Congress is irrelevant. Haven't you heard, the Supreme Leader can do what he wants, he has a pen, and a phone. We have a banana Republic now.

We should have done this decades ago. Do you think that petty little regime can long survive the onslaught of American money and ultimately, freedom, without making itself even more repressive? If we had done this decades ago, there would be a mcdonalds and starbucks on every corner in Havana and likely an early demise of the communist regime.

Well expect Murthy, the new surgeon general to go back on his word not to use his position to push for gun-control.
Tuesday, Blinken was confirmed as deputy to Kerry, and Blinken had been ask last month by Rubio if he would be supporting the US’ embargo of Cuba. Blinken implied he would. The day after he is confirmed we learn that Kerry has been secretly working out details in Canada with help from the Vatican to begin the process of normalizing our relation? Come on...there is no way Blinken didn’t know since he was Obama’s closest foreign-policy advisor. Don’t tell me,Lemme guess-- if he is asked about his knowledge or involvement:
“I learned about it myself from watching the news.”
We’ve got Slytherins running the country. Damn, snake men.

The rubel is crashing, and now we are going to offer financial reward to Cuba? I guess the only reason not to wait six months would be..I dunno...maybe support a communist regime so it doesn’t crash?

And we already know when another Castro-like dictator takes over the reins the answer to that will be:
“No one could have forseen this situation."

Obama's action re Cuba is consistent with his socialist agenda. The last country on Earth available for looting is America and opening relations with Cuba is just another way to siphon the wealth of the USA into the coffers of the Communists. Just wait until we start sending foreign aid to Cuba, Venezuela, etc. Too bad there isn't a Ragnar around when you need one.

Our approach to Cuba and Castro has been driven by political influence by the Castro-era Cuban émigrés here in the states throwing a LOT of money into political elections to garner "pull" for their cause.

What it has done is keep a lot of trade possibilities (that the rest of the world has) under wraps, keeping the island isolated and closed. What it HASN'T done is weaken the commie regime there, bring an end (again, politically motivated) to Castro, Castro Et Al, and bring Cuba close to a democracy.

While the state appropriation of property in Cuba was a crime unmatched since the appropriation of Jewish assets in Germany in the 30's and 40's, this political rhetoric that's been going on since the 60's hasn't helped (other than make people wonder WTF were we thinking)... The REALLY strange thing is, in the late 50's, had we embraced that radical Castro and helped him improve conditions in his country rather than shunning him outright (he approached us before Kruschev opened his arms and gave ol' Doc Fidel a big bear hug) the likelihood that Cuba would be a people's republic communist base of operations would have been reduced to damn near nil.

We had a golden opportunity back then, and we threw it away, allowing the USSR a base 90 miles from us. And because of that f***-up, we - the American people - have been paying the price since then.

While I think Kerry is a bumbling lying fool, and other people in his food chain not necessarily below him (no names mentioned) is a conniving scheming pinko-pushing anti-American with serious imperialist dictatorial leanings, this may be (maybe) one of the very few things they do right... by giving us a chance for a foothold on the island denied since the days of his predecessors.

And BTW - I prefer Montecristo Coronas. :-)

I am glad to hear part of what the High Commander said, I do not see anything since castro's rise to power that the U.S. gov has done right. I get it they are dictators, and violate people's rights but they are one of our neighbors for better or worse. Free markets can be infectious and easier to influence when delivered with an olive branch rather than with tainted cigars and isolation.
I did not like the self anointed one keeping tourism off record aka direct flight illegal.

Until then it's an early flight thru Belize

Have fun, enjoy a Cohiba,
Will

Marco Rubio knows better...
http://www.aol.com/article/2014/12/17/se...

Do the Cuban people have more liberty as a result of this deal? Will the influx of cash Avoid the pockets of oppressive elites?

"In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit." — Atlas Shrugged

It is a shame that the President is as usual over extending his authority. It takes away from the point that this is a great move for the country. If we are going to have relations with China then what is the diff from Cuba. Open relations will allow imports/exports that are good for the country and might make it easier to keep illegals from coming in. After 60 years of seeing the current policies not help either country I think sneaking some capitalism into Cuba is the best way to eventually break down their dictatorship. We have seen this is China but Cuba will not have the force and army to stop it like China

While I do agree that this "little" deal seemed quite unilateral, I'm having trouble thinking of any real degrading effects per se. Wouldn't it be the same as doing business with China, but on a smaller scale? I'll admit up front that I don't know much about this topic.

Sending in an ambassador doesn't change the relationship much, but having a couple of boots on the ground to influence change when the Castro brothers die off isn't a bad idea. Kennedy provoked the missle crisis with the Bay of Pigs, we generally shouldn't lose sight of that (sins on both sides of that argument). We should have invaded rather than dink around with rebels, but it is what it is. Hindsight is 20/20.

As someone who has a background in restoring old buildings and old cars, maybe I'll enjoy an active retirement in Cuba?
Huh...who would have thought ?

Because of falling oil prices Cuba as well as Russia are at their economic low points. They are more vulnerable now than in recent history, all because of that environmental boogy-man--fracking. So what does Obama do? Let's just say, he wouldn't survive as a horse trader for an hour.

What does Congress have to say? We'll see. Funding to open an embassy in Cuba would have to appropriated by Congress.
It will a good test to see if the Republican leadership in the new Congress can find any semblance of a spine. I'm thinking there is about a 40% probability of that.

would surprise me if the bumbler in chief didn't build an embassy in north korea. the reason he is doing this is so he can secure a place for his presidential library.