A provocative article in the Daily Beast this morning that outlines the "erratic" - or crazy - actions and statements from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. How crazy? He claims to have spoken to his dead mentor, Hugo Chavez, via a talking bird. He has also spouted more conspiracy theories against him than you would find at a convention of the John Birch Society.  Maduro has overseen the swift and profound decline of Venezuela—from an oil-rich, leftistpowerhouse under Chavez to an Orwellian dystopia, complete with the highestinflation rate in the world. When oil prices were high and revenues extravagant, that cushioned the people to some extent from the incompetence of the government. But that buffer is long gone. Violent crime and kidnappings are so rampant that the State Department just issued a travel alert warning away U.S. citizens. And commodity shortages have become so severe that it’s sometimes impossible to buy...(Read Full Post)