Way to go, patriotic Aleuts! Alaskan Natives tell Chavez where he can put his free oil offer.

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This was possibly the greatest thing I've read in weeks. Venezuelan strongman dictator Hugo Chavez has been offering free oil to impoverished communities in the U.S. as a jab at our political system and President Bush in particular. Many communities, notably in and around New York City, have snapped this offer up and sang Chavez' praises. But not the Aleuts in the Alaskan bush. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Leaders from four Western Alaska villages have rejected an offer of free heating oil from a Venezuelan- owned company because that nation's president this month called President Bush "a devil" and made other inflammatory comments about the United States.

"Despite the critical need for fuel in our region, the Unangan (Aleut) people are Americans first, and we cannot support the political agenda attached to this donation," read a statement from Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association released late Thursday.

This is all the more impressive when you consider that these Alaskan Natives are some of the poorest communities in America, living mainly by sustenance hunting and fishing, and that heating oil in these remote areas costs over $5 a gallon due to the costs of flying it in to these villages that are many miles from the nearest road.

In a time when Patriotism is considered unfashionable and even derided by so many on the left, it's wonderful to see these great Americans take a stand in support of our nation and our President.

Kudos to you, you great Americans in the Land of the Midnight Sun!