Nicky Cheese

Coming from reason, Michael C. Moynihan writes Still Stuck on Castro: how the press handled a tyrant’s farewell. Great article. Media bias aplenty — including a CNN internal memo telling staffers to focus on Castro’s positives — the most preposterous instance comes from, surprise, a politican:

The ridiculous Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) was the only American politician to debase himself by issuing a Granma-worthy press release actually praising Castro. This week’s events prove, Serrano wrote, “that Castro sees clearly the long-term interests of the Cuban people,” including the selfless decision to hand power to his brother, thus saving the Cuban people from the indignity of electoral choice. “I would like to congratulate both Fidel Castro and the Cuban people for this smooth transition of power,” continued, “Few leaders, having been on the front lines of history so long, would be able to voluntarily step aside in favor of a new, younger generation.” The absurdities of that sentence are too many to catalog, though note that the “younger generation” is represented by Fidel’s septuagenarian brother Raul.

I share Moynihan’s implication that Serrano is, in all likelihood, delusional.

But the MSM? Even they recognize Cuba’s economic bankruptcy and its’ history of human rights abuse. Now perhaps it’s sympathy for the decades long US-embargo. I’m hoping that’s the case. Because otherwise I’m left with a dark horror I’ve long resisted but always suspected: that people actually believe Michael Moore’s bullshit. And, moreover, that this has the effect of trivializing brute totalitarian rule.

Legacy saved!

UPDATE: Maybe I spoke too soon. Coming from Politico:

Likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain says he doesn’t look for any major political reforms in Cuba until after Fidel Castro dies, adding he hopes that’s not far off.

As McCain put it during a campaign stop in Indiana Friday, “I hope he has the opportunity to meet Karl Marx very soon.”

UPDATE II: Ah, the dissent increases. With reasoning. The latest Common Sense, by Paul Jacob, entitled “Adios, El Presidente“.