The Associated Press reported today: "The bill, which was approved by congress in late November, becomes official with Chavez's signature and its publication Wednesday in the Official Gazette, a document that makes government decisions official. The law goes into effect Thursday."

One good thing about Chavez's latest attack on civil liberties: The media establishment is starting to see him for the totalitarian thug he is.

Alejandro Miro Quesada, president of Inter-American Press Association, noted that Chavez's first ruse under the new law, a ban on "psychological" and physical violence on TV between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., was a "trap" aimed to "muzzle informational content."

Chavez raged that Miro Quesada and his brethren were "lackeys of the imperialism who want to destroy our people."

Editor's note: