The American Spectator : There Is Always Fidel

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There Is Always Fidel

By R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. on 12.30.10 @ 6:08AM

Just as there is always a Ray Suarez of PBS.

WASHINGTON -- Next week marks the 52nd anniversary of Fidel Castro's arrival to his Cuban throne. I cannot wait to see how it will be solemnized. Will little children appear before Fidel throwing flowers? They better not throw them too hard. He is pretty frail. Will there be a military parade? If there is, where will they come up with the gasoline? There is hardly enough in the country for the Communist party leaders' limousines. What will they be celebrating? By now everyone knows that the revolution was a stupendous bust starting about 51 years ago.

Perhaps Steven Spielberg will be there. He dined with Fidel back in 2002. Upon leaving his presence Spielberg enthused that he had just spent "the eight most important hours of my life." Fidel is no fast food enthusiast. He has long repasts and two, possibly three desserts. He also has long and luxurious confabs. After a three-hour visit in 1998, Jack Nicholson called Fidel a "genius." He added, "We spoke about everything" -- which probably makes Nicholson a genius too. I wonder if they talked about the plight of political prisoners in Fidel's jails. Actually I wonder if they talked about how Fidel was presiding over one of the last Communist dictatorships left on earth, and naturally enough an impoverished one.

Something there is about a Communist dictator that brings out the stunning vacuity of idiots like Spielberg and Nicholson and all the rest of the Hollywoodians. Remember when filmmaker Saul Landau complimented Fidel for having "brought a greater equality in terms of wealth distribution [to Cuba] than I guess any country in the world today"? Fidel accomplished this feat by simply stealing all of Cuba's wealth and leaving everyone poor except him and his cronies. Would Landau and his fellows admire such confiscations if practiced here in America? Who would have enough money to go to the movies?

One of Fidel's most fabulous claims has to do with the health care system he has imposed on his people. No one there suffers Michelle Obama's dread obesity, except for the occasional Communist party functionary. In fact, everyone is in the pink. I recently heard of the marvels of the Communist system, and I did not even have to turn to Fidel's state-owned radio to hear it. It was broadcast on our own state-owned broadcast system, PBS's "NewsHour." There in a three-part series one Mr. Ray Suarez sang of Cuba's accomplishments. There was not a word about how he was covering health care in a police state, just Cuba where doctors abound and everyone is checked regularly for the good of public health. According to Suarez, the key to the Cuban people's rubicund good health is "aggressive preventive medicine." He goes on, "Homes are investigated, water quality checked, electrical plugs checked."

Frankly, I was a little surprised by all Suarez's guff. The generals of Myanmar would not get off so easily. Gratefully, the vigilant Mary Anastasia O'Grady of the Wall Street Journal who specializes in Latin America also was in Mr. Suarez's audience. She points out that the series was "was taped in Cuba with government ‘cooperation' so there is no surprise that it went heavy on the party line." You can say that again. And Miss O'Grady refutes Mr. Suarez with a memoir from Vicente Botin, a Spanish Television correspondent who spent four years in the Cuban hellhole.

Among other points he makes, Botin claims that Cuban homes have no regular running water or steady electricity even in the capital. Mr. Botin says that in Havana 75.5% of the water pipes are "unusable," and that the government "recognized that 60% of pumped water was lost before it made it to consumers." To alleviate the problem, Miss O'Grady writes that "the city began providing water in each neighborhood only on certain days. Havana water is also notoriously contaminated. Foreigners drink only the bottled stuff, which Cubans can't afford." It is curious that a country that cannot even provide water to its people can boast of a superb health system.

Yet we now have it from PBS's Mr. Suarez that the public health care system provided by Fidel is superb. Cuba -- a country that cannot provide clean water to its citizenry to say nothing of electricity -- is a land of vigorous good health. Homes are investigated, Mr. Suarez says, and "electrical plugs checked." Possibly that is because in Cuba doctors double as secret police, or is it the other way round? At any rate, it is reassuring to know that in Cuba house calls are made.

About the Author

R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. is the founder and editor in chief of The American Spectator. He is the author of the forthcoming The Death of Liberalism, published by Thomas Nelson Inc. His previous books include the New York Times bestseller Boy Clinton: the Political Biography; The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton; The Liberal Crack-Up; The Conservative Crack-Up; Public Nuisances; The Future that Doesn't Work: Social Democracy's Failure in Britain; Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House; The Clinton Crack-Up; and After the Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (58) | Leave a comment

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 12.30.10 @ 6:44AM

Since our coming health care plan will be staffed with government agents they will all be secret police and we will all be suspects.

You have headache? Thirty days!

Have you considered| 12.30.10 @ 7:21AM

I believe I read a story at The Hill wherein it stated that M. Moore's "Sicko" was banned in Cuba because if the citizens of Cuba saw that film they would riot wondering why some get that kind of care when they do not.

JimH| 12.30.10 @ 10:11AM

This is like the story of when the Grapes of Wrath was shown in the USSR and everyone was amazed at how rich American farmers were. They had their own trucks.

BackToBasics| 12.30.10 @ 5:02PM

And another along the same lines; in a vsist to DC by Brezhnev in the 1970's some Deocrat leaders wanted to show him some of the problems we faced here in America. So, they took him for a drive in some of the most rundown neighborhoods in DC. Most of DC including the rundown areas is built with brownstone rowhouses.

Upon seeing these neigherborhoods, Brezhnev remarked about how nice the housing looked in Washington.

BackToBasics| 12.30.10 @ 5:03PM

sp - Democrat - not done on purpose

David| 12.30.10 @ 8:03AM

Merry Christmas!,what flashed thru my mind on how to solve health care in America, Esp if we want Uncle Sam to stick his nose in other people's business is to break monopoly of AMA. Med-students who have enormous debt could repay debt with service to all. I somehow prefer a doctor who I can understandand communicate with! Maybe I'm biased! Keep writing Tyrell! Love your stuff!

David| 12.30.10 @ 8:09AM

PS Service to all means working in regulated health care by providing service in Hospital where fee is picked up by Uncle Sam. The former students' pay is payback to student loans!, open the door to more students, And get the NEA out of public Schools! I don't allow my son to use the term but here it fits ! NEA is "FAILURE"! So don't ask why Johnny Can't read! Thanks and MerryChristmas!!!

buckeyeman| 12.30.10 @ 12:38PM

David,

Sadly, your posts are almost unintelligible but I'll try to respond. To start with, less than 20 percent of physicians are members of the AMA. The AMA lost any relevance it may have had many decades ago. To express an opinion that the AMA has some kind of "monopoly" implies that you just don't have any idea what you are talking about (or else some form of hallucinogenic problem on your part).

Second, by the time I finished my five grueling year surgical residency I was 31 years old. Throughout my medical career (and everyone else's I ever heard of), vast amounts of medical care were delivered to the public for free. I didn't need another five years of working for next to nothing.

"Service to all"... (what the hell are you even talking about???) "means working in regulated health care"... Is there some form of health care that isn't regulated?? Maybe I'll come out of retirement.

"The former students' pay is payback to student loans!" So the "former students" come out of very poorly paid residency (do you even know ANYTHING about medical training?) and don't get paid at all??? What do they live on????? Most 30 to 35 year people have families and kids and stuff. I'm sorry to sound harsh, but your posting just doesn't make any sense (plus, anytime anyone starts to suggest "service to all" which will be provided by someone else, I get queasy).

If you want doctors who speak English then get the government the hell out of health care.

Mark James| 12.31.10 @ 11:53AM

Excellent post "Buckeye".
Not only don't most people know anything about Medical Training they also know little about the present health care system and how to improve it. This general ignorance led the Democrats to push for socialized medicine while many Republicans said we "need reform" to the system but not a government takeover.
The only system that needs reform in this country is the federal and many state governments. Get the Feds out of health care and sue states that sponsor restriction of free market insurance, allow people to save money tax free for health care and our system would improve over it's already excellent level.

Occam's Tool| 1.1.11 @ 4:50AM

Excellent post, Buckeyeman. David, the AMA has NOTHING to do with how MDs are paid.

Even in private practice, most MDs I know donate tens of thousands of dollars of uncompensated care per year. I did. What the hell are you babbling on about?

Anthony| 1.1.11 @ 9:22AM

Most of the MDs here in NY donate their money to the local mercedes dealer.

Patrick| 1.2.11 @ 12:08PM

Well, the prevailing current of victim status, "fairness", and general whining and puling allow liberals, which I hear are numerous in NY, to be selfish skinflints because they "deserve it".

Apparently, by agitating for the government to tax everyone to death, they deserve to keep their money because they already paid enough.

I suppose such self-justification explains why liberals seldom contribute towards charity as well.

ncatty| 12.30.10 @ 9:35AM

Lift the embargo and let the chips fall where they may. I want cuban cigars sold at the local tobacconist.

JmsA| 12.30.10 @ 11:47AM

Idiocy.

ncatty| 12.30.10 @ 1:08PM

So the embargo is working?

JmsA| 12.30.10 @ 1:12PM

So, why if it isn't working, are they so keen to lift it?

ncatty| 12.30.10 @ 2:47PM

By "they" I assume you mean the Fidelistas. They don't want to lift the embargo because it is too good of an excuse. Let's remove that excuse and enjoy some good cigars.

JmsA| 12.30.10 @ 3:59PM

If you wish to enjoy good cigars, you can get them in the Dominican Republic, including cigars with Vuelta Abajo leaves, just like those in Cuba. As noted in About.com, the Vuelta Abajo is a very interesting cigar because it is one of the few ‘real Cuban’ cigars you can obtain legally in the United States. These are hand rolled in the Dominican Republic from rare 100% Cuban leaf tobacco that was harvested in Cuba back in 1959 (please note, that's when Fidel Castro took over the island). The cigar is blended with 8 year old aged and doubly fermented Dominican tobaccos. If that doesn't help, maybe you can contact the Kennedy clan and ask them for a few of JFK's private puros stash.

Now for the serious stuff: Answer me this, since when do dictators need an excuse to enslave the people? Do you actually believe that if the Cubans believed such tripe, they'd be risking their lives to come to the U.S.--as are all others from all over the world? Cuba can openly trade with anyone else in world, but can no longer do so because the Cuban currency is worthless, and there are only very few and limited sources of revenue, such as a dwindling tourist industry. This industry by the way, consumes, as do the Cuban elites and repressive security apparatus, most of the imported foodstuffs Cuba can afford buy, including from that from the U.S. Another quite limited source of income derives from Cuba exporting its educated and trained professionals like doctors, teachers, etc.--to the detriment of the Cuban people. Despite such, Cuba is in fact, so economically dysfunctional and broke, that even tobacco, as everything else has been for decades, is rationed to Cubans.

It appears rather obvious that you haven't figured out that those who wish to lift the embargo, do so with the intention of having open (and much more than it is already taking place) commerce with the U.S., at taxpayers' expense through subsidies to private U.S. businesses doing trade with Cuba. In doing so, that which is only truly served, is the continuation of the tyranny. The only embargo in place against Cuba, is the one Fidel Castro has imposed on the Cuban people himself for more than 50 years. By the way, the Cuban goverment refers to the embargo as a blockade, not an embargo, and as everyone knows, especially the Cubans in Cuba, there are no American ships blockading Cuba.

ncatty| 12.30.10 @ 4:06PM

We are talking past each other. In my view, after 50 years, the embargo serves no purpose except to give Fidel an excuse. The more contact with the US, the less tolerant the Cuban population will become of his (and his family's) rule. You are in favor a continued embargo until....

JmsA| 12.30.10 @ 6:28PM

I'm favor of the Cuban embargo until Castro and his minions are gone. Lifting the embargo, as you propose, will only serve to open trade with the U.S., ultimately at taxpayers' expense, and keep alive the dictatorship. Millions and millions of Europeans, Canadians, etc., have visited or done business with Cuba for decades, yet the dictatorship perdures. Which brings me back to my original question: If the embargo is not working, why do so many, including you, wish it lifted? The overwhelming majority of the Cuban people detest Castro. American college kids, and others, taking the ferry from Miami to Havana, will not do anything to bring forth freedom in that country. Weakening further the economically moribund dictatorship by denying it another economic lifeline, will bring change from within Cuba sooner rather than later. If you can't understand that, I can't help you.

RCV| 12.30.10 @ 7:29PM

Sorry, but the embargo has been a dismal failure. It's given the sorry Castro brothers an excuse to blame their failures on, and the people it hurts most are American companies and the average Cuban. Opening the country up economically would hasten not delay the inevitable fall of failed Marxism.

Publius| 12.31.10 @ 9:37AM

I disagree, RCV. The fact that the regime is failing is the point. I'd rather have them blame their failures on us than have Americans frequenting Cuban beaches and blathering on about the communist utopia as democracy minded Cubans rot in jail.

The embargo is only a failure in that it hasn't brought about the end of the regime yet.

Mark James| 12.31.10 @ 12:04PM

I disagree with all of you. The embargo is a waste of time because Communist dictatorships are incapable of prospering to any salient degree.
The USSR failed economically while having stolen and subjugated much of Europe. Even raping Europe didn't save them from doom and they were never embargoed to any substantial degree.

Forced collectivism is always doomed to abject failure because it ignores the laws of the Universe written by Almighty God. Subjugation, tyranny, false worship, collective salvation are opposite of the universal truths and they are always doomed.

Margie| 12.31.10 @ 12:49PM

Well said.
It's The "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God". Where have I heard that before? :^)

JmsA| 12.31.10 @ 3:34PM

No, you're wrong. Every country is different. And by the way, one of the many things that helped along the final collapse of the Soviet Union was its massive subsidies to Cuba to help it sustain it absent American trade and investments.

As I previously wrote, the moribund Castro dictatorship doesn't need or deserve a lifeline from the U.S. taxpayer--which is what would happen immediately after the lifting of the embargo through crony capitalism. Cuba is broke, living off oil subsidies from Venezuela, exporting its technical class, what little the meager remnants of a pre-Castro agricultural marvel is overstressed to produce, and declining nickel ore exports; that is, when not exploiting underage prostitution (why do you think they built all of those beautiful hotels and resorts?).

Lest you also all forget that many of present day leftists, of all stripes and denominations, received their training and indoctrination from Cuba directly or indirectly. These include, in particular, those arriving at our shores from points south and beyond, through ironically enough, many U.S-sponsored channels. They overwhelmingly favor the removal of the embargo. Which brings about the question: Why would they wish to remove that which purportedly helps Castro retain power? This seems all the more unlikely given that even political rhetoric uncessantly streaming from countless sources, could not avert a shellacking in certain parts not too long ago. What I sense also is a certain, rather condescending attitude that the ovewhelming majority of the Cuban people who have and continue to suffer under Castro, continue to be duped into believing that the U.S. and its so called embargo is the source of their misery. I guess all of those Cuban exiles all over the world, nor those who drowned or were eaten by sharks trying to escape the island prison, did not buy into the embargo pablum. I wonder why? Could there be another reason for so adamantly wishing to lift the embargo? The rest of the world is not going to like the U.S. any more than it already does. After all, Cuba can trade with any other country it pleases, but the overwhelming majority of them--Castro having defaulted on his debts--don't extend Cuba credit any longer. Let's not also forget the Castro spies roaming around the U.S., and the brainwashed, so called academics in the U.S. That's only the very tip of the iceberg. There's a lot things you good folks don't understand and haven't had to experience, through the continued Graces of God and the greatness of our Republic.

Do any of think that American tourists, businessmen, academics, sports teams, etc., are going to change the regime in Cuba? I think not, given the fact that Cuba possesses the largest standing army in Latin America, at least six different internal security entities, in a country where one needs internal passports to travel, and where in each block there is an officially sponsored snitch reporting on everyone's coming and goings? Wake up. Why so pasionate about it, you might ask. Because so much of what I saw under communism, I'm seeing right here in the good old U.S.A, and I believe that the beast has to be killed, wherever it lives, and no matter the means--lest it destroy us.

That all said, I believe a reasonable compromise would be to only lift the embargo after fidel goes, which shouldn't take all that long. After that, his brother, no spring chicken himself, will be able to hold on sans l'embargo for a relatively short time. As it would be easier to blame Castro's Cuban disaster on the dead man himself--and those more pragmatic elements in the island, some of whom not so long ago were cashiered by Castro in an attempt to avert changes in the island and maintain the dinasour ruling Cuban communist party in absolute power, would endeavor to finally move the country towards a semblance of freedom and a real future.

al| 12.30.10 @ 9:38AM

liberals will always supply a steady number of useful idiots to an ideology that has killed over a hundred million people. it's part of their DNA to luxuriate in the benefits of capitalism, even as they heap scorn upon it.

stmichrick| 12.30.10 @ 4:34PM

Thats right al;
For some reason there is a disconnect between the likely degradation of standard of living caused by socialism but it won't touch them.
But it will be fairer.

james| 12.30.10 @ 10:47AM

One of the deliberate lies favored by the Left is that Cuba's economic problems would go away if only the USA were to lift its embargo.

The USA is not the only industrial country in the West but it is the only one whose government prohibits trade with Cuba.

If the USA embargo were the only problem Cuba would be inundated with goods manufactured in Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Britain, etc., etc. No WalMart stores? Then Tesco (British) and Carrefour (French) would have dozens of Cuban outlets.

My point is that our embargo is not the problem. The problem is Cuba has a communist country and as a result it forbids foreign investment.

As for importation because it is communist it cannot produce enough exportable products to pay for any imports. That's why Havana has no Toyotas or KIAs or any other Western automobiles.

Anthony| 12.30.10 @ 10:55AM

RET: A blessed, happy and prosperous New Year to you and The American Spectator, the finest web site on the web!!!
2011 is gonna be a hot one!!!

TURK| 12.30.10 @ 11:42AM

Like David I love RET's stuff. I am reminded of his horrendous run in with the vicious clinton's, and have to revisit the fact of his bravery in defense of liberty in that fight, whenever he appears in print.

A minor observation I have on his reference to cuba as "one of the last communist dictatorships left", would be to observe that some formidable ones remain or are attempting to hatch: i.e. China, Venezuela, et al. Of the most importance would be the good ol U.S.A. Who can say that the existing potus; his czars; the recess appointments; the insane facelift ad from San Fran; dingy nevada criminal and the far left cheering section, would not like to sneak us into such if they can get away with it? Are they not well on the way?

Amen to 2011 being a hot one! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

davelnaf| 12.30.10 @ 12:01PM

The religion of leftist redistribution will turn intelligent people into idiots every time it’s tried. But what do you expect from people who deal in fantasy? Movies are their way of reworking reality into something more palatable.

Who Knows?| 12.30.10 @ 12:22PM

We have Fidel Castro and Semper Fidelis.

What LOW fidelity!

“Therefore the system of silence, so unanimously resorted to, is the only right one, and I can only advise them to stick to it, and go on with it as long as it works---in other words, until ignoring is taken to imply ignorance; then there will still just be time to come round. Meanwhile, everyone is at liberty to pluck a little feather here and there for his own use, for the superfluity of ideas at home is not usually very oppressive. Thus the system of ignoring and of maintaining silence can last for a good while, at any rate for the span of time that I may yet have to live; in this way much is already gained. If in the meantime an indiscreet voice here and there has allowed itself to be heard, it is soon drowned out by the loud talking of the professors, who, with their airs of importance, know how to entertain the public with quite different things. But I advise a somewhat stricter observance of the unanimity of procedure, and, in particular, supervision of the young men, who at times are terribly indiscreet. For even so, I am unable to guarantee that the commended procedure will last for ever, and I cannot be answerable for the final result. It is a ticklish question, the steering of the public, good and docile as it is on the whole. Although we see the Gorgiases and Hippiases nearly always at the top; although as a rule the absurd culminates, and it seems impossible for the voice of the individual ever to penetrate through the chorus of foolers and the fooled, still there is left to the genuine works of all times a quite peculiar, silent, slow, and powerful influence; and as if by a miracle, we see them rise at last out of the turmoil like a balloon that floats up out of the thick atmosphere of this globe into purer regions. Having once arrived there, it remains at rest, and no one can any longer draw it down again.” Schopenhauer

Wow, what a smackdown of the MSM and all things concerning the suicidal Democratic party of our time!

Not to mention people like Jack Nicholson and Steven Spielberg!

PCC| 12.30.10 @ 1:11PM

If the citizens of a country are not free to leave their country anytime they want, then that's all you need to know about their healthcare system, and everything else, too.

Big Leo| 12.30.10 @ 1:43PM

When I went to Cuba, I could have made a fortune selling aspirins to people. Unfortunately, it would have been a fortune in pesos. What a great medical system! When you're dying of cancer there, they don't prescribe painkillers. Don't worry. If you love Cuban medicine, I'm sure we can get up to their level with ten or twenty years of Obamacare.

If they do, I'll be running a booming black market in painkillers.

David Thompson| 12.30.10 @ 2:06PM

"Who would have enough money to go to the movies?"
Bob - In public schools now, Hollywood movies are shown several times per week. Educational stuff, of course, like The Color Purple. I'm sure that the Dept. of "Education" could find the authority take over the industry and the theaters. Just like free concerts (rap music) in the park now.

Richard Baker| 12.30.10 @ 3:03PM

I've always wondered. Who got all those Cuban cigars that JFK told Pierre Salinger to buy just before the initiating the embargo?

Big Leo| 12.30.10 @ 3:19PM

Me-- I wish.

morris wise| 12.30.10 @ 4:31PM

Fidel holds the US hostage. He has threatened that if harassed, he will send 11 million of his amigo`s on a flotilla to Florida and break the states welfare system. It is best to let him bear the burden of feeding his amigo`s, there is no more free food available in Florida.

Big Leo| 12.30.10 @ 5:39PM

Ever seen a Soviet era Lada turned into an oxcart? It's well worth the cost of a ticket to La Habana.

Big Leo| 12.30.10 @ 10:06PM

They have toilet paper in Cuba? Not where I stayed, which was with the people. They used back issues of La Granma, which proved my thesis that it wasn't good for anything false, although it wasn't very good toilet paper.

Occam's Tool| 1.1.11 @ 4:54AM

In the hospital in which I worked in New Zealand, the patient's families cleaned the patients' bathroom in the surgical wing because it was so fould and the gov't wouldn't hire enough cleaning staff. Believe Mr. Garland. NHS sucks.

Christopher| 1.1.11 @ 9:18PM

In many of the state run hospitals in Italy, you have to bring your own eating utensils (fork,etc), bed sheets, and pillows.

handbags| 12.30.10 @ 9:56PM

thanks your share!

Richard Baker| 12.31.10 @ 10:17AM

This article showed that Spielberg and Nicholson ARE the "useful idiots" of which Lenin spoke. About as silly as John Lennon referring to himself as a "committed socialist."

Mark James| 12.31.10 @ 12:06PM

But Lennon was absolutely right, all socialists should be committed.

bluecollarbytes| 12.31.10 @ 1:13PM

Castro has found a way to turn an entire country into 'life's-lotto winners'. If the leaders get more stuff, it's because they sacrifice more for the betterment of the collective good (like al-Gore for instance).

Howard| 12.31.10 @ 3:06PM

Why is it that the most committed Socialists are usually rich Western artists or film makers? Has one of those bastards ever given up their wealth to live in poverty with the masses? The answer is no!

Rowdy Boots| 1.1.11 @ 2:09AM

How simple minded the Hollywood Mentality, and naive to believe that a Fascist Murderer like Fidel Castro is any different than his minion Che Guevara.

Both were egomaniacs and both sublime in their different approaches to murder.

On one hand, we had Che, who, whenever the opportunity arose, slaughtered viciously in the name of...uh...Che. His brutality was instant and without reason.

On the other hand, we have Fidel, whose slow, morbid march upon his own people has bled them slowly of spirit, sucked the ambition from their souls, and murdered the dreams of their children.

Two rapacious gangsters: One psycho-pathologically insane, reaping blood wherever he roamed; the other, a hulking monstrous shadow of vile lies and decaying power, whose woeful reign has imprisoned generations.

ROWDY BOOTS

Penguins Fan| 1.1.11 @ 9:21AM

Over the past 50 years, the United States Government has sent the US military into almost every continent on the globe. Yet, 90 miles from Key West, remains the disgusting dictator who has spread radical leftism all over Latin America - and still influences the dimwits in Hollywood.

I advocate withdrawing the US military from South Korea and letting them deal with the Norks. It's fine with me if the US leaves Okinawa. should China want to step up its bullying, we quit buying their junk.

However, Castro should be removed. Their crappy military would not last a week. Chavez would freak out. Blockade his oil and he would collapse in a month. Then, maybe, we could be rid of leftism in the Western Hemisphere - save the US universities, the East and West Coast, and Ottawa.

Petronius| 1.1.11 @ 12:40PM

We can get rid of leftist academics easily. No more Pell grants or student loans. And no money from any level of government to any university that does not teach the U.S. Constitution and market economics, as opposed to sandbox, (Marxist) economics as required courses to every freshman. They will also be required to demonstrate that they truly understand this material by sitting extended essay examinations which must be passed before any further study .

DANSHANTEAL| 1.1.11 @ 1:17PM

WHEN I WORKED AT A BANK IN BERKELEY,
I HAD A JEWISH ARCHITECT CLIENT WHO WOULD PERIODICALLY JOIN A JEWISH GROUP AND VISIT THE SMALL JEWISH COMMUNITY IN CUBA. WHILE THERE, HE MARRIED A MUCH YOUNGER JEWISH DOCTOR TO GET HER TO THE U.S. BUT TWO THINGS INTERRUPTED HIS PLAN: FIRST, SHE WAS SENT INTO THE COUNTRYSIDE TO WORK AS A PENALTY CAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE THIER DOCTORS; SECONDLY, WHEN SHE WAS READY TO GO, SHE WOULDN'T LEAVE HER ONLY CHILD WHOM THE GOVT. REFUSED TO ALLOW TO EMMIGRATE. HE SUBSEQUENTLY DIVORCED HER, AND, AS FAR AS I KNOW, SHE IS STILL IN CUBA.

Dave Trapped in NYC| 1.1.11 @ 7:24PM

To all the people who write to Am Spec, I love your posts and Happy New Year!

Keep em coming.

Marc Jeric| 1.3.11 @ 7:13PM

When I was 24 I escaped from a communist hell. While there we all "enjoyed" government health "care". I needed a tooth fill and the first day I waited 8 hours without seeing the dentist. Next dat I arrived to that miserable waiting room at 6 AM - and still did not get to see the dentist. Finally, driven by pain, I just stayed in that waiting room overnight - together with another dozen patients. By the end of that day I finally got to see the doctor: he advised me to let the tooth go - extraction was much better than a filling, he said. And so I lost the first tooth when I was 20. After that "care" I lost 3 more befor leaving the "workers paradise" forever.

Richard Baker| 1.4.11 @ 9:42AM

Marc:
Too many Americans have never known what you and many others know from experience. Glad you escaped and came here. On with the Restoration.

Manion Alden| 1.5.11 @ 6:03PM

The proof is in the pudding: when Castro was sick, the finest MD in Cuba was not good enough. He brought one in from Europe.

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