Easing Restrictions on Cuba: A Bonanza for the Buzzards

Take that you intransigent hardliners! Chalk up another one for the ruling military junta. Not because as the media would have you believe, it is a sign of the eroding support for holding said misgoverning body accountable, but rather because it is a win-win situation for the Havana strongmen. They have gained untold millions without losing a single cog in the machinery of repression. Because of today’s announcement, tomorrow, no independent librarian is going to be able to enter a bookstore and buy a copy of Animal Farm. No newspaper is going to print an op-ed piece by Maria Beatriz Roque or Hector Palacios. Not a single prisoner of conscience is going to see the dawn a free man. Nothing has essentially changed. Well, almost nothing.

700 million dollars. That is the total of remittances sent to Cuba under the much maligned Bush rules which allowed Cuban Americans to send 1200 dollars a year-300 hundred a quarter- to relatives on the blighted island. Some calculate the figure at a billion dollars. Of that money, about 25% goes directly into the pockets of the regime in the form of a punishing exchange tariff. Ka-ching. The rest, as it makes its way to the street vendor, the black market, whatever, supplies desperately needed- since the country suffers from a chronic case of Marxist induced anemia- lifeblood to the economy. Ka-ching. Finally, by easing the pressure created by perpetual want on the regime…. Priceless.

Essentially, by lifting the restrictions on remittances, the American government has moved to provide a subsidy to the moribund Communist dictatorship. Yes, there are humanitarian considerations. No one is more aware of these. To us Cubans are not an abstraction. They have names: Nito and Berta and Fefa and Blanca and Juan. They have titles: Mami, Abuela, Tio, Prima. But there is a difference between sending over enough to keep the wolf from the door and feeding the beast.

As always seems the case, common sense never seems to inform our policies. The previous rules denied the importance of uncles, aunts, cousins, an important consideration now that the older generations are dying off. The new ones make dorming with a Cuban roommate a qualification for sending money. The limit on remittances under the old policy was generous for a population with an average income of 20 dollars a month. Under the new rules, I fear our tendency to get carried away and turn a seemingly beneficent gesture into financial bovine the likes of which fidel never even envisioned for his mini cow.

Tonight's Quip

"In America, they gave Obama the White House. In Cuba, they gave Oscar Elias Biscet 25 years in prison.''

Danbury attorney Rafael Pina in this NewsTimes article comparing the fates of two black men who sought change- Barack Obama and Elias Biscet.

A Virtual Tea Party Put Out of Business

The Republicans are offering virtual tea bags. Interested?

Mail is undeliverable at the moment. Guess they don't want to hear from you over at the White House and the Capitol.

In Which I Lament an Omission

Those of you who visit regularly will know that I am extraordinarily fond of Cold Case. Yup, that's the one with the cute Cuban. Surprisingly, however, I never know when the sucker is on, usually on a Saturday night, I thought. So last night, as I was watching Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in his seemingly new buff body and wondering whether what Perez Hilton says is true. The guy's married, for Lord's sake! Oh, dear, let me finish that sentence: I not only missed a new episode, but I missed one based on a would be Cuban defector baseball player. It is not the first time the show has made an allusion to the situation, but they have always been pretty spot on before. Babalu has clips.

H/T Henry Gomez

Momentous Quote for the Evening

Targeting specific, identifiable persons or entities for unfavorable treatment, and transferring their assets to equally identifiable persons or entities, surely also raises equal protection [constitutional] issues.

-George Will from the aforecited column.

Monday Recap

Peter and Paul. It's been a long time since a George Will column has spoken to me. This one about taxing one group to specifically fund another group of citizens and its dubious constitutionality hits close to home. Is he writing about taxing smokers to provide health insurance for the children of others? No. The case he writes about is in Illinois. The principle holds.

One and Two. Another entry from Townhall is a feature about new media sensation Glenn Beck. Beck who's gone slightly off the reservation lately, and I write this as a longtime fan, is in actuality performing a great service for many of us. Beck vocalizes what we fear and should make it clear to the big government one world types that we will not go gently into that good night. Besides, the guy's funny.

Glitter and Gold. Just as the wires are burning up with this news, I'd like to offer a timely reminder with this. Amado Veloso Vega whose quest for freedom included a number of attempts to flee Cuba and resulted in the loss of both legs has graduated as a radiologist, walking on prosthetics donated by a Cuban American doctor. The doctor's only request was that he "stand as a role model of success." Talk about your insight into the Cuban American psyche.

Victory and Defeat. Here's one near and dear to my heart: a warm thanks to Patrick Nagle and all those who made the Sarasota "Fringe Festival" possible. Through a clerical error, over three hundred aspiring filmakers being rejected by the Sarasota Film Festival received a mass emailing. Story here. One thing led to another, and a new festival was born. I attended the last day and was thrilled to see real art in all its rawness. Bought my t shirt. Kudos, and I'm there next year.

Adam and Eve. From the Today Show comes the a listing of the 19 worst fast food meals. They probably taste the best, too. Nothing like your fat for your flavor. Take it with a grain of salt, I say. Two, that's two puns, or is it?

Reads: Some Light Fare for an Easter Sunday

I was comparing notes with a coworker the other day and happened to mention that I really enjoyed those fluffy, quirky whodunits set in the South, like those by Carolyn Haines and- to a lesser extent- Mary Kay Andrews. She clued me in to Mary Kay Andrews' alter identity of Kathy Hogan Trochek. The central stratagem in her earlier novels, the cleaning service with the unfortunate tendency of encountering corpses was to good to pass up. So I had to pick up To Live and Die in Dixie, apparently the second in the series. Couldn't resist. It was well worth the read. What more delightful way to pass the afternoon than to spend it with ex-cop Callahan Garrity, her mother, the assorted employees of "House Mouse' and the victim du jour? Truly enjoyable.

On a whole different level, but with the same feel, if a bit more grounded in African culture and human nature, was the Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. I felt I had to read it now that they were making a movie. I have to confess to being something of a snob. Ever the individualist, I refuse to climb on the bandwagon for a book. If I don't catch it early on, I may never read it. If they make a movie, I never will. Alas, it took me a year to read the first Harry Potter, fortunately before the movie. I really do have to work on it.

Because of this character flaw, when it became a smash hit with the book club set, I resisted reading the adventures of Precious Ramotswe in her newly minted detective agency in Gaborone. I was the poorer for it. This one is sweet and entertaining. The innocence and basic decency of Precious does not keep her from carrying out her duty, African style. Unlike our literary gumshoes, the fledgling detective uses her knowledge of the way things operate to solve her cases. At times, there is a kind of irony as the reader is left to wonder just how effective she has been. The copious amounts of bush tea ladled out by her secretary, bearer of the distinction of having scored a 97 on the typing test as we are advised frequently, are just part of the affectionate local color here.

Bon Mot of the Evening

“'In my household I told Castro he is known as the ultimate survivor,' says Rep. Rush." One can only conclude that Mr. Rush also deeply admires cockroaches.

-Comment by Asombra on a Babalublog post by Anatasio Blanco about the recent remarks made by returning Congressional Black Caucus junketeers.

April 15th: Tea Time

If you want to join in the festivities by sending a tea bag to Washington on April 15th, just read this. I know nothing about the organization, but it sound nifty to me. It might be interesting to know where they intend to dump a million tea bags. Gotta love that American spirit!

Did He or Didn't He?

I'm here to tell you that it doesn't matter. Talk about your tempest in a teapot. As far as I am concerned, Obama's quasi bow to the Saudi King is probably the result of the social awkwardness that has plagued his dealings with British royalty, the metaphorical equivalent of drinking from the finger bowl, a solecism I don't think he would commit.

In any case, of more concern is the concept of negotiations with Iran. Iranian leaders in the past have acknowledged that talks were just a means to buy time. Of more concern also are the apologies he's spouting, the policies he's enacting. Enough already with the bow.

Family Travel and Remittances Loosened

Here's a statistic for all of the embargo lifters. Under the repressive Bush policies, family remittances to Cuba total 700 million dollars a year. Talk about stimulative.

America: Where the Fat Lady Meets the Peanut Man

Woke up this am to find Jose's delightful post on "El Manisero." The Cuban peanut vendor, unlike his American ballpark counterpart, does not sling his wares about chanting, "Peanuts! Get your peanuts heaar!" No, he sings his refrain in an evening serenade.

Brings back memories of my father wrapping paper into a cone shape demonstrating to my American daughter how the little packets of peanuts were sold. I suspect she knows more than I as they used to sing it to her.

In English we say that something is not over "until the fat lady sings." My mother with her typically Cuban sharp wit used to say that something or someone was not done until he or she sang, or canto "El Manisero." If I remember correctly, particularly in reference to mortality. I'm sure some of you reading know the ins and outs a bit better than I. So much is lost.

H/T Cubanology

Sunday Interrogatives

Where's the beef? The news this week was all Barack Goes to Europe all the time, so let's start there. Despite the PR success, the truth is that it was something a policy failure. Forced by the recalcitrant French and German leaders to abandon his quest to have a global stimulus , Mr. Obama seems to have settled on gaining more help in Afghanistan. As this report from the Times indicates, results were not too good on this front either.

Who's your Daddy? Back on the home front, Stanford economist Michael Boskin points out at the Wall Street Journal that Barackian economics will result in a tax increase as "big as their mortgage" for those making 100 thousand a year.

What's the catch? Seemingly unnoticed is the chilling information that the government which initially strong armed some banks into taking TARP funds in order to provide cover for their weaker brethren is essentially refusing to take it back, at least according to the WSJ in this. As Stuart Varney points out, it's all about control this go 'round.

Who stole the cookie...? In somewhat the same vein, over at Townhall Kathryn Lopez highlights a new book which has become something of a sensation: Liberty and Tyranny; A Conservative Manifesto by Mark Levin. I haven't read it, but plenty of others have. Then again I haven't read Liberal Fascism either.

Where in the world? Also in Cuba related news, the Congressional Black Caucus is on a junket to the benighted and blighted island. Guess they haven't read the report on the side bar about the plight of Afro-Cubans. The media is touting the lifting of family travel restrictions as prologue to greater easing; but as Andres Oppenheimer quotes Jason Cason in a Miami Herald piece, tourism has never "brought down a totalitarian regime."

Which witch? Some potentially disturbing news. Foul rumors are abroad that Broadway could face trouble in this economy, that a movie version of Atlas Shrugged is again in the works, and that the English language is always evolving. Theater is one of the New York things I miss most, as theater in my hometown either involves social climbing or a field trip from the assisted living facility. I've never read Rand, as the size of the tomes dwarf my desire to read them. And evolution or no evolution, I cannot get used to impact as a verb.

Meanderings: Ghosts of Meals Past

I'm standing outside; the sun is shining; and I'm thinking. For some reason I'm reminiscing about the Brooklyn in which I grew up. Then somehow the train of thought leaves the station and winds up at The House on Mango Street, a book I thoroughly enjoyed. I've recommended it loads of times. It's easy to read, composed of near poetic almost stories. Surprisingly, no one has been as taken with it as I was. But you see, I know all about growing up Hispanic in an urban American environment in the dim mists of the past.

Take the rice sandwich. To the horror of the Nun in charge, young Esperanza takes a rice sandwich to school. Poor Esperanza wants desperately to be like the other children and take a sandwich for lunch. All she's got at home is rice, so that's what she puts between two slices of bread. What did she know about tuna, or cold cuts? A sandwich? Nah, she just wants to stop being the outsider.

I can relate. Somewhere along the line I realized that everyone else didn't eat rice every night or spaghetti with greasy brown sauce. So I announced to my mother that I wanted lasagna. I even had a recipe on the back of a matchbook. Nobody really makes matchbooks anymore, at least the kind with recipes in them, which is probably a good thing because I never got a good recipe from that source. Now the backs of boxes are another thing altogether, bearing a veritable treasure trove of great recipes with the exception of those that read "to the pasta add one jar of XYZ spaghetti sauce," which kinda defeats the purpose of adding a recipe to the box.

Anyway, we went through the ingredients. Canned tomatoes? No problem, we had tomato sauce. Mozzarella cheese? Well, we had American. Needless to say, the result was near unpalatable and soured us on Italian cooking for years. I guess it was just as well, because nothing was ever going to make me anything over than the little Spanish girl in 3 downstairs. I suspect that some may have substituted spic for the same, but it was not until I left the confines of the working class and moved to suburbia that I was ever called the latter to my face.

The Unnatural

Missed the Sunday edition last week due to paucity of good material, although these two entries did stand out:

An interesting article on Reuters about the last eunuch in China who died in 1996. The poor guy's life reads like a novel, although it was all too real. A slice of the past.

Over at Breitbart is an AFP article that the US Navy has "significant evidence" of "cold fusion." You might remember the two researchers who announced they had achieved same years ago. When other scientists failed to replicate their results, they were generally discredited. Seems they might have been on to something after all.

You Go, John!

Representative John Conyers, Jr, perhaps best known for his desire to try, metaphorically speaking, Bush in absentia, took time to hear testimony of alleged improprieties on the part of ACORN, the apparent new NGO arm of the government. The laundry list of allegations was so impressive, he is considering launching an investigation. Read about it here at the Washington Times.

Finally, Some Common Sense

Despite the naked greed, Euro-envy, and Pollyanna politics reaching new heights in the latest outbreak of the "We Want to Go to Cuba, Too" syndrome, there are still lone voices out there standing up for what is right.

Kudos to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review for this.

from the beginning-

New calls to loosen U.S. travel restrictions to Cuba extend the hand of good faith and friendship to a regime that, 47 years later, still prefers to govern with an iron fist.

to the end-

The case for lifting U.S. bans begins with Cuba enacting meaningful reforms, not by Washington politicians espousing political expediency.

A Moment in Brief

Following the logic behind the unconscionable raising of tobacco taxes- almost two dollars a pack on cigarettes- as it's being reported, we can cure heroin addiction by raising the price of a fix.

Heard in Passing

It's like this whole country's turned into high school.... Everything's a popularity contest.
-caller to Michael Medved's show this afternoon.

Updated: It Was a Very Good Year...

... for George Soros apparently who made 1.1 billion last year, in part by betting against the dollar. Well, since Soros was instrumental in the rise of the liberal left, inquiring minds want to know how much of that he's paying in taxes. Something tells me it's not 32%. These bleeding heart moneyed liberals are very good at spending OPT (Other People's Taxes).

Update: Rumor has it that he pays 15% just like say someone who has a taxable income of say 60 thousand or so.

Quote for Today

I believe he is going to eventually be called a great President, even as he has inherited the worst economy since FDR and a much more dangerous world.
-Mike Lupica from this in which he counsels the President to cool it on the campaigning.

Can I ask a question? On what basis? It is theoretically possible, if not particularly likely, that Mr. Lupica will be proven correct. But I would like to know what in his past, what in the seemingly bumbling start to the administration provides the slightest inkling that Mr. Obama will be an able, let alone great, president? This is just another example of how our political views have become enmeshed in our love or hate for a particular politician with little or no grounding in reality. I guess believe is the operative word here.

H/T Ms. Calabaza

The State of Our News

Years ago, I was watching CNN when I nearly fell out of my chair as it covered the opening of a new museum, presided over by then Iraqi strongman Sadam Hussein, devoted to those fallen at the hands of the evil Americans. I kid you not, that was the perspective of the report. Angered, I emailed CNN and asked when they became the Baghdad news network. During the Iraq war, it became embarrassingly apparent that CNN had been playing footsie with the dictator in order to keep their Iraqi operation.

This week Humberto Fontova over at Babalu outed another dirty secret when he noted that the Miami Herald Tribune was copying news releases put out by a Cuban propaganda arm, ACN. There is no free press in Cuba. Any "news" issued by the same is by definition propaganda issued by the regime, as the press is an organ of same. There is no disclaimer that this is a press release. There is obviously no context in these so-called reports. To give you an idea of just how serious this is, can you imagine gleaning news about Nazi Germany from the propaganda put out by Goebbels? You decide.

Leave 'er Alone!

You would think that I would be cheered by the way the media is going after Biden's daughter. After all, we may recall how they trashed Palin and her family. However, it is wrong. It was wrong then, and it is wrong now. Whether the vice president's daughter did or did not do cocaine has no bearing on the quality of his governance. The public would be better served if they devoted the same enthusiasm to uncovering the cronyism and unsavory dealings of many of our elected officials. Now that would serve the public interest. But that would require some true investigative reporting.

How About Some Standards Here?

As a child I was fascinated by the sweepstakes offers that came in the mail. Not knowing any better, I once read the fine print which stated that employees and family members of employees were not eligible to enter. As I grew up I found it to be the standard for sweepstakes.

I'm reminded of that because in the midst of the economic and political upheaval, I am most aghast at the rampant cronyism and corruption that has surfaced in one context or another. There's the Republican member of congress who conveniently invested in property that became part of a government-backed development. Bankers with special relationships; sweetheart mortgages; sons, daughters, husbands, wives associated with firms bailed out; forget campaign contributors. The situation is rank and smells to heaven.

So it strikes me that the least we can do is apply Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes Standards to our elected officials.

Thanks, but No Thanks!

A Democratic senator has proposed a bill to help ailing newspapers. In a separate news account, I read where they would be non profit and would not be able to make endorsements. Not that I'm a skeptic or anything but doesn't that ostensibly describe PBS? We all know how apolitical they are. There is more than one way to endorse a political position.

They Say It's Paved With Good Intentions

That's the road to you-know-where. It's the road that the Czech head of the European Union sees the US taking. Perhaps it's because they've been down that road before, the Czech Prime Minister, who has his own difficulties, had some harsh words for the US plan to spend its way out of recession.

It says something that Russia, China, Mexico, and the Czech Republic have lately felt the need to instruct us on free market capitalism.

Sentence of the Day Winner

A $14 trillion economy hangs by a thread composed of (a) a comically cynical, pitchfork-wielding Congress, (b) a hopelessly understaffed, stumbling Obama administration, and (c) $165 million.

-from the aforecited Krauthammer column.

Sunday Evening and Some Questionable Duos

Strum und Drang? Over at Townhall, Charles Krauthammer takes on the topic du jour of the AIG bonuses, putting into perspective the over-the-top political response. Something in the situation evokes the figurative. Krauthammer envisions a pitchfork wielding congressional mob wielding confiscatory taxes. NRO's Mark Steyn characterizes it as "Outrage Kabuki." In any case, it is obfuscating the real and vital issues

Sawdust and Greasepaint? Also over at Townhall, Kevin McCullough presents a notion that has occurred to me, namely that Mr. Obama seems to be in over his head. Of all of the things I worried he would do, bumbling was not one. Most interesting stat here is that 83% of those polled don't have much confidence that Mr. Obama's policies are going to work.

Baked or Fried? Try this one over at Fox as to the effects of the recession on buying habits. Up are shoemakers and barbers; down, not surprisingly, is Vegas. In a separate Reuters article over at MSNBC, the discussion is about a recession-fueled bump in fishing.

Animal or Vegetable? The big drama this week was the discovery of "The World's Deadliest Spider" at a Tulsa Whole Foods, only maybe it wasn't the world's deadliest spider after all. In other food-related news, the NY Times advises sugar is coming back into vogue, replacing corn syrup. A welcome development as far as I am concerned.

Just the Thing!

This should come in handy when the current policies send us into a collective tailspin. Personally, a few of my neighbors and I are ready to launch our own victory garden in the substantial open space that abuts my house. It pays to be prepared. And we're ready to defend it, too. No, no, we're not completely crazy, just cautious.

A Slice of Life And a Wisp of Smoke

Needless to say, despite supporting the health insurance of two middle class children with the proceeds from my addiction, I am still smoking. I have recovered sufficiently to forgo thundering "I hate the Democrat congress" every time I purchase a pack, probably due to the nice but also put upon convenience store clerk, who despite making minimum wage is also supporting the health insurance of aforesaid middle class children. Anyhow, she suggested the expedient of buying really cheap cigarettes, the kind that come in a little brown box, the kind I picture Camus' Meursault smoking in Algeria before they took them away when they put him in prison, the ones he missed so much.

I hear that quite a few of my fellow nicotine addicts have availed themselves of similar options. So there I am today on line at the convenience store when the woman in front of me inquires how much a pack of Doral is, only to be told 642 dollars. Her quip: "Oh, they've gone down." Ah ha, a like-minded individual, I think. Then as I leave, she is unlocking her car. I call out to her. She raises her head inquisitively. I holler, "Don't forget to vote," raising my stubby pack of cigarettes.

"Oh, I'll be there," she replies. I'd hazard that so will a goodly percentage of those who secretly and not so secretly resent the cavalier way this Democrat congress spends other people's money. It's never a good idea to annoy a quarter of the voting population from the get go. So if you happen to be on line at the convenience store when some unfortunate grumbles, be sure he or she knows who to thank.

Read: Angel's Tip

I confess that when I first stumbled upon an Alafair Burke novel, I took it as proof of the tenet anyone whose ever written a novel and attempted to get an agent, let alone get it published, quickly learns. You really need to know someone. Alas book publishing, like everything in our society other than the cyberworld, is ossified. Take Hollywood. How many are the children, nephews of famous faces? See, with the name Alafair, it was a fair bet she was related to one of my favorite all time authors, James Lee Burke. Eventually, I relented and picked up a copy of one of her novels. It was okay.

So you can imagine the pleasant surprise when, because of library budget cuts, I was reduced to picking up the second installment in the Ellie Hatcher series Angel's Tip- in large print, no less- and loved it. With the character of Ellie, Burke really hits her stride. Her sensitivity and feel for the night life in lower Manhattan and the nicely wrought plot make this one a joy to read on a Friday after work. As the blurb on the cover from Faye Kellerman describes it, "riveting." Enjoyed it.

Finally: Some Common Sense

Coming from Sheila Bair, the FDIC chair who states that "too big to fail" won't cut it. I'm not that sure about the mechanism she is suggesting, but it was your erstwhile correspondent who pointed out a while ago that "too big to fail" was too big to exist. Personally, I think I'd like some variation of an anti-trust act but with the commedia del politico we've got going on in congress, she may be right. Read about it here.

The Progressive Way

I fail to see the surprise at AG Eric Holder's admission that some interned at Guantanamo will wind up walking our streets. That was a foregone conclusion from the moment they announced closing Guantanamo and availing themselves of the American court system.

If you want a hint as to what happens when our system goes to work on terrorists, try reading
Two Seconds Under the World:Terror Comes to America-The Conspiracy Behind the World Trade Center Bombing . I found it at the library after the World Trade Center Bombing and the before the attack on 9/11. A well-written, enlightening book, its central premise is that the first terrorist attack on US soil was really the assassination of Meir Kahane in Manhattan. As the single reviewer on Amazon maintains, in order to understand 9/11, you need to understand the bombing.

Particularly instructive in light of today's admission is what happened to the assassin when he was tried. Ably defended by William Kunstler, he beat most of the rap for Kahane and a bystander he shot to death as he made his escape. The machinations of his co-conspirators to get him released led to the World Trade Center bombing. No lie. It's really worth a read. Then decide if you want these guys tried here.

Some Morning Irony for Your Coffee

In support of my dear, departed mother's adage that no monkey sees his own tail, get this:

Rep. Barney Frank charged Monday that a decision by financially-strapped insurance giant AIG to pay millions in executive bonuses amounts to "rewarding incompetence."

Given the starting line-up of chairmen in the House, the backstopping of financial enterprises whose greed overcame prudence, and the rewarding of individuals with poor business and or life judgement that is part of the Democrat juggernaut, it would be très amusing, if it were not so sad.

Late Sunday Perspective

Poe-tay-toe. Townhall brings us Doug Giles' amusing report on the rise of gun sales. Others have ascribed it to fear of gun regulation, Giles sees it as the result of Obamian stimulus. Over at NRO, Peter Geraghty would seem to agree listing gun sales as one of the 5 ways Obama's economic stimulus is already working. Perhaps it is an evolutionary thing, witness Santino the Chimp over in Stockholm who armed himself with a pile of stones in anticipation of gawkers. Here.

Poe-tah-toe. In keeping with the previous post, here is a column by Robert Samuelson in the Washington Post in which he takes Obama to task for the verbal sleight of hand which is not only dishonest but obscures the more weighty considerations that we, as a nation, face. Worth a read.

Toe-may-toe. As noted earlier, the administration is abandoning the term enemy combatant. As the article here makes clear, there is great care being taken to explain that the change in terminology does not reflect a gentler, kinder approach. Question is: can anyone tell me what the new descriptor will be? Whatchamacallit isn't going to work. It is a legal definition after all.

Toe-mah-toe. Let's go highbrow. Here's a thought provoking review of Elaine Showalter's A Jury of Her Peers; American Women Writers by Katha Pollitt over at Slate, particularly notable for what it conveys about the lot of women writers and their absence in the boys club that divines the canon, as much as its evaluation of the Showalter book. Some of the best feminist literary criticism still belongs to the first chapters of Gilbert and Gubar's The Madwoman in The Attic.

Let's just call the whole thing off.

New Lexicon of Hope and Change Revisited

Here's the ongoing list of the new terminology of "hope and change."

Shared Sacrifice- the concept that only the wealthy-with the exception of prominent Democrats- and corporations should be required to sacrifice by shelling out ever increasing taxes. The other half the population will then share in their appropriated wealth. Also applies to cigarette and cigar smokers who have assumed the duty of providing health insurance to the children of people making up to 84 thousand a year.

Omnibus- A catchall denoting a vehicle for transporting pork to political constituencies. No need to worry about the stench. There's a provision to study that too.

Political Prisoner- the de facto replacement in the leftist view of things- in the absence of any forthcoming terminology- for "enemy combatant," the term coined by the verbally challenged and much maligned Bush administration to describe those who conspired against and/or killed Americans. Not to be confused with the "mercenaries" who also languish in Cuban jails for wielding not weapons but opinions.

Stimulus- “Stimulus” comes from the verb stimulare, which is Latin for “transfer massive sums of money from what remains of the dynamic sector of the economy to the special interests of the Democratic party.” No, hang on, my mistake. Stimulare means “to goad.” And, on that front, the Democrats are doing an excellent job. They’ve managed to goad 58 percent of the American people into opposing the “stimulus” package. They’ve managed to goad all 177 Republicans in the House into unpacking their mothballed cojones and voting against the bill. And they’ve managed to goad the rest of the world into ending the Obama honeymoon in nothing flat. Headline from the London Daily Telegraph: “US-EU Trade War Looms As Barack Obama Bill Urges ‘Buy American.’

-from Mark Steyn at NRO

Stimulus Bill- a means of foisting the forty year wish list Democrats were unable to pass on the American public-increased medical care for the children of the moderately well to do, increased cigarette and cigar taxes, increased funding for birth control, funding for a host of global warming initiatives, funding to computerize medical records, more funds for changing over television, etc...

Trojan Horse- see "stimulus bill."

Middle Class Task Force- a committee led by the Vice-President in charge of making the federal government as union friendly and employer antagonistic as possible.

Who's Allowed?

In something of an Abbot and Costello routine, quite a bit of the stealth Cuba provisions in the latest behemoth to pass through the congress is unclear. They were passed, but they're not going to be enacted. No, wait, the travel provisions will, but not the commercial stuff. I don't know. You can try to figure it out. Start at USA Today here.

What is clear is who can go. Under the old rules, only mother/father/ brother/sister could go or send money. This became problematic as the older generation of exiles died and the misery of the benighted island did not. Under the new rules, at least for travel to Cuba-

(b) For the purpose of this general license, the term close relative used with respect to any person means any individual related to that person by blood, marriage, or adoption who is no more than three generations removed from that person or from a common ancestor with that person.

Can't find guidance on cash remittances, yet.

How About a Joke?

Found this one in my email-

Bilingual Soda Machine

A Cuban in Miami goes to a Pepsi vending machine. It costs 60 cents. He puts 2 quarters and waits. The machine signals DIME. The Cuban whispers: "quiero una pepsi"!

Meanderings: Not This Week, Honey

One of those little things they leave out of Florida travel brochures is a little known phenomenon known as red tide. Most of the time, it doesn't look red. In fact, it's usually the coughing and the dead fish strewn about the beach that give it away. Fortunately, it's been a long time, maybe a few years, since it hit our shores. So why am I bringing it up?

Well, I'm a bit obsessed with the subject, having been traumatized by the year the red tide would not go away. My family thinks me somewhat crazed, but I'm convinced that the prolonged exposure did something to my head, literally. Ever since then when the season changes- whether it's the temperature, humidity, or pressure- I get the mother of all sinus headaches. And as migraine sufferers know, once the head goes, so does the stomach. Thus, I have literally been under the weather this week.

And so, as I sit and write this with a queasy stomach and and iron will, I must apologize for my absence this week and vow to be undeterred, hopefully.

Quote at Dawn

I think of a point a major foreign-policy official made to me, in December. He made it forcefully, and it left an impression on me: A lot of people failed to realize that, in going after President Bush and damaging him, they were damaging America more broadly, throughout the world. They may not have intended to do the latter; they may have intended only to hurt Bush. But they did more than that.
-Jay Nordlinger

Literary Interlude: from "The Rocking Horse Winner"

Something about what's been going on reminded me of this from DH Lawrence's "The Rocking Horse Winner." Read it in its entirety here.

And so the house came to be haunted by the unspoken phrase: There must be more money! There must be more money! The children could hear it all the time though nobody said it aloud. They heard it at Christmas, when the expensive and splendid toys filled the nursery. Behind the shining modern rocking-horse, behind the smart doll's house, a voice would start whispering: "There must be more money! There must be more money!" And the children would stop playing, to listen for a moment. They would look into each other's eyes, to see if they had all heard. And each one saw in the eyes of the other two that they too had heard. "There must be more money! There must be more money!"

It came whispering from the springs of the still-swaying rocking-horse, and even the horse, bending his wooden, champing head, heard it. The big doll, sitting so pink and smirking in her new pram, could hear it quite plainly, and seemed to be smirking all the more self-consciously because of it. The foolish puppy, too, that took the place of the teddy-bear, he was looking so extraordinarily foolish for no other reason but that he heard the secret whisper all over the house: "There must be more money!"

The Slippery Slope of our Present Policies

Recently, some New Yorkers took to the streets to protest what they see as Draconian budget cuts. A look at some of the comments in this article is instructive.

"Governor Paterson, I wish you could have an open heart that we are going to suffer if this budget cut goes through," said China Lankford of Jamaica. [ One has to imagine that's Jamaica, Queens, otherwise it would seem pretty nervy.]

"You can't cut the budget the way it is and still have the quality we're aiming for," Altomare [a retired teacher] said.

"For those of you who prosper during boom time, we ask them pay a little bit more. Pay a little more so New York can avoid cutting the services that our most vulnerable need," United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said.

Ah, there it is. The last comment contains their demands:

They're asking for what they call "fair tax reform" -- raising state taxes for New Yorkers making $250,000 or more on top of the president's proposed hikes.

They want the state to follow the federal government's lead. Any New Yorker who makes above minimum wage is already contributing heftily to city coffers. New Yorkers are among the most heavily taxed and hardest hit in the nation. What is fair about asking people who already pay more than half of their income in federal, state and local taxes, not to mention the taxes built into their Con Ed and other utility bills, not to mention the 8 dollars the unfortunately addicted shell out for a pack of cigarettes to pay more. And here are these people who suck on the municipal teat in whatever form, since vulnerability has been turned into an industry in New York, demanding that yet more be taken. This way, the envy, covetousness, and mean-spiritedness of communism lies.

Meanderings: Today's Graffiti

I'm pretty much the political one around here. The hubster doesn't say much, but then he doesn't say much, period. I suppose I should have been clued in by his attitude toward voting, which he considers a civic duty. Picture Jimmy Buffet on line at the local synagogue.

His other endearing civic quirk is his love of the flag. Last year, he indulged himself and picked up a huge, and I mean huge, flagpole. In deference to my rather stridently expressed wishes, he sunk the pole, not in the ground, but in an over sized bucket of concrete. Nobody can see this expedient because of the lime green stockade fence he put up to avert the stares of the local Committee for the Defense of the Code, but that's another story.

Since inauguration day when he quietly went out in the middle of the day and retrieved his flag never to be raised again, he's addicted to Foxnews, both channels, punctuating whatever program with his obscenities. Now, I've given up documentaries. By now I could make a golf club or guitar or muck out a horse stall handily. I do like to watch CSI, Cold Case, etc.... I've also discovered these great little Canadian series like Davinci's Inquest and their Cold Case. To make a long story shorter, he refuses, insisting on watching the latest aberration with all the fascination of a gawker at a train wreck.

I'm the more philosophical one these days. It comes down to this. I believe that this administration has already overreached, shown their hand. I know, I know, about the popularity polls, but it's already demonstrated a level of incompetence that will surely sink in. I believe that many of these prescriptions are horribly wrong. Along the way, however, there are some good things that will be done. At the risk of sacrilege, I would venture that although some principles cannot be compromised, the actual process of governing should reflect the center, simply because that is the perch of the majority of citizens.

The beauty of this country is that nothing, not any administration, lasts forever. There will be another day. One could make a case that part of the reason that this administration is even possible is because we have forgotten what it was like when initiative was sapped and taxed, when entitlement destroyed the fabric of whole communities and spawned generations relegated to the underclass. I like to look at this as a reminder. The pendulum always swings both ways.

I Don't Believe It

I've long suspected that Wall Street types like to play a game of gotcha with small investors. Take a day like today. Finally, the market goes up. The improvident will often rush in to get in at the bottom. Then, whoosh, all of a sudden, the big guys, having made their money, pull out in the next few days, leaving the little guy on the deck of the sinking SS Dow Jones. Just an observation.

On the Same Subject: The Limbaugh Wars

I watched Rush speak the other day at CPAC. Now, I don't always agree with him. Although I am a staunch Republican, I am more conservative in my views than a Conservative. In other words, I often get angry at Limbaugh and the extreme right, particularly when it comes to immigration, a topic which often raises thinly-veiled bigotry. In fact, I believe that the border security brouhaha might very well have cost McCain the presidency.

All of that is prelude, however, because as I heard Rush Limbaugh speak, I was re-energized. In that rambling speech, he succeeded in reducing our common differences with the administration to a gem like consistency. Forget tweaking their policies and programs. We love liberty, believe in self-determination, venerate the legacy handed down to us, and don't think we have the right to take other people's money. Frankly, I was impressed.

Now I gave up reading Newsweek for good during the campaign, but I stumbled on this column by Jonathan Alter. Reading it, I could be forgiven for thinking that there must have been another speech by another Rush Limbaugh. I was reminded of a point Bernie Goldberg makes, namely these journalistic types are surrounded by people with like views and assume the rest of the world thinks as they do.

So here's my take. If this budget is any sample of where Mr. Obama intends to take this country, Rush Limbaugh is absolutely correct in hoping he fails. What, because their guy got in we're supposed join hands in a circle and sing kum-ba-ya? Even if we were willing to forget the absolutely despicable way they treated Bush, why would we support a program that is anathema to everything we believe? Even moderates are horrified at what is going on. At the moment we may be a few voices in the wilderness, but Mr. Alter would do well to remember how fickle the public can be.

To think that for years I used to subscribe to the rag.

Alternate Reality

... President Barack Obama enjoys widespread backing from a frightened American public for his ambitious, front-loaded agenda, a new poll indicates.

He is more popular than ever, Americans are hopeful about his leadership, and opposition Republicans are getting drubbed in public opinion, the new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll suggests.

To me this poll from the Wall Street Journal offers proof that denial is a powerful thing. Article here.

The Siren Song of Government Healthcare

When I was a child, there was a 4 o'clock movie on TV every afternoon. One particular day, I was watching as Kirk Douglas had himself tied to the mast of an ancient ship while the crew plugged their ears and began to row. Old Kirk then began writhing, attempting to free himself. The point of the whole exercise had to do with the Sirens whose song lured many a brave, besotted sailor to the rocks.

I am reminded of that scene when I hear how government is going to take care of us all, our healthcare insurance in particular. Had I not had an aging parent, I, too, would be oblivious of what that means. Most people think that government managed insurance will be just like the employer funded variety. I'm not too sure about that. Seems to me that it's going to cost a whole bunch more of money to administer and there won't be enough money to fund that level of coverage. Where am I getting this idea? Medicare.

Democrat politicians love to brag about Medicare. How good is it, though? If you are hospitalized, you pay the first $1068. Trust me, that's a bit in senior citizen Social Security dollars. If you are hospitalized again three months later, you will pay that amount once again. What about doctor visits? Medicare pays 80% of their allowed amount. Unless your doctor accepts assignment, which fewer and fewer do, you will be billed the difference between the $6 Medicare pays and what the doctor bills. Multiply that by the numbers of doctors you will have to frequent and deduct it from your $1500 dollar a month Social Security payment. Drugs? Until the prescription benefit was added by that heartless Bush administration, you had to pay all. It was not unusual to have bills in the hundreds of dollars every month.

Yes, Medicare covers senior citizens whose premiums in the private sector would be astronomical and makes possible coverage through a private HMO, a much better deal. Thus it is a necessary evil. But reality, particularly in this economy, for the rest of us is that toes will be sticking out of that governmental blanket. Call me crazy, but I can't see us getting congressional type coverage unless we enslave the top 20% percent of earners.

A much more moderate approach would put together a commission to explore the situation, see what reforms could be implemented, how costs for everyone could be reduced. But, heck, I'm just a citizen who's paid her own insurance for years and had dealings with the medical establishment. What do I know?

ABC's

This schizophrenic state may seem strange, but this is what it means to me to be an American-born Cuban. To deny that Cuba is my homeland is to deny a part of myself, just as rejecting anything American would be crazy. And instead of becoming more Americanized, the part of me that is Cuban gets stronger every day.
-from “On Being an American-Born Cuban from Miami” Gisele M. Requeña

The quote comes from a book I recently picked up: ReMembering Cuba: Legacy of a Diaspora, edited by Andrea O’Reilly Herrera. A dense book, I was leafing through the table of contents when I came across a section entitled “Inheriting Exile.” That’s it, I thought, that’s what it’s like. Of course, I skipped to this last section of the anthology.

Reading it was a moving experience. Whether those who were raised in Miami or in cultural isolation, those who claim not to be political or those who once rebelled, all seem to be united in the pursuit of identity, even as they comfortably straddle both Cuban and American cultures. Particularly interesting are the ABC*’s who can lay claim to only one Cuban parent. Included in this group are Margarita Engle, who just won her second Belpré Award as well as a Newberry Honor designation, and the editor of the anthology herself. As O’Reilly Herrera describes the experience, “we are all nomadic wanderers, undergoing a journey that has no final destination.” Interesting.

*American Born Cubans

Bailouts: A Modest Suggestion

Now that we're in the business of spending other people's money, as in providing subprime loans to deadbeat countries, I'd like to propose that we bail out the Eastern European countries instead of Cuba. Doesn't it make more sense to bolster democracies who pay their bills and not totalitarian scofflaws?

My reasoning is thus. There is a move afoot in Congress to provide credit to Cuba. It is a universal truth that Cuba does not pay its debts, ergo the credit is a species of subprime loan. When the subprime loan defaults, that is when Cuba fails to pay, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth, whereupon Obama the Munificent will sweep in and bail out the family farmer, thereby subsidizing Cuba.

The Eastern European countries have been staunch in their support of the United States, often when it was unpopular. Their fragile democracies are facing the vagaries of capitalism for the first time. It would seem that our largess would be better bestowed on these worthy candidates, especially since the EU has turned its back on them. But, heck, that's only common sense, a seemingly scarce commodity in our new world order.

Sunday Sallies

The Art of the Possible. First we start with the ever growing tentacles of the federal government. Over at Townhall, Douglas MacKinnon in this describes the dishonesty which results when politicians continue the unsustainable out of fear. According to the Constitution, remember, all we are entitled to is the "pursuit" and not the attainment of happiness.

Vive la Difference! While on the topic of the Constitution, 11 states are taking on the federal government over the stimulus, asserting that it seeks to usurp their powers under the 10th Amendment. Translation the strings attached to the porkulus would force them to long term spending on the anointed programs. Also at risk according to these intrepid souls are state's prerogatives over guns, God, you know the drill. I love it when this happens. Read it here.

The Mote in Your Neighbors' Eye. My favorite for obvious reasons is the next entry in which Michael Barone highlights the seeming indifference to human rights on the part of the left. Case in point, our dealings with China. Reminds me of an interesting nugget from Fontova about South Africa which casts the hypocrisy about Cuba in relief.

House of Cards. If you can stay up until midnight tonight, don't miss the CNBC special about the housing bubble. I missed it the first time, so I can't write about it. I can say that it should be interesting. Can't stay up? Don't worry, they're going to run it again on the 15th.

The Humanity of it All. If Dante were around, he might create a special circle of hell for Mr. Madoff. The man actually and knowingly seems to have ripped off famed writer and Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel, who lost his personal and foundation money in the scam. Read it here.

The List. From Human Events comes the top 10 blunders committed by the new administration.

Quip for the Day

Yesterday Buffet confessed to having done "dumb things" last year. One has to suppose that chief among them was his support of Barack Obama.

The Audacity and the Fact

I’ve been mulling over a post on the arrogance of those who pontificate on Cuba- people like Peter Coyote and even our esteemed senator- on the basis of information and disinformation they’ve been fed by the regime’s propaganda machine even via some think tank or operating group. It takes a certain amount of arrogance to sample but a small portion of an incredibly complex and nuanced situation and then presume to know more than those who have crafted foreign policy for more than half a decade or who have experienced it first hand and just might have more knowledge of the situation. Ah, the famous American arrogance.

So it was refreshing to stumble across this well-informed, well-reasoned piece on the embargo by Christopher Sabatini at America’s Quarterly. Sabatini points out not only the reprehensible human rights record of Cuba, but also the regime policies which siphon any foreign investment directly into the pockets of its khaki uniforms. I may not agree with his conclusions.... But, wait.... Strike that, since his conclusions are that we should not lift the embargo wholesale, we should not forget human rights…. I’ve got it. We should talk nicer. That’s something I’ve been saying for a while, by the way. We need to be as shamefully disingenuous with them as they are with us and the rest of the world. In the end after all his careful parsing of the situation, Sabatini is stuck on the horns of improving relations and condoning a Stalinist regime. At least he knows what he’s discussing.

What Have They Done? Part Three

I can't be the only one horrified by the "change" upon us. I am not rich; I will never be; nor do I want to be. I am one of those who will ostensibly be untouched by the financial maelstrom being unleashed by the present administration. Having established my lack of financial interest in the matter, I cannot help but think that there is something intrinsically wrong with what is being done to fellow citizens.

The scuttlebutt is that the Bush tax cuts will be allowed to expire. Fair enough. That, however, does not take into account other changes being proposed. No cap on social security contributions, ditto medicare, no mortgage interest deductions, increased capital gains tax, etc...

The truly rich, we all know, can afford to hire experts to work around the law. The brunt of these draconian policies will fall on doctors, lawyers, small business owners, middle tier business executives. These are people who have spent years in schools, have devoted much of their lives to working their way up the ladder, often deferring gratification and sacrificing family. And now, we are apparently turning them into workhorses for the rest of us. There is something very ugly and fundamentally unAmerican about all of this. The founding fathers must be doing cartwheels in their graves.

Heads up: Let's watch the market tomorrow.

Quote for the Day

comes from Anne Coulter's column-

But as long as the nation is obsessed with historic milestones, is no one going to remark on what a great country it is where a mentally retarded woman can become speaker of the house?


Despite the politically incorrect and insensitive reference, Anne's onto something. I found Pelosi terribly distracting as I tried to watch the speech the other night. The woman looked like she was going to pee herself. Query: who votes for this woman as his or her representative and what hold does she have on Democrats that they made her speaker?

It's the Market, Stupid!

Since Clinton, unfairly but to great effect, used a variation of the phrase on Bush I, it is only fair to turn it on the great gullible masses out there. Last night, Obama the eloquent made a moving speech to general acclaim. I was watching Fox where the pundits then proceeded to belittle Bobby Jindal. True, there was something of the marionette in the awkward progress to the mike, but the folksy stories the talking heads disliked appealed to me, none better than the bureaucrat who demanded the registration and insurance of the ragtag flotilla which massed to rescue people in New Orleans after Katrina.

Although I could see some of Obama's spending, as in the technology money is essence an investment for the future. At least the grandkids who will pay for this will get something out of the deal. Not so for the culture funds, the reseeding of the lawn, etc. But then el presidente- with a straight face, no less- insisted there was no pork. What? I've had less at Noche Buena.

All his glibness, however, was not enough to reassure people who actually have two brain cells and think for themselves. Apparently that doesn't reflect many people I know. This morning, they're carrying on about how wonderful he was and how stupid the Republicans. I'm standing around getting offended. First, because it just doesn't occur to them that anyone could conceivably have a different opinion. Second, they who have brought this upon us have not a clue about things financial. So I'm thinking that we'll see later on. But then I realize that they are so entrenched in their conception of themselves that they will never see.

So to my friends, I offer the market which has done almost nothing but tank since the great one took office. Why? Because financial types, some of whom-granted- got us into this mess, have no confidence in an administration which seeks to regulate everything, yet shows no restraint of its own. If the performance of this congress and president were so wonderful, there should be some semblance of bounce, however short-lived. There is none, because the market is not reassured by the Great Society II. Just my two cents.

Days Gone By

Central Vertientes, Cuba, circa 1950's. (Just an excuse to try out my scanner.)

Monday, Monday

Garden Party. There are signs of an incipient taxpayer revolt in the air. Townhall has a pretty fair summary of the situation. Also on Townhall, Lawrence Kudlow elaborates the pitfalls as he, not surprisingly, champions the market alternatives in this column.

Tropical Revue. Over at Lew Rockwell, the indomitable Humberto Fontova takes on TJ English's How the Mob Owned Cuba, and Lost it to the Revolution, a book that has done irreparable damage to the truth. I once found myself in a near shout down in a book store with a gentleman who loved the tome and swore by it's accuracy on the basis of having read it. Read it here.

Lost Worlds. How 'bout some lighter topics? At long last, Atlantis may have been found off the Canary Islands. Sorry, Bimini Road, but this location would make more sense if we go by Plato. And Homer seems to have had a point about Troy. Is it possible? Of course. Will they able to prove it? Take a look for yourself.

Inner Space. I forgot this one earlier. NASA is offering free 0 gravity flights on the vomit comet to budding inventors et al. Deadline for application is March 20, so hurry. Read all about it.

The Voice of First Hand Experience

In this week's mix, you'll find some items about the Obama housing plan. There is the whole moral hazard argument, as in you will be rewarding deadbeats and penalizing responsible homeowners. Then there is the thousand dollar incentive, which doesn't seem to be much of one. What raised my hackles however was the provision that judges will be able to lower not only the interest but also the principal. Wait right there! If I've got this right, these people entered into a legally binding contract for, say, 200 thou. Now because the property in question in worth 100 thou, the lender will potentially lose part of the principal dependant on which testicle itched on some judge? Now, that does not seem right. What happened to the assumption of risk? Do we demand car loans reflect the diminished value of the vehicle the minute you drive off the lot?

That's a stimulus too far. I'm just a naif about these things, although I did come close to losing a home once, but it seems to me that there are other, fairer ways to handle the mortgage problems. What kills you as the distressed homeowner is the punitive nature of late fees and interest charges. I mean here you are, you can't make your payments, so they add on extortionate amounts. In the end, there ain't no way you're ever gonna pay. Despite having plunked down about 100 thou, by the time we sold the house for roughly what we paid for it, we were left with 400 dollars. At least thirty thousand went to my friends at Citibank, a substantial part of which where late fees, etc.... They were horrible.

So here's a thought. Since it's pretty obvious that the situation is causing grief in the economy, how about the novel notion that we set back the clock? Interest rates are now low, so the adjustables should be back to acceptable levels. In the common interest, forgo the late fees and assorted schemes and tack the missed payments on to the back end of the mortgage, extend the term by the missing payments. For those teaser rate mortgages, extend the teaser rate period for a longer terms, so the adjustments do not come all at once. The lenders will still have to take a bite, but it is infinitely preferable to some judge giving away their stockholder's money, not to mention that they made a bad business decision.

Obviously, people whose life circumstances have brought them to foreclosure would not fall under these provisions. I'm also no expert, but there is something inherently wrong in the way we are approaching the situation at present.

A Bird of ill Omen?

Soros has called gloom and doom on the world banking system. Read it here. Scares me. Let's just say he witnessed the trashing of the Bank of England, the Russian Ruble, and now.... Follow the money?

Stimulated in LA

Just got off the phone with the little one who lives in LA at the moment. She's a trifle incensed as she's hearing that in lieu of a state refund, she can expect an IOU. She's contemplating paying her federal tax with California's IOU. Sign of the times.

Politics, Puberty and the Public

It does not take much imagination to look around at the moment and notice that the single biggest problem is not the economy as much as it is the immaturity of a society of superannuated adolescents.

Start with our politics, which exhibit nothing more than the dynamics of high school. Everyone wants to be cool, be a part of the in crowd. There is no room for reasoned debate. Civil discourse has devolved into one part name-calling, one part mockery, and two parts strong arming. And cynical manipulation of truth has become the medium of communication in government, stratagems which go unreported by a co-opted press.

On the public side, we whine and expect someone else to take care of us, pay for our health insurance, rescue us from our errors. There is no thought given to the rights of others who have acted responsibly or even to future generations. We have a pecuniary cold at the moment, so we are perfectly willing to inflict pneumonia on future generations. Gone seems to be the notion of taking responsibility for oneself.

Perhaps it is because for too long, this country has not faced the kind of adversity that makes you grow up. One has to wonder what those earlier generations would think of us today. I can only guess.

Tripping the Light Fantastic: Bollywood in Cuba

The fascination with the foreign film in this household has led to watching four hour Bollywood epics. I can only imagine the product if the Havana regime succeeds in luring Indian filmakers to Cuba as a location. Think about the possibilities.... salsa in a sari.... I'd better stop now. I don't want to offend anyone. I actually enjoy the films, mostly. Read about it here.

I Vote for George

Anne Coulter's column this week reminds me of something that's been nagging me. As I read all these rankings of American Presidents, I'm always surprised that George Washington is almost never front and center, number one. As I watch the machinations of Chavez in Venezuela in the grand tradition of leaders who come in to power and refuse to leave, I am always struck by the nobility of our first leader. What would have happened to our grand democratic tradition if he had availed himself of the power offered to him? He was the one who defined the office. What greater achievement could there be?

A Study in Civility

In between fits of the vapours every time I hear another horrendously large sum to be tossed into the Democrat maw that is the government these days, I rouse myself only to find the tenor of our political discourse sinking ever more rapidly into a morass of juvenile petulance. Rahm Emanuel tells us to find the measure of the man, our President Obama, in his mockery of Republicans. The White House website includes a caption under a "bipartisan meeting" noting GOP requests for autographs, as well as their bad manners in failing to vote for the stimulus. A recent speech shows Obama using the kind of accusatory rhetoric usually reserved for campaigns.

Two observations:
If el Presidente wanted to garner Republican votes perhaps he should have crafted a package that a Republican could sign on to, instead of the nancipolooza they were served. Did he expect them to bend over?

One of the very first lessons on the playground is that one should not be a sore loser but rather a gracious winner. And as he pointed out to the Republicans, "We won."

Sunday on the Soapbox

Financial Follies. In the Wall Street Journal, William McGurn warns of the Nancy Pelosi effect. In a scathing article, he highlights her mismanagement and her looming status as an albatross around the new administration's neck. And from Governor of South Carolina Mark Stanford over on CNN comes this strongly argued position on the porkulus bill. Stanford has distinguished himself as an articulate spokesman against the behemoth, an exercise not in pork barrel spending, but in payback.

Silver Lining? So so says Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor over in England. In an interview at the Times on Line, the Catholic Prelate's view that the economic upheaval may actually turn out to be a good thing as it forces the country to change it's wicked ways is highlighted. Most of interest, however, is a more moderate perspective of a morally bankrupt society.

Presidential Metrics. Also at the Times is a ranking of the US presidents. Among the top scorers are Abe Lincoln, George Washington, and Dwight Eisenhower. At the bottom, yeah, George Bush and Nixon. Excuse me, but I find it a tad presumptuous.

Scientific Milestones? Let's start with the crash of the satellites, a working American and derelict Soviet one. According to the AP, experts fear the debris could be a menace. I've read elsewhere that even the Hubble could be imperiled. Back on Earth, the mummy of a young Egyptian temple singer has been virtually unwrapped without opening the sarcophagus. Ah, the miracle of modern science. Read it at CNN here.

Last Gasp. Had to include this one. Ohmigosh, the Kansas Department of Education has been caught in an error by a high school student. In a year, no one had noticed that omission had mistakenly been used for emission. Happens to us all. Read all about it. Meantime Fox News has come up with a list of the top ten deadliest stretches of road in America. Two are in South Florida. Given the driving habits I've observed further south, I'm not surprised.

Top Three Most Overlooked Romantic Songs

So they aren't that well known, but they are sweet.

1. "Every Woman" Dave Mason
2. "Please be with me" Eric Clapton and Yvonne Elliman
3. "You're my Home" Billy Joel

One for Presidents Day

Opened my email on Lincoln's birthday, the real one, to find a release from the NBRA, the National Black Republican Association. I look forward to these as they are always interesting. Anyway in the middle of a discussion of Abe Lincoln, I found this most timely of quotes from the great man himself.


You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot establish security on borrowed money.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away

A man's incentive and independence.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them

What they could and should do themselves.

Need I write more?

A Bit o' This and That

Getting ready for my St. Paddy's Day transmogrification (I become Irish for the day....) early. Anyway, Jose has published the Cubanology Bi-Weekly 19. Some interesting stuff- Babe Ruth and baseball in Cuba, a pretty thorough timeline, as well as a reminder of the ethics to which journalists are supposed to adhere amongst others.

A mention, too, of an important court case in which the exile perspective was vindicated by an appeals court. As a fervent devotee of the written word the concept of censorship is anathema to me. However, the presentation of propaganda as fact in the context of a school library is just plain wrong. Educators have a responsibility to demand accuracy of the materials they use with impressionable children. Get the details here.

While on the subject of letters, here's a bit of fluff about spelling mavens who are mad as hell about the current state of affairs. Although not a card-carrying member of the grammar police- I have been known to unwittingly commit a solecism or two or more- I feel their pain. My advice: give it up. It's a lost cause. Just take a look at the monikers, spelt by the unlettered muse, that parents are foisting on children today.

A Stimulating Thought

As the President holds his news conference, I am struck with his characterization of all of the jobs that are going to be created or saved by the "stimulus" bill. Of course, he omits mention of the bulk of the expenditures which in no way belong in this legislation. I was excited when I heard that the Senate had tinkered with it, only to have my hopes deflated when they cut what seemed some of the likelier looking projects like school building repairs and left that darn TV switchover literature in there, as well as a host of questionable earmarks.

I've been watching the apologists the past few days arguing that whole new green industries will be launched. Is it the jobs of researchers we are worried about? Is this the kind of undertaking you embark upon by mortgaging the future of your children and grandchildren, or is this a project better undertaken once the situation has stabilized, and we are more solvent?

It raises a question, one heightened by the Obamiam argument tonight. Even if you stipulate that this bill is in reality a stimulus bill and not a liberal pols wish list, you have to answer the question: do we have the right? I've been reading projections that Americans will be risking 9 trillion or so on all of the various bailouts cum stimuli. I have to ask, are things that bad that we will expend the last quivers in our civil bow? What happens if there is another terrorist attack? A true depression? How with any credibility will the government be able to react? Or is this just another example of the baby-boomer-center-of-the-universe-entitlement-neurosis?

As for me, the buffoons running our congress have had a healthy effect. I will quit smoking before I pay another penny so that they can offer free health insurance to people who damn well can afford to pay for it on their own. I have on a lot less than 84 thousand a year. Got my tranquilizers and antidepressant all lined up.

Quote of the Day

Goes to Gusano at La Contrarevolucion.

Castro’s 50 year propaganda campaign has managed to convince the world that even after 50 years Cuba is still undergoing a revolution that was over on Jan 8 1959. The world’s longest going out of business sale.

Read: Storming Las Vegas

The New Man and the same old story. My brother clued me into this one which was published in February and is officially titled Storming Las Vegas: How a Cuban-Born, Soviet-Trained Commando Took Down the Strip to the Tune of Five World-Class Hotels, Three Armored Cars, and Millions of Dollars. I'd like to be able to recommend it as a well-written true crime story, but my experience of the book was fatally tarnished by the bigotry apparent in its pages.

My first clue came in the "Acknowledgments" in which author John Huddy cites Wayne Smith. Of course, he also mentions Brian Latell. Then, he proceeds to pass on, unopposed, the perspective of the villain/hero of the piece, Jose Vigoa, who was born in 1959 that during "Batista time" in Cuba there were 8 million people and 7 million were poor, illiterate, and uncared for....

Just as well, because Huddy characterizes Cuba as a "banana republic through virtually all of its history." Under the guidance of fidel, it becomes a "player on the world stage," and here's the best, "the target of relentless terrorism." See those "Miami militants" were responsible for the constant tension under which the murderer and thief grew up. fidel is lionized and Batista associated with "torture chambers and murder squads." He includes reference to an incident hitherto unknown to me in which Batista had men buried alive.

Later Huddy, who once worked for the Herald, clues us in that he grew up "in preCastro Cuba," that is to say at the Guantanamo Base:

I visited much of the interior of Cuba....I saw firsthand the conditions in Cuba under the U.S.-backed Batista dictatorship. They were harsh and degrading.

What can I say? The 1958 UN? Liars. My parents? Liars. My grandparents? Liars. My friends, relatives, associates? Liars. None of these were Batistianos, but it is obvious that Mr. Huddy on the basis of "visits" to the "interior" knows Cuba better than any of the aforementioned. Maybe he should go visit parts of Philadelphia and write a book. I raised the idea of bigotry earlier. This selective portrayal of Cuban history is emblematic of the perspective of some. Was there poverty? Yes, grinding for some. There was also the largest middle class in Latin America. There is no room for that in their equations. To these people Cubans are some third world species of "native" somehow unentitled to the same prerogatives as Americans. It is our "otherness" they find off-putting, whether in Cuba or Miami.

Oh, the book? Read it if you want. Pick it up at Goodwill or the library. Otherwise, save your militant quarter.

Minimum Monday

Slim Pickin's this week, it would seem.

Line. I quoted this one earlier. Over at NRO, Mark Steyn waxes eloquent on the insanity that seems to have infected the body politic. Don't miss it here.

Medium. At Townhall, Mike S Adams shares a novel grading system he proposes for his students. Those who achieve over ninety will share some of their points with those less fortunate. Sound familiar? That's his point.

Perspective. The New York Times relieves my worried mind by reporting that those who drink substantial amounts of coffee have less risk of dementia. Gee, that's one less worry for my golden years.

Why I Skipped the Halftime Show Yesterday

I spent the evening last night at a Superbowl party. As the Boss came on the stage, all the Boomers shrieked and oohed and aahed and waxed nostalgic, while I headed to the lanai with the cigar smokers. So there I was observing that quite of few of these last hadn't clipped the ends of their cigars, when the hostess came out and sat by my side, inquiring whether I had caught Bruce. Thinking quickly- I was after all in enemy territory, so to speak- I replied that I had never been a particular fan.

What I omitted in my reply is that I will never again be able to listen to "Born to Run" without feeling offended, not because Mr. Springsteen has his own political views but because he insists on using his celebrity and position to foist those rather strident views on me. It is his right to try, but it is my right to forgo buying his music. Ditto, with the assortment of celebrities and media types who insist on trashing Bush, Republicans, Conservatives, and any other of the people and ideals I hold dear.

I have decided that I will not support the artistic efforts of any of these if I can help it. I won't go to their movies, rent their DVD's, listen to their music, or subscribe to their magazines. It seems others have arrived at the same conclusion. George, today, over at Babalu, linked to a wonderful piece at the American Spectator. It is right on so many levels.

When artists, reporters, and their ilk take a particular political position, they risk repudiating those who do not agree with them. In this instance, 46 percent of the population did not vote for Mr. Obama, and not because they are stupid, immoral, or unenlightened. There should be room in our politics and entertainment for the notion that there is more than one valid political position. Until there is, my choices will be limited, as I suspect will be their sales.