. Edwards, Wired Scout hereby awards you with the Straight Talker Merit Badge.

DEMERIT AWARD: Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez proposed to overhaul his country’s constitution with a set of amendments that seem like a checklist to establish a full-blown socialist dictatorship: raise presidential term length to seven years (check!), abolish presidential term limits (check!), neuter the Central Bank, state governors, and mayors (check!), nationalize natural resources and economic institutions (check!), six-hour working days for the people (check!). Though the Castroesque move was criticized by local opposition and the international community, Chavez remains steadfast in his resolve—bolstered by popularity purchased through petrodollar fueled social programs for the poor. For now, Venezuelans had better buckle up for a few more seasons of anti-American rhetoric—à la “you’re a donkey Mr. Bush”—on Aló Presidente, Chavez’s Sunday morning talk show, because the amendments are likely to pass through Chavez’s “rubber stamp” parliament. President Chavez, Wired Scout hereby awards you with the Populist Demagogue Demerit Badge.

Your oil or your music?

MERIT AWARD: The Universal Music Group announced that it would release to online music vendors, a large chunk of its catalogue without the Digital Rights Management (DRM) anti-piracy software. However, iTunes was noticeably excluded from the list of vendors in what seems like a move to curb Apple’s growing influence in the online music market. Universal supposedly intends to use iTunes as a control in the six-month DRM-free experiment to track price responsiveness, demand, and piracy rates. Audiophiles can rejoice because while these goliaths duke it out, all they'll have to worry about is getting an “iPod finger” repetitive strain injury (RSI) from scrolling and clicking through their MP3 players of DRM-free music. Universal, Wired Scout hereby awards you the Business Savvy Merit Badge.

DEMERIT AWARD: US Senator, Herbert Kohl (D-WI) spearheaded the passage of the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) Act of 2007—which would grant the US Department of Justice powers to prosecute the sovereign nations of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for alleged oil price fixing. The bill, passed with veto-proof majorities in both houses, is just another opportunity for Washington legislators to engage in populist grandstanding on a measure that is impossible to implement without dire diplomatic consequences (picture Ahmadinejad or Chavez willingly submitting to an antitrust fine under the Sherman act). Senator Kohl, Wired Scout hereby awards you the What the bleep!? Demerit Badge.