Redstate

It's Weekend at Fidel's.

"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle

an occurence.
What a dispicable man he is. Cuba's future will be brighter once he is gone.

Kinda makes you wish we could re-elect George for one more term, doesn't it.

If you see one looking a little down, remind them about Hugo's Chavez's U.N. speech; that should cheer them up.

five minutes of his Hell on Earth. Hurry the day lil' brother and the other communist thugs on the island feel the heat as well.

Fidel won't survive Bush but that is not really a measure of success - our policy towards Cuba has got to be the longest living policy failure in our country's history. We have failed to push Castro out of power, to reform the country in anyway, to set the country open for reform following Castro's death and all at the expense of freedom of movement and association of our own citizens.

Obama would fly into Havana on day 1 of his presidency and promiss all kinds of aid and trade in exchange for some weak promiss of "reform".

Issues like these is where McCain needs to emphasize his experience. I'm sure the Obama campaign(well, at least Michelle), who only recently became proud of America, has been proud of Cuba's resistance to capitalism and corporatism since the days Che stringing up people who sought freedom.

"We don't need proof to execute a man. We only need proof that it's necessary to execute him. A revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate."

Eric you should put the above picture and Che quote on the front page.

one lick that the dictator's health problems forced this resignation (real or otherwise) during a specific term. (And that Erick apparently equates reporting about how long this dictator has lasted with an apologetic attitude toward him is interesting, but that's another story).

What matters now, during the last months of the Bush Administration, is how we respond to the dictator's decline, and what, if anything, we can do to help Cubans throw off this crushing system now that its main backer, apparently, has taken a step back. It would be nice, too, if can figure out an efficient way to eventually get American companies into the country, but that's another issue.

I can understand the glee that welcomes any sign of Castro's demise--he is a textbook totalitarian, after all--but the apparent implication that President Bush had something to do with this is strange, as is the "gotcha" to assorted Hollywood types who really don't matter all that much.

I take it that the reason Castro chose to resign was that he wanted to be sure to turn over the reins of power to his chosen successor(s) before he died. Meaning that he knows he's near death.

It will be fun to see who will be the mourners attending Castro's funeral. There may be so many from Hollywood there that for a few days, Hollywood may come to a screeching halt.

The guy's just freakin' old. Happens to everybody.

We would have been far better off engaging Castro, in the way we engaged his counterparts in Vietnam. Opening up that society would have had the same beneficial effects we saw in the Eastern Bloc during Reagan's reign.

We could have done so much more, had we stuck to our principles and exercised a little more Reaganesque pragmatism.

How you feel joy at this failure is not fathomable to me.

Sean Penn: Last year I went to Iraq. Before Team America showed up, it was a happy place. They had flowery meadows and rainbow skies, and rivers made of chocolate, where the children danced and laughed and played with gumdrop smiles

Yes, and we messed up Cuba. It's all our fault.

"Nec Aspera Terrent"
bene ambula et redambula
Contributor to The Minority Report

That's just ridiculous. So Bush outlasted Castro? If Kim Jong-il dies from a drunken fall two days into a Hillary administration does that mean it's triumph for the Clintons? No.

I'm glad Castro's gone, but what kind of power was he yielding anyway the last two years? More importantly, I don't see the celebration if corrupt totalitarian dictator hands power to corrupt totalitarian dictator's brother.

Unless Castro is at his brother's swearing in-inauguration-coronation, I think the man is and has been dead. He hasn't been seen alive and in the flesh in what, 18 months? Only on video.
I figure the Cuban government had only two ways to go in dealing with a Castro death. Cover it up for as long as possible as they transition to Raul. Or, they could have announced the death and made it a National Day of Mourning, etc - praising Castro (this will still probably happen).

Symbolically, it is an historic day. Fidel is no longer dictator. But, the Communist regime still rules. When it crumbles, then the celebrations can begin.
R.J.

This is worth celebrating no matter when he finally goes. He stopped mattering as much to us when his Soviet backers fell from power, but for the sake of the Cuban people this is a good development. Raul Castro will undoubtedly keep the warm communist gulag going a while longer, but he lacks Fidel Castro's cult of personality.

Now about that idea of Kim Jong Il dying from a fall down the steps in a drunken stupor.... want to take up a collection to send him a case of booze?!

...that America is going the way of Cuba and not visa versa.

The MSM reports I read take great lengths to trumpet the Cuban Medical System providing health care for all (with the decided undertone that the USA should follow this great leader).

The MSM and the liberal front love everything that was Castro and Cuba. The overthrow of the establishment, the vast equality of the rules on the citizenry (well except for the ruling class and military), the removal of personal property (you don't buy houses or lands in Cuba, you lease), the subsidies for milk, bread, gasoline, rum, sugar and tobacco (well, you know, the staples in life).

Yes, the more I listen to folks on the street here in the USA, they just pine for the good life down in Fidel's world where socialism rules supreme. There's that ugly little thing about living on $20/week and not having cars and being restricted from beaches and hotels - but hey, life is good down there on the island working for the common good of man.

It would be a notable day if we weren't heading into an election where the choices for President are two extreme Liberals and one kinda-sorta Liberal. If we had any backbone, there would be a call for cooperation and the possibility of economic expansion between the two countries especially if Cuba wanted to try Capitalism and free trade once again. It would be lovely if Cuba could embrace a representative government that would respond to the wishes of the people rather than dictating life to them.

But alas, I fear that by the time Raul and a generation or so of modern dictators wear out their welcome in Cuba, the Cuban people will look up North and go "ewwwww", we certainly don't want to become a socialist cesspool like what the United States has become. The only good news is that the folks down in Miami can return home to the island and potentially start a new country - maybe take a Declaration of Independence and a Constitution as it was written by our founding fathers and create a great new Republic right at our doorstep.

I can dream can't I?

From Club for Growth, here

Forty-four days before Fidel Castro became dictator of Cuba, Robert Byrd was sworn in as a U.S. senator.

That's a lot of tyranny...and a lot of pork.

Vote for your preferred candidate even if they've dropped out. Don't follow the herd in the stampede!