Monday, November 28, 2016

Rubik's Cuba

obama, obama jokes, political, humor, cartoon, conservative, hope n' change, hope and change, stilton jarlsberg, castro, cuba, eulogy, hillary, biden, deathbed
"That's what Monica said!"



Hope n' Change Monday Pop Quiz: Please read the following eulogy carefully, and then choose whether it's about A) Mother Teresa, B) Adolph Hitler, or C) Florence Henderson...

"We know that this moment fills (people) with powerful emotions, recalling the countless ways in which (this person) altered the course of individual lives, families, and of (a culture). History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around (her or him). // We offer condolences to (the deceased's) family and our thoughts and prayers are with (those closest to the deceased). In the days ahead, they will recall the past and look to the future."

Okay, so let's make this easy - is it the eulogy for a wonderful person or a rotten one?

Wait, now that we're read it again, maybe even that's not so easy to tell.

Give up? Well, it could clearly be about any of the choices listed above - or any other human who has ever lived - but these actually are the entirely meaningless words babbled by Barack Obama regarding the passing of Cuba's monstrous, murderous, freedom-suppressing, communist dictator for life, Fidel Castro. A man who has been a blight upon the people of his nation and a sworn enemy of the United States for more than half a century.

Not that you'd know any of this from Barry's bland and non-judgemental pronouncements. But then, what would you expect from the president who recently "normalized" relations with Cuba in order to direct American funds to prop up the Castro dictatorship and further kill hopes for freedom and democracy among the oppressed still trapped within Cuba's borders?

Yet another reason why the radically anti-Freedom socialist in the Oval Office can't hit the street soon enough (hopefully on his rear end).

Meanwhile, Barry's not the only one feeling grief in the White House...

The hospital gift store was selling Whitman Sampler boxes from 1957.

29 comments:

Dilbertnomore said...

And now, finally, Castro has become a good Communist.

TrickyRicky said...

@Dilbertnomore- Well said. And may Raul soon join him.

Judi King said...

I hope history will truthfully judge both of these communists for their enormous impact on society, but it would probably be rewritten to fit an idealogical narrative. One down, several more to go.

REM1875 said...

Is he still dead? Ya just can't trust lying commie bastards

Geoff King said...

Of course Øbastard would look fondly upon the man who almost caused a nuclear attack on the US.
Thank God he wasn't president in 1962.

Fred Ciampi said...

Well, I just cleaned my sinuses and nose with hot coffee. Not near as efficient as a neti pot though but effective. But because of the vision of the hildabeast standing on her head with a cigar ..... now I need to clean my mind with some good old 160 proof back mountain 'shine. And my indignation of that sumbitch o'bozo glorifying Castro really sends me into a rage. A controllable rage, but a rage just the same. Only 52 days, 15 hours, 20 minutes, and 12 seconds (approximately, as of this writing) until that horrible despot is out of office. And if anyone's interested, here's the link to the countdown clock; https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?p0=263&iso=20170120T00&msg=Time%20left%20until%20Obama%20leaves%20office%22

All y'all try to have a nice day now, hear.......................

Titan Mk6B said...

The cigar was a nice touch.

Bruce Bleu said...

Geoff, Imagine if lamont (the mooselim) was presidunce in 1961 he would have had terrible difficulty with the location of conflict and it's dietary abhorrence to them. I can here him now, announcing to the enemy his plans to help Cubans overthrow Castratedo, "We will come in with WWII planes painted to look like Cuban cropdusters, flying low over the Bay of P-P-P-P-P-P-i... Camels, and then CIA paratroopers will...". Yeah, the ol' "tight lipped Twinkie", spilling the frijoles to opposing forces... what a general he would have made! (yeah, general pain in the ASS!)

John the Econ said...

After hearing all of these glowing (and simply absurd) eulogies of Fidel Castro, I really do have to wonder just what our current generation of "leaders" would have to say about the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc. It's all more proof for my thesis that there really isn't anything a Progressive can do to earn any form of scorn from today's left as long as they're ideologically pure enough.

In your imagination is lacking and you want a few chuckles, one just only needs to search the hashtag #TrudeauEulogies for ideas as to what that might be like.

But if you are one, such as myself, who is more predisposed to look for the bright side of any given situation, through all the terror and misery inflicted upon millions you might actually find something good that came out of the Castro era:

He proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that communism is a complete failure.

Fidel Castro came as close as anyone in creating the perfect communist state, with relatively few barriers against success. First and foremost, he had absolute control. The country was of a manageable size with a relatively homogeneous population of largely productive and motivated citizens. He had the political, economic, and military support of a megastate. (USSR) And he had absolutely no moral imperative against simply eliminating anybody within the entire country that did not share his vision of the communist utopia, or otherwise was unable to contribute to it.

And yet, he still failed.

Cuba today is neither the "classless" society Castro envisioned in 1959, nor is it anything near purely communist anymore; those dreams totally collapsed in the early '90s when the Soviet Union dissolved and Russia could no longer afford its favorite welfare case and Fidel had to cave to some craven capitalism in order to obtain hard currency. Just like with China, Castro was forced to allow evil capitalism to creep back in, just to prevent the entire country from literally starving.

Meanwhile, it's clear that the daily Progressive talking points fax contained the following factoids: Cuba has free health care and near 100% literacy

Of course, the quality of that "free" health care is questionable. And the only reason that the US lacks universal literacy is because of a combination of a public education establishment that is already exclusively run by incompetent Progressives without guns to their heads, and large segments of our population that is actually illiterate by choice.

So in a more sane universe, if a leader wanted to express a sensibility to the Cuban people, they'd say that we owe a debt of gratitude to the millions of Cubans who have endured the last half-century to prove communism a utter failure.

Speaking of optimism: Trump was one of the few international leaders to say something more accurate regarding Castro:

"Today, the world marks the passing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades. Fidel Castro’s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights. While Cuba remains a totalitarian island, it is my hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long, and toward a future in which the wonderful Cuban people finally live in the freedom they so richly deserve."

There. Who said he couldn't be a statesman?

So far, the Trump era is starting off far better than I would have expected:

Stock markets at all time high
Kanye West cancels concert tour
California is talking about leaving the union
Miley Cyrus may actually leave the country
Fidel Castro is gone.

And Trump hasn't even taken office yet.

Unknown said...

Anyone shocked that ObaMao praised the tyrant?

james daily said...

I was in like the 8th grade when he run Batista out. Of course, the very first thing he did when entering Havana was to rob the Casinos and Banks. Like all good communist, he wanted OPM and the barrel of a gun works most times. That was my first understanding of communism. If he had only had a curve ball. Anyways, I do not think it will make much difference that he is dead as those in power are not about to give it up. However the question remains, If communism is so good why do so many flee that country? Also, it is amazing to me that so many cannot see through the Muslim and his political beliefs. He shows them every day.

John the Econ said...

@Geoff King & @Bruce Bleu: It's impossible for me to imagine Obama as President in 1961 simply because 1961 was barely a decade-and-a-half removed from the horrors of WWII and less than a decade from Korea, where a very large percentage of the electorate had personal face-to-face experience with the consequences of totalitarianism. The closest thing to a "safe space" were the millions of bomb shelters being built all over the country. And since the fall of the Soviet empire, we now know the threat posed by Castro was more real than we had imagined. The only thing that saved modern civilization were the handful of sane-enough adults on both sides of the curtain who knew thought hard enough about the unthinkable to not let it happen.

Today, so few of our citizens have ever been anywhere near an actual honest atrocity that they actually seek them out in a sanitized virtual manner via TV, movies and video games. This being the case, the closest thing to an actual atrocity most have experienced is someone who merely says something that they've been taught is "offensive", causing them to flee to another virtual construct, the "safe space".

I fear how our nation would fare should we be faced with something comparable in scope to WWII. The upside would be that the social-economic chaos would largely filter out the snowflakes; a large percentage of the "educated" that can't actually do anything. But the collateral damage to civilization would be considerable.

DirtClub said...

Has Obama ordered the U.S. flag at the White House to be flown at half mast?

jlw said...

@James Daily

"If he had only had a curve ball".

maybe three of us left that understand the reference. good on you.

Colby Muenster said...

C'mon folks... it's time to forgive and forget that Fidel Castro murdered and imprisoned thousands of his own people. This sentiment brought to you by the millions of moonbats who are freaking the hell out because Donald Trump will be the next president, and who get their "news" from Facebook. They do not have a freaking clue who Castro is because history is a completely alien concept to them.

Or WILL Trump be the next president? Shrillary is hard at work (with Stein) to take it away, and by God, she has enough crooks under her thumb to maybe pull it off.

@John the Econ,
I heard some of the Trudeau eulogies on the radio this morning (sorry, I do not tweet or facebook), and there we some good ones!

Geoff King said...

As the facts slowly trickle in: the "active shooters" at OSU (as the MSM initially reported) turns out to be one guy who plowed his car into a crowd and then jumped out and started attacking people with a machete or butcher knife until a campus cop shot him dead.
Evidently the guy was another one of Ødickhead's beloved Somali refugees just following ISIS's recent directive to attack American citizens with cars and knives.
It will be interesting to see how the White House, MSM, and the anti-gun liberals try to spin this story.

Pete (Detroit) said...

Geoff King - they already hate cars - well, real ones, w/ real engines, and real drivers.. and you don't need a "butcher knife" if you're a vegetarian...

jlw / James Daily - not old enough to remember (a kid around here, born in '64) but DO recall reading that he was nearly a Senator. IIRC, he was pitching for their AAA team, got called up, and didn't make the cut.
Pissed at 'being dissed' he was all "screw this, imma gonna revolt"

>sigh<
Cuba was ripe for revolution, but w/o Castro, it might have been this guy...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Alexander_Morgan

As for Castro himself, I propose a toast - might I suggest a "Cuba Libre" (rum and coke, w/ lime)

james daily said...

How many remember "Cuber"? History is a fun subject.

Popular Front said...

Hi folks! Greetings from Down Under. Here's an Australian view of Castro's long overdue passing courtesy of Larry Pickering our venerated political cartoonist.

http://pickeringpost.com/cartoon/6689

Rod said...

Castro always maintained to the end that decades under his ruthless rule as a communist dictator had been GOOD for Cuba. But he did admit there was that time not long ago when he wasn't sure; when they rushed him to hospital in a 1952 Packard.

Colby Muenster said...

James Daily,
And Afriker.

M. Mitchell Marmel said...

Could also be for Ron Glass, who made the trifecta this weekend...

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@Dilbertnomore- I'm sure in his Will, Fidel has declared that his estimated $900,000,000 should be equally divided among the peasants of Cuba.

@TrickyRicky- The sooner Raul joins Fidel, the better.

@Judi King- You're right that "history" doesn't seem to be the most impartial judge these days. I hope, but don't expect, that Obama will be savaged by historians.

@REM1875- A funeral pyre is probably a good idea "just to be sure."

@Geoff King- If Barry had been president in 1962, he would have averted nuclear war by complete, immediate, and unconditional surrender.

@Fred Ciampi- Sorry about the caffeinated nasal enema. And I wish there was a way to speed up that countdown clock.

@Titan Mk6B- If I say so myself, the cigar is the detail that makes the gag. And makes us gag.

@Bruce Bleu- I just can't imagine a president like Obama during times of great existential crisis for our nation. Whether WWII or the Cuban Missile Crisis, he would have folded like a card table.

@John the Econ- Excellent analysis on the real meaning of Fidel's legacy. He turned a tropical paradise into a hellhole, but is being lionized by the Left for having "stood up" to the United States for so long.

I have to say that I like Trump's bluntly accurate assessment of Castro, especially when compared to the sweet nothings uttered by the Milquetoast-in-Chief.

@Unknown- I think it's safe to say that nobody here was shocked.

@James Daily- Sadly, Castro's death is less likely to evoke real change in Cuba because of Obama's policies to support the regime with investment money from his rich (and soon to be richer) political cronies. Barry is oppressing the people of Cuba as surely as Castro did.

@John the Econ- You echo my thoughts and fears. As a child of the 50's, I was raised in the immediate aftermath of WWII and early TV was saturated with wartime entertainments. Warner Brother cartoons (the best!) based their plots around draft boards, ration books, scrap metal drives, meatless tuesdays, and finding humorously horrible ways to kill Nazis and Japanese soldiers. It all spoke of a national unity and "we're all in this together" mindset that I don't think could exist today.

Should something terrible happen, I genuinely fear that Americans lack the ability to pull together anymore.

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@DirtClub- To avoid controversy, he's ordered the flags to stay at their current altitude, but also ordered the height of the masts to be doubled.

@jlw- Hey, I got it and loved it!

@Colby Muenster- The same people praising Fidel Castro are the ones claiming that Trump will drag them from their homes for their political beliefs. Idiots, all.

@Geoff King- Very sad for the injured at OSU. And yes, Liberal social media went wild with renewed calls for gun control before it was revealed that the only gun involved was that which surely saved the lives of innocents.

@Pete (Detroit)- A "Cuba Libre" seems very appropriate. I only wish I were standing on Fidel's grave when the drink made its transit from my bladder.

@James Daily- Wow, "Cuber" did bring back memories!

@Popular Front- Considering my remark above, your cartoonist and I need to share a drink sometime!

@Rod- I've heard some liberals whining that an improved economy would end the "charm" of cars from the 50's being nursed along in Cuban streets. It's like they think Cuba is just a theme park celebrating Communism.

@Colby Muenster- Yep.

@M. Mitchell Marmel- History will indeed judge Ron Glass, as those who knew him remember the past and look to the future. (I'm going to start using this line on everything and everybody).

chipmunk said...

I was just glad (and surprised) that Obama didn't praise Castro as a great leader. Such a non-commital comment was really the best we could hope for from him.

chipmunk said...

...oh, and, by the way, I have finally lost the last shred of respect I held for Jimmy Carter, who stated he remembers Castro "with fondness." WTH?

John the Econ said...

@Judi King & @Stilton: "Time" is what it will take for a more honest historical narrative to resolve. That's assuming that there will be anyone left capable of writing and reading one.

In the '80s, I had college professors enthusiastically praising the reign of Josef Stalin. These people were still willingly ignorant or in denial. Fortunately, historical reality eventually muted their open enthusiasm.

And it doesn't take as long as you might think. For example, almost 3 decades after the administration of Ronald Reagan, Progressives are still aghast that he's still highly regarded as one of our greatest modern Presidents, despite their decades of propaganda and lies to the contrary.

"I've heard some liberals whining that an improved economy would end the "charm" of cars from the 50's being nursed along in Cuban streets. It's like they think Cuba is just a theme park celebrating Communism."

A great example of the selfishness of the leftist mindset. It's such a shame that the "shabby chic" of Havana should eventually disappear as the people stuck living there try to improve their lives. Much better that they remain poor, live in their dilapidated and decaying rodent and sewage ridden buildings, and drive their decrepit 70-year-old cars just so that Progressives and enjoy their nostalgia. Selfish and sick!

Reminds me of a documentary that Mrs. Econ & I saw once on PBS decades ago: Some hip anthropologist was roaming about sub-Saharan Africa bemoaning that the natives were trading their grass skirts for much more practical and comfortable cotton-based western wear. The abandoning of their stone age old cultural artifact was just awful, he thought.

Just who was it "awful" for? Certainly not the natives who obviously much preferred the comfort of cast-off American & European clothing to their former clothes hand-strewn from weeds. It was only awful for the anthropologist who was entertained by people live lives literally a thousand years removed from his comfortable existence. No doubt he's just as disappointed by native Americans who live in modern houses and drive pickups instead of living in tee-pees and riding wild mustangs, or Eskimos who cross the tundra on snowmobiles instead of on foot and living in igloos.

Such is the hubris of the modern Progressive. It's not about the Cubans. It's about them. That millions of people have suffered and remain suffering is but an afterthought, it it is a thought at all.

Speaking of Progressive Denial - Ohio: Once again, Progressives are asking themselves just why Abdul Razak Ali Artan felt compelled to do a mini-Nice-like attack upon innocent people. Again, just like with San Bernardino and other such atrocities of the modern age, the question really isn't necessary as these perpetrator helpfully post their motivations online, living little doubt as to what their motivations were.

Interestingly, you won't find the actual post quoted in any of the MSM stories. Instead, they'll quote that "authorities are a 'long way' from pinpointing a motive for the Monday morning attack, which sent 11 people to the hospital."

So here's my synopsis for you: To protest the West's response to Muslims who act out violently, he decided to act out violently". Message received.

America must have been such an awful place for him. Can't imagine why he left Somalia.

Wahoo said...

Uncle Joe should ask Harmonica Boy to translate. Kaine speaks fluent Spanish, even if he doesn't make much sense most of the time in English.

REM1875 said...

Just checking - is he still dead?