Babalu Blog, arguably the best source for all things Cubano, is reporting multiple hints and rumors of the departure of Fidel Castro to the region of Hell specifically designed for such as he. We can but hope. Val is speculating on what the MSM headlines will read. My favorite from his list:
WaPo: "Rove implicated in Castro's death"
I'd presonally go with: Castro dies, Halliburton links probed
I’m not sure how many readers of this blog can understand nuance, but I’ll give it a shot.
Castro is a troubling figure. He’s actually done many good things for his country–the literacy rate increased tremendously, Cuba has an infant mortality rate lower than the U.S., he kicked out the Mafia. Cubans are demonstrably better under Castro than they were under the Batista regime.
At the same time, he’s a despot who hasn’t tolerated dissent. The fact that the most powerful nation on the planet has been trying to get rid of him (including assassination attempts) makes his despotic ways somewhat understandable, but it doesn’t excuse them.
Let’s hope that after Castro is gone a way is found to have an open society that keeps the gains made by Castro.
(I’ll go put on my fireproof suit now, as I can already feel the flames coming).
Well, the argument that Moussolini made the trains run on time comes to mind, doesn’t it?
I think that should suffice.
Dare ya to post that comment over at Val’s place.
He’s a dictator. He replaced a dictator. He’s better than the dictator he replaced. He’s better than many dictators that this country has supported, including Somoza, Pinochet, Saddam Hussein (yes, the U.S. supported him before we decided we hated him), Noriega (ditto), the Shah of Iran, D’Aubuisson, Mubarek, King Abdullah, and South Africa’s National Party to name a few we have supported while trying to get rid of Castro.
I have no illusions that Castro is a great guy, but I’d rather live in Cuba than in Saudi Arabia, and I bet you would, too.
Come to think of it, why is it we have an embargo against Cuba, yet China has most favored nation status?
Are you willing to support a policy of strict embargos against all countries ruled by dictators? Or do you only support such a policy against small countries with left-wing dictators?