"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Friday, December 19, 2014

Cuba

The only thing I have to say about Obama's move to normalize relations with Cuba is "Well, it's about freakin' time." Barbara O'Brien has the most cogent summation of the whole thing that I've seen:

For a lot of reasons many of you already brought up, there’s no downside to normalizing relations with Cuba. The old policy certainly did nothing to weaken Castro or set the people of Cuba free. Business interests in the U.S. welcome the change; Gulf Coast states especially could benefit. And, of course, this should provide an economic boost for the people of Cuba. Pope Francis himself helped broker the deal.

Click through -- it's not all that long, and it summarizes both the move and the Republican reaction pretty well. I especially like the quote from John Cole.

And here's a little background from the administration side.

I may publish updates on this one, if I run across some choice bits.

OK, this is choice, from Glenn Greenwald and Sam Stein, via Tom Levenson at Balloon Juice.


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