Call it a heart-warming kind of cold comfort. With mild and frigid winter weather alternating to drive a blizzard of local calls to a home heating assistance program funded by Venezuela’s socialist ? and President Bush-bashing ? regime, U.S. program managers recently turned its discount heating oil offering into a free one.

“Households receiving [state] fuel assistance can get 100 free gallons [of heating oil or kerosene] directly from their dealer,” said Citizens Energy Corp. Communications Director Brian O’Connor of a CITGO Petroleum Corp.-sponsored program that, initially this season, offered up to 200 gallons of heating oil at a 40 percent discount.