What is with Hugo Chavez?

This isn't a political rant - I'm really trying to stay away from politics. But Hugo Chavez is such a hypocrite.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214973,00.html

Here's my comment. Chavez is saying he will donate, or greatly discount the price on, heating oil for families in Alaska and the Northeast. A fine gesture...until you consider the other side of the coin.

According to one list I looked at, Venezuela ranked 76th in per capita GDP - behind Mexico, Poland and Libya. In fact, they were in the lower half of world countries that were measured. According to another measurement, Venezuela was ranked 68th in a poverty index. And even worse, Venezuela ranked 100 in a global corruption index - behind such countries as Iran, Cuba, China, Russia...
http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/dec/19rank.htm

My question is this: Does Chavez really care about Americans, or is this simply deft politics? Why is he so concerned about people in the wealthiest country in the world, when millions in his country live below the level of poverty?

Mr. Chavez should spend his time and money on his own people, folks that are living in tin-shacks and exposed to dirty water and disease. Only then will his generosity be viewed as sincere, from his heart.

Throwback jersey, murder and idolatry

Once again, I'm shocked by current events here in Minnesota. This past week, a high school student was murdered. That isn't news anymore which is tragic, in and of itself. What's particularly troubling about this particular story is the reason for the murder.

It seems the victim, a 15-year old boy, was killed because some thugs wanted his throwback jersey.
http://www.startribune.com/467/story/657151.html

He was wearing a basketball jersey representing Morgan State University. Evidently, these throwback jerseys are popular and expensive, some costing as much as $400. They are coveted. In this case, when the thugs decided they wanted it, they shot the young man. From early news reports, a witness heard one of the perpetrators say to another "you weren't supposed to kill him, you were just supposed to scare him." A crime that started as a misdemeanor quickly tumbled out of control, resulting in another senseless death.

Dictionary.com defines "idolatry" as "excessive or blind adoration, reverence, devotion, etc."
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=idolatry
Whether throwback jerseys, $200 shoes worn by LeBron James or Michael Jordan, or obsession over the latest photos of Tom and Katie's baby, our nation has become a culture of idolaters. We want the latest jeans, the coolest t-shirt, autographs of stars, etc. To me it seems this obsession to have what others have, to be like them, to hold people and things in "reverence" is simply an example of false worship,

Deuteronomy 31:20 says, "When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their forefathers, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant."
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=5&chapter=31&verse=20&version=31&context=verse

Doesn't that seem to parallel what is happening in this country? We have so much wealth that we have turned to other gods and idols, whether actors, athletes or things. And when some can't afford the things others worship, they turn to desperate, senseless acts of violence. In this case, a 15-year old boy, an entire life in front of him, was shot...dead. All because someone wanted a "thing", a stupid jersey.

The jersey may have cost $200-400. The real cost was one life lost, and a few other lives spent behind bars for the next 10-20 years. All because of the desire to have a jersey.