In a show of how far the cultural left has crumbled, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro has turned rabid against one of Venezuela's brightest lights, calling classical music director Gustavo Dudamel, a national hero to that nation, "a traitor." It's about par for socialist dictatorships since the days of Stalin. But it also signals the consolidation of loathing from even the artistic left against this odious socialist regime.   Up until now, Dudamel has been very circumspect about criticizing the Chavista socialist regime, and generally supported it, actually, because of the state's role in supporting Venezuela's famed youth orchestra program. Known as El Sistema, it's an amazing, genuinely authentic, program dating from 1975 to train young street kids to become classical musicians, transforming their lives through the highest form of music. Its significance as a global cultural treasure cannot be understated. Some 800,000 children have been...(Read Full Post)