Listen to me ...

The Communist Chinese are our biggest trading partner. Communist Vietnam welcomes American tourists by the thousands and also has a vigorous trading program with us. (Remember that we actually fought a war with them that cost us 58,000 souls) We deal with the Russians, who are still more Communist than not (we might be visiting there next year as well).

What the fuck is the problem with Cuba? Ain't nobody else in the world seems to give a shit. Many of my Canadian and European friends have been there and say it's beautiful. Mrs. F's grandfather used to tell us stories about how the nightlife in Havana and how we should get there if it ever becomes possible. What the fuck? It's a piddly little island. Let's get over the fact that Fidel has outlasted 9 U.S. Presidents, giving the finger to each of them.

Ooh, the Rethugs are worried about Cuba's civil rights record. What about the Chinese? What about what the Vietnamese did to our soldiers? Yet we exchange with them. Even Iran, part of "The Axis of Evil" sells us oil and we gladly take it. And what about the hypocrisy?

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I couldn't agree more. But it's a bit unseemly to make that argument when Americans are holding their own prisoners in Cuba, some of whom have tried to kill themselves out of despair that they will never even be given a trial or know if they will see the outside world again. I assume they don't have worms in their rice, but they have, by all accounts suffered quite a few beatings and worse. And many of them are innocent.

I think American congressmen who to Cuba probably need to be a little bit circumspect about lecturing anyone about wrongfully imprisoning anyone. Shamefully, the US doesn't exactly have a lot of credibility on this issue.

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It's about time (it was about time 20 years ago) we get over whatever hangups we have with Fidel and Raoul and start interacting with one of our closest neighbors. Cuba poses no threat to the United States and it might be nice for two generations of Americans to finally reunite their families; for those here so long to return to the land of their birth, whether to stay or to visit.

I'm tired of the false outrage over something we ignore over and over again if it benefits us and the visit by members of Congress this week was a refreshing change. It seems Fidel felt the same way.

Let's get off our high horse with regard to Cuba. Communism, human rights, or any other issue have not stood in the way of relations and trade with our Cold War enemies, they shouldn't when speaking of Cuba either.