If they make the mistake of attacking this country, well Mr. Bush, or whoever will be there, I recommend to you it would be better if you use 50 nuclear bombs to exterminate all of us. This country is heaven, in the spiritual sense of the word. And I say (to Bush), we prefer to die in heaven than survive in hell.
- Fidel Castro
It should go without saying that Fidel Castro is not exactly the poster boy for reasoned, dispassionate political rhetoric, but he might just be on to something here. While I might not use the term “deranged” to describe Our Sainted President (I’d prefer “arrogant”, “imperialistic”, “liar”, or even “war criminal”, but that’s just me….), you’ve got to love a leader who cannot let pass an opportunity to tweak the Leader of the Free World.
Of course, the term “Socialist Paradise” is highly subjective. One man’s “Paradise” may well be another repressive economic basket case. And if Cuba is indeed such a Paradise on Earth, why do so many Cubans seem to wash up on the beaches of Key West? (“We’re going to Disneyland!!”) And it’s not just baseball players looking to sign with the New York Yankees, either.
Garrison Keillor often jokes that you could fire a shotgun in any direction in downtown Minneapolis and you’d be guaranteed to hit a few Swedes. Well, the same can be said for Cuban emigres anywhere in Miami-Dade County- and it’s not because they want to go clubbing on South Beach.
Socialist Paradise? I suppose it depends on where you fit on the Cuban political food chain.
HAVANA - In his first public remarks since the United States dubbed Cuba an outpost of tyranny, Fidel Castro called President Bush “deranged” and belittled recent improvements in relations between Cuba and Europe.
In a televised address late Tuesday, the 78-year-old Castro maintained his trademark go-it-alone attitude, saying his communist-run island is a paradise that is doing fine without the help of the United States or Europe.
Cuba “doesn’t need the United States. It doesn’t need Europe,” he said. “What a wonderful thing to be able to say, that (Cuba) doesn’t need any assistance √≥ it’s learned to live without it.”
Speaking at an international teachers conference, Castro said if the mission of Bush’s administration was to crush tyranny, “our mission is to defeat empires.”
Castro linked Bush’s government to corruption and torture. He said he closely watched the U.S. leader’s inauguration speech Jan. 20 and saw “the face of a deranged person.”
As far as what Castro saw in Bush’s face goes, I would find that difficult to argue with. I’m just not certain that a clueless, out-of-touch Cuban leader is the person with the credibility to be making such an argument. Yes, George W. Bush is an imperialistic, unbending moralist completely convinced of the righteous of his cause. Of course, Fidel Castro is an out-of-touch despot who clearly has a minimal understanding of and concern for the suffering of the people he rules. (To quote Nick Bakay: “Advantage: Push”)
I’ll tell you what, Fidel; you might bring a bit more gravitas to your critique were you to get your own house in order first. Perhaps it’s time for you to remove your self-important, ego-swollen anterior from your posterior so you can WAKE UP AND SMELL THE CAT LITTER. When’s the last time someone from Wisconsin washed up on a Cuban beach in a floating 1959 Buick? Didja ever think there might just be a reason Cubans risk their lives to flee you “Socialist Paradise”?
Thanks for playing the feud, Fidel. I’m just not certain that you have any credibility whatsoever when it comes to criticizing the motives and ideologies of another world leader- even a liar and a war criminal like George W. Bush. Nice try; you may go now….
