Fidel is Dead

After watching the Gonzaga game, then Arizona vs Arizona State, A news bulletin was announced that Fidel Castro died. 1926-2016. Our relationship with that country has been a convoluted one.

First, we liberated Cuba from Spain during the Spanish-American war, along with the Philippines. We then turned Cuba loose to seek its own destiny. But a dictatorship evolved, aided by our Costa Nostra who took over much of the tourist industry, building huge casinos, with gambling galore.

Castro and others came along and staged their own revolution. Only this one was communist backed. Then The Soviet Union proceeded to import missiles that could reach most of the east coast of the U.S. This happened right during the transition from the Eisenhower administration to the Kennedy's.

Caught by surprise, Kennedy botched the invasion of Cuba, but did institute a blockade forcing Russian ships to turn back from the continuation of arming Cuba.Many years have gone by in which we have isolated Cuba from the West, keeping them in poverty.

Unwilling to ease up with the Island's dictatorship in full force, it as lasted many years. My question, is how can we differentiate between the dictatorship in Cuba, and the dictatorship in China, our principal trading partner in the far east.

The answer lies in Florida, where thousands of escapees from Cuba adamantly refuse to give up their sacrifices for a peace unearned by new comers. The Cuban Florida vote is powerful enough to throw national elections  into turmoil.

Now the question is can we, should we, have the political will to ignore that power block and normalize relations with this Island Nation.