Fidel Castro resigns

C'mon, fellas, it's time for the "Yeah, but America sucks, too" defenses.

 

Eight years as President of the United States.

 

And there we go. Right on cue.

 

C'mon, pall, that was set up on a tee.

 

If we embargo, the terrorists win.

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=9eee0dd7-e573-4e2f-850a-c153eb84198e

In the past two years, though, it has become increasingly obvious that sanctions on Cuba cannot be written off as an absurd but costless policy. As a recent report by the Government Accountability Office revealed, U.S. government agencies have been distracted from essential tasks like combating terrorism by having to spend time trying to find Americans who are illegally traveling to Cuba. As The New York Times reported, according to the GAO, the focus on Cuba has "strained Customs and Border Protection's capacity to carry out its primary mission of keeping terrorists, criminals, and inadmissible aliens from entering the country at Miami International Airport."

 

A point I should have made, but didn't, mostly for Lyman, with whom I have my disagreements, but at least they're civil:

I think there's brainwashing on both sides. I thinks Cubans probably feel better than they should about life in Cuba. (I have talked to many Cubans; they would like more money, and better food, and they don't understand why they can't go into the hotels. I think those statements would probably apply to just about every citizen of every Third World country, however.) But I think Americans think Castro is worse than he actually is. On the streets of Havana, there is actually a fairly sweeping feeling of contentedness. It really has a pleasant feeling to it. I know some of you are picturing East Berlin by the sea, but it's not like that.

Now, the point I should have made earlier: It's not like Castro seized control from a shining bastion of democracy. It's not like those were the choices: Castro, or Utopia. He seized control from a corrupt regime that was at least as despotic as he is.

And the hard truth is, if you really want to get into it, America has propped up its fair share of dictators. It's not like the record is spotless there. I mean, the U.S. propped up Saddam, for Chrissakes. And you're sucking on China's lead-paint tits like no tomorrow. So suddenly to sound all high and mighty about Castro comes off as, well, high and mighty. And hypocritical to boot.

And the fact is, if you've been there, you know that Cuba and Cubans are better off than, I would say, eighty percent of folks in Caribbean. I have seen much worse poverty and much lower standards of living in places like Barbados or Jamaica.

So again, let's just remember what we're talking about here: The choice was never between Castro and a perfectly benevolent democracy. The choice was between Castro and Batista, and I would guess that most Cubans who can remember that far back would choose Castro.

Pallister, facts, not blind ideology, please and thank you. Take a lesson from Lyman, although he's started to froth a little here, too.

 

You know that, dools; I'm not sure jobu did.

 

Can the inmates at Guantanamo say the same?

 

By facts, you mean agree with you, Jones. And by frothing you mean disagreeing with you. Got it.

EDIT: OK, dools, THAT was set up on a tee. Nice drive.

 

Uh, no. By facts I'm pretty sure he means, you know, facts. He has first-hand knowledge of Cuba and how it compares to other countries in the region because he's actually visited those countries.

You have the "quick reply" function.

 

To crossthread, I'm a cripple hitter. Not sure if that's overvalued or undervalued.

 

Well, pally, please challenge anything in my post with your own facts. Point out something in my post that's factually inaccurate. Then we can have a debate. Was Batista good? Did the U.S. not prop up Saddam? Do Cubans not have better healthcare and higher literacy rates than most of the rest of the Caribbean? Then you might have a point worth listening to.

If you're just going to say, "You're wrong, Castro bad!" then no, I'm not going to nod my head in time.

And by the way, has the embargo worked? Or did Fidel last 49 years in power and go out on his own terms? Is that your definition of success?

By any rational measure, embargo = disaster.