Babalu Blog: Suddenly, everyone's an expert

September 07, 2005

Suddenly, everyone's an expert

So, fidel castro makes a more than dubious offer of sending medical personnel - 1500 doctors! - and tonnage of non-existent medical supplies to the US and suddenly everyone's chomping at the bit that the US didnt accept the offer.

A plethora of bloggers and journalists and columnists, that have apparently never noticed the political oppression in Cuba nor the lack of fundamental freedoms in Cuba nor the repressive tactics by the government in Cuba nor the lack of basic necessities in Cuba nor the fact that the government of Cuba considers the US its worst enemy nor the fact that there is a system of tourism apartheid in Cuba, have crawled out of the woodwork and proceeded with such a calumnious, incessant whine that even the wailing of banshees is a preferable, and more pleasant I might add, option. Forget the fact that they have never written a damned thing about Cuba, fidel castro has spoken and the world's ranks of complete and total useful idiots have stood and yelled "We are with you, comandante!!!"

So suddenly, everyone is an expert when it comes to Cuba, Cuban healthcare, hurricanes, disaster relief, medicine, and the magnanimous nature of one fidel castro.

Take a look at this Technorati link. With the exception of my Mil Medicos post, every other blog post on that long list of blog posts is a new expert in the field of US/Cuba relations and specifically, the state of medicine in Cuba. Almost every single post takes President Bush and his administration to task for not acepting such a kind and generous and humane offer from the ever so generous fidel castro.

History be damned, of course. The fact that fidel castro has proven himself to be the worst enemy of the very ideals of this country for over 46 years is moot. The fact be damned that fidel castro once had medium range nuclear missiles aimed at our shores and was not only willing to use them, but insistent upon using them. The fact that he has killed numerous AMERICAN CITIZENS during his "tenure" as dictator in command be damned as well. The fact that fidel castro has repeatedly done everything in his power to thrwart US interests in Latin America and the world be damned. All logic and history and fact and data be damned. fidel castro has spoken and the useful idiot ranks have stood firm: "We are with you, comandante!!"

He has offered DOCTORS!!!! How kind!!! How gracious of him!!! How selfless!!!

Logistics be damned as well. Let's allow a slew of doctors, whose training and education we know nothing about and who dont meet the criteria for any American doctor in the states to care for our wounded and infirm. Let's not worry about the fact that the majority of these doctors dont speak a damned word of English to begin with. And let's ignore the political ramifications of defections, BECAUSE HISTORY HAS PROVEN THAT YOU SIMPLY CANNOT HAVE A LARGE GROUP OF CUBANS TRAVEL OUTSIDE THEIR COUNTRY WITHOUT ANY DEFECTIONS, adding an even bigger burden on already taxed state and federal agencies by having to deal with more refugees.

fidel castro has offered doctors and the evil Bushitler has turned them down!! Bush denied! People died!!!

I cant even begin to describe how incredibly annoyed I am. Not at castro, because I know that devil well and it would be incredibly ignorant of me to not know that this offer is yet another machination, no. I am pissed at every single whiny new expert on Cuba and fidel castro who has not only no knwoledge whatsoever of the despot that is fidel castro, but who has only used this stupidity to take political potshots at the President and who will, most assuredly, never again lay any interest at all in Cuba and the absolutely dark plight of the Cuban people.

I dont really care whether or not the US takes fidel castro up on his offer. I really dont. If we do, then thanks and let's get the asylum sponsors ready, and if we dont, then the people of Cuban wont lose more doctors than they already have to Venezuela and other parts of the world.

Regardless, I will still be here tomorrow doing what I believe is right for Cuba and her people. And I certainly will sleep soundly knowing that I did not use the misfortune of others to make a political statement or further a political agenda.

Posted by Val Prieto at September 7, 2005 04:05 PM

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» Cuban Docs - Thanks Anyway from Kobayashi Maru
Cuba offered last week to send 1,500 doctors to help with post-Katrina care. How thoughtful. Here's the equation as I see it: If we accept, then maybe in some marginal way, some U.S. docs won't have to work as hard for a few weeks. Maybe. (Stick with... [Read More]

Tracked on September 8, 2005 06:57 AM

Comments

The looney left has been whining since the 2000 loss by Gore and they will never get it! They try to inject the race card into every possible event but Americans will not buy it. This country is much , much more than Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Nancy Pelosi, and other entitlement whiners. This country is the thousands of volunteers of every color and creed that are helping their fellow Americans in need rather than engaging in the blame game. The Democrats' blame game and whining will eventually come back and bite them in the next election as Americans will again see they don't offer anything positive.

Posted by: Jose Aguirre at September 7, 2005 04:21 PM

MAN! there are thousands of blog posts on this Cuban doctor nonsense. No wonder Val is pissed - I would be too! I have a lousy food blog that sometimes I post Cuba food or Cuba related things and no one visits or leaves comments. Now I know what to do - I am going to post something about how crazy it would be to bring these "doctors" to the US.

BTW - at work today someone had a very popular Afro American NYC radio sation on and the disk jockeys were complaining about how papa fidel is offereing all this help and how bad the USA was for not accepting the offer!

Posted by: mandingo jones at September 7, 2005 05:40 PM

Apparently no one remembers how the U.S. offered to help Cuba financially during their last major hurricane, and how we were handily denied. Why weren't people up in arms then?

Chavez offered money, too, linked, of course, to a statement about how horrible the U.S. is. Did we take that money, I wonder? I haven't heard much about it.

Posted by: Chantel at September 7, 2005 06:11 PM

The only constant in U.S.-Cuban relations over the last 46 years has been Fidel Castro, and he has sabotaged every attempt at rapprochement made by a succession of U.S. presidents (Democrat and Republican). Gerald Ford was about to recognize the Castro regime when Cuba became involved in Angola. Carter was prepared to turn the Interest Section in Havana into an embassy again when Castro unleashed Mariel. Even Reagan sent Gen. Vernon Walters to negotiate with Castro before he became involved in Nicaragua. If Castro had wanted better relations with the U.S., he would have been gladly accommodated by any American president. But Castro didn't and doesn't. Those idiots who insist on blaming the U.S. government for the state of U.S.-Cuban relations need to learn that Castro will never surrender the last vestige of revolutionary "purity": his irrepressible hatred for the American people.

Posted by: M.A.T. at September 7, 2005 06:27 PM

Chantel: The US did indeed take Chavez's money. Miguel and Pedro have exposed on their blogs just how measly and pathetic that $1 million amount they offered really is. Kuwait offered $400 million, Saudi offered $255 million, Emirates and tiny Qatar each offered $100 million - other nations offered similiar. Meanwhile, Venezuela offered $1 million, the exact same amount that Afghanistan and Bangladesh offered. What generosity! What evidence of prosperity!

Here are the links:

Item on castro refusing aid: http://www.babalublog.com/archives/001964.html

Item on chavez's puny offer compared to the world:

http://blogs.salon.com/0001330/2005/09/07.html#a2451

and

http://pmbcomments.blogspot.com/2005/09/sep-0605-on-miserly-opec-member-mixing.html

Posted by: A.M. Mora y Leon at September 7, 2005 07:13 PM

So what in the world is wrong with Mel Martinez' head? He is now publicly playing into fidel's hands. Another useful idiot has arisen! Hey Mel, you planning on running for office in Cuba soon?

Posted by: pototo at September 8, 2005 08:38 AM

This goes out to anyone who can help me with a lot of questions I have about Cuba, a place I have visited a few times, loved very much and which has ultimately frustrated me to no end.

The limited amount of knowledge I do have about the country is gathered from books, the internet and newspapers, since the people I met there and befriended simply would not discuss politics.

I had a personal situation over there which ended abruptly without any clear explanations. For starters, I would like to know to what degree do Castro's people meddle in Cuban's personal lives? Just how much control does he impose? When I was there in May 2004, thing seemed relatively light and the people were relaxed, even about mingling with tourists and inviting them into their homes. I made a lot of friends, and one special friend in particular. I then returned in September and again in January 2005, and everything had changed. People were paranoid, not wanting to invite me into their homes when previously it had been no problem. Actually, on one trip I stayed at my special friend's house for 10 days. I had completed my tourist visa with the absolute truth about where I was staying (I did not want to get caught lying and not let back into the country ever again) and my friend told me to go ahead and he would deal with it. Now that I am back home I am afraid he has had to DEAL WITH IT. But HOW? I have no idea...I have spoken to him a couple of times on the phone but only at work since his home phone no longer works. He just recently told he cannot receive any more personal calls at work, so I will not be able to talk to him until things change drastically over there, if they ever do.
The last time I spoke to my friend he sounded fine. That was almost 2 weeks ago. He made it clear that he still cares but that it must be over because of 'circumstances'. Neither of us have found anyone new. We still think about each other constantly even though we haven't seen each other in a year even though we have been talking. But now, we cannot talk anymore and my heart is broken.
This was the love of my life and I cannot believe we cannot be together because of politics. I, by nature am very apolitical so it frustrates me all the more.
Anyways, if anyone out there may have some idea about what my friend may have had to deal with because of my having stayed at his house, please shed some light on the situation for me. Also, I would like to know if anyone has any idea about how things will be once kasstro leaves this world. Any chance that the Cuban people will have a little more freedom? Any chance my friend will ever have the freedom to be with me 'a foreign girl'? I love this man so much I could probably wait for 20 years if that is what it would take. However, if it looks like never, maybe I won't wait so long.
Please shed a little light on this situation for me, I am so in the dark.
Carola

Posted by: Carole-Ann Durocher at September 9, 2005 10:40 AM

This goes out to anyone who can help me with a lot of questions I have about Cuba, a place I have visited a few times, loved very much and which has ultimately frustrated me to no end.

The limited amount of knowledge I do have about the country is gathered from books, the internet and newspapers, since the people I met there and befriended simply would not discuss politics.

Posted by: Carole-Ann Durocher at September 9, 2005 10:41 AM

Why would anyone think Castro's offer of assistance would be received better than assistance from the Department of Homeland Security?

Of course, accepting Castro's offer wouldn't put Blanco in Bush's debt.

Posted by: aelfheld at September 10, 2005 03:11 PM