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In case you don't care to sit through those videos (and in the event they should be taken down), here are what some members of the Democratic Black Caucus had to say, following a meeting with Fidel Castro in Cuba. (Please excuse any mistakes in these transcriptions. I think they're mostly correct.)
Rep. Bobby Rush (D, Illinois):
"He was a down-to-earth, kind man who I thought resembled someone who I would say is as close as a neighbor. He had a very modest home, and we were met at the front door by his lovely wife, so it was almost like visiting an old friend... He wanted to know more about Dr. King... I told President Castro that in my household, he is known as the ultimate survivor... I think that what really surprised me, but also endeared me to him, was his keen sense of humor, his sense of history and his basic human qualities."
Rep. Laura Richardson (D, California):
"What really was amazing to me as he leaned in-- he looked directly into our eyes, quite aware of what was happening, and said-- and said to us-- 'How can we help? How can we help President Obama?' He talked about the fact that he had watched the campaign. You know, for people who seem to think that in Cuba people don't have shoes-- they don't have jobs-- they don't have ice cream-- I mean, these people are living, and working, and participating... In fact, some were even in a better situation than in some portions of my district!"
Rep. Barbara Lee (D, California):
"He seemed very energetic. He was engaging. We met at his house, which is a house of very modest means. His wife was there. His son was taking photographs of us, and it was a very moving meeting, in a sense, because he was taking notes. He was very inquisitive. He asked us to send more information about Dr. King because he reveres Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and we said we would try to get more books and tapes to send down...
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Maybe someday, if we're very lucky, we here in the U.S. will have it as good as the average Cuban does, courtesy of the gracious (and humorous!) Fidel Castro. (But don't get your hopes up too high. I mean, they have ice cream! Well... or so it appeared, while members of the American Congress were there to observe.)
Isn't it telling that Castro wants to help Obama? Since when is having Castro's approval and support a good thing? That would seem to indicate to me that we're headed in the wrong direction (as if we didn't already know it).
Also-- I guess these so-called leaders simply don't believe the people who lived under Castro's regime-- experienced it firsthand-- managed to escape it-- and continue to tell about the poverty and suffering inflicted by this "down-to-earth, kind man".
One more to add to my "positively sickening" pile...
