His 15 minutes of fame long gone, Elian celebrates another birthday

Seattle Post-Intelligencer ^ | 12/07/03 | Scott Holleran

[Lizavetta]

On April 22, 2000, President Clinton, backed by the public and by each branch of government -- executive, judicial, legislative --

Huh? Is this writer sure about this?

[tet68]

I didn't get that either.

He must have been reading Janet Reno's press releases.

[pcx99]

America did not lose its way. American's did what American's have always done: support strong familly values. When the boy's father wanted his son back that was it, case closed. Familly won out over politics and government, just as it always has and as we hope it always will.

It's simply not American to break up a familly to prove the superiority of our system. We do not kidnap children, ripping them from the arms of their parents and force them to stay in a foreign land to appease some sense of holier than thou.

Even after all these years, no writter will be able to spin this as a disgrace on America, or cast shame and doubt. The American people are right now, and we were right then.

[dalereed]

Commie troll allert!

[Mr Rogers]

We didn't kednap him - his mother brought him. And we have long recognized a child is better in freedom than living as a slave with his father. And he WAS living with family - just not his father.

[pcx99]

Commie troll allert!

Noo. A commie woulda kept the child even though the child's father was doing everything in his power to get his son back. Because a commie doesn't care one shred about individuals or familly when the interests of the state and other people are in conflict.

Freedom is where you can make your own mistakes, and within reason, raise your child as you wish without the interference of the miami cuban community or the US government.

[whereasandsoforth]

Your idea of "family" and the dictators idea of "family" are very different. There are no "parental rights" in Cuba. Returning Elian to his "father" was a joke. His father has no rights as his son has no rights. The USA was shameful and ignorant to support his return. The Clinton people (Reno included) could not allow Castro to be embarrassed. Castro is their god.

This article says Elian has been forgotten. The writer needs to speak for himself. I will never forget. That poor child lost his free will and liberty that day. To regain it, he must once again risk his life. That is pathetic.

[pcx99]

We didn't kednap him - his mother brought him. And we have long recognized a child is better in freedom than living as a slave with his father. And he WAS living with family - just not his father.

Once his mother had died and his father asserted parental rights, keeping him would have been kidnapping by any definition. The US has NEVER recognized freedom as being a better condition than the familly. You will have to provide several court cases and precidents in order to back up that statement, and I seriously doubt you can because the US just doesn't operate that way where there is no immenent possibility of child abuse.

[MitchellC]

Baloney, but not a surprise from someone who draws a moral equivalency between the American system and Castro's dictatorial hell hole.

[mercy]

What a load!

The father's wishes were effectively and actually cancelled out by the fact that he was making those wishes known at the point of Castro's gun. By your quizling mental gymnastics we should return a child to the cluthches of a child mollester parent because the parent 'wants' the child. You and yours sent that kid back to hell and you will pay.

This nation will pay..... IS paying.

[MitchellC]

even though the child's father was doing everything in his power

And you're a dupe for propaganda, as well.

[BigSkyFreeper]

The one thing I took away from the story when I saw it on CNN Headline News was the fact that Elian was just a mere prop for Fidel Castro to show the world Communism still works.

Elian blew out his candles and Fidel made a notoriously long speech.

[SerpentDove]

>>Freedom is where you can make your own mistakes, and within reason, raise your child as you wish without the interference of the miami cuban community or the US government.<<

Freedom. Interesting concept. I'm sure he's enjoying lots of that now.

/sarcasm.

[Tribune7]

bump

[Holly_P]

Fidel made a notoriously long speech.

A short speech by the communist blow hard would be about 6 hours.

[Tribune7]

Once his mother had died and his father asserted parental rights, keeping him would have been kidnapping by any definition.

LOL. That's like saying a parent can never lose parental rights. What Clinto & Janet Reno did to Elian was unforgivable.

[breakem]

Notice, you stand up for the family, father and kid, and now you are a commie troll. I used to do these threads all the time, but you are dealing with cult-like behavior. Best of luck. I'm out.

Luis it's all yours, I can't go through this rerun again.

[RedWhiteBlue]

I will never forget Elian.

I will also never forget how this energized the Americans of Cuban descent in Florida to vote and to support the Republican ticket. Without that, Bush would have lost and Gore would now be our President. Something good did come out of the injustice after all.

[pcx99]

Your idea of "family" and the dictators idea of "family" are very different. There are no "parental rights" in Cuba. Returning Elian to his "father" was a joke. His father has no rights as his son has no rights. The USA was shameful and ignorant to support his return. The Clinton people (Reno included) could not allow Castro to be embarrassed. Castro is their god.

The US was remarkably consistant in his return. The people of the US have always and consistantly supported the familly and there's just no way to convince them or me that returning the child to his father was a bad thing. If his mother had lived then we'd be having a different discussion and chances are the boy would still be in the US.

Like I say, the US system is designed to protect the familly against outside interference from people like you. The state can not go into a home and rip a child away from his parents (in cases where the child is not being abused) because the state disagrees with how he is being raised.

Not one judge in this country will give YOU a voice in the court to say Elian should be ripped away from his biological father because YOU disagree with the father's politcis. And thank God for that.