Key members of the Congressional Black Caucus are calling for an end to U.S. prohibition on travel to Cuba, just hours after a meeting with former Cuban president Fidel Castro in Havana.
"The fifty-year embargo just hasn't worked," CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Ca.) told reporters this evening at a Capitol press conference after returning from a congressional delegation visit to Cuba. "The bottom line is that we believe its time to open dialogue with Cuba."
Lee and others heaped praise on Castro, calling him warm and receptive during their discussion. But the lawmakers disputed Castro's later statement that members of the congressional delegation said American society is still racist. We have never, ever said anything like that.
"It was quite a moment to behold," Lee said, recalling her moments with Castro.
"It was almost like listening to an old friend," said Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Il.), adding that he found Castro's home to be modest and Castro's wife to be particularly hospitable. "In my household I told Castro he is known as the ultimate survivor," Rush said. My hero, swoooon.
Doesn't Fidel ever get tired of the tongue baths?
Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Ca.) said Castro was receptive to President Obama's message of turning the page in American foreign policy. "He listened. He said the exact same thing" about turning the page "as President Obama said," said Richardson.
Richardson said Castro knew her name and district. "He looked right into my eyes and he said, 'How can we help? How can we help President Obama?'"
President Obama vowed during the 2008 presidential campaign to loosen the longstanding travel embargo on Cuba, and Lee -- who has been pushing for an end to travel and trade restrictions for some time - said now was as good a time as any to change the way the two countries did business.
There is now serious momentum in long-standing efforts to overturn the nearly five decade ban on travel and trade with Cuba. Previous efforts have been blocked by a vocal and influential Cuban American community, and former President Bush's veto threats on legislation to overturn the prohibitions have kept such proposals at bay.
In a statement following the meeting today, Castro said that the delegation had expressed to him that a segment of American society "continues to be racist," and is at least partly to blame for the travel restrictions.
But the delegation this evening said those remarks were not expressed in the meeting. Before and after but not in the meeting.
"That did not happen," Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), told reporters.
#1
Nice. No acknowledgement of how the Castro regime has denigrated the swarthy amongst the Cubano population. Racism lives in Cuba. Intelligence and irony doesn't, apparently, among the leftist black caucus
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/08/2009 11:58 Comments ||
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#2
This has got to be a BO administration overture to Cuba. It didn't happen without Obama's approval. The Black Caucus is a tool for BO. Does the majority of the black population who this caucus represents really want this to happen? How about asking the Cuban-Americans what they think.
#4
Congressional Black Caucus = The new House Negros.
How was the Masser's House, Ms Lee?
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
04/08/2009 13:52 Comments ||
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#5
"It was almost like listening to an old friend," said Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Il.),
Yeah, too bad the Panthers turned out to be some kinda cartoonish sixties joke, eh, Bobby? That could've been Fidel talking about you instead of the other way around...
#6
Inquiring minds must wonder if their redeployment back to the "bigoted, racist United States of America" included a few days shopping swarrey in the Caribbean?
#7
Do these dip-sh_ts know that just about every other country trades with Cuba?
Cuba is not the way it is because of the US embargo; Cuba is the way it is because that's how Castro wants it to be.
I also wonder if they enjoyed Castro's rubber anus as much as Hugo does.
Posted by: Bob ||
04/08/2009 15:48 Comments ||
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#8
Immigration to Cuba's workers paradise from the poor and oppressed in these congresscritters districts to begin in 10...9...8, oh wait, never mind.
the utter incompetence of this admin, 100 days in, is amazing. It's pretty obviously a bow, and a deep sucking wound that they should've let go without addressing..
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/08/2009 20:05 ||
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#1
So we're going with the other obvious choice - he was offering to give the goatherd descendant "King" a public blow job?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/08/2009 21:20 Comments ||
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#2
"Obama didn't bow to Saudi King"
...and that's not my middle fingers thrust at these Phucking Leftists Phuques, either...
From last week's Telegraph but we didn't comment on it then.
Barack Obama, concerned about offending Britain and Germany, rebuffed strenuous attempts by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to persuade the new American president to make a trip to Normandy this week.
White House officials travelled to France at the start of March to discuss a visit by Mr Obama to Omaha Beach, the site of the American Cemetery, established in 1944 just after D-Day and where 9,387 American personnel are buried. Among them is Theodore Roosevelt Jr the eldest son of the 26th US President.
French officials and senior American military officers walked with White House staff through the cemetery discussing how the two presidents might follow the same route. But even before their trip, the White House had decided that Mr Obama would not travel there this week.
"It wasn't going to happen," said an American official in Washington. "We went through the motions to placate President Sarkozy but giving special treatment to France was not on our agenda.
But we did get Nick a nice set of Jerry Lewis DVDs ...
"During this trip, we wanted to maintain a balance between the British, German and France".
A White House spokesman in London declined to comment.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"During this trip, we wanted to maintain a balance between the British, German and France".
But obviously not to the Americans forever in Normandy...
#4
Why would he visit Omaha Beach? It's not like the soldiers and sailors would rise up and give him his required standing ovation for oratory brilliance.
#7
I'll have to pitch the BS flag on this one. At La Cambe, Marigny, Lisieuz, and Orglandes lie over 55,000 fallen Germans. Graves that are still visited and decorated by surviving kith and kin. While I have a few ideas, I don't know what his reasons were for not visiting Normandy but it had little to do with the Germans.
#10
WTF? The reason to visit Normandy is not to "placate" France, but to honor those brave Americans (and British, Canadians, and Poles) who died there. The Germans would not have been insulted. In fact, he could have visited the WWI cemetaries, too.
And the closest he'll ever get to a WWII Nazi Concentration Camp will be channeling his great-uncle, Charles T. Payne, a member of the 89th Infantry Division, who helped liberate Ohrdruf.
Can't offend the 'Holocaust Deniers', now can we.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
04/08/2009 11:18 Comments ||
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#15
he could've visited Normandy, and apologized to the Germans
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/08/2009 12:02 Comments ||
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#17
I have mixed feelings on this. When was the last time a head of State visited Verdun, Marne, Ypres, or Somme?
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/08/2009 13:50 Comments ||
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#18
This came to a head when President McAleese and Queen Elizabeth inaugurated the Peace Tower at Messines in Belgium on November 11th, 1998, in the presence of King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium. The tower, dedicated to the memory of those from the island of Ireland who fought and died in the first World War, was erected at the site of the Messines Ridge battlefield, the only location in that conflict where the 36th (Ulster) Division and the 16th (Irish) Division fought side by side. The Irish and British governments helped fund the project.
#19
To a size of 172.5 acres, the Normandy American Cemetery has 9,387 burials of US service men and women. Of this number, some 307 are unknowns, three are Medal of Honour winners (see below) and four are women. In addition there are 33 pairs of brothers buried side by side. It is the largest American Cemetery from WW2, but not the largest in Europe: that is the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery from WW1 with more than 14,000 burials.
There are 9,387 reasons to pay respects--this number doesn't include all the wounded who sacrificed. Normandy is hallowed and sacred like Gettysburg.
#22
There is no reason for a Head of State not to visit the graves of the brave fallen soldiers of his country. It might concentrate his mind about his ultimate responsibilities. He can also pay his respects to the brave fallen soldiers of those who were at the time the enemy. Again a useful lesson.
Posted by: Aussie Mike ||
04/08/2009 18:02 Comments ||
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#23
I can tell you from having visited that cemetery and some others like Margraten - it indeed concentrates the mind and provokes an overwhelming emotion.
#24
IMO an American president when overseas should have time available to pay his respects to those who in life were better than any of us.AND IT SHOULD NOT BE A FUCKING PHOTO-OP. Shouting over
Posted by: and it shouldnCheaderhead ||
04/08/2009 19:45 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
