After all, they gotta pay homage before the crusty ol’ dictator croaks.
Fidel Castro, the longtime Communist leader of Cuba, met with visiting members of the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday, a day after his brother, Raul, who succeeded him as president, did the same, according to a U.S. official in Havana.
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, at left with Reps. Marcia Fudge and Mel Watt, was among those who met with Castro.
The meeting with Fidel Castro, 82, comes amid speculation that the United States is considering a shift in relations with the Communist nation that sits just 90 miles from the Florida Keys.
Upon returning to the United States, members of the caucus said it’s time to consider an end to the trade embargo and other diplomatic restrictions placed on Cuba for the past five decades.
“Yes, we have history. We have good history and not-so-good history,” said Rep. Laura Richardson, D-California. “But the point is, it’s history, and we need to move forward.”
Three members of the caucus were visiting the Latin American School of Medicine, where students from nations including the United States study, when they were invited to meet with the senior leader.
“Former President Fidel Castro is very engaging, very energetic,” said caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee, also a Democrat from California. “Our conclusion is, given the new direction in our foreign policy, that it’s time to look at a new direction in our policy toward Cuba.
“The 50-year embargo just hasn’t worked,” she said.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/04/07/castro.black.caucus/index.html
More pukeworthy aspects of the ‘trip’:
Lee and others heaped praise on Castro, calling him warm and receptive during their discussion. …”It was quite a moment to behold,” Lee said, recalling her moments with Castro.
“It was almost like listening to an old friend,” said Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Il.), adding that he found Castro’s home to be modest and Castro’s wife to be particularly hospitable.
“In my household I told Castro he is known as the ultimate survivor,” Rush said.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21008.html
Really? Cuba’s economy isn’t exactly a boon. They’re still driving 1950’s cars that must have home-made parts on them by now. The island is a slum, the prisons are full of dissidents, human rights and free speech are non-existent, the media is still state-controlled, and oh by the way, Blacks are treated like shit in Castro’s ‘paradise’.
This is also a violation of the Logan Act; U.S. law that makes it illegal for anyone to negotiate/meet with foreign governments except the President or a designee.
When the Democratic members of the Black Caucus went to Cuba and smooched Castro’s ass, were they doing so under the auspices of the State Department or the Office of the president?
The Logan Act is very specific:
The Logan Act (18 U.S.C.A. § 953 [1948]) is a single federal statute making it a crime for a citizen to confer with foreign governments against the interests of the United States. Specifically, it prohibits citizens from negotiating with other nations on behalf of the United States without authorization.
Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
That makes it ILLEGAL for anyone to negotiate/meet with foreign governments except the President or a designee.
Dennis Kucinich, David Bonior, Jim McDermott, and Nancy Pelosi, have all violated this act with unauthorized visits to America’s enemies, to include pre-war Iraq and Syria.
When does the State Department plan on enforcing the laws against what can best be described as treasonous behavior?
*crickets chirping*