From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez thinks it's curtains for America as a world power. "By the crash of the dollar," he says, "America's empire will crash."

Tyler Cowen's suggestion that currencies are not markers of economic success notwithstanding, I hope Chavez's theory that declining currencies signal the end of regimes is correct. If so, this piece from the IHT suggests we may soon be rid of Senor Chavez:

The bolivar has tumbled 30 percent this year to 4,850 per dollar on the black market, the only place it trades freely because of government controls on foreign exchange. That compares with the official rate of 2,150 per dollar set in 2005.

Hugo must be proud of himself--he's managed to depreciate his currency some 30% against a currency that has itself fallen by 20%. Sheer genius!

While we're on the topic of Chavez and Venezuela, kudos to the fine folks of Venezuela who voted no yesterday.