The Cuban ceremonies opening our Embassy happened yesterday. HERE is a story on it. In that story it says that dissidents were not invited; the White House sites space as the problem. Many are saying dissidents weren’t invited because the Cuban hardliners they want there (supports of Castro) wouldn’t come if dissidents were there.
“…..the state department, which is refusing to release a complete list of invitees, later acknowledged that the event would not be exclusively composed of government dignitaries, as other private Cuban citizens – who are presumably supportive of the Castro government – will be in attendance.
I’m on this side: ““Cuban dissidents are the legitimate representatives of the Cuban people and it is they who deserve America’s red carpet treatment, not Castro regime officials,” Rubio said.”
Ya, I’d have thought so, too. I would have thought that supporting THE PEOPLE and not THE REGIME was the most important thing for America when we raise OUR FLAG over a place. And, like the Iran Nuclear Deal is unraveling with the Iranian bigwig flying to talk to Putin 10 days after the ‘deal,’ Fidel Castro is now asking for ‘Millions of dollars of retribution from America.” SURPRISE!!! (?)
Think Obama will pay anything? Think we’d hear about it?
What do you think of the invitation list for the ceremonies yesterday? What do you think of this whole deal? I’m a bit more open than some to some diplomatic relations with Cubans, but this whole invitee list thing bugged me…maybe more than it should? Those flags flying so close together bother me; I’d have thought we insure that a country’s leaders are supporting freedom for their people before we fly our precious flag of freedom so close to theirs.
Z
geeez2014
GeeeZ .... 
Trusting politicians, especially those in the Soetoro mob, is like taking a nap on a donut pool float in a Louisiana swamp. I have no idea what to believe about Cuba, or Venezuela, or Iran, or Syria, or Russia because I don’t think we ever get the straight skinny from the White House press secretary or from the LSM. Best way to handle politicians is as Hamlet does with Guildenstern and Rosencrantz.
Yesterday I heard a voice on the TV (I was in another room) saying, “When I was a young Navy pilot, there was this popular, young, charismatic guy who promised hope and change for the people of Cuba. His name was Fidel Castro.”
But perhaps the most pithy thing I’ve heard about Cuba was from a comedian not long ago: “The only things America has given the world is technology, democracy, medicine, food, freedom, neat space pictures, the Internet, and Twitter. Cuba has given us SO much more . . . great cigars, great baseball players, great cocktails, and great recipes for black beans. And one of the greatest lessons they’ve taught us is that we made MUCH better automobiles back in the 50s. I mean, you look around Cuba and that’s all you see on the roads – vintage US cars, and they’re still running.”
Looks to me like the Soetoro strategy for defeating communismo Cubano is to flood the island with yanqui dolares and get la gente addicted to la vida materialista moderna. Prob’ly work better than his foreign policies have worked everyplace else.
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Obama and his regime don’t give a damn about the Cuban people.
Propping up a Cuban government which is Communist will enslave the Cuban people even longer than would otherwise have likely happened.
I look for Obama to hand over Gitmo to the Cuban government before he leaves office.
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When Kerry said that “I feel that I am home” said it all. Of course he does. He is in a Marxist totalitarian State.
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Bunkerville +1.
Bocopro: Those guys have held those cars as an investment for this day, when boomers will pay top dollar for them.
AOW: Aren’t they prison shopping for those guys so they can close it?
I am a little surprised that dissidents are still allowed to walk the street, however.
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Bunkerville…I didn’t know Kerry said THAT! Didn’t hear all the speeches…MY GOSH; do leftwingers EVER understand that most Americans don’t relate to CUBA as HOME and maybe you ought not say that?
WHY do they have to constantly make some kind of ridiculous level playing field between US and other countries? It’s SO important for them to diminish US, isn’t it………
AOW: I think that’s largely what’s behind this….GITMO.
Do you think Obama would even contemplate paying them the retribution money Fidel thinks WE owe THEM?
bocopro: if THIS isn’t profound! “Looks to me like the Soetoro strategy for defeating communismo Cubano is to flood the island with yanqui dolares and get la gente addicted to la vida materialista moderna. Prob’ly work better than his foreign policies have worked everyplace else.”
I couldn’t agree more…….The Cuban people are fantastic people (I’ve known some here and I even had a couple next door who fled Cuba years ago; they’re both deceased now but I am sure they’d be against this deal with Cuban hardliners and our gov’t …I used to say they were so clean that Nora catches leaves off her plants before they hit the ground…)…anyway, they deserve better than this. The young there on TV look so optimistic now, thinking the USA is going to save them somehow…..bring them opportunity…which could happen, but who’s going to make the most of those opportunities? HARDLINE GOVERNMENT PEOPLE $$$
Basically, we’ve said “We’re okay with you communists, just keep doing what you’re doing except you’ll be better off now with American trade and tourists!” Another deal where we get little and their hardliners are thrilled.
SO WHAT ABOUT THE DISSIDENTS NOT BEING INVITED? Didn’t you all think THAT was telling? Maybe I’m reading more into it than I should..? I think it’s like an embassy opening in 1950 Russia and only inviting Stalin to come to the ceremonies.
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Ed, Kerry even walked with the dissidents; I think that was throwing we people of good character, and the dissidents, a bone, while he courted hardliners.
We were mentioning GITMO; yes, that’s probably the reason behind all of this.
And wouldn’t it be just like a Boomer to buy one and bring it to the states like a car of honor? “This was in CUBA! OH BOY!” 🙂
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Well, dissent is the forge in which the sword of reform is formed. But in a totalitarian system, dissent is not patriotic; rather it is treason. Soetoro is compelled by law to suffer the dissidence of FoxNews and Limbaugh and Coulter et al., but he doesn’t like it any more than Raul y sus muchachos.
Our State Department has all the negotiatory skills of Neville Chamberlain, the insights of Andrew Johnson, and the common sense of Moe Howard. Why should anyone be surprised when a judas appointed by a neophyte organizes an American ceremony in a dictatorship and it comes across as appeasement?
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bocopro; well said, as usual. Yes, Fox, Limbaugh, Coulter, etc., all dissidents. And my goodness, to see the wrath of Obama when he slams them is breath taking……and I believe this is rather new in our American experience; I know Nixon wasn’t fond of the press, and other presidents probably weren’t, but we haven’t heard this constant thin skinned whining and insulting of anybody who doesn’t agree with them. I believe Obama uses this as an Alinsky method….insults Americans hear and believe because they come from “THE ONE”…very damaging to our psyche and our politic. We can’t forget that CNN was insulting FOX before it went on the air; I remember thinking to myself “Wow, CNN’s putting this new conservative channel down and it isn’t even on yet…” I do distinctly remember that.
I think Hillary sort of set the bar of insulting a whole party in public during the Lewinsky scandals…”it’s all the Rightwing conspiracy” until her husband admitted it WAS TRUE;
Kind of revealing and prophetic, now that I think of it; The Left slams the Right until the Right’s proven, ….well…RIGHT. So people hear “the Right’s bad” and run with it. If the media had more curiosity and ability to see two sides, we’d probably not be in this mess today; Americans would have heard more truth and bad situations would have been revealed and stopped…………..but not this leftwing media so intent on building only leftism up.
bocopro, were you ever a lib? And did you reveal your conservatism to liberal profs in your academic world? I can’t imagine you staying silent; how was it rec’d?
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I say relax, be patient, and see how things work out. It will change eventually, perhaps after a new administration comes in, but as I’ve quoted before “there’s nothing so constant as change”.
Hey! Bocopro! I like your “taking a nap on a donut pool float in a Louisiana swamp”. Cute!
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Following the old adage that if you’re not a liberal when you’re young you have no heart, and if you don’t turn conservative in middle age you have no cerebrum . . . yes, I was a bit liberal as a young man back in the 50s and 60s — all for the underdog and civil rights ‘n’ stuff.
So like many males of my generation, my views on how things oughta be done shifted to right of center when I had daughters who became young women and I saw first-hand how government bloat and runaway spending would make life tougher on them than it’d been on me. My practicum came in the form of a response letter from my representative and senators to a one-page nonsensical gibberish piece of drivel I sent to them. Got these canned responses back thanking me for my input with promises that my ideas would be considered.
University of West Florida is in a conservative enclave out in the boonies of Florabama. MANY retired military settle here, and of course NAS Pensacola is here, making the entire county pretty much right wing. Then there’s Eglin just down the road a few miles, and Fort Rucker (Army) nearby. So the whole Panhandle region west of FSU is old-timey good ol’ boys who fly Old Glory and stop their old pickup trucks with the rifle racks when morning colors blows.
The English & Foreign Language faculty had its share of flaming liberals while I was there, but most of the department heads whom I worked for welcomed my views on methods and standards and such. Since I’d been an electronics/communications tech for several years, then a shipdriver as well as the Director of Electronics “A” School in GLakes, they chose me to set up the Tech Writing curriculum and objectives when it became apparent in the 90s that their Business Writing course just wasn’t cuttin it.
I was never tenure-track, but my age and experience set allowed me to kick a desk with the best of them on many issues. Having a SCL BA didn’t hurt any, either. That kinda stuff gets you nods from even the gnarly old toussle-haired profs in the rumpled tweed jackets with leather elbow patches and the obligatory meerschaum in the pocket.
Amazing thing — I was NEVER observed in class by peers or seniors for evaluation purposes, not once, but they did send new adjuncts to sit in on some of my classes from time to time. I respected their accomplishments and credentials and they respected mine, so . . . no knock-down/drag-outs or memo warfare or any of that. Mostly free exchange of ideas between mature adults. I’m not at all confident that would have been the case in a more “progressive” place with the moldy old buildings sucking the cash out of grants and dusty old ideas crushing the breath out of growth and sneaky old ivy leeching the calcium out of the brick mortar.
And I loved it, all of it. And, no — I don’t want to go back and give reality the opportunity to shatter my satisfying and tasty memories.
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If any foreign relations policy can be defined as “bad”, “stupid”, “ignorant”, “anti-American”, or just “incompetent”, the Obama administration is doing it. As somebody mentioned earlier, Obama doesn’t care about the people of Cuba or how much torture and imprisonment is going on. Somehow, he thinks that putting an embassy in Cuba will cement his place in history.
YUP! I can see it now. Neville Chamberlain was a coward, but Obama is a stupid coward.
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bocopro, thanks. Do you think it’s only maturing (and taxes) which creates conservatives who didn’t start that way? Is there any way to change our twenty-somethings before the natural progression that happens with some of them?
Bob….the whole world’s become worse since Obama/Sec. Clinton, hasn’t it….not a country’s better off as far as I can tell. Not ours, particularly.
Batista was bad, but he was right about the Castros pulling the wool over those silly Cuban revolutionaries’ eyes….they sure didn’t know what they were getting.
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Based on what I saw at the university, 20-somethings are still under the OS uploaded by their keepers, the parents, grandparents, crazy uncles, eccentric aunts, and so on. Some mature early, like 21 or so, and some remain childish ’til their mid 30s, like me. And some will vote for Hillary even if she commits murder, arson, and treason just so they can keep the Tea Party out of the Oval Office.
So it appears the natural evolution from liberal to conservative begins early, in the home, or is postponed until reality comes knock-knock-knockin at the door with the pink slips and the dunning notices and the eviction orders and the subpoenas.
My wife is ultra-conservative in most things, and nearly all our grandchildren have little use for big gubmint, or politicians, or the public teat in perpetuity for deadbeats. Usually it’s a fool’s errand to try to convert a Muslim to a Christian, or a Mets fan to a Yankees fan, or a unicorn-riding liberal to a concealed-carry conservative. So as Mark Twain advised, I don’t argue with morons ’cause to do so I have to slip down to their level, where they can beat me with experience.
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Oh, bocopro, just love that Twain quote!
The rest of this business is disgusting. Didn’t know Fidel was Jewish until he demanded millions from us – WHAT CHUTZPAH! Hopefully, everyone here knows that U.S. sanctions were imposed until Cuba paid for the property of Americans they had STOLEN. If not, worth mentioning.
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Kerry in Cuba: ‘I Feel Very Much at Home Here’
Breitbart
I had relatives who were working in Cuba during the revolution. As a child I still recall the horror stories they told as Castro implemented his polices and tales of the “disappeared.” But no one cares to recall.
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Why do the dems always long for normal relations with the third world socialist or muslim brotherhood dictators while hanging Mubarik et al out to dry?
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Or hanging US out to dry?
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Well, I’m no Cuba expert so I will just say that if obama (and kerry) is for it I’m against it.
We have a Cuban warehose manager in our company, I asked him if he’s planning a trip down there now. He said Maybe in 15 or 20 years. So that’s a statement.
Btw Z, How do jew like my leeeeetle friend ?
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Kid,
I’m no Cuba expert so I will just say that if obama (and kerry) is for it I’m against it.
Pretty good rule of thumb, IMO.
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Ed,
Aren’t they prison shopping for those guys so they can close it?
I’ve seen mention of Kansas and South Carolina. See THIS.
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Baysider..”Didn’t know Fidel was Jewish until he demanded millions from us – WHAT CHUTZPAH”,…WHAT?
Kid, what leeetle friend? What did I miss?!!
And ya…I’m with AOW…a very good rule of thumb there!!
Yes, they ARE prison shopping…I read about Kansas today…I believe the headline was “MURDERERS IN THE HEARTLAND?”
That’s exactly how I feel about it.
Ed, I’ll never really understand why they got rid of Mubarak…..not for waht they got….chaos.
But, of course, only Republicans screw things up…Lefties just ‘misspoke’ or were “inartful!’
bicopro…is that your last name or?? I still don’t think the evolution starts early and I believe it usually doesn’t happen….although I have to say I know VERY few who went from being Conservative TO Liberal… Oh, wait; a LOT of our conservative friends somehow spawned very liberal kids, but that’s the schooling, isn’t it. In general, I don’t think a lot of adults who are conservatives switch to lib.
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Thanks for hanging in there tonight…I have plans and will be gone for a while.
If I’m IN and have people here, that doesn’t stop me! I literally have left during dinner for a few minutes and come and responded and then joined the guests again….did that last night ..not dinner, but…disappearing to comment…(SSSHHHH) NOT GOOD! I don’t get a SmartPhone on purpose so I CAN’T get internet on my phone at a restaurant, etc!!!!!!
UNLIKE our pal Ed who’s texted me (or emailed) here during church 🙂 One my very fave stories I tell friends about my Sunday Faith Blog..”I even have one friend who…” 🙂
see y’all later 🙂
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I seem to recall that the entire rationale behind the break in relations, and subsequent boycott, was Castro reneging on HIS commitment to compensate Americans for the loss of their property that he nationalized. No claim for ‘reparations’ by the Cuban government should be entertained until after they’ve fulfilled that obligation.
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Fidel’s chutzpah – it’s a joke, Z. 🙂
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The classic definition of Chutzpah is the kid who murders his parents, and throws himself on the mercy of the court as a poor orphan. >;-)
@Baysider
My apologies. I was so incensed at the idea of paying Cuba reparations that I skipped over the comments section to lodge my protest, missing you having raised the same point.
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I’m glad others KNOW where the embargo came from in the first place!
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I had two childhood friends who were the children of Cuban refugees. Their father was a physician, their mother a professor at the University of Havana, and they left everything they had to escape to freedom. If their experience wasn’t enough to instill a distaste for the regime, Bert the Turtle teaching me to duck and cover certainly finished the job.
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This is the cuban reference from Kid.
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Ed, thanks. I think!
Baysider… i’m thinking you know what I meant. Thanks!
viburnum; I had neighbors who were Cuban who’d be so unhappy about this new situation…they hated the Caster gov’t and would never trust the brother any more than Fidel, but WE? Oh, we trust Iranian hardliners, we trust Commie Cubans, we trust EVERYBODY! We trust the UN! Aren’t we just wonderful? #$(*&#@$(&*@#(&*$
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And that’s the problem. The Gen X, Gen Y, and millennials among us have forgotten what the threat entails, and are innocently willing to take everyone at their word.
This week in particular should be a reminder, but most of them don’t know enough history to recognize it.
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I’ve thought of 3 Cuban families throughout this ‘ordeal’ and one young American colleague. I write their stories here because we cannot lose our history.
>> One is an elderly friend up the street who was a young middle class teacher, who – along with her husband – had to work at low end jobs here all their lives here. But a great American story: they saved enough to buy an apartment building as their home and to boost their income. Unfortunately, it wasn’t far from where the acorn landed: in Soviet Monica where they again know the oppressive hand of the communist.
>> Another was 7 years old in the late 60’s when her family had a longstanding application to leave. It was granted, but with no notice. They just showed up around dinnertime and gave them 30 minutes to pack a bag and were escorted to the airport. Their home was surrounded by gendarmes just to be sure they did not have a chance to give any of their treasures – or food! – to friends or neighbors. It all went to Castro’s henchmen.
>> Another is a colleague whose mother worked for the American embassy. She was responsible for stamping U.S. approval on all visa applications to the U.S. in the hectic days following Castro’s takeover – a requirement to leave Cuba. Totally illegally, and with dire consequences if caught, she stamped her own and her husband’s visas. She had a sense of timing. It had to be now. THEY left Cuba on the last flight to the U.S. They now send packages to family there.
In contrast, my 30-ish colleague has no perspective on this. I doubt most her age do, outside of Miami. She took a vacation there, and talked about how nice it was, how they even did some things better than here – like healthcare. Brother!! I write to contrast her ignorant remarks with the lost reality of ordinary, middle class lives disrupted forever.
READ Carlos Eire’s Waiting For Snow in Havana.The author quotes St. Jerome’s prayer, but to suit their situation: “Have mercy on me, Lord, I am a Cuban.” The title says it ALL. It’s a delightful mix of life of young boy growing up in the deepening shadow of revolution and its aftermath. Outstanding!
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virburnum…WOW…those are SOME lyrics…………and, of course, juxtaposed to the video image, even more shocking………..talk about a gorgeous photograph, huh? Thanks. I think we need to wake up while the sun’s still burning, don’t we.
Baysider, thanks…there are so many stories we’ve heard from Cubans, aren’t there….none of them touting Castro, that’s for sure. Batista was right after all. And nobody listened. The sun was still burning in the sky.
I saw an article quite recently about that boy Elian who was taken back to Cuba from Florida….amid tons of news reports; it was all about how he loves Castro and visits him, and how much happier he is in Cuba. Typical propaganda….
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“In contrast, my 30-ish colleague has no perspective on this.”
They don’t. They can’t. They’ve been taught all their lives that government is a positive good, and the idea that the government that governs least governs best, is as alien a concept as the slavery they’re going to endure when the government decides to draw tight on the reins.
We can only hope they’ll learn by experience to fight the bit and buck off the rider.
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@Z We do, and the juxtaposition of images both musical and photographic is why I picked that particular version. 😉
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viburnum, well done. very well done.
you’re right about what kids have been taught; so sad.
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A guy in my e-mail chat group grew up in a little town about 25 miles from my home town in Boone County, Indiana. When he learned that I was an ol’ country boy who became college instructor, he hung the tag “Boone County Professor” on me as the by-line for some of my rants he posted on his now-defunct blog. Got shortened to “bocopro” as natural product of the Principle Of Least Effort.
For several years I’d used the tag “babalu” when posting on blogs, but at least 3 other guys were using it and it sometimes got confusing, so I switched. No, “babalu” had nothing to do with Desi Arnaz or Cuba.
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Ah, Bo Co Pro….good one!
thanks, bocopro!
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