Posted on 04/05/2009 7:21:27 AM PDT by Yomin Postelnik
Communist Cuba stimulus package.
If you support the travel ban to Cuba, then you must support a travel ban to China, Vietnam, most Arab states, virtually all of Africa if you want to remain consistent.
Let’s at least keep what we already have in place.
I have a Constitutional objection to the US government dictating the terms of foreign travel to its citizens except in cases of declared war. It just doesn’t sit well with me as an excercise of state power.
“If you support the travel ban to Cuba, then you must support a travel ban to China, Vietnam, most Arab states, virtually all of Africa if you want to remain consistent.”
Yep.
And of course we can see how successful our boycotts and travel bans have been in ending the Castro regime. Keep it up for another 50 years and maybe it’ll work.
“Let’s at least keep what we already have in place.”
Why? Please explain how it’s helping end the Castro regime. Please explain why my government should keep me from traveling where I want. What if Obama decides we shouldn’t be able to travel to Israel?
Sorry, it doesn’t work.
There is no greater proponent of the embargo and travel ban than fidel castro himself.
It’s not just the Commie government, but also what they did to US companies at the time of the revolution.
“There are 5,911 claims which have been certified by the United States Foreign Claims Settlement Commission in Washington, D.C., as of June 1972. Of these claims, 30 United States companies hold 56.85% of the total value, which is approximately US$1,851,197,358.00 billion. The United States Foreign Claims Settlement Commission permitted interest to be accrued in the amount of 6% per annum. The interest amounts are not reflected in the following amounts. The following is a sampling of some of the claims (all numbers rounded):
Company
American Brands
Amstar
Atlantic Richfield
B.F. Goodrich
Boise Cascade
Borden
The Chase Manhattan Bank
Citicorp
The Coca Cola Company
Colgate-Palmolive
Continental Group (now Continental Can) DuPont
Esmark
First National Bank of Boston
Firestone Tire & Rubber
Freeport Minerals
Ford Motor
F.W. Woolworth
General Dynamics
General Electric
General Motors
Goodyear Tire & Rubber
ITT
International Harvester
International Paper
King Ranch
Libby, McNeil & Libby
Lone Star Industries
Moa Bay Mining (now Freeport McMoRan)
Navistar
Owens Illinois
Pepsi Cola Metro Bottling
PepsiCo
Proctor & Gamble
Reynolds Metals
Sears Roebuck & Company
Sherwin Williams
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Standard Brands
Standard Oil (now Exxon)
Sterling Drug
Texaco
Texaco (Latin America)
United Brands
U.S. Rubber (now Uniroyal)
Warner-Lambert
Willson International
That’s only the largest 43 claims out of almost 6,000.
Fine ,but the embargo will get none of that back. In fact, its helped castro keep his grip on power.
To remain consistent, one must also support an embargo and travel ban on dozens of other countries whose governments have stolen from Americans.
(Btw, my family got ripped off big time when castro took over).
This travel ban is the stuppidest damned thing ever thunk up in American politics. Dumb dumb dumb.
Flood Cuba with Cuban relatives from the US and their government would change in five years due to the demands of Cubans from their show-and-tell experience.
I recall the local sensation caused by a combination pen and yellow high-lighter that I had, some years ago in a "developing country". I had to give it away to avoid attention. The locals couldn't stop talking about the wonders of America, that American could treat something so advanced (to them), so trivially as to give away such a prize.
The same thing would happen in Cuba when we show up with cell phones that take pictures and I-pods with thousands of songs and videos and family pictures.
We couldn't be any stupider than we have been about Cuba.
“but the embargo will get none of that back”
You are, of course, correct. But that was a big part of the reason for the embargo in the first place.
#3. Exactly right. If we can travel to other communist countries and dictatorships why not Cuba? The more the people of Cuba see of us the more they will want to be like us and the harder it will be for their government to repress them forever. It has worked everywhere we have tried it and after 50 years why not try it on Cuba?
I think there is about a 25% chance fidel castro is a CIA stooge (an alliance formed in the mid 60’s).
The embargo is part of the deal, because that, more than anything else, has kept him in power for so long.
What's the definition of "stupid?" Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. :) How has the embargo changed anything? Good grief! We are robust trading parties with the commies in China who have an abysmal human rights record, but we can't let a few folks go visit their relatives in Cuba?
This is only thing I can enthusiastically support. El Pappa is not going to live forever, and I don't think his brother has the same sway over the Cubans that he does.
Cuba will be more or less what it is right now with or without our travel ban.
It’s the Castros’ cult of personality that’s the main glue that holds what’s left of the left wing military dictatorship there in place.
When the day comes where that cult of personality vanishes with both Castros becoming gone, change will rapidly come to Cuba. The best we can do is have ties to Cuba to assist with that change.
Doing the same thing for fifty years hasn't changed a thing. They're our closest neighbors to the south - if we can deal with China surely we can help open Cuba.
I hear they have awesome bass fishing in Cuba.....
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