Sunday, December 31, 2017

Sunday's show: "The ice bowl 1967", Trump 2017 and other stories of the day


We look back at the big stories of 2017 and make a couple of predictions about 2018.........we remember The Ice Bowl 50 years ago, or the NFL title game between Dallas and Green Bay......John Denver 1943-97......and we wish you a very Happy New Year........and other stories..........

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Sunday's video: "The Ice Bowl"


Dec 31, 1967:  The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers met in the NFL title game....legendary game now known as The Ice Bowl.....Green Bay scored with seconds to go........
click to watch:





The Beatles that Cubans didn’t get to hear in Cuba



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In a few weeks, we will celebrate the 54th anniversary of The Beatles landing at JFK Airport and appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show.
It was one of those events that changed music, radio playlists and the length of our hair.   My mom used to call them “los bitles” or her “Cuban accented” pronunciation. It was also her disapproval of the hair or my desire to look like that.
However, I did not know a thing about Beatlemania until our family got here.    In early 1964,  we were in Cuba waiting for “el telegrama” to leave the island.   Up here, The Beatles were in New York and being introduced by Ed Sullivan.
The Castro dictatorship censored The Beatles and their music was not heard on local radio. The “ban” came from the to the very top:
“Fidel Castro’s government frowned on Western music as a ‘decadent’ influence in the decades after his 1959 Cuban Revolution.
Many Cubans recall being harassed for wearing long hair or listening to rock and pop music from Europe or the United States.”
Eventually, the Castro regime liberalized rules so Cubans finally got their taste of The Beatles.
We arrived in the US in September ’64 and all of those Cuban kids in Miami were singing their songs.   I remember “A Hard Day’s Night” movie signs everywhere.
Now in Miami, waiting to travel to Wisconsin, I heard that it was a British group and a girl showed me her copy of “Meet the Beatles.”   It was the first time that I had seen a picture of the group or heard their music.
A few years ago, I spoke with a 50-something Cuban who left the island recently. We spoke about the repression, censorship of the press and the food shortages.
Then he said this: “You know one more thing I really hate the Castro dictatorship for….they denied me The Beatles”….I never got to enjoy it like you did in the US”
Thank God for freedom was all I could say!   All of a sudden I realized that freedom is “a free press” and my copy of “Abbey Road.”
PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.






Saturday, December 30, 2017

Saturday's show: We look back at the top stories 2017 and ahead to 2018


They are freezing up north....chilly here too.....we will look back at the big stories of 2017......and chat about a couple of trends for 2018........Happy # 82 to Sandy Koufax...........and other stories......

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Rahm and Trump Derangement Syndrome

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A friend from Chicago lamented recently that his city is going to the Devil, and the local leadership just wants to talk about Trump’s tweets!
My friend is right, according to news reports:
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel had a good year at the expense of city residents – and for that he might want to thank President Donald Trump.
Despite presiding over a city with rampant money and crime problems, Democrat Emanuel has bolstered his approval ratings and become the rising star of the left by placing himself front and center in the anti-Trump “resistance movement.”
Emanuel declared the Windy City a “Trump-free zone,” prevailed in a legal battle against the White House over threats to cut funding from sanctuary cities, and came out in strong support of combatting climate change – an apparent dig at Trump for pulling out of the Paris Agreement. 
Most importantly for Emanuel, his profile has risen – with political pundits floating his name as a possible Democratic 2020 presidential candidate, even as he openly says he is not interested.
It’s a lot of nonsense, but it keeps the mayor alive politically.
From coast to coast, we see more and more Democrats avoiding the tough issues by simply activating their TDS.  It is not helping their constituents, who are voting with their feet by leaving and taking their taxable income with them.  Nearly 450,000 people fled these three deep blue states in 2017!
Emanuel in 2020?  I don’t see it, but stranger things have happened.  At the same time, my guess is that a large chunk of the aforementioned 450,000 are not going to vote for the policies they are rejecting!

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

MLB back to back amazing World Series.....Cubs vs Indians in 2016.....Astros vs Dodgers was even better: Baseball was the big winner.




2017 was the 230th anniversary of the US Constitution

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We remembered this year the 230th anniversary of the gathering that produced the US Constitution.    It was indeed a "Miracle at Philadelphia".

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.

2005: Baseball and a new policy about steroids


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Back in the 2005 off season, MLB finally decided to get serious about steroids. The owners and union leaders agreed on a tough program.   

The new agreement called for a 50 game suspension for first-time offenders and 100 games for second-time offenders.  It's "3-strikes and you are out" or banished from baseball for life if you are a third time offender.

The owners and players took a big step in the right direction. 

ARod: The 2005 AL MVP


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New York fans in 2005 were furious that their team lost to the Angels in the AL postseason playoffs.   They naturally directed all of their anger at ARod, or the face of the team.

Nevertheless, ARod was selected as the AL MVP.

ARod was the right choice.  It was his second MVP in 3 years. His main opposition came from David Ortiz, the Bosox's DH. 

In my book, an everyday player is a bigger MVP than a DH. I feel the same way about giving the MVP to a pitcher. The Cy Young is for pitchers. The MVP is for position player.

P.S. I should add that my opinion of ARod changed when he was involved in drug controversies.     We did not know that in 2005.


2006: Remember when Tim Kaine ran as "a pro-life Democrat"?


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Back in 2005, an anti-abortion or pro-ife Democrat won the governor's election.  It was Tim Kaine, a pro-life Catholic who openly spoke of his faith.

This is the same Tim Kaine who threw away all of his principles and convictions to run on the Clinton-Kaine ticket in 2016.

The Dems did not win Alabama...the GOP gave it away




"John Adams", a great book about one of The Founding Fathers



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John Adams was one of the great men who put this nation together.   This is a great book:





The Cong Sheila Jackson Lee "seat controversy"......




2005: Chicago White Sox surprised a lot of people by winning the AL pennant


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What more can you say? I was wrong. I picked the Angels but the Chisox proved me wrong big time. 

I am not really angry about it.

4 complete games.

Vlad Guerrero was limited to 1 for 20!

Congratulations to the 2005 AL champs!

This is the first World Series for Chicago since the Sox lost to the Dodgers in '59.

They were a great team!

2005 NLCS: Pujols sent the Series back to St. Louis


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This is why baseball is the best game. No clock. No running out the clock.

The Cards were down to their last out.  Eckstein singled to left. Edmonds walked after taking a very close two-strike pitch.  Albert Pujols then hit a 3 run homer and sent the series to St Louis. 

Houston eventually won their first NL pennant in St. Louis but a lot of Astros' fans were heartbroken after that swing!


Another day and another batch of emails...




Obama and Trump at 46% after year one?

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This is an interesting poll by Rasmussen, a very reliable pollster.   President Trump and President Obama finished their first year at 46% approval!    It may be more significant that Economic Confidence Continues to Soar.

Let's see where all of these numbers stand on Labor Day 2018.   It will tell us a lot about what the midterms will look like.

DACA: wouldn't it be something if Dems throw Dreamers under the bus again?



We remember Frank Torre (1931-2014)


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We remember Frank Torre, who was born on this day in Brooklyn.  Frank broke with the Braves and played about six seasons in the majors:   .273 batting average over 714 games!    He died in 2014.

Frank left the game in the 1960's but did watch his younger brother, Joe, become a great player and win won 4 pennants as the manager of the Yankees.

Joe played with the Braves in the 1957-58 World Series:





Some Saddam revisionism



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Back in December 2006, the "Blame the US" crowd had additional material, the execution of Saddam.

It is true that some Iraqis were sad that Saddam was executed. This is not a surprise.

However, the "Blame the US for everything" international media did not remind its readers and viewers that today's Iraqis have a chance to express their grievances or discontent with a governmental decision.

This is what happens when you have 3 elections and a government.

No one enjoyed that right during Saddam's reign.  In fact, the mass graves are proof of that reality.


Saddam and the future of Iraq


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Why is anyone in the world still making excuses for this evil man?

In '91, I met a Lebanese businessman who lived in Kuwait with his US wife and children. They were able to get out early because of the wife's US citizenship. Some of their neighbors and friends were not so fortunate. They came face to face with the horrors. Some were killed. 

Their home in Kuwait City was sacked by Iraqi troops.  Some of their neighbors' daughters were raped. (I am specifically talking about a 15 year old girl who lived down the street!)

In the end, justice happened and Iraqis moved on.


Friday, December 29, 2017

Friday's show: People leaving blue states plus 2018 midterms and other stories




They are freezing up north....chilly here too.....it is way too early to speculate about the 2018 midterm elections......it could go different ways........over 450,000 people moved out of blue states over the last year.......Happy # 71 to Marianne Faithfull.......and other stories.........

Click to listen:







Friday's video: Trump Derangement Syndrome and Democrat politicians


From New York to Illinois to California, Democrat politicians are beating Trump rather than fixing their problems.....450,000 people left those states!

Click to watch:






A wave of what color?

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It’s the last week of 2017, and people are already making predictions about 2018.  So let me give my early take on all this.
Let’s start with Newt Gingrich, who predicted a “surprise” in 2018:
The great political surprise of 2018 will be the size of the Republican victory.
After members of the elite media have spent two years savaging President Trump, lying about Republican legislation, and reassuring themselves that Republican defeat was inevitable, the size of the GOP victory in 2018 will be an enormous shock.
Newt goes on to mention our friend Barry Casselman, who has a good eye for political waves: 
H[i]historically … the party out of power makes gains in the first mid-term election after [it] lose[s] the White House.
This precedent has fueled recent media and Democratic Party strategists’ anticipations of a 2018 “blue wave.”
This tide in blue might still happen, but the genuine signs for it are not yet present. 
In fact, the signs for now point the other way.  Donald Trump not only defied conventional wisdom in 2016[;] he has continued to do so (admittedly with not a few political hiccups) in the eleven months since taking office.
Remember that losing seats is not the same thing as losing the House or U.S. Senate.  In recent years, only President Clinton in 1994 and President Obama in 2010 lost big in their first midterm elections.  President G.W. Bush actually picked up the Senate in 2002!
In other words, as my old history professor used to say, history repeats itself until it does not!
There is another point, and it has to do with today’s Democratic Party.
Back in 2006, the Democrats won back the House by running centrist candidates.  Is the Democratic Party capable of that today?  Can the Democrats run people who can win rural areas?  I don’t think so.  Just look at the map!
So we will sit back and check out the waves in the horizon.  I won’t be surprised if the GOP holds the House and picks up a couple of Senate seats – say, in Indiana, Missouri, or West Virginia.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

Cheney drove the libs mad!




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Dick Cheney was selected by George W. Bush because he would make a great Vice President.

Normally, presidential candidates nominate a VP to balance the ticket or add a state.

For example, Bill Clinton selected Al Gore because he needed a partner who served in Vietnam, had a good reputation as a husband and supported the First Gulf War. 


In 2000, Bush was not concerned about carrying Wyoming. Yet, he was aware of future challenges and how a man like Cheney would enhance the team.

Of course, Cheney drove liberals mad, too.

So let's go with
Diagnosis: Cheney By Charles Krauthammer:
"If there's a diagnosis to be made here, it is this: yet another case of the one other syndrome I have been credited with identifying, a condition that addles the brain of otherwise normal journalists and can strike without warning -- Bush Derangement Syndrome, Cheney Variant."

2009: VP Cheney came back and forced Dems to think about national security




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Back in 2009, VP Cheney returned to Washington because something funny happened on the way to hope and change:

"Congressional Democrats are voicing growing unease over the Obama administration’s national security policies, including the seemingly open-ended commitment in Afghanistan and the nettlesome question of what to do with prisoners held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba."
The concern was rooted on the reality that the Obama administration seemed naive and confused about our enemies.      In other words, the campaign rhetoric just did not match the reality of governing.   Closing GITMO was a lot easier said than done.   Ending wars was not so easy either.

We are glad that VP Cheney came back and reminded us about the threats!


Thank God for VP Cheney!



VP Cheney went after Pres BO's shameful attack on the CIA operatives who defended us by making real world decisions.


Again, thank God for VP Cheney!


P.S.  His book is very good:




A good book about VP Cheney


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We said goodbye to VP Cheney when the Bush administration left town. We said farewell to the most consequential VP in recent history.

Cheney retired from a 40 year career in politics. He was a congressman, Chief of Staff for President Ford, Secretary of Defense for President Bush during the first Iraq War 1991 and Vice President, 2001-09.

I think that we are fortunate to have had such a man at such a critical time.

A few years later, James Rosen sat down and spoke with VP Cheney:





January 2009 and the attacks on the outgoing President Bush




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During President Bush's last few days, our friend J R Dunn looked back at Bush bashing.

J R Dunn was right.  The attacks spoke volumes about the "bashers" and little about the "bashee":
"His detractors were willing to risk the country's safety, its economic health, and the very balance of the democratic system of government in order to get at him.
They were out to bring him down at all costs, or at the very least destroy his personal and presidential reputation.
At this they have been half successful, at a high price for the country and its government."
It was a massive display of immaturity and a cult of personality!


2010: Paul McCartney got a bad case of BDS!




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Back in June 2010, Paul McCartney was given a special and well deserved award at The White House.

He even sang "Michelle" to the First Lady. 

So far so good! I love Paul's music too!

However, Paul could not contain himself and proceeded to a very bad display of BDS, or Bush Derangement Syndrome
: "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency -- nay -- the very existence of George W. Bush".

Someone should tell Paul that he was at The White House and attending a non-partisan event.

Paul was not attending a fundraiser in San Francisco. He was being honored by the American people.

It was not a political event!

Check this idiotic statement by Paul:

"After the last eight years, it’s great to have a President who knows what a library is,” McCartney quipped."
Is that tasteless or what?

Beyond a lack of class, we remind Paul that President Bush was a voracious reader, a Harvard MBA and Mrs. Bush worked as a librarian in West Texas.

2010: "The Joe & Valerie show" was nothing but a couple of people looking for fame and fortune



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Remember Joe?  He was the self appointed hero of the "Bush lied about Iraq's WMDs" story.

Remember Valerie?  She was the victim of "a Cheney plot" to take over the country.

The couple even made a movie.   It became new the last hurrah for anti-Bush movies or Bush Derangement Syndrome.

The best review of the story was a The Washington Post editorial:
"In fact, "Fair Game," based on books by Mr. Wilson and his wife, is full of distortions - not to mention outright inventions." 
Thank God that we have an honest liberal newspaper in The Washington Post!

 

Where was all of this outrage when they were calling Bush a liar over and over again?




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Like so many of you, I remember all of those attacks on Pres Bush.   They were intense, over the top, crazy, rude and they even silly

In fact, Charles Krauthammer gave it a name in 2003: BDS or Bush Derangement Syndrome




2009: "Hope and change" very soft on Iran!




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We don't know what happened in Iran.  A young woman killed and hundreds were arrested.

I don't trust the Iranian thugs! My feeling is that the Iranian authorities stole the election!

Pres Obama sat in the sidelines.   The reformers were beaten and crushed. 

Frankly, it did not have to happen!



Obama silent in 2009, Trump talking about Iran protests




The Astros, the baseball story of 2017



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The 2017 Astros were one of the greatest sports stories of modern baseball.   They went from losing 400 games in 4 years to winning the crown!   Great achievement!

Over the years. the Astros had other post seasons teams:

They lost to the Phillies in the '80 NLCS.    Game 5 was fantastic!

They played one of the best NLCS in '86 when they lost to the Mets.    Game 6 was amazing!

They lost a heartbreak to the Cardinals in '04. 

Add to this the losses to the Braves in '97 and '99 and to the Padres in '98.

It was different in 2005: They won the NL pennant.

Overall, congratulations to the Astros. They were the baseball story of 2017.





Baseball's post season is the best system



A post from December 2006: The end is near for Fidel



According to The Washington Post, Castro Near Death, U.S. Intelligence Chief Says:
"The Cuban leader did not show up as anticipated at a Dec. 2 national celebration in Havana scheduled to commemorate his 80th birthday and the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution. In a brief speech at the event, Raul Castro imparted no message from his brother but said that Cuba is willing to open negotiations with the United States "to settle the long U.S.-Cuba disagreement."

In rejecting the offer this week, Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon told reporters that the Bush administration will deal with Cuba's Communist government only when it shows a commitment to democracy.
During the period of uncertainty under Raul Castro, Shannon said, "the regime has actually become harder and more orthodox and is not in a position to signal in any meaningful way what direction it will take post-Fidel."

Fidel Castro is dead and so is the system that he imposed on the Cuban people....




Raul: It's time to say "adios"!



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According to some news reports from 2010, Fidel Castro told a foreign journalist that the Cuban model does not work for anymore.

We learned later that Castro corrected the news reports.....he meant to say that capitalism does not work for Cuba.

What's wrong with that? Capitalism has not existed in Cuba for 50 years.

In fact, it was the Castro regime that destroyed capitalism and free enterprise in the 1960's.
  
It was all done in the name of socialism!   How did that work out for Cuba?



December 2006: A bad Navidad for Che!

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Good News. You won't see Che's face at Target anymore.

See
Turning the tide on Che? by Thomas Lifson:
"Yesterday, Target bowed to the pressure and did the right thing, pulling the offensive merchandise from its shelves.

I congratulate Target on its newfound sensibility to the nature of communist tyrants, or at least one communist tyrant capable of inspiring a boycott by a regionally potent ethnic bloc. May the lesson stick."

I congratulate Target on its newfound sensibility to the nature of communist tyrants, or at least one communist tyrant capable of inspiring a boycott by a regionally potent ethnic bloc. May the lesson stick."

IBD started this and Target has now eliminated Che. Also, thanks to all of the Cubans in the US who called Target. 

 Thanks to fellow conservatives who supported us.

Good news!

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

A post from 2006: More on Cuba's socialist paradise




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What about Cuba's wonderful health care system? See Smoke clears on a Cuban epidemic:
"An epidemic of dengue fever that flooded hospitals and may have killed as many as 100 Cubans has been brought under control by a fumigation campaign involving 300,000 students, pensioners and healthcare workers.
The outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus here was the worst in a quarter of a century and appears to have afflicted thousands during its peak in September and October.

The infection rate has slowed to only a few dozen new cases this month, said a senior doctor familiar with the scope of the epidemic, who added that the response was initially slowed by government secrecy.
Caused by a mosquito-borne virus, dengue produces flu-like symptoms, including fever.

It occurs in most tropical areas of the world and is widespread in the Caribbean basin.
The physician complained bitterly about the veil initially imposed by Communist Party officials.

The ostensible purpose was to avoid panicking the public, but the demand that the epidemic be treated as a confidential security matter was strongest in early September, when preparations were underway for the 14th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, to be held in Havana.

That gathering of Third World leaders brought 3,000 foreign visitors from more than 100 countries to the capital Sept. 11-16, including about 50 heads of state and government.
The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity because of the possibility of dismissal from his job or arrest for discussing the matter with a reporter."
Of course, it must be the embargo. Yes, the embargo and the US. 

What else could it be?

A post from 2007: Why does anyone believe the Cuban government anyway?



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For years, the Castro dictatorship has promoted lies.

For example, lie # 1 is that Cuba was a backward country in desperate need of a tropical Robin Hood. Sorry, that's not true! Pre-Castro Cuba had problems (what country didn't in 1959?) but mass poverty was not one of them.

Lie # 2 is that Cuba did not have doctors or health care until Fidel graciously gave us his wonderful system. Sorry, that's not true.

Lie # 3 is Cuba's life expectancy.  Sorry, Cubans are not living longer, as IBD explained in full detail. The Cuban government is playing with numbers.

Frankly, I'm not surprised that the Castro regime would lie about its numbers. What amazes me is that the world's media is so gullible to fall for the regime's lies!


A post from 2007: Michael Moore did not report on the real Cuban health care




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In 2004, Michael Moore made a movie about the Iraq War. As of today, David Kopel has uncovered 57 lies in that movie! For more on Moore's lies, see The Lies of Michael Moore by Christopher Hitchens!

In 2007, Moore released another movie about US health care. Unfortunately, Moore did not tell his audience about the true state of hospitals and health care in Cuba.


Thanks to everyone responsible for taking these photos out of Cuba.  

It's amazing what the angry left will defend because Castro is an enemy of the US!


The truth about Che!



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My friend Humberto Fontova exposed Che Guevara. His story is impressive:
"Humberto Fontova was born in Havana, Cuba. He and his family of 5 attempted to leave in 1961, but only 4 of them were successful. Humberto Fontova Sr. (author's father) was grabbed by the milicianos. He yelled to Esther (mother) and the 3 kids (Humberto age 7, Patricia age 8, and Enrique age 5) to "Go ahead!....Whatever happens to me, I don't want ya'll growing up here!" The next day, from a cousin's house in Miami, Esther called Cuba and found out that Humberto Sr. was in La Cabana, firing squad central where 2100 men and boys were murdered. Humberto Sr. stayed there for 3 months and then was released and returned to his family in New Orleans."
His book about Che is a must.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.





Summer 2007: Of course, Fidel is alive! Mira como baila!



Our friends at The Babalu Blog have the latest video out of Cuba! Who could say that Fidel is dead? Mira como baila! Check out the video. It will prove for once and for all that Fidel is alive and within days of coming back into power! After all, why would you doubt anything coming out of the Cuban government?

How did Fidel outlast US presidents?



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Some are celebrating the idea that Fidel Castro outlasted 9 US presidents.  

Well, let's count them: Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama.    He died during the Trump transition.

I count 11 but that's OK.

Castro stayed in power with a little luck (i.e the failed Bay of Pigs), pragmatism (i.e. selling out to the USSR in exchange for protection) and sheer repression. 

He outlasted elected US presidents because there were no elections in Cuba!

On the other hand, US presidents had to face voters and could only serve 2 terms. 

Let's not forget a free press!

Castro was an un-elected dictator. As we know, dictators usually stay in power until they die, get killed or overthrown.


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