Mario Tries to Flex His Muscle

   Today the House Appropriations Committee passed an ammendment that is intended to erase the tiny progress that Persident Obama has made allowing more travel and money to be sent to Cuba.  The less relevant extremists in Miami is trying to flex their muscles which are strong only due to the steroids they have beeen pumped with thanks to years of money and support by Washington.  But others' muscles will prove stronger.  When Bush tightened restrictions during his presidency, he upset a lot of people who want to see their families in Cuba and also support them in their tough circumstances by sending remittances.  Mario hates his family back in Cuba, since ironically his family tree has Fidel in it.  The blood connection from way back isn't as strong for him as it is for the majority of Cubans living abroad.  They love their families and don't support his endeavors.  His big brother Lincoln had to appear on TV to threaten the Cuban community living in Miami who were outraged at Bush's policy and became quite outspoken at the time.  Since so many people who enjoy the benefit of political refugee status granted to almost any Cuban as a political tool, a status that is much less given to people from other countries, he threatened to have immigration double check their claims of politcal refugee.  Obviously there are almost no true political refugees coming from Cuba, the majority have come simply for economic reasons conveniently using the "refugee" excuse to stay. 
   Undoubtebly, if his ammendment were to become part of the law, the same outrage would occur, as would quite likely the threats from the extremists.  The idea of separating families is one of the most disgusting pleasures of the Diaz-Balart brothers.  These individuals are incapable of caring about those who they purport to represent.  These guys are at a weak point, and their fears are what they are fighting against.  The changes in Cuba have along with an increase in remittances have made it possible for some on the island to begin their own businesses.  Mario certainly fears the prospect of people's economic situations getting better.  If less and less people choose to leave the island for economic reasons then where will all of the "political refugees" be?  There might be less photos in the propagandic press centered in Miami of people trying to "escape" Cuba.  There will be less and less applicants for "political Asylum."  There will be less and less excuses for this absurd policy.  The extremists are running in circles confused and scared.  Now they are even faced with the dilema of trying to fend off Big Oil, as it is extremely excited about the prospects of doing business with Cuba. 
   Now the question is whose muscles are bigger.  Are the withering muscles of the extremists down in Miami?  Or are the muscles of the American people who have had enough of their own rights restricted by these extremists?  I think that though it is unfortunate that the ammendment passed, we will see it eventually, somewhere along the process of creating a budget, get brushed aside with ease as there are now much stronger musles that the Miami crowd must contend with.  There time is passing, and soon they will all have to find a place in the Bay of Pigs museum down there in Miami.

Response to Freedom House's Report on Cuba (June 9, 2011)Part 1

Due to the 40 pages or so of the report issued by Freedom House along with my own time constraints, I will write a reponse in a few parts.  I will meticulously point out the problems that this report contains point by point as I feel it is necessary do so that people are not left with an incorrect impression as to the happenings in Cuba. 
   Freedom House has declined to accept it's share of the proposed $20 million for "democracy" programs and it is a good thing.  Based on what they have to show for last years' allocations, it should be quite obvious to the American people that these funds could be used for something more productive right here at home.

The actual report can be found at http://freedomhouse.org/uploads/special_report/102.pdf for anyone interested at reading it.

No More $ For Radio Marti

Times are tough. Families are hurting, bills are mounting, households that are dependent on two incomes scrape by with just one in many cases. We wait for the market gods to make things right. In the meantime everyone is tightening their belts trying to make due with less. We are led to believe that our always responsible leaders are looking for ways to help by cutting government budgets.  There is always talk of "hard decisions" that have to be made.  Oh who would want to be in the position of telling people that the small amount of help that our society affords to people, usually the ones who need it most, will have to be cut back?  Not me.  I would rather hear that our rediculously large military budget be slashed. We could perhaps not employ mercenaries to do the jobs that our soldiers traditionally have done. Maybe we could end a war or two, possibly a bombing campaign or something. There certainly must be a base or two somewhere on earth that could be closed. I know of one in Guantanamo, Cuba.  The lease we signed over a hundred years ago while occupying Cuba has expired.  The Cuban government and people don't want it there.  It may be the only base in the world being completely imposed on the host country.  But we know that the military budget is off limits so lets find something from domestic expenditures we could do without.  Hey, I have another idea!  Maybe we can stop funding radio Marti. Also we can get rid of the TV version of it too.  I know, I know Florida is a battleground state. Maybe it will have to wait until after the 2012 election cycle. But how about making tough decisions now? People would be hard pressed to explain what is the use of maintaining this gift to this small group of people in South Florida when it is only seen and heard right there in South Florida.  Cubans don't even want to see it.  Go to Cuba and you will see them more interested in game shows, soap operas, and reality TV than the obvious garbage coming from those "Made in Miami" atrocities.  Let's do something inteligent that won't cut essential programs for people in our country.Let's get rid of these Cold War relics.