The Self-Serving Media Exacerbates the Problem
Updated: Friday, April 19th
DeWayne Wickham is not only America's most outstanding nationally syndicated journalist, he's a unique and rare bird for another reason too: He has enough guts to tell the truth about Cuba. Wickham is the top columnist for America's top newspaper, USA Today. His column is also syndicated to 135 other newspapers across the country. Wickham's columns are always immersed in an amalgam of facts.
Wickham's Tuesday, April 16th column that originated in USA Today was entitled: "Beyonce, Jay-z Get Unfair Rap Over Cuba." Typically, Wickham backed up that headline with his usual courage and insight, writing these brave and undeniable words: "Here's the ugly truth about the flap over the recent trip to Cuba by Beyonce and Jay-Z. The whining of three Cuban-American lawmakers who object to the couple's visit to Havana has little to do with keeping American dollars out of the coffers of Cuba's government and a lot to do with shameless politics." That was Wickham's first paragraph on April 16th, one that few, if any, other well-known journalists in America have the courage or the intelligence to write although no sane, unbiased person in America could possibly disagree with his omniscient Cuban assessments. America's Cuban policy, dictated to by the likes of the "three Cuban-American lawmakers" that Wickham referenced, deserves Wickham's "ugly truth" and "shameless politics" phrases that highlighted that first paragraph.
DeWayne Wickham's April 16th column continued with these astute observations: "This travel restriction, ostensibly, is meant to keep Americans from spending dollars in Cuba, something the Cuban-American lawmakers contend would undermine this nation's decades-old economic embargo of Cuba. But as Rubio, Ros-Lehtinen and Diaz Balart know, the embargo has no chance of squeezing the economic life out of Cuba because it is ignored by the rest of the world -- and is undercut by many of their Cuban-American constituents." In the next few paragraphs Wickham pointed out that the extreme anti-Castro Cuban-exile radicals are responsible for a plethora of U. S. laws that harm everyone on the planet -- EXCEPT THEM. And then he wrote: "Cuba is the foil they use to boost their political standing in this country. And to justify the special immigration status that Cuban refugees enjoy, they need the rest of us to see Cuba through their eyes." Wickham then detailed special U. S. laws designed to empower and enrich Cuban radicals that encourage all manners of Cuban-exile immigration, explaining that "this unfettered immigration is a boon for Cuban-American politicians who attacked Beyonce and Jay-Z." And Wickham summarized his April 16th column with this final sentence: "Their warped view of Cuba can only be perpetuated if they succeed in keeping the popular music icons -- and the rest of us -- from seeing Cuba for ourselves."
Wednesday {April 17h} Savannah Guthrie, co-host of NBC's Today show, had a sit-down interview with President Barack Obama. Of course -- considering not much else is happening in the way of wars, conflicts, terrorism, immigration debates, etc. -- the President was asked about last week's visit to Cuba by Beyonce and Jay-Z, who happen to be close friends of the President. He replied: "I wasn't familiar that they were taking the trip. My understanding is I think they went through a group that organizes these educational trips down to Cuba. You know, this is not something the White House was involved with. We've got better things to do." That statement had to be dragged out of our President! WOW!
Beyonce and Jay-Z have the wealth and wherewithal to go anywhere in the world. To celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary they chose Cuba. The only people who complained, of course, were the radical anti-Castro Cuban exiles who staunchly maintain a right to create and enforce whatever anti-Cuban laws they choose, such as travel to Cuba. They also try mightily to control the Cuban discourse.
Beyonce has traveled around the world, including China {above}. She feels she should have the freedom to travel to Cuba, if she chooses. The U. S. government, hostage to anti-Cuban laws fueled by the most radical Cuban exiles, restricts the travel of Americans to one country -- the safe, enchanting, nearby island of Cuba! Intelligent, non-cowered Americans like journalist DeWayne Wickham understand the reasoning is two-fold: (1) Anything that hurts Cuba and helps them economically or politically; and (2) If Americans were freely permitted to travel to Cuba they just might form an opinion of the Cuba-U. S. quagmire that differs from theirs. Americans who do not agree with Wickham's column in USA Today Tuesday are Americans not very interested in freedom or democracy. "Their warped view of Cuba," Wickham wrote, "can only be perpetrated if they succeed in keeping...us...from seeing Cuba for ourselves."
********
In other words, DeWayne Wickham is talking about the U. S. democracy that existed prior to 1959, or prior to the overthrow of a U. S. - backed dictatorship that then reconstituted itself on U. S. soil in Miami and, beginning in the 1980s, advanced to Washington via Bush-backed {also Bush-whacked} Miami elections. In April of 2013 Beyonce and Jay-Z made a loud statement for democracy that, in a saner world, should have quietly gone unnoticed while the President, Congress, and the American people concerned themselves with more pressing issues. So, of course, should even radical exiles!
********
Meyer Lansky and the Mafia, of course, were the co-dictators along with Fulgencio Batista in Cuba from 1952 till the Cuban Revolution, with ample reason, booted them to Miami on January 1, 1959.
.jpg)
Meyer Lansky died of lung cancer in Miami at age 81 on January 15, 1983. The FBI estimated his worth to be in excess of $300 million, much of it looted from the island of Cuba, but the IRS never made a serious attempt to tax it. Despite fierce determination and unlimited bushels of money, plus the backing of by far the richest and strongest nation in the history of the world, the Batistianos based in Miami have, after 54 tumultuous years, been unable to re-capture Cuba. However, if you follow recent trends you might form the opinion that the radical Cuban exiles may have more success in taking over Washington than they have had in trying to take over Havana. So, keep a close eye on the 2016 presidential campaign that, in fact, is currently underway, for all intents and purposes, by the Miami politicians.
Senator Marco Rubio, the young Bush-ordained Cuban-American from Miami, is being shoved down the throats of Americans as the Republican presidential candidate in 2016. On April 14th, for example, Rubio was the superstar guest ON ALL FIVE OF AMERICA'S PRESTIGIOUS NETWORK SUNDAY MORNING TALK SHOWS PLUS BOTH OF AMERICA'S SPANISH NETWORKS, TELEMUNDO AND UNIVISION, establishing a record. He is such a celebrity that no one would dare ask him tough questions -- such as a plethora of political controversies in Miami that include questionable real estate transactions, alleged credit card misuse, massive distortions about his background (he claimed his parents escaped the Castro tyranny in Cuba for freedom in Miami till the Washington Post and the St. Petersburg Times pointed out that, uh, his parents escaped the Batista tyranny in Cuba for the safe havens of Miami), etc. But, hey! What do facts or truth matter when it comes to politics in Miami...or Washington? And, of course, the television networks depend so much on self-aggrandizing talking-head celebrities and pundits, which keep them from the expense of actually going out and covering stories, that they are not about to do anything but coddle celebrities like Rubio whom they need as in-house talking heads, all of whom love the free publicity.
Senator Rubio had the benefit of all seven of America's Sunday morning networks to vent his outrage over last week's visit to Cuba by Beyonce and Jay-Z. Senator Rubio, of course, doesn't pass up chances to blast Cuba. So he leaped at the opportunity to also trash Jay-Z, telling ABC News:
"I think Jay-Z needs to get informed. One of his heroes is Che Guevara. Che Guevara was a racist. Che Guevara was a racist that wrote extensively about the superiority of white Europeans over people of African descent, so he should inform himself on the guy that he's propping up. Secondly, I think if Jay-Z was truly interested in the true state of affairs in Cuba, he would have met people that are being oppressed, including a hip-hop artist in Cuba who is right now being oppressed and persecuted and is undergoing a hunger strike because of his political lyrics. And I think he missed an opportunity. But that's Jay-Z's issue. The bigger point is the travel policies. The travel policies need to be tightened because they are being abused. These are tourist trips, and they are -- what they're doing is providing hard currency and funding so that a tyrannical regime can maintain its grip on the island of Cuba, and I think that's wrong."
Sen. Rubio and all the other Miami politicos who have made the trek to Washington assume they can paint any portrait of Cuba and never be questioned by an accommodating media nor by a thoroughly programmed American citizenry. Some people also think that is wrong. In fact, Senator, Jay-Z spent all his time in Cuba mingling with everyday Cubans, something you have never done. Yes, you have been to Guantanamo Bay, the plush military base that the U. S. took from Cuba right after the Spanish-American War in 1898, but that's not really Cuba, is it? Jay-Z is not making political or economic gains for being anti-Cuba but it seems he has an unbiased opinion of the country and its people whom he actually met.
The exact same thing can be said about Representative Kathy Castor who represents Tampa in the U. S. Congress, the same Florida city that for decades was dominated by Mafia kingpin and Batista henchman Santo Trafficante Jr. Congresswoman Castor was in Cuba last week too...the Cuba that Jay-Z visited, not Guantanamo Bay. Rep. Castor was there on a goodwill mission and to try to line up future business for her constituents in the Tampa area. Upon her return, Rep. Castor told the Tampa Bay Times: "In Cuba there are new, privately owned small businesses -- restaurants everywhere, hotels and motels. Reform is happening, and much of the money is not going to support the actual government. It is going to those individuals, just like the remittances. Cuba has embarked on economic reforms that the United States of America should promote. I will request that Secretary of State John Kerry and President Obama open talks to lead to greater trade and travel opportunities between the U. S. and Cuba. The two countries have much to gain from engagement with one another. Every American should be able to travel to Cuba, including Beyonce and Jay-Z, and including the people in the Tampa Bay area -- and they should fly out of Tampa." Those are the exact words Rep. Castor told the Tampa Bay Times when she got back from Cuba last week.
Once he was anointed by the Bush political dynasty in Miami, Marco Rubio was all about getting to the U. S. Congress, which he did in January of 2011 as a U. S. Senator. And once in the U. S. Senate, Marco Rubio has been all about getting to the White House in 2016 with the support of the Bush dynasty, the Tea Party, Fox News, etc. Of course, programming the compliant U. S. media to ask only soft-ball questions and always promote him with "rising star" accolades headlines the stratagem.
As far as the media is concerned, it was, ironically, a great Cuban-American, Emilio Milian, who was among the last to criticize such things as the terrorism committed by Cuban-Americans against innocent Cubans on the island. As a top newscaster in Miami Emilio secured a legal pistol to protect himself and his family. It was all for naught when a car-bomb silenced Emilio in 1976, and the rest of the media got the message. Jay-Z, a product of Brooklyn's mean streets, identifies with Miami's Emilio Milian.
And speaking of tyranny and both sides of a two-sided story, one might consider Cuban General Tete Puebla an expert on the subject. As a 14-and-15-year-old girl she had already carved out a fierce reputation as a guerrilla fighter against Batista soldiers who had huge advantages in both numbers and weapons. But they were not as inspired as Tete. Before racing to the Sierra Maestra to fight, Tete had witnessed Batista's Masferrer Tigers coming to her village and burning some relatives alive in locked, gas-soaked gunny sacks and sheds as a warning not to dissent. Tete Puebla disobeyed that warning!
Americans interested in both sides of a two-sided story might want to Google "The Masferrer Tigers" as they related to Cuba prior to 1959. The above photo shows Rafael Diaz-Balart in the middle flanked by the infamous Masferrer brothers at a political rally in Batista's Cuba in 1958. Since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 Americans have been pummeled with the notion that the good guys {Rolando?} fled Cuba for Miami in January of 1959 while the bad guys {Tete?} gained control of Cuba.
But form your own opinion after studying Tete Puebla, a lady who stayed in Cuba, and Rolando Masferrer, who fled to Miami. The above book is entitled: "Rolando Masferrer in The Country of Myths. While Googling, determine where in South Florida did Rolando Masferrer land after fleeing the Cuban Revolution? Answer: Miami. How much money did Masferrer have in his possession when he landed in Miami? Answer: $10 million and, as with most of the other Batista leaders who fled to Miami, it is assumed Masferrer had earlier sent many more millions of dollars to safe banks prior to the triumph of the revolution. Who investigated Masferrer for the FBI and then said: "He is a guy who could slit your throat and smile while doing it." Answer: U. S. Senate aide Al Torabocchia. What two well-funded anti-Castro terrorist organizations did Masferrer quickly create in South Florida? Answer: "30th of November" and "Alpha 66." Did Masferrer have any problems with the Feds or with local authorities in Miami? Answer: No, of course not. But on Oct. 31-1975 a car bomb killed Masferrer in Miami and the assassination was related to internecine warfare carried out by competitors contesting Masferrer's status as Miami's anti-Castro leader and his desire to assume leadership of Cuba once the exiles and the U. S. had re-captured it. The four best sources of data on Rolando Masferrer: (1) Tete Puebla; (2) the above book; (3) FBI declassified files; and (4) England's Spartacus Educational website. Americans judging Cuba should also judge Masferrer.
General Puebla has not lost her memories of Masferrer nor has she been brain-washed.
Thus, even today -- in April of 2013 -- Tete Puebla would fight to the death to protect Cuba and to protect the 86-year-old Fidel Castro, whom she much prefers over what preceded him and what might succeed him. Understanding Tete Puebla might help Americans understand the U. S. - Cuban quagmire.
The saga of Tete Puebla -- the teenage guerrilla fighter and General -- is well known.
On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, England still has a democracy strong enough to tell both sides of the Cuban conundrum. Thus, the BBC interviewed both General Tete Puebla and Nidia Sarabia {BBC photo above} to ascertain the opinions of two Cuban women who have dramatically lived under both the Batista and Castro regimes. America's democracy, since 1959, seems not quite strong enough to exhibit the same fairness. Some free-thinking Americans wonder why they can freely travel anywhere in the world, except to Cuba even though Cuba, by most accounts, is perhaps the safest place in the world to travel and surely one of the most interesting. General Puebla believes the reason for that is because, heavens forbid, American tourists might get an opinion of the island that differs from, say, that of Senator Rubio. General Puebla says, "If the reason is to keep tourist dollars from Fidel's pockets or bank accounts, everyone on the island -- including the U. S. - aligned dissidents -- are aware that Fidel cares not at all about personal money. He never has. If he did Cubans would not be guaranteed free education, free health, free shelter, and free food as well as provide free medical training for poor foreigners including Americans, free eye operations for poor people all over the region and so forth. If he valued personal money like those he chased off the island did, how does one explain those programs or explain Fidel's aversion to any forms of luxury. Before him the poor people on the island were starved and brutalized. The same people who did that, and the same people who supported that, desire to control this island again. My generation opposes that. I hope you future Cuban generations do also." {The quotation from a General Puebla speech of Nov.-2011}
General Puebla spoke those words before a future generation of Cubans on the island {above}. She believes she has earned the right to an opinion, even if it differed from Batista back in the 1950s or even if it differs with Senator Rubio today. Yes, Tete Puebla can spell "tyranny" in English and "tirania" in Spanish. Truth be known, she learned the word first-hand during her own extraordinary lifetime.
On just one Sunday morning, Senator Marco Rubio was on all seven of the top television networks in the United States beginning in earnest his saccharine-laced presidential bid while also attacking and belittling Jay-Z for a visit the artist took to Cuba. But like General Puebla, Jay-Z thinks he also should be entitled to an opinion even if the topic is Cuba! Jay-Z didn't have all the television networks as a forum to respond to scathing attacks from Cuban-exile politicians, so he did so in a song he recorded. In the lyrics he lambasted the politicians whom he said never did "s###" for him, meaning the ghetto kid who grew up on the mean, drug-riddled streets of Brooklyn, New York. Now that he's a very rich and powerful man, Jay-Z has the unique power to visit Cuba if he wants to and to defend himself if he needs to.
In other words, General Tete Puebla in Cuba and entertainment superstar Jay-Z in Brooklyn have a lot in common. Both are sort of feisty and somewhat hard-headed. And both believe they have a right to have an opinion about Cuba even if it differs with Senator Rubio and other Miami politicians.
CONCLUSION:
Distortions designed to hurt Cuba also hurt democracy.
******************
No comments:
Post a Comment