On Cuba...

I am a naturalized American citizen and a Viet Nam vet. I believe the millions of Cubans who came to this great country as political refugees like myself, who assimilated the culture and became productive, tax-paying, law-abiding American citizens, deserve better than a slap in our faces. If relations are to resume with Cuba, those criminals in power should be brought to justice, in a court of law, before a single dollar is exchanged.

I arrived in the USA in 1962 at the age of 12 with only my mother. My father, who traveled with us, was beaten and sentenced to 15 years in jail, without a trial, for merely questioning the abuse we were subjected to while at the airport. My father, a professional man, who never subscribed to violence, died in a Cuban jail after years of torturous incarceration.

How can a US President do this to the freedom-loving Cubans who fled the horrors of Fidel Castro? My father was a professional man and my mother, a certified paralegal - needless to say, we lived quite comfortably, yet my parents, like many other Cubans, were willing to trade their homes and wealth for freedom. My father gave up his life so my my mother and I could be free.
Obama's intellectual capacity is overrated. His community organizer mentality is clearly exemplified when he approved for the Congressional Black Caucus to travel Cuba and "kiss and make up” with very same communist leaders who tortured and killed millions of Cubans and consistently violate all principles of human rights.

I can understand Obama’s "passion" for Castro. During his presidential campaign, Obama uttered the exact same Lenin-like phrases Fidel used to defraud the Cuban people. Phrases like, “economic equality” and "spread the wealth”. In fact, in his first 100 days in office, Obama has engaged in the same tactics Castro used in his early days in power. Nationalizing the banks and dictating what private companies can and cannot do (for the good of the country, of course) – However, by 1962 Castro had declared himself a communist, seized the entire nation and jailed or executed any one who opposed him. I hope Congress will not allow Obama to continue in Castro’s footsteps.

To have a president of the United States of America, the torch of freedom and human rights, appease the brutal dictatorship in Cuba is beyond appalling. It's a colossal symbol of the turn our country has taken towards socialism and away from the righteous principles this amazing nation was founded.

-fc