Venezuela Has 5 Times the Crude Oil of Saudi Arabia?

That's what the BBC's Greg Palast said today on Democracy Now.

This makes Hugo Chavez much more of a player on the world stage and this comes at a time when the Bushies are trying so hard to oust Chavez, regardless of the fact that his people want him to stay. The Bushies already helped stage a coup to get rid of Chavez, who made it back.

I've never quite reached a conclusion as to whether Chavez is a good guy or a bad guy. But the more I watch the Bushies try to take him out, the more I begin to question if Chavez is on the side of better than the Bushies. The Bushies seem to oppose any democratically elected leader, anyone who sides (at least to some degree) with the normal people, and anyone who doesn't just gouge on gas. Which is why we've been buying gas almost exclusively at Citgo for quite awhile now, even though the closest station is nearly 25 miles away (but no gas station is close to us in the hinterlands).