In Character

It seems like months ago but was only five weeks ago that Senator Bernard Sanders was criticized when he was

Asked by interviewer Anderson Cooper on Sunday why the Cuban people didn't rise up and help the U.S. overthrow communist dictator Castro, the Vermont senator said "he educated their kids, gave them health care, totally transformed the society, you know?"

Sanders said that while he opposes the "authoritarian nature" of the communist country 90 miles south of Florida, Castro's armed revolution that vaulted him onto power in 1959 should not be viewed as completely negative.

"It's unfair to simply say everything is bad," he told Cooper. "When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it?"

This individual who underwent Castro's program as a child maintains it was "not a 'literacy program' but a tool of indoctrination, designed for the creation of the 'New Man' — one who is removed from what we would recognize as Western civilization’s values."

Still, it was little, powerless Cuba and the outrage it created, as well as the impact it probably had on the Democratic presidential race, was exaggerated. However, in an interview last August, when mainland China announced it would retaliate against the USA because of tariffs, Sanders stated

that the Chinese government has made great strides in combating extreme poverty despite moving in a more authoritarian direction.

“China is a country that is moving unfortunately in a more authoritarian way in a number of directions,” the Vermont senator said in his interview with The Hill. “But what we have to say about China in fairness to China and its leadership is, if I’m not mistaken, they have made more progress in addressing extreme poverty than any country in the history of civilization, so they’ve done a lot of things for their people"....

Sanders also said that while he agrees that China looks out for its own interests first, he disagrees with calling the country an “existential threat” to the American worker, as some have warned.

“Their economy now is struggling but I think it is absolutely possible for us to have a positive working relationship with China,” Sanders said.

Positivism aside, fashioning a constructive relationship with mainland China would require two honest actors.  And even if President Trump were well-intentioned, honest, and effective, there would still be only one nation fitting that criterion.  A news source from Nationalist China recently reported

Taiwan and the United States simultaneously issued the first joint statement on epidemic prevention partnership on the 18th, strengthening cooperation mechanisms on six major anti-epidemic measures including vaccine and drug research and development, while the United States retains 300,000 protective clothing materials for Taiwan. Taiwan In the future, 100,000 masks will be provided to the United States every week. The State Affairs Office of China said tonight, "It is the kidnapping of the health and well-being of the people of Taiwan onto the wrong path of confrontation between the foreign nation and the motherland."

On the 19th, Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency blasted Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxuan, saying that the DPP authorities were "beautiful to the United States" and "more poisonous than viruses." An interview at the Legislative Yuan at the time said that Zhao was a foreign minister and his job was to promote friendship between Taiwan and other countries. "My job is not to flatter China."

China's Taiwan Affairs Office was 6 days late and responded tonight (24th). Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a press release that "Taiwan-US issued a joint statement on epidemic prevention, which once again exposed the DPP authorities to borrow new crown pneumonia ( Wuhan Pneumonia) The outrageous behavior and political scheme of "seeking independence with the epidemic" is to kidnap the health and well-being of the people of Taiwan onto the wrong path of confrontation between the mainland and the motherland. "

Zhu Fenglian said: "Support the international community's joint efforts and strengthen cooperation to overcome the epidemic, but we are firmly opposed to taking the opportunity to engage in" Taiwan independence "or" Taiwan card. " China's principle. We firmly oppose any form of official exchanges between Taiwan and the United States. "

Nationalist China is being attacked by mainland China because Taiwan has expanded cooperation with the USA, even to the point of agreeing to send hundreds of thousands of protective masks to the USA. Nonetheless, one must not question the "motherland."

As you may guess, the problem does not lie with Bernie Sanders but exists across the political spectrum. The President, for his part, has gone from maintaining that Chinese President Jinping was doing "a very good job with a very, very tough situation" to arguing the "world is paying a very big price for what they did." Within weeks he'll probably be praising Jinping as "very, very strong." It's how he rolls.

It's something we as a nation must acknowledge. In good times and bad, mainland China is not a friend or a neutral, nor a role model, but a very powerful and determined enemy. 

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Biden Got It Wrong

If the importance of the Biden-Sanders feud on Social Security highlighted by Sunday night's debate in Washington, D.C. would rate as an "8" on a scale of 0 to 10, this would be no more than a "2." Still, it's worth considering this exchange:

Ilia Calderón: (01:27)

To be clear, Senator Sanders, Cuba has been a dictatorship for decades. Shouldn’t we judge dictators by the violation of human rights and not by any of their alleged achievements?

Bernie Sanders: (01:39)

Well, I think you can make the same point about China. China is undoubtedly an authoritarian society. Okay? But would anybody deny, any economists deny that extreme poverty in China today is much less than what it was 40 or 50 years ago? That’s a fact. So I think we condemn authoritarianism, whether it’s in China, Russia, Cuba, any place else. But to simply say that nothing ever done by any of those administrations had a positive impact on their people, would I think be incorrect.

Ilia Calderón: (02:14)

Vice president Biden, you have criticized Senator Sanders for bracing Castro’s education system, but in 2016 president Obama said Cuba made “A great progress in educating young people and that its healthcare system is a huge achievement that they should be congratulated for” How is that different from what Senator Sanders has said?

Joe Biden: (02:36)

He was trying to change Cuban policies so the Cuban people would get out from under the thumb of the Castro and his brother. That is to change the policy so that we can impact on Cuba’s policy by getting them opened up. That was about, but the praising of the Sandinistas, the praising of Cuba, the praising just now of China. China is an authoritarian dictatorship. That’s what it is. We have to deal with them because they’re there.

The transcript of the speech of President Barack Obama on Monday, March 21, 2016 included

The United States recognizes the progress that Cuba has made as a nation, its enormous achievements in education and in health care. And perhaps most importantly, I affirm that Cuba’s destiny will not be decided by the United States or any other nation. Cuba is sovereign and rightly has great pride and the future of Cuba will be decided by Cubans, not by anybody else.

At the same time, as we do wherever we go around the world, I made it clear that the United States will continue to speak up on behalf of democracy, including the right of the Cuban people to decide their own future. We’ll speak out on behalf of universal human rights, including freedom of speech and assembly and religion. Indeed, I look forward to meeting with and hearing from Cuban civil society leaders tomorrow.

These two paragraphs suggest that President Obama focused on the importance of a more liberal society in Cuba or, as Biden would put it, "opening up."  However, the President continued (and note the "but")

But as you heard, President Castro also addressed what he views as shortcomings in the United States around basic needs for people and poverty and inequality and race relations, and we welcome that constructive dialogue as well because we believe that when we share our deepest beliefs and ideas with an attitude of mutual respect that we can both learn and make the lives of our people better.

A part of normalizing relationships means that we discuss these differences directly, so I’m very pleased that we’ve agreed to hold our next U.S.-Cuba human rights dialogue here in Havana this year. And both of our countries will welcome our visits by independent United Nations experts as we combat human trafficking, which we agree is a profound violation of human rights.

Well, o.k., the American system was not perfect, even before President Trump. However, the tone- and words- of equivalence are startling.  Clearly, Obama is suggesting that "mak(ing) the lives of our people better" is as much an imperative in the USA as it is in Cuba.

That is not accurate, and is in stark contrast to "trying to change Cuban policies so the Cuban people would get out from under the thumb of the Castro and his brother." Nonetheless, it gets worse with an acceptance of agree to disagree:

Even as we discuss these differences, we share a belief we can continue to make progress in those areas that we have in common. President Castro, you said in Panama that we might disagree on something today on which we would agree tomorrow. And that has certainly been the case over the past 15 months and the days leading up to this visit.

And today, I can report that we continue to move forward on many fronts when it comes to normalizing relations. We’re moving ahead with more opportunities for Americans to travel to Cuba and interact with the Cuban people.

Toward the end of his statement, President Obama pressed on with his emphasis on detente, friendliness, and the quaint notion that Havana and Washington aren't much different from each other. He stated

And although we didn’t have an extensive discussion of Venezuela, we did touch on the subject. And I believe the whole region has an interest in a country that is addressing their economic challenges, is responsive to the aspirations of its people and is a source of stability in the region.

That is, I believe, an interest we should all share. So, again, President Castro, I want to thank you for welcoming me. I think it’s fair to say the United States and Cuba are now engaged in many areas and with each passing day more Americans are coming to Cuba, more U.S. business and school and faith groups are working to forge new partnerships with the Cuban people.

That was not "the whole region should have an interest" in its people and regional stability. It was "the whole region has an interest...."

Maybe the President was setting the right tone. The Cold War was over- but you'd never know it from Biden's demonization of Senator Sanders for finding something a little praiseworthy in the Cuban regime. "Cuba is sovereign and rightly has great pride" did not come from democratic socialist Bernie Sanders but from the 44th President.

Early in his speech, Barack Obama had stated "the sight of a U.S. president here in Havana would have been unimaginable, but this is a new day."  Joe Biden's "new day" is this: Barack Obama was always right and when Bernie Sanders agrees with him, Sanders is wrong. If that seems to make no sense, feel free to take it up with Democratic voters and politicos who believe the former vice-president should be their standard-bearer.

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God And Country At Liberty

Commenting on a catapault system, known as Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System, on a new aircraft carrier, President Trum told TIME Magazine

I said, “You don’t use steam anymore for catapult?” “No sir.” I said, “Ah, how is it working?” “Sir, not good. Not good. Doesn’t have the power. You know the steam is just brutal. You see that sucker going and steam’s going all over the place, there’s planes thrown in the air.”

It sounded bad to me. Digital. They have digital. What is digital? And it’s very complicated, you have to be Albert Einstein to figure it out. And I said—and now they want to buy more aircraft carriers. I said, “What system are you going to be—” “Sir, we’re staying with digital.” I said, “No you’re not. You going to goddamned steam, the digital costs hundreds of millions of dollars more money and it’s no good.”

It was unsurprising that the goddamned steam man who has conceded "I am not sure I have ever asked God for forgiveness because "I don't bring God into that picture" was heard two days later delivering the commencement address at the college founded by Reverend Jerry Falwell in Lynchburg, Virginia.

It was unsurprising because current Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. was an early and staunch supporter of Mr. Trump and remains one of his most important boosters.  The man who once condescendingly remarked "when I drink my little wine... and have my little cracker" was heard assuring graduates "in America we don't worship government, we worship God."

But an individual should not be judged upon his or her religious beliefs, and clearly evangelical voters- most of whom support Trump- have proven his lack of faith is irrelevant to them.

Nonetheless, the individual who has demonstrated that he would sell out his country for 30 pieces of silver (actually, he demands much more) stated also in his commencement address

I know that each of you will be a warrior for the truth, will be a warrior for our country, and for your family. I know that each of you will do what is right, not what is the easy way, and that you will be true to yourself, and your country, and your beliefs.








Religious hypocrisy is not uncommon, a sin many of us have fallen prey to at one time or another. Nonetheless, when the politician who ran to "Make America Great Again"- implying thereby America is not great- and has described the country as one beset by "carnage" emphasizes patriotism in public, we must cry "foul." Newsweek's Kurt Eichenwald reported last September

A company controlled by Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, secretly conducted business in Communist Cuba during Fidel Castro’s presidency despite strict American trade bans that made such undertakings illegal, according to interviews with former Trump executives, internal company records and court filings.

Documents show that the Trump company spent a minimum of $68,000 for its 1998 foray into  Cuba at a time when the corporate expenditure of even a penny in the Caribbean country was prohibited without U.S. government approval. But the company did not spend the money directly. Instead, with Trump’s knowledge, executives funneled the cash for the Cuba trip through an American consulting firm called Seven Arrows Investment and Development Corp. Once the business consultants traveled to the island and incurred the expenses for the venture, Seven Arrows instructed senior officers with Trump’s company—then called Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts—how to make it appear legal by linking it after the fact to a charitable effort.





It's not Russia but Cuba, a far less important nation, but still a reminder that God and country have never been much of a concern of the man we call "President."












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Hot And Bothered By Cuba

Now that the pressure is off him, his presidential run having gone up in flames, Marco Rubio is more relaxed and the experts at POLITICO Caucus believe he won the debate in Miami. Of course, these activists, strategists, and operatives have far less knowledge of what base voters want to hear than what they themselves want want to hear.

But Rubio always has been on his game of grandstanding. Thursday night was no exception when he remarked

I'll tell you what the good deal now, it's already codified. Here's a good deal -- Cuba has free elections, Cuba stops putting people in jail for speaking out, Cuba has freedom of the press, Cuba kicks out the Russians from Lourdes (ph) and kicks out the Chinese listening station in Berupal (ph) Cuba stops helping North Korea evade U.N. sanctions, Cuba takes all of those fugitives of America justice, including that cop killer from New Jersey, and send her back to the United States and to jail where she belongs. And you know what? Then we can have a relationship with Cuba. That's a good deal.

If each of those things really is necessary, we would have to reassess diplomatic relations with a few significant nations..

We never would have to have a relationship with a nation whose government treats its female citizens "like children" who cannot travel, work, or leave their home without permission from a man, and cannot drive; which bans all public gatherings, violation of which subjects the individual to imprisonment; denies access to independent human rights organizations and prersecutes individuals who contact Amnesty International; which has jailed an individual who has used Twitter to criticize its Ministry of Justice; imprisoned and beaten a blogger who has questioned religious authorities; and which discriminates against a religious minority in access to government services and employment.

Our nation never would establish diplomatic relations with that nation or publicly support placing it in charge of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations.

We wouldn't, that is, unless that nation is Saudi Arabia, which still hasn't explained its likely involvement in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

That part about Saudi Arabia being a theocracy probably appeals to Senator Rubio. Still, if the conditions he sets down for Cuba were applied generally, the USA would have to end diplomatic relationships with dozens of countries. Denunciation of Havana is safe politics, especially in the absence of an acknowledgement that the regime has been propped up for a long time by the remittances sent to Cubans from relatives in south Florida.

Rubio's performance in the debate was designed to convince the media and the GOP establishment that, whatever the size of his genitals, he is the serious, thoughtful, and knowledgeable government official they once thought he was.  He may have conned them, but he is still a big bag of feathers.











Release the 28 pages!



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